British Airways launches flights to second Istanbul airport

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• Jordan D says:

  5 Apr5 April 07:54

  There is a lot of industry and business in the Asian side of Istanbul. The ‘new’ IST is even further away from the old airport (something like 60km+).

  It’s a bit like asking – why do BA persist in flying to EWR when they could just consolidate at JFK.

  • Richie says:

    5 Apr5 April 09:00

    BA don’t fly to EWR four times a week summer only though.

• NFH says:

  5 Apr5 April 08:08

  It’s not true that “London City Airport ditches all liquid restrictions“. The liquid limit is increased from 100ml per container to a total of 2 litres per passenger.

  • Pbdj says:

    5 Apr5 April 08:46

    It’s two litres *per container*, not total.

• Leo says:

  5 Apr5 April 08:31

  Like reported this a strange route that BA has started. Having worked for BA for many years I have to say Turkish Airlines is miles ahead of BA on routes to Istanbul whichever airport. The long haul aircraft are great for sure but even of similar aircraft operated to BA the service is significantly better and price just as competitive as BA. On Turkish Airlines you get (with no additional cost) a full meal , drinks, tea and coffee, better seat pitch , newspapers and full IFE. This is economy!
  BA offers nothing close to this without additional charges. BA should be aspiring to get to the level of service Turkish offer. BA embarrass themselves. Turkish Airlines have nothing to worry about with BA increasing services to Istanbul

  • Lady London says:

    5 Apr5 April 08:40

    Food is good quality on Turkish as well even in Economy

    • CamFlyer says:

      5 Apr5 April 08:47

      Having taken three segments on AnadoluJet on the STN-SAW route in 2022, it stacks up favorably to BA Y. There is no lounge access at STN even for *G, and navigating SAW is a bit like the Grand Bazaar, but the on board product in Y is as good or better than BA: acceptable comfort, friendly service, free masks and disinfectant wipes in early 2022, sandwich and water included.

  • Michael Jennings says:

    5 Apr5 April 08:43

    Last time I flew Turkish from Istanbul to London, I overheard a flight attendant say “I am sorry sir, we have run out of tonic. It is very popular on flights to London and we don’t carry enough of it”. I hope that BA would never make that mistake.

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

      5 Apr5 April 08:47

      “ I hope that BA would never make that mistake.”

      April’s fools day was Saturday,

      BA regularly run out of all sorts of things on some routes because they under cater.

      • Numpty says:

        5 Apr5 April 09:05

        On recent domestic & eu flights it seems BA run out of the salmon dish by the third row (where I was repeatedly sat). Crew made up for it keeping champagne constantly topped!

        • Gordon says:

          5 Apr5 April 13:21

          I was on a flight to LAS yesterday and had Salmon for starter and main and did not see any issues with lack of it. Mind you we were sat in pole position seats 1A & 1B. Also Lounge was pleasantly quiet. It was a 11am flight.

      • Lady London says:

        5 Apr5 April 09:07

        Yes, BA really should have a lottery licence for certain meals.

      • Greg says:

        5 Apr5 April 10:04

        On one flight to IST this year, there was only curry and salad after row 6, and last month, while Club extended to row 12, NO FOOD at all on offer after row 8.

        With THY flying a 777 (lie-flat beds, entertainment, good food), a 4 hour BA flight in a 321 no longer has fold down seats in B and E, with A C D & F non-reclining and there is not even a drop down route map to entertain you.

        • Londonsteve says:

          8 Apr8 April 13:19

          No food for 4 rows of Club? How on earth did they manage to make such a mess of things??

          Only a masochist, the clueless or someone on a cheap TP run would fly BA J to IST/SAW. There’s even less incentive in Y as the Turkish option is so excellent in comparison. I’d rather fly Turkish in Y than BA in J. BA really needs to go back to configuring aircraft for mid-haul destinations that does away with the DVT-inducing legroom (especially in J) and same (lack of) catering and on board IFE as on 45 minute hops to CDG and AMS. I once flew to and from Dalaman out of LGW with BA and at 4.5 hours it was the most uncomfortable flight I’ve ever taken.

• Lady London says:

  5 Apr5 April 08:45

  What have they done with Ataturk? I liked the TK lounge there and guess it migrated to IST not SAW? Does Rhys need to visit and check? 🙂

  • mnlbay says:

    5 Apr5 April 09:19

    I believe Ataturk is completely closed now – with plans to turn it into a park. All TK cargo flights, which had operated there until last year, moved to Istanbul Airport (IST).

    • The Original David says:

      5 Apr5 April 12:08

      Ataturk now uses the ISL IATA code, and still receives a handful of private jets daily, by the looks of it.

    • Alexandra says:

      5 Apr5 April 17:34

      It’s operational for government flights mainly, private jets, etc.

