Please sign in to post.

Flying from Istanbur (Ataturk airport) to Izmir (Ephesus)

Posted by (Houston, Texas, USA) on

I am looking for recommendations regarding airlines to fly from Istanbul (Ataturk airport) to Izmir. Features I am looking for include: good options for flight times, on- time flights, reasonably priced, no surprise fees regarding check-in luggage or printing tickets, website available in English. I plan to spend one day in Ephesus and fly back to Istanbul the following evening.

I have looked at the following airlines. The round trip fares vary widely. Turkish Airlines ($100. Is the most expensive. Why? Also, some people say their domestic flights are chronically late), Atlasjet (does not fly to Izmir even though Lonely Planet recommends it as a good airline to fly to Izmir. I probably don't know how to navigate their website. Some people say they offer a free shuttle to Ephesus), Pegasus ($54. Appears to have limits on luggage weight), Onur Air ($42), Izair ($38)

Any insights would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Kat

Posted by
338 posts

Its been a long time since I've flown that route, but I've flown IST to Izmir (ADB) on Turkish Air. I had no problems with the flight and it was quite comfortable. I suspect that it will give you the best options and flexibility for your trip since it is a much larger airline than the others you mention. If you decide to go with Turkish Air when you book matters. They sell seats cheapest to most expensive, so the longer you wait the more your ticket will cost.

Hopefully someone else will chime it with thoughts on your other options.

Good luck!

Posted by
1506 posts

In 2011 and 2013 we used Pegasus from Izmir to Istanbul. They were less expensive and provided good service. We booked in February and May for October flights. We also found fares varied with Turkish Airlines being the most expensive.

Posted by
154 posts

I personally would pick flights based on who had the best connection on time and price. I like to use the website www.skyscanner.com to get ideas on what flights exist. You may even end up doing two one-way tickets on different airlines. I have flown on Turkish Air (Beijing to Istanbul) and I will say they are the best airline I have ever been on. I'm not sure if their domestic service is as good as their international but it was quite impressive.

Posted by
47 posts

Thank you all for your replies. Very helpful insights. I will certainly consider skyscanner.com, Pegasus Airlines and the potential of booking two separate one way tickets.

Best,
Kat

Posted by
11294 posts

When I was there in 2011, I flew Atlas Jet from Ataturk to Izmir, then took their free shuttle to Selcuk (no shuttle to Ephesus itself). This worked very well, and the flight was fine. My other flights within Turkey were with Bora Jet and Anadolu Jet (subsidiaries of Turkish Air) and they were also fine.

All three of these flights had a 8 kg limit on carry on luggage, but did not charge us to check the rest (my mother had one checked bag, I had two). Due to the low carry-on weight limit, we had to check bags that we could carry on the Turkish Air transatlantic flight.

I just tried to do a dummy booking on Atlas Jet for Ataturk to Izmir, and lots of flights showed up (4-5 per day). Here's the website I used (they seem to have renamed themselves Atlasglobal): http://www.atlasglb.com/en

Posted by
47 posts

Hi Harold,

I really appreciate your detailed reply. It cleared up my confusion regarding AtlasJet. I will look into it again. Very helpful information.

Thanks,
Kat

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.