We were scheduled on British Air on 4/28 to meet up with our tour 5/1. Today we got an email cancelling and rescheduling our flight. Leaving 6 hours later, which means our connection in London would also have to be rescheduled with a then 5 hour layover and an arrival in Istanbul at midnight. Not ideal. Since they changed our flight, we think we can get our $$ back, but is there anything better, really? Would love to know what others have done in getting themselves to Istanbul from Seattle. Best routes, airlines, etc. thanks!
Posted by
near San Francisco
5364 posts
If you have a fare that you like, you may want to see if British Airways has a different flight that they can put you on that suits you better, still at the price that you paid. I've generally found that even though an airline offers what they may think is the "next best option" they will allow a switch to a different itinerary that I prefer, within certain parameters and perhaps within a stated timeframe to make such a change.
If you get your money back, you'll be starting over with new flight/fare options, which also may not be ideal.
Posted by
Washington DC Region, USA
7054 posts
Try to find a codeshare flight on Turkish Air, which would probably route you through LAX and then direct to Istanbul from there
Posted by
Chicago
2042 posts
I would also look at Turkish Air. We had a wonderful flight to Istanbul with them.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
20179 posts
Turkish Air flies out of SFO and ORD so would find a way to one or the other and take Turkish Air.
Best airline right now.
If you buy it in one ticket as a code share its not cheap, but if you buy the flights to SFO or ORD separately it will cost you maybe $1300.
I love Turkish Air so much I take them on almost every trip even though its a 3.5 hour drive to Houston, but the code share from my town a 1 hour flight away costs $500 more.
In probably, without exaggeration, a dozen flights on Turkish Air since COVID began, ever flight has arrived on time. No changes.
One caution on Turkish Air is that there is no Premium Economy ... what you do is buy the seats separately once you book and you pick the seats with extra legroom if you wanted Premium Economy .... I always budget $100 for seats to Europe and back .... but if you dont buy a seat, they put you where they want (no requirement to buy one).
Posted by
Atlanta, GA
783 posts
Another vote here for Turkish, my favorite airline. I have had consistently good experiences with them.
Posted by
Tucson
4183 posts
When we went to Istanbul we flew Delta to Rome from Tucson via Atlanta as usual.
We then flew multi-city on Turkish Airlines, Rome to Istanbul, Istanbul to Athens and Athens to Rome. We thought Turkish was very comfortable and the classy Istanbul airport remains my husband's favorite. This was before the bombing, but I'm sure it's okay again.
Their flight information was updated on December 1st. You can see all the destinations they serve here: https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-us/announcements/coronavirus-outbreak/current-flight-plan/
I always prefer a nonstop from the US to my final destination, but sometimes it just isn't possible. If it was me, instead of flying south to go east, I'd prefer heading east from the west coast to get a jump on the time zones, but all depends on the flight schedules. I hope you're able to rearrange your flights to something more reasonable.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
20179 posts
Lo, bad news; that airport your husband likes is no more ......... well, its there but it for cargo and general aviation; the new airport is magnificent though, probably the best high traffic airport you will ever encounter.
My only complaint has to do with getting transportation to town.
It is nearly an hour ride, so its not cheap; and the area where you get a taxi or the hotel car is freeking chaos.
Get a car from the hotel and get the driver's phone number so you can attempt to locate him.
A word of caution, if you do fly Turkish Air to Istanbul make sure you download their app as you cant get back into the airport for departure without a boarding pass (paper or on that app).
If you are ever connecting through Istanbul and miss a flight or just want to arrive at your first stop fresh and relaxed there is a nice little hotel in the gate area; sometimes given a choice between arriving in Budapest or Kyiv at 8 or 9pm or taking the cheaper flight with the 14 hour lay over and sleeping my jet lag off before I arrive, I just stay in the hotel.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11875 posts
Turkish flies from YVR ( Vanc BC). It has single ticket solutions, SEA-YVR-IST. Via ORD or SFO costs a bit more
Posted by
Stratford upon Avon
470 posts
I have changed planes in the "new" Istanbul airport and is was hell, a real route march between gates either end of a vast terminal.
For arrivals getting into the city understand its in the middle of now where, miles from the centre
Also understand built in an area where fog is not uncommon
All in all a disaster