Turkish Airlines says it is in advanced talks with Hollywood superstar Margot Robbie to make her the new celebrity face of the Istanbul-based carrier ahead of its long-awaited launch of flights to Australia next year.
In an interview with the Hurriyet Daily News, the airline’s chairman, Ahmet Bolat, said on Friday that discussions were still ongoing with the Barbie actor, although the current plan is to bring Robbie to Turkey a week ahead of the first flight to Australia and shoot in iconic landmarks around Istanbul for a global media campaign.
Earlier this year, Turkish Airlines tentatively announced it would launch flights to Australia, although the carrier has been tight-lipped on the details of its plans, and flights are not yet on sale.
Bolat did, however, say on Friday that the airline now plans to launch its inaugural flight at some point between March 15 and March 2024.
Sydney and Melbourne are front runners for the airline’s first destination in Australia, but Bolat did not confirm which city would first see a Turkish Airlines plane.
Passengers heading to Istanbul from Australia will, however, have to connect through Singapore, and Hurriyet suggested there could be a 10-hour layover in Singapore.
Born in 1990 in a small town in Queensland, Margot Robbie is now one of Australia’s most famous faces, having starred in a string of blockbusters, including Suicide Squad, The Wolf of Wall Street, Dreamland, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Robbie landed her first major role in 2008 in Australian TV soap opera Neighbours before making the move to Los Angeles in 2011 to pursue to acting career in Hollywood.
Said to be worth more than $40 million, Robbie has fronted campaigns for several global brands, including Chanel and Nissan.
Turkish Airlines has long courted celebrity endorsements and has created global ad campaigns with the likes of Charlize Theron, Brice Willis and Jennifer Lopez. In 2017, Morgan Freeman became a global ambassador of the airline and appeared in several commercials.
Reminds of the time time Beyoncé was paid millions to preform for the Islamist dictator Ghadafi.
Now, another celebrity will be the face of an Islamist dictatorship’s airline. Does Margot have concerns about the genocide the Islamist Turks (under Erdogan) have been committing against the Yazadi and Kurds. Then there’s the backing and support of the terrorist group Hamas.
Time to chill mate, the world still goes around, people are still just people, I used to love my Australia when no one else knew what religion you were and no one cared. Chill out mate, it’s an ad for aeroplanes for a not very good airline. If you don’t like Margot doing the ads, don’t fly with TK, it’s really simple. It’s called market forces. Open your eyes champ, Margot is entitled to do what she likes and with whomever she likes. Freedom. #chilloutmate