Is it cheaper to buy plane tickets in Turkey?
 

I read on another site that it is cheaper to buy plane tickets in Turkey rather than puchasing them in the US. I contacted a travel agent in Turkey who said the cost was the same.

Any opinion on Pegasus air? They are SO much cheaper than Turkish Air it is a little scary.

Thanks.

LoL, we reserved our tickets on Pegasus going from Istanbul to Izmir. I've read on various forums other people who have also used Pegasus. There are actually quite a few domestic airlines in Turkey (Atlas is another one). I think Pegasus is cheaper because they go to a very limited number of airports. I actually first learned about them from turkeytravelplanner.com.

I bought tickets from Istanbul to Dalaman for June and I tried to buy them online at TurkishAir.com - but it didn't work. Apparently, you have to physically BE in Turkey to buy an inter-Turkey ticket at a travel agent OR have a credit card drawn on a Turkish bank in order to buy online. I've heard it is common for there to be one fare for foreigners and another, much lower fare for natives of a country. I had to pay $576 roundtrip Istanbul/Dalaman - and it was $219 roundtrip on Turkish Air.com - killed me, but what are ya gonna do? Had to get the tix (flights were selling out like nuts).

Turkish Airlines website is www.thy.com. I just bought one way tickets for Istanbul-Dalaman for October and was shocked to see how many of the lower priced tickets were already sold out. We had to rearrange our trip, but did get tickets at the lowest price (around $75 with tax). My theory is that there is only the one airline flying that route and only a few flights per day - and we were trying to go before a weekend. But other than lack of availability of cheap tickets on our prefered day/time of flight, I had no trouble booking with a VISA card.

We too flew Pegasus from Istanbul to Izmir and back this past February. We had absolutely no problems at all. The planes were very clean and modern, left on time, and the prices were cheap. I would not hesitate to use them again or to recommend them to others.

Tracy

Forgot to mention above that our tickets on Pegaus were less than $50 per person each way.

Tracy

I just purchased a one-way e-ticket with Atlas (Istanbul to Izmir) online and had no problem paying with a credit card- Visa or Mastercard only.
There was no price difference between Atlas and Pegasus but Atlas has free shuttle connections between certain cities- saves me a few TL ( and time/trouble) to get to Ephesus.
Total price for a September flight- 42 euro

Dalaman Istanbul route is one of the most expensive during summer months....Lots of resorts connects via Dalaman. Same as Bodrum flights.

To buy a ticket from Turkish airlines you do not need a Turkish credit card but just a valid credit card.

A small point to explain: once you go online and find the ticket, you will not see the full rate including taxes unless you are at the last step. Individuals can book online and pay with their c.cards but not keep a reservation for a long time. A local travel agency in Turkey can reserve the same ticket and keep reservation much longer, and sometimes within the routes like Dalaman or Bodrum tickets price may drop close to flight and / or optional booking date and agency applies this reduced rate to the passangers. Here is the trick ! Unlike to the many low cost airlines or maybe normal airlines, Turkish Airlines starts selling from higher rates and drops rate closer to the flight date, this rule generally works but with popular routes case may change and last minute you can only find the highest rate segment.

Pegasus is cheaper because of their policies for sales and the base airport they use in Istanbul at Asian side. Turkish Airlines also have its own low cost brand called Anadolujet.....checking alternatives is always a good option....

Ohh yes, a travel agency books the same flight almost double than a local agent, usually general rule with national carriers....

Happy flying & travelling,

Murat

I would like to add that Turkish airines feeds you every time you get in the air. We took 4 or 5 flights within the country and were impressed with the service and food. Of course this has nothing to do with your booking and price questions, but I just wanted to add that it was a very nice experience. In the states, you even have to buy water on some flights. Not used to such amenities. Everything about Turkey was a positive experience.

When we used Pegasus we were able to fly out of Istanbul Ataturk to Izmir. We (stupidly, btw) chose to fly into the secondary airport coming back to Istanbul. I would steer clear of this airport if at all possible...a long way from the city and the airport is kind of a confusing mess!

No food on Pegasus, although our flight was less than an hour long.

Tracy

I have been away from the computer for awhile-thanks for all the info. We ended up calling Turkish airlines #800-874-8875 on a weekend and we spoke w/a Turkish agent who booked us for 1/3 less than was quoted on the site from our computer in the US. Got the # from a goturkey.com ad. I don't know if we are going to get hit w/extra charges when we fly from Athens to Kayseri in Oct.