Turkish Airlines will customise its A350 for non-stop Sydney flights

Turkish Airlines will begin non-stop Istanbul-Sydney flights in 2026, with Istanbul-Melbourne to follow, and the airline will redesign its Airbus A350 jets with this 17-hour marathon in mind.

The flag-carrier of Türkiye has inked a deal for 15 long-legged A350-1000s, which will be fitted with private Crystal business class suites.

Turkish Airlines' new Crystal business class.

However, as many as a third of those “will be modified for the Australian routes,” says Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Eksi, with a substantially larger business class cabin.

The Australian-bound A350-1000s could have as many as 60 business class seats, Eksi indicated to Aviation Week journalist Kurt Hofmann on the carrier’s inaugural flight from Istanbul to Sydney via Kuala Lumpur.

Turkish Airlines' new Crystal business class.

That’s substantially higher than the 44-46 seat business class cabin of other airlines flying the A350-1000 such as Cathay Pacific, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways.

It’s also almost twice the premium cabin size of the Star Alliance member’s slightly smaller A350-900 jets, which have 32 business class seats.

Each of the Crystal business class suites – which are based on the same Safran Unity platform as Qantas’ upcoming Project Sunrise A350-1000s – is framed by high walls and sliding privacy doors.

Turkish Airlines' new Crystal business class.

Tech-friendly touches such as wireless charging, AC and high-power USB-C outlets are all on deck, with Bluetooth audio streamed from the 22” screen to passengers’ own noise-cancelling headphones or earbuds.

However, behind those private business class berths will stretch rows of economy, with Turkish Airlines ruling out the return of its Comfort Class premium economy recliners.

Moving to a ‘premium-heavy’ configuration not only boosts revenue for the airline due to a higher number of more expensive business class seats, it reduces the aircraft’s overall weight to help extend its range.

Turkish Airlines' new Crystal business class.

The Star Alliance member joins the likes of Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Air New Zealand in developing bespoke aircraft layouts for ultra-long range flights.

Singapore Airlines’ A350-900ULR jets contain only business and premium economy cabins, with not an economy seat to be seen – and from 2027 they’ll gain four first class suites along with all-new private business class suites as part of an SGD$1.1bn make-over.

Singapore Airlines' new A350 business class suite.

From late 2025, Air New Zealand will see a new batch of factory-fresh Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners designed specifically for ultra-long range flights to the likes of New York, Chicago and potentially London.

Air New Zealand's 787 Business Premier Luxe suite.

They’ll be crowned by two business class cabins featuring its latest Business Premier seats plus four Business Premier Luxe suites, and also feature six innovative Skynest bunk beds which economy passengers can book as a full-length lie-flat bed for four hours at a time.

Air New Zealand's 787 Skynest bunk beds.

Of course, Qantas initially shaped its own Boeing 787-9s to tackle globe-striding flights such as Perth-London, Perth-Paris and Sydney-Auckland-New York, deliberately choosing a ‘premium-heavy’ configuration where almost a third of the seats are business or premium economy.

Qantas' A350 first class.

The Flying Kangaroo will continue that approach on its Airbus A350-1000ULR jets which will launch non-stop flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York from late 2026, with over 40% in premium seating.

But along with six room-like first class suites there’ll be a unique stand-and-stretch ‘wellbeing zone’ where economy passengers can get out of their seats and follow simple exercises guided by instructions on a video screen.

Qantas' A350 Wellbeing Zone.

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