Hi! Was anyone else flying Turkish Air to Istanbul before all the cancellations started? My tour was April 18th through 25th. I was flying Turkish Air---they don't seem to be cancelling flights to the USA and I'm concerned that I'll be paying a huge cancellation fee for this useless ticket. Maybe they will cancel flights here--I'm waiting to see what happens before jumping to cancel and paying extra. Anyone else??
Thanks
Laura
Ive been watching Turkish Air because thats my way over in April. Through IAD out and ORD back. So far they are still flying ... or to be more accurate, selling tickets. I run a dummy booking ever few days to check.
Thanks for replying! Turkey is still acting like they don't have a problem. They now have 18 cases--I'm sure it's a lot more than that. Hopefully they'll cancel all the flights and admit they are part of the pandemic.
It's a month - sit tight and wait for events. If there is a cancellation window, I might take it (if you don't lose much). I am still planning an event myself on April 17-18 in IL. We'll see about that.
I think the next week is going to be important. If this social distancing has an effect ot slow/stop the spread, all will revert to normal. If cases continue to grow, this may be longer than we expect. So, be watchful this week. Look at the Johns Hopkins U dashboard.
I've been watching Turkish Airlines as well - I have a flight from the US to Budapest (via Istanbul) in mid-April. Right now you can essentially put your trip on hold without selecting a new date (though would have to fly before Feb 2021 & pay for any fare differences), but there isn't a way to actually get a refund unless your flight is cancelled. I'm assuming there's a good chance of that between now and April, though, for many routes.
I was flying Turkish on April 20 to Istanbul and then Budapest. I called them this morning - terrible connection - but at least they answered the phone. They are not refunding ticket prices since we are not officially on the affected countries list and nor is Turkey,
but they did agree to give me a credit for my tickets to use until February next year.
Might be better to wait and see if the flight is cancelled and you can get a refund.
I know the airlines have been hesitant about doing refunds so nothing is guaranteed.
Sounds like we are all going to miss an opportunity to meet up in Budapest as we would all have been there about the same time.... I guess still may... but looking doubtful.
I could be mistaken, but if they cancel the flight, will they not put you on the next available at no charge. The next available might be June. In that case I get June tickets at April prices?
Anyway...... Things in Budapest are not "bad" but a lot is closed. As their outbreak seems to be trending behind the other countries in the area it is conceivable that it could be worse in April. If its your first trip, might be better to wait so you can really enjoy it.
Plan B for me, if going to Budapest will require a 2 week self quarantine when I get home, then maybe when I get to Istanbul I change my ticket to someplace outside of the Schengen Area ........... or maybe i just wait till things cool down and go to Budapest when the "ban" is lifted.
Yes, James. I am so disappointed but I am thinking that when things get better (?) I might be able to go in
June or July. I really should have waited for Turkish to just cancel and maybe I would have gotten my funds back giving me more flexibility with the travel dates but the waiting was too stressful. And as someone mentioned, Turkish Airlines is acting as if nothing is happening and it's business as usual.
Too many guidelines for this situation coming from the government, the CDC,
the airlines, our employers etc., and no two being the same.
I will now able to look forward a second time to being in Budapest for the first time :-)
For those with Turkish Air flights to Budapest, Hungary just closed their borders to non-citizens/residents, so flights could very well be cancelled. There's no info about when this restriction would end though, so I imagine Turkish Airlines won't cancel flights until close to the date, to see what happens.
There was a recent post that Turkish was waiving fees and allowing rebookings. There's a lot of info on their website. On rereading it, it's a little hazy if this applies to all tickets purchased or just new purchases before March 31.
I spoke with a Turkish Airlines reservation agent this morning who confirmed that they are waiving fees but will be charging any fare difference when rebooking.
I bought my ticket in August 2019 for travel on April 20, 2020. I have until February 28 to rebook and May 31 to use the ticket.
Hi all,
Just wanted to quickly report on my experience with Turkish Air. My flight to Budapest was suspended (I know this is a Turkey forum, but maybe this info will still be useful!) and I was able to cancel & get a full refund right on the website, without calling anyone. It seems like their system took a few days to adjust - I had tried to cancel online the day I found out my flight was suspended, but was only offered a refund of just taxes & fees. I waited 2 days, tried again, and was able to get a full refund. I'm thrilled I didn't have to call them, as I had tried before and was just getting a busy signal.
Good luck!
Thats good news. Generally a nice airline to fly.
