Turkish Airlines to produce its own cabin products

ANKARA – Anatolia News Agency

The Turkish Airlines is set to produce its own cabin parts for planes. The national flag carrier’s aim is to make lighter parts in a bid to cut fuel expenses.

Turkish Airlines has partnered with Turkish Airlines’ service provider THY Teknik to form a company called Türk Kabin Tasarım ve Üretim A.Ş. (TCI) or Cabin Interior for short. 

TCI will produce cabin interior products to be used first on Turkish Airlines planes and then marketed overseas, according to Anatolia news agency.

The products used will be 100 percent locally sourced, helping to employ domestic workers, according to the company. 

As a first step, TCI will produce the galleys, or airplane kitchens, used on Turkish Airlines carriers once it receives its certificate, likely to be at the end of 2012. 

There are six to seven global designers and producers of cabin interior materials, according to TCI board member Güldoğan, who said that given the global monopoly, there was a definite window for TCI to enter the market. 
“First we plan to produce and display our products on Turkish Airlines planes. Then our goal is to sell our TCI label cabin interior products to international carriers and the global market,” said Güldoğan. 

“We believe that an innovative design team will be able to produce competitively priced products,” said Güldoğan. Each product will have its own certificate, he added. 

TCI has already embarked on an overseas ad campaign for its products. The company, currently located in Ankara, plans to relocate close to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport in the second half of 2012.