Air Turkey Lockheed L-188C Electra

Air Turkey was a major operator of Lockheed's beloved L-188 Electra. And they flew them for a few years too! In fact, by the time they had retired them in 1973, the first batch of 747s were actively flying in the fleet. Nonetheless, since their introduction in 1959, Air Turkey were sure to make the most of these planes, flying them down to India, across to North and East Africa, and up to Europe. they actually first began flying to Africa, flying the iconic TY0073 "Nile Run" route from Istanbul down to Antalya, then to Larnaca-Alexandra-Cairo-Khartoum-Addis Ababa, then flying the route back to Istanbul. It was a pretty big success as it covered many cities that at the time had little to no connections to Turkey in terms of ways of getting there (bear in mind this was before Air Turkey really became the hub-and-spoke supercarrier they are today). It offered another way to get to Europe, too, as passengers could connect onto one of Air Turkey's many European flights.

The first Electra arrived on 19 June 1959 after a flight from Burbank, California via Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Gander, Shannon, London (Heathrow), Rome, and Athens before arriving in Istanbul. The first passenger flight was actually on the Nile Run route starting on 21 of June that year. The last flight, meanwhile, took place on 1 June 1973 from Istanbul-Izmir as TY0101, then back as TY0102. 2 of the Electras flew for Air Turkey Cargo up until 1 August 1978 before being sold off to other airlines, 1 crashed in 1960, 4 were scrapped, 1 is preserved at the Air Turkey Museum in Istanbul, and the rest were sold to other airlines. One of which, Alaska Fuelines, actually continues to operate 2 Ex-Air Turkey L-188 Electras. In total, Air Turkey had 14 L-188 Electras.

TC-HUA: 1959 Lockheed L-188C Electra | Air Turkey | Currently: Preserved at the Air Turkey Museum in Istanbul