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-   -   Which airline flies to Istanbul?? (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/which-airline-flies-to-istanbul-510743/)

Johnmango Mar 9th, 2005 05:40 AM

Which airline flies to Istanbul??
 
Does anyone know of any low-cost/budget airline that flies (especially from London or Paris) to Istanbul?

I have searched BMI, SkyEurope, easyJet, RyanAir plus some search engines to no avail!!

British Airways flies direct London-Istanbul for ~300 pounds plus, not exactly cheap!

PJI Mar 9th, 2005 05:57 AM

Try whichbudget.com

Gardyloo Mar 9th, 2005 06:05 AM

No LCCs from London or Paris to IST.

Several fly from points in Germany and Holland, Turkish Air isn't bad from Amsterdam or Brussels. Maersk and Snowflake, SAS' baby LCC, fly from Copenhagen or Stockholm.

You can connect to a couple of these from London but in many cases the connecting times don't line up at all - i.e., a morning flight from London to, say, Cologne, then a redeye from Cologne to Istanbul.

Note many of the budget carriers don't go to Attaturk (IST) but to Sabitha (SAW) airport on the Asisn side of the water, apparently a long schlep into town, and typically at 3 in the morning or some such.

Seems silly that there aren't better budget connections from the British Isles but them's the facts.

If you're not a European resident and you're flying transatlantic with one of the Oneworld or Star Alliance members, IST is an excellent use for their "discover Europe" (or similarly-named) airpass products. See for example www.oneworld.com and look for their airpass programs.

JoeTro Mar 9th, 2005 06:07 AM

Try opodo.co.uk if you haven't already to get some national airlines like BA (I see you've already tried that), Air France, etc.

What about to another destination in Turkey besides Istanbul and then finding other transportation there?

Intrepid1 Mar 9th, 2005 06:12 AM

London to Amsterdam on EasyJet; AMS to Istanbul on Corendon

Johnmango Mar 9th, 2005 06:18 AM

I have already tried some search engines like www.whichbudget.com, cheapflights.com and flights4less.com

"Ashamed" to say that I have been a Star Alliance member for years but never heard of the One World. I checked the One World website. It looks like the travel pass has to cross at a minimum 3 continents. I am only going from NA to Europe. I did not see the "Discover Europe" pass - will keep looking.

Thanks


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