Turkish Airlines has just put its newest route to the United States on sale, and it’s a pretty exciting one, in my opinion.
Turkish Airlines adds Istanbul to Seattle route
As of May 27, 2022, Turkish Airlines will be launching 4x weekly flights between Istanbul (IST) and Seattle (SEA). The flight will operate with the following schedule on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays:
TK203 Istanbul to Seattle departing 2:05PM arriving 4:15PM
TK204 Seattle to Istanbul departing 5:45PM arriving 3:25PM (+1 day)
The flight will cover a distance of 6,071 miles in each direction, and is blocked at 12hr10min westbound and 11hr40min eastbound. Turkish Airlines will use a Boeing 787-9 for the route, featuring 300 seats. This includes 30 business class seats and 270 economy class seats.
We first learned about plans for this route in November 2021, when the airline revealed it would add flights to both Detroit and Seattle. The Seattle flight is finally on sale, while there’s no sign of the Detroit flight launching yet.
Turkish Airlines flies to more countries than any other airline in the world. As far as destinations in the United States go, the airline otherwise flies to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Newark, San Francisco, and Washington.
Award seats are readily available
If you’re interested in taking this flight, award seats are currently wide open. I see four business class award seats available on most flights, so this is a great option for flying to Istanbul, or for traveling with one stop to just about anywhere in the world.
The best program to redeem miles through depends on your final destination, but in general Air Canada Aeroplan and Avianca LifeMiles are going to be your best bet. Both partner with major transferable points currencies, and have reasonable award pricing.
My take on Turkish Airlines adding Seattle flights
It’s always awesome to see airlines add new routes, especially when we’re talking about an airline as global as Turkish Airlines. Given how many places Turkish Airlines already flies to in the United States, I’d say Seattle is logically among the next cities you’d expect from the airline.
A few thoughts on Turkish Airlines adding Seattle flights:
- Seattle has been growing at a fast pace, and in the past decade we’ve seen a countless number of foreign airlines add service to the airport
- Seattle is a hub for Alaska Airlines (oneworld) and Delta Air Lines (SkyTeam), though there’s also some long haul Star Alliance service on airlines like All Nippon Airways, Lufthansa, and Singapore Airlines
- While Turkish Airlines has a slightly different market than the “big three” Gulf carriers, there is also some overlap, and both Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways fly to Seattle
- Seattle is an incredibly international city, and Turkish Airlines should open up one stop connectivity to several new destinations
Bottom line
Turkish Airlines will be launching flights to Seattle as of May 2022. The airline will fly from Istanbul 4x weekly with a Boeing 787-9. This is an exciting new flight option for those in the Seattle area, given all of the places that passengers can connect to beyond Istanbul.
What do you make of Turkish Airlines’ new Seattle route?
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