The effects of Turkish public diplomacy in sub Saharan Francophone African countries on the brand image of Turkish Airlines: A quantitative research about Turkish Airlines as a soft power tool

Turkish Airlines was founded as a state airline, and today, 49% of the airline belongs to the Republic of Türkiye. From the very beginning, Turkish Airlines acted in accordance with Turkish foreign policy even though it prevented the airline from making a profit. The purpose of this research is to understand the Government-Airline relations within the scope of Turkish Public Diplomacy's effects on Turkish Airlines' brand image with scientific methods. This study aims to understand the relation between Turkish image, Türkiye's image, and Turkish Airlines' image on the continent. To base this study on a scientific basis, a survey is conducted in Istanbul Airport between 24-27th of December 2021 with 126 Sub-Saharan African participants. Results are analyzed by SPSS. The study clearly reveals that there is a positive linear correlation between the images of Türkiye, Turkish people, and Turkish Airlines in African people. It can be concluded that the Turkish Government's longlasting policies and activities in African countries have a positive effect on Turkish Airlines' brand image. Keywords: Brand image, Public diplomacy, Soft Power, Turkish Airlines