As part of a broader repositioning and business transformation, Turkish Airlines has rebranded its low cost subsidiary, AnadoluJet. This was first announced in November 2023, and applies for flights as of today, so I wanted to go over all the details.
There are two parts to this story — the general spinning off of the airline, and then the rebranding, so let’s cover those two points in order.
Turkish Airlines spins off AnadoluJet subsidiary
First for some context, AnadoluJet was founded in 2008, and up until now has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Turkish Airlines, operating as a regional low cost carrier. The airline had a fleet of roughly 80 narrow body jets, comprised of Airbus A320-family and Boeing 737-family aircraft.
While the airline initially operated domestic routes, the airline expanded to regional international markets as well. AnadoluJet primarily operated services out of Ankara (ESB) and Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW).
Since AnadoluJet was a wholly owned subsidiary of Turkish Airlines, the company operated under Turkish Airlines’ air operator certificate (AOC). Turkish Airlines is in the process of changing that, and has moved this airline to a separate AOC.
Why is Turkish Airlines switching the airline to a separate AOC? Well, the company has stated that this will allow the airline to grow more. The intent is to focus on costs, and simplifying services, in order to get as much of a cost advantage as possible. We know that Turkish Airlines has huge growth plans, and part of that includes growing AnadoluJet’s fleet to over 200 aircraft.
AnadoluJet has been rebranded as AJet
As AnadoluJet undergoes a transformation and is spun off onto its own AOC, the airline is also undergoing a rebranding. Specifically, for flights as of March 31, 2024, the airline has been rebranded as AJet. The carrier’s switch to its own AOC is coinciding with that transition.
Turkish Airlines’ chairman states that “we firmly believe that AJet will become an important part of the global low-cost aviation industry under the new name.”
The airline isn’t just getting a new name, but it’s also getting a new livery, new employee uniforms, and new seating (all-economy seating in a one-cabin configuration). Below you can see a video of the transformation of the first aircraft to be repainted.
Frustratingly, AJet won’t participate in Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles loyalty program, while AnadoluJet jet. So that’s quite a negative development, and really reflects the extent to which AJet is getting its own identity.
A few thoughts:
- Am I the only one who thinks the AnadoluJet livery looks a lot like the Cathay Pacific livery, while the AJet livery looks a lot like the Air Transat livery?
- Even though Turkish Airlines still owns AnadoluJet (at least for the time being), it sure seems to me like the intent of the rebranding is to distance the subsidiary from Turkish Airlines as much as possible, as the plane no longer has any Turkish Airlines branding, and doesn’t even have any red
- I think that also explains putting the airline on a separate AOC; this is going to become an increasingly ultra low cost carrier, and Turkish Airlines probably wants to separate itself from that in terms of passenger experience
- I’m guessing we’ll see Turkish Airlines and AJet increasingly compete on more routes, as they target different market segments with the two brands
- It’s unfortunate that AJet isn’t participating in the Miles&Smiles program, as it sure would be nice if it was at least backed by a solid loyalty program
Bottom line
Turkish Airlines’ regional subsidiary, AnadoluJet, has been rebranded as AJet. This rebranding comes as the airline is moving to its own air operator certificate, and as Turkish Airlines tries to focus on costs with its subsidiary, in order to allow the airline to grow.
This rebranding largely seems about differentiating the passenger experience between the two airlines, to allow Turkish Airlines to compete more directly with ultra low cost carriers, without tarnishing its own brand. Furthermore, unfortunately this also spells the end of the carrier’s participation in the Miles&Smiles program.
What do you make of AnadoluJet rebranding as AJet?
