Ceylan InterContinental Istanbul Received
‘Best Service 2010’ Award

As the result of a survey realised between its readers, one of the most prestigious magazines in tourism industry, Travel Leisure, determined Ceylan InterContinental Istanbul as the third hotel in the category of “Best Service 2010” between the best 10 hotels of Europe. We are honoured to be shown as the third between the ten most prestigious hotels of Europe.

In fact, this election is more than a list. It is a credible and inclusive guide for hotels and also, helps readers to determine the hotels where they can get the best service during their accommodations.

As Ceylan InterContinental Istanbul, we always focus on increasing our service quality by renovating ourselves and we reinforce this point of view by the lobby renovation which we realised lately in order to satisfy our guests’ expectations.

Divan Group Hotels became member of Preferred Hotel Group

As the first chain hotel brand and the "Ecolé of Hotel Management" in Turkey, Divan Group continues to serve its customers the highest quality with individually exclusive service since 54 years, therefore still is the "LEGEND BRAND".

To gain competitive power regarding international brand awareness, Divan Group is the first chain hotel in Turkey who became a member of "Preferred Hotel Group" with all its hotels.

Celebrating 42 years of excellence, Preferred Hotel GroupTM is a leading global provider of high-performance sales, marketing and technology support to individually owned and operated hotels and resorts, with over 700 members in over 75 countries. Established in 1968, Preferred Hotel Group today comprises of five distinct brands - Preferred Hotels® & Resorts, Preferred BoutiqueTM, Summit Hotels & ResortsTM, Sterling HotelsTM and Historic Hotels of Americas®.

Setur Opened Yalova Marina

Setur Marinas, which runs seven marinas; Kalamış and Fenerbahçe in Istanbul, Ayvalık, Çeşme, Kuşadası, Marmaris Netsel, and Finike, announced opening of its newest marina in Yalova.

Setur Marinas the leader in Turkey's marina sector won the tender for Yalova Marina in 2007. Construction commenced in July 2009 and the opening ceremony took place on Friday, 23 July 2010 with the participation of Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan. With this new marina, Setur Marinas' total capacity increased from 3,900 births to 4,240 births.

Turkish Airlines to fly Washington D.C.

Turkey's national flag carrier; Turkish Airlines announced that the carrier will connect Istanbul with Washington D.C.

Istanbul-Washington-Istanbul flights are planned as 5 flights per week and will be launched as of November 07, 2010.

Turkish Airlines to Fly LAX-Istanbul Beginning March 2011

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa cheered the announcement that Turkish Airlines will launch nonstop service from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Istanbul, Turkey four times a week beginning March 3, 2011.

The air service on brand new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft is expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually in economic activity in Southern California.

"I am very proud that Turkish Airlines has chosen LAX as its U.S. West Coast gateway," said Mayor Villaraigosa. "The nonstop route between LAX and Istanbul will strengthen business, tourism and cultural ties with one of the most desirable cities in Eurasia, while providing improved connecting service to more European, Asian, African and Middle Eastern destinations.     

"Gaining new and increased international service at LAX and LA/Ontario International Airport is a top priority for me because of the substantial contribution these flights make to the economy of Southern California," the Mayor added. "Turkish Airline's nonstop service to Istanbul is a prime example of the type of air service we want to attract to our airports."

"Passengers will experience Turkish Airlines' high quality service and overall customer service excellence in Business Class, Comfort Class and Economy Class on brand-new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with the latest technology," said Fatma Yuceler, Turkish Airlines' director for west coast. "This route will open new doors for travel between Los Angeles, Istanbul, and the rest of the world." 

According to a study by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, one average daily, round-trip, transoceanic flight of wide-body aircraft to/from LAX generates $623 million in economic output annually, and sustains 3,120 direct and indirect jobs in Southern California with annual wages of $156 million.

The flight from Los Angeles to Istanbul will operate with four weekly flights (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) from LAX's Tom Bradley International Terminal using new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with the latest technology and capacity of 337 passengers.

The flight schedule was developed to provide Turkish Airlines passengers with convenient connections between Istanbul and major Turkish and Eurasian cities, as well as between LAX and important cities in the Middle East.

Turkish Airlines to Sponsor Euroleauge Basketball

Turkish Airlines and Euroleague Basketball announce a strategic agreement to sponsor the top European basketball competition across the globe.

According to the agreement, starting next season the top European competition will be named "Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball". Similarly, the Euroleague Final Four now becomes the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four whereby the new league title will appear in all media accordingly. This title partner will run for five seasons, with the option of extending it to an additional five.

This agreement is also very important for Euroleague as it is the first time in history that the league associated its name with a brand.

This is not the first time that Turkish Airlines and Euroleague Basketball have partnered. During the recent 2010 Final Four in Paris, Turkish Airlines was one of the Euroleague Basketball's main partners. That experience showed that both parties not only share the sporting values of teamwork, commitment and fair play, but also complementary platforms and markets.

The new agreement will allow both Euroleague Basketball and Turkish Airlines to enhance their commitment to the core European markets they share as well as to expand into others internationally. The agreement goes beyond the economic investment and reaches into other areas such as Euroleague Basketball's corporate responsibility program, Euroleague for Life, in which Turkish Airlines will take an active role.

With this agreement Turkish Airlines have also become the main sponsor of Eurocup, the biggest basketball competition in Europe after Euroleague.

Euroleague Basketball is followed across the globe by fans of all age, gender and social background, and in the past ten years has experiences a monumental growth.  With this first-time agreement, the new Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball enters a new era that seeks to offer increased economic potential that will offer significant support to the competition's clubs and fans.  Equally, the partnership reinforces Turkish Airlines' position as a leading European airline carrier, who has also experienced an extraordinary growth over the past ten years and who has demonstrated a reiterated strategic positioning and commitment to the development of professional sports across the continent.

"We have been working for a long time to find the right title partner that could satisfy not only the economic value of becoming a title sponsor but becoming a partner, with a commitment to the growth of basketball across the globe. We feel satisfied to have reached this agreement and to join forces with Turkish Airlines on what we consider as an integrated partnership model. We feel that Turkish Airlines is a perfect fit as title partner for the competition, not only for the track record in committing to professional sports across the continent, but also through our mutual commitment to developing activities off the court," Jordi Bertomeu, CEO of Euroleague Basketball said. "This agreement will enable Euroleague Basketball to make progress on four fronts: institutional, commercial, promotional and social. The international vision and globalization that we have at Euroleague Basketball is shared fully by Turkish Airlines and its managers, which makes this agreement a milestone in the history of the sport of basketball."

Hamdi Topcu, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Turkish Airlines, said, "Turkish Airlines has recently shown its aim to support sport activities by sponsoring the most reputable brands FC Barcelona and Manchester United football clubs and once again it is a great privilege for Turkish Airlines to be associated with Euroleague.  We believe that, this partnership also will make an excellent contribution to our brand value.  As it is known, Turkish Airlines flies 60 destinations in Europe and of course Europe is our primary market.  Establishing a partnership with Euroleague will help us to work alongside the most famous basketball league in the Europe. At the same time Turkish Airlines aware the importance of corporate responsibility and Euroleague Corporate responsibility program such as ‘'Euroleague for Life'' means a lot for us in order to extend people who love basketball.''

Mr. Topcu continued: "The other important part of this cooperation is that this agreement will facilitate to establish more efficient communication between our brand and our potential passengers in Europe which composes the biggest portion of our revenues, since we have flights to over 70 points in the region.
There will be an official signing ceremony held before the Euroleague 2010-2011 season tip off scheduled for 18th of October 2010.

Reactions from Euroleague board members:

CSKA Moscow President & CEO Andrey Vatutin:
"A long contract with a well-known, serious company is certainly a breakthrough in the Euroleague's marketing activity. I am sure that this is the first big step in the competition's strategic development plan to globalize the Euroleague Basketball brand. The support from a title sponsor as Turkish Airlines adds authority and credibility to our competition."

Caja Laboral president Josean Querejeta:
"First of all, I would like to say that it is great news to have a title sponsor such as Turkish Airlines, a well-known, consolidate company. It also shows that the Euroleague is working really well and I am sure other companies will be interested on the competition soon. Agreements like this backs an emerging project, acclaimed throughout the continent. I would like to congratulate Turkish Airlines and all Euroleague Basketball fans for this agreement."

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv president Shimon Mizrahi: 
"I think this a great step regarding Euroleague Basketball having a main partner such as Turkish Airlines. One of the things that makes it important is that part of the funds will go towards the promotion and exposure of the competition on television, which will allow us to grow further. Another important aspect is that Turkish Airlines will be able to help teams move between countries across Europe."

Montepaschi Siena president Ferdinando Minucci:
"The partnership with Turkish Airline is a very important one for the Euroleague. It will give great support to the competition and will play a leading role in promoting the image of the top European competition."