• TimM says:

  5 Apr5 April 08:48

  The key to understanding the SAW route is in the article – SAW is the major hub for low-cost Turkish airlines. It is possible to connect with domestic flights to all the regional airports in Turkey, all 33 of them, including Gazipaşa for Alanya, Kayseri and Nevşehir for Cappadoccia, often for less than a tenner. Only 4 of the 33 have direct flights from anywhere in the UK.

  Unlike the UK, Turkey has an excellent domestic flight network, then Turkey is over three times the area of the UK and 25% more populous.

  • Richie says:

    5 Apr5 April 08:56

    Yes, my TK flight from Nevşehir to IST was excellent. Shame the weather wasn’t good enough for ballooning at dawn.

  • Greg says:

    5 Apr5 April 09:44

    I used to fly regularly to Ankara vis IST. THY manage to serve a decent meal on this domestic flight, although the rush to clear up before landiung was often tight and always amusing.

  • Chris W says:

    5 Apr5 April 09:58

    But why book one flight on BA then a separate domestic ticket on an LCC when you could just book a single connecting ticket with TK or Pegasus?

• Joseph King says:

  5 Apr5 April 09:13

  TK economy class is infinitely better than BA Club Europe. 4+ hours in a cramped BA A320 – it’s a no from me!

  • Catalan says:

    5 Apr5 April 10:03

    Let me know when any of the other European legacy carriers start operating aircraft other than A320s to Istanbul.
    Hello AF, KL, LH…

    • lumma says:

      5 Apr5 April 13:35

      But you don’t need to fly Air France, KLM or Lufthansa to Istanbul. BA and Turkish are in direct competition on that route, so it’s a valid point

      • Catalan says:

        5 Apr5 April 15:40

        But Air France, KLM and Lufthansa are also in direct competition with Turkish from their home base but still use the same aircraft type and cabin fittings as BA do. That’s my point

• Greg says:

  5 Apr5 April 09:59

  Great news. SAW is just 20 minutes from my home in Istanbul and is a serious airport, not just a runway stuck in the middle of nowhere.

  For lounge enthusiasts nothing much to report, except the Kepler Club lounge in the international termiinal has sleep pods and a “Robot Service” bringing food and drinks to your table. (but warning, soft drinks only). Plaza premium lounde is OK. Food is usually typically Turkish with the ubiquitous caldren of soup and a good selection of salads and while there is self service Effes, red and white wine until around mid-day, there is a fully stocked bar with a bar-man later in the day.

  A couple of minor points. Depending on which way you take off or land, you can usually get a great view of the Formula 1 track, and if you are stuck for buying a late present for a football enthusiast, Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas football clubs have well stocked shops just beofre customs.

  • ankomonkey says:

    5 Apr5 April 17:06

    When at SAW, it has to be a Fenerbahce souvenir, right? Or maybe Pendikspor…

• vlcnc says:

  5 Apr5 April 11:02

  We are planning on taking my partners parents to Istanbul later this year. They live in Italy and are quite old, so we are definitely sending them on a direct flight with TK from there. Partner wants us however to fly with BA using avios for reward flights as it is very good value redemption, but I am not sure I want to spend that long on cramped BA flights there and back with those awful slimline seats they have now and no service. I really think BA need to reconsider how they serve some of these markets that are 4+ hrs, it is just incredibly poor show to expect people to pay that much and be ok with that standard of short-haul service to the likes of Cairo, Istanbul and Amman especially as Tel-Aviv is served with full service and is a shorter flight than the latter at least. It was a terrible mistake to get rid of those former mid-haul BMI configurations on the A321’s.

  • Greg says:

    5 Apr5 April 11:55

    I agree completely, but when you have a stash of Avios it is difficult to pay THY Business Class fares.

    As for the BA LHR-IST route, Club is a complete joke. The thin, non reclining seats are identical to Economy, and the middle seat no longer folds down. Twice this year there has been NO food after row 6, and on one occasion my wife was sat in 12A, with no dividing curtain and 2 ladies came from economy to sit in 12C and 12 D.

    Having said that, Club has been completely full the 4 times I’ve flown the route this year, which I assume means the full price paying Russians, Arabs and Indians who seem to make up the majority of passengers, trust British over Turkish, while us Avios paying folk don’t have a choice.

    • Bagoly says:

      5 Apr5 April 12:42

      Unladylike behaviour!

  • aq.1988 says:

    5 Apr5 April 17:36

    I completely agree regarding these 4-5+ hour flights having CE seating is ridiculous, especially when TLV gets CW on a similar length flight. Would love to go Cairo again, but the new RFS pricing is laughable for CE! I get that having the same seats in CE and ET means they can move the curtain, but for these routes they should offer better than that. Maybe a full flat bed for a 4-5 hour flight isn’t needed, but a 2-2 layout with cradle recliners would be reasonable for the price.

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