Turkish Airlines Increases Services To Five US Cities

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When most people try to guess the airline with the biggest global reach they often think of the airlines that get the most press or the ones that are best at getting themselves noticed, and that’s why it often comes as a surprise when they find out that Turkish Airlines is the airline that flies to more destinations worldwide than any other carrier.

As far as the United States goes, Turkish Airlines operates to 10 US cities out of its base in Istanbul (the Turkish Airlines website may claim that the airline flies to “208 different locations in United States” but that’s simply untrue) and this month sees Turkish Airlines boosting services to 5 of those 10 cities as the airline begins to approach the service levels it offered before the pandemic ruined world travel.

Boosted Services

Boston

As of yesterday, 14 June, Turkish Airlines is now offering a daily service between Istanbul and Boston on the following schedule:

TK81 IST 15:00 – 18:40 BOS (Daily)
TK82 BOS 23:40 – 16:00+1 day IST (Daily)

This route is currently being operated by an Airbus A330-300 with 28 Business Class seats set out in a 2-2-2 layout (more on this aircraft later).

Chicago

As of 3 June, Turkish Airlines is now offering 10 weekly flights between Istanbul and Chicago on the following schedule:

TK185 IST 06:35 – 09:55 ORD (Mon, Thu & Sat)
TK5 IST 14:15 – 17:40 ORD (Daily)

TK186 ORD 11:35 – 06:00 IST+1 day (Mon, Thu & Sat)
TK6 ORD 21:35 – 16:05 IST+1 day (Daily)

All the flights on this route are currently being operated by Turkish’s Boeing 777-300ER aircraft which offer 49 Business Class seats set out in a 2-3-2 layout (more on this aircraft later).

Los Angeles

As of 3 June, Turkish Airlines is now offering 11 weekly flights between Istanbul and Los Angeles on the following schedule:

TK179 IST 08:25 – 12:10 LAX (Mon, Thu, Sat & Sun)
TK9 IST 13:15 – 16:55 LAX (Daily)

TK180 LAX 13:40 – 12:55 IST+1 day (Mon, Thu, Sat & Sun)
TK10 LAX 18:35 – 17:35 IST+1 day (Daily)

Flights TK179 & TK180 are currently being operated by Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners while flights TK9 & TK10 are currently being operated by Boeing 777-300ER aircraft (more on these aircraft later).

Miami

From tomorrow, 16 June, Turkish Airlines will offer 10 weekly flights between Istanbul and Miami on the following schedule:

TK157 IST 00:40 – 06:00 MIA (Wed, Fri & Sun)
TK77 IST 14:05 – 19:25 MIA (Daily)

TK158 MIA 11:45 – 06:00 IST+1 day (Wed, Fri & Sun)
TK78 MIA 21:05 – 15:20 IST+1 day (Daily)

All the flights on this route are scheduled to be operated by 787-9 Dreamliners aircraft which offer 30 Business Class seats in a 1-2-1 layout (more on this aircraft later).

San Francisco

From 17 June, Turkish Airlines plans to offer 10 weekly flights between Istanbul and San Francisco on the following schedule:

TK289 IST 08:25 – 11:50 SFO (Tue, Thu & Sat)
TK79 IST 13:15 – 16:40 SFO (Daily)

TK290 SFO 13:20 – 12:15 IST+1 day (Tue, Thu & Sat)
TK80 SFO 18:20 – 17:15 IST+1 day (Daily)

All the flights on this route are scheduled to be operated by 787-9 Dreamliners aircraft which offer 30 Business Class seats in a 1-2-1 layout (more on this aircraft later).

Other Turkish Airlines US Destinations

Turkish Airlines also currently operates to these US cities:

• Atlanta – 5x/week service operated by a 787-9 Dreamliner
• Houston – Daily service operated by a 787-9 Dreamliner
• New York JFK – Double daily service operated by a mix of 787-9 Dreamliners and 777s with the 777 being the more common aircraft.
• New York EWR – Daily service operated by an Airbus A330-300
• Washington DC – Daily service operated by a Boeing 777-300ER

Note: All services and aircraft types are subject to change at the airline’s whim. 

The Aircraft In Brief

Turkish Airlines currently operates three aircraft types on its routes to the United States. All three aircraft types offer 2 cabins (Business Class and Economy Class) and while all the Business Class cabins offer lie-flat beds, only one aircraft offers all-aisle-access seating.

Airbus A330-300

The Turkish Airlines Airbus A330-300 offers 28 Business Class seats that are set out in a 2-2-2 layout giving the cabin an older fashioned feel than you’ll get from a lot of the other Business Class cabins offered across the Atlantic.

The Business Class seats in the A330 are 21″ wide and offer an impressive 61″ of pitch and despite not being the most modern of seats, they’re still incredibly popular among those who frequently fly in them. The Economy Class seats mostly offer 31″ of pitch and 17″-18″ of width which is par for the course for most transatlantic Economy Class cabins.

Boeing 777-300ER

The Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-300ER offers the largest Business Class cabin of the aircraft in the airline’s fleet (49 seats) but it also offers the only Business Class cabin in which it’s possible to end up in a seat with other travelers on either side of you courtesy of its 2-3-2 layout.

The Business Class seats offer a good 22″ of width and will turn into a bed that’s 78″ long and if you can avoid sitting in the very middle (and between two other passengers), they can offer a very pleasant flying experience even if they don’t all offer direct access to the aisle. The Economy Class seats on this aircraft are among the better seats that Turkish Airlines offers in its rearmost cabin with 31-32″ of pitch and 18″ of width.

Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

The Turkish Airlines 787-9 Dreamliner is home to 30 of the airline’s newest Business Class seats and is the only aircraft that the airline currently operates which offers a modern 1-2-1 all aisle access seating arrangement in the Business Class cabin.

The Business Class seats are a little over 20″ wide and offer 43″ of pitch (legroom) when upright and recline fully to form a 76″ bed. The Economy Class seats only offer 17″ of width and an incredibly tight 30″ of pitch and are seats that I would never voluntarily fly in – they are far too confined for the distances these Dreaminers fly.

Bottom Line

Turkish Airlines is boosting services to five of its ten US gateways and is now offering at least seven flights per week to all but one of those gateways. If you’re booking Business Class, the 787-9 is probably the aircraft to try to fly as it’s the only Turkish Airlines aircraft to offer an all-aisle access Business Class cabin. Ironically, the 787-9 also happens to be the aircraft to avoid if you’re booking Economy Class because 30″ of seat pitch is simply too tight for a long-haul flight and there are numerous better options available.