Efes Pilsen general manager Engin Ozerhun:
"In recent years, Turkish Airlines has increased its sponsorship agreements in the sports industry. The fact that they sponsored the last Final Four in Paris was a first indication that they would reach new agreements with the Euroleague. As a Turkish citizen, I am very happy and proud that my country is able to be represented not only in basketball but also as an economic stimulator of sports. After the Final Four both parties were satisfied with the event and it was clear that Turkish Airlines was fully aware on how powerful the Euroleague and the sport of basketball can be. I am more than happy not only as a Turkish citizen, but also as a member of the basketball community."

Turkish Airlines New 'Comfort Class'

Turkish Airlines adds yet another class to its economy, business and first class services.

From now on passengers will be able to enjoy a more comfortable flight with affordable prices. The aim is to combine the comfort of business class with the accessibility of economy class. The implementation of Comfort Class will start in Turkish Airlines’ new Boeing 777 aircrafts on Beijing, Shanghay, Narita, Bangkok, Sao Paolo and Toronto flights.

Depending on the purchase of new Boeing 777 aircrafts the implementation of Comfort Class is planned to expand also to New York, Chicago and Washington flights. One of the privileges that Comfort Class provides will be specially designed passenger seats with the widest possible knee and seat space. The seat is 116 cm wide with a seating area of 49 cm. Moreover every seat has monitors providing AVOD services and access to iPods or USB devices.

Turkish Technic, Inc. and Goodrich Corp. signed
Joint Venture Agreement

Turkish Technic, Inc.  and Goodrich Corporation have signed all appropriate agreements related to the formation of a joint venture company to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services in Istanbul, Turkey.

The joint venture company, known as Goodrich Turkish Technic Service Centre, will provide nacelle, thrust reverser and related component services including routable support. The service centre will provide services for the Airbus and Boeing fleets of Turkish Airlines and other carriers in Turkey and neighbouring regional fleets. The two companies previously announced the intention to form the joint venture in November 2007.

Site selection is currently underway for the Goodrich Turkish Technic Service Centre facility, which will be located near the Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Istanbul. Initial plans call for the facility to be approximately 20,000 square feet with the option to double in size. The facility will initially employ about 20 people with plans to expand to more than 70 employees within ten years. The facility is expected to be operational in the first quarter 2011.

"The Goodrich Turkish Technic Service Centre will meet the needs of Turkish Airlines by providing a local maintenance solution for the airline's growing fleet," said Goodrich Aerostructures Aftermarket Services Vice President and General Manager Bob Gustafson. "The new facility also extends the Goodrich MRO global footprint and allows us to provide all carriers in the region customer-focused benefits, such as reduced costs and turnaround times."

The joint venture will also leverage Turkish Technic's already-extensive MRO capabilities.

"We are combining our technical expertise and perfection with the global Goodrich reputation for excellence in order to be the leading nacelle, thrust reverser and related component service provider in our region within a short time," said Turkish Technic Inc. General Manager Dr. Ismail Demir "With this agreement, we are once again proving Istanbul to be an important maintenance and repair hub both for Turkey and surrounding international market."

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The 25th European People Management Conference
to be held in Istanbul

The European Association for People Management (EAPM) which was founded by the national associations and professional institutions of personnel management in France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, will celebrate its 40 years of People Management leadership in Turkey, at the 25th European conference that will take place in Istanbul on September 28-30, 2011, organized by VIP Tourism.

The world has become far more unstable and competitive than ever before. We continuously need to find ways to gain competitive advantage whenever and wherever possible.  One of these is clearly the management of human resources, which traditionally regarded as a department function, is now being widely shared among all business managers. We need to take HR to the next level, bringing people and performance together.

Convergence is the act of moving toward union or uniformity. It is also a meeting place, where distinct technologies, industries, or devices into a unified whole. It is the approach toward a definite value, a definite point, a common view or opinion, or a state.

“People” and “performance” strategies, targets and practices have been converging. People Management is emerging to uniquely combine activities and processes of human resource management, organizational development, brand management, communication studies, psychology, sociology, and some other areas — the fields that “grew up” distinct from each other. In pursuing this convergence there are some clear divergences, nuances and specific themes.

Gain new perspective and greater understanding of the differences and similarities in various countries, cultures, corporations, functions, policies and practices. 

At the 25th European conference in Istanbul, participants will discover contemporary best practices and get insights on how to use the convergences as opportunities and how to realign their strategy to maximize performance and profits. The topics will be widely discussed by business and people management leaders, in the light of relevant literature.