OREANDA-NEWS. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced today that Turkish Airlines will begin non-stop service between San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Istanbul next spring.

Turkish Airlines officials said the airline plans to launch service at SFO on April 13, 2015, with flights operating five days per week to Istanbul using Boeing 777 aircraft. The flag carrier of Turkey plans to increase service to daily flights on May 11, 2015.

“I am pleased to welcome Turkish Airlines to San Francisco - the Innovation Capital of the World,” said Mayor Lee. “This new service unites San Francisco with the Crossroads of the World, Istanbul. I fully expect this flight to better connect our diverse City to the rest of the world and be a great success.”

“We are thrilled that Turkish Airlines has selected SFO for its growth in the United States,” said Airport Director John L. Martin. “This service to Istanbul adds a whole new level of choices for passengers traveling to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and India.”

Turkish Airlines, the national flag carrier of Turkey, is the fourth-largest carrier in the world by destinations served, with flights to more than 200 international locations. For the fourth year in a row, Turkish Airlines was named this year as the “Best Airline in Europe” by SkyTrax, an independent international agency that monitors the aviation industry and whose aviation benchmarking surveys are considered among the most reliable in the world.

Flights between SFO and Istanbul will be operated using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft seating a total of 337 passengers, made up of 28 business class and 309 economy class seats.