Turkish Airlines launches Sydney-Istanbul flights

The Star Alliance airline is gearing up for daily flights to Australia.

By David Flynn, September 12 2024
Turkish Airlines launches Sydney-Istanbul flights

Turkish Airlines will begin flights between Sydney and Istanbul in December 2024, giving travellers a new pathway into Europe and beyond – along with a welcome dash of competition to help raise airline standards and bring down airfares.

As with Turkish Airlines’ Istanbul-Melbourne flights, there’s a stopover in Asia – but while travellers to and from Melbourne have a short rest in Singapore, the Star Alliance member has chosen to break the 20-hour Istanbul-Sydney journey at Kuala Lumpur.

And non-stop flights to Istanbul are on the way, with a long-range Airbus A350-1000 set to begin direct Sydney-Istanbul flights in late 2026.

For now, starting Wednesday December 4, TK’s red-tailed Airbus A350-900s will connect Istanbul and Sydney via Kuala Lumpur with four flights a week. 

  • TK174 will depart Istanbul at 3.15pm every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, arriving into Kuala Lumpur at 6.20am the following day; it’s then wheels up at 7.40am to reach Sydney at 6.30pm
  • TK175 leaves Sydney at 8.40pm every Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (the inaugural will be Thursday December 5), landing in Kuala Lumpur at 1.55am the following morning; at 3.55am the 11-hour trek to Istanbul begins, with a 10.15am arrival

Tickets for Turkish Airlines’ Sydney flights are due to go on sale this evening, starting at AUD$1489 for a return economy ticket.

Turkish Airlines A350 business class.
Turkish Airlines A350 business class.

Turkish Airlines already has two daily flights to Kuala Lumpur, where business class passengers, TK Miles&Smiles Elite and Elite Plus frequent flyers and their Star Alliance Gold equivalents have access to the Plaza Premium lounge.

Kuala Lumpur is also a natural fit for Turkish Airlines, given that Türkiye and Malaysia are largely Muslim nations.

However, at the time of writing Turkish Airlines is not permitted to sell tickets for the Kuala Lumpur-Sydney and Sydney-Kuala Lumpur-Sydney legs of this flight.

Turkish Airlines Chairman Ahmet Bolat said the airlines’ expansion to Sydney “not only enhances our global network but also reaffirms our commitment to connecting passengers with new opportunities and experiences… bridging continents and bringing people closer together.”

Turkish Airlines A350 business class.
Turkish Airlines A350 business class.

Between Melbourne and Sydney, Turkish Airlines will boast daily flights to Australia, which Bolat previously described to Executive Traveller as “our strategic target.” 

And while airline has further headroom for growth, to 35 flights per week to Australia from October 2025, Bolat said “we are going to stick with Sydney and Melbourne,” adding “other cities (like) Perth and Brisbane are not on our list right now.”

Meanwhile, Sydney will be Australia’s only airport hosting “two European carriers” when Turkish Airlines slots in alongside British Airways.

Turkish Airlines A350 business class.
Turkish Airlines A350 business class.

“With more than 15,000 Turkish-born Australians in New South Wales and Türkiye consistently rated as one of the top destinations for Australian travellers, we’re confident this service will be strongly supported” said Sydney Airport CEO Scott Charlton.

Beyond Istanbul and Türkiye, Turkish Airlines offers connections to more than 100 destinations across Europe alone.

Travellers breaking their journey in Istanbul can also take advantage of a complimentary city tour or a two-night stay in a five-star hotel in they’re booked in business class (or one night in a four-star hotel, if they hold an economy ticket). 

Turkish Airlines A350 business class

Turkish Airline’ Airbus A350 flights to Sydney feature 32 flatbed business class seats and 297 economy class recliners – although chairman Bolat has ruled out the return of its ‘Comfort Class’ premium economy, which was positioned closer to a being a ‘business lite’ proposition.

The curved high-walled business class pods have a pleasing degree of privacy, albeit without sliding doors.

Turkish Airlines A350 business class.
Turkish Airlines A350 business class.

It’s actually the same model seat as Singapore Airlines’ medium range ‘regional’ business class seen on its Boeing 787-10s and some Airbus A350s.

Turkish Airlines A350 business class.
Turkish Airlines A350 business class.

Finished in a dark colour scheme with hints of copper, these seats have all the mod cons you’d expect: AC/USB power, a decent degree of personal space, a ‘Do Not Disturb’ button, a handy mirror and a small cabinet for stowing everything from your Kindle or a small tablet to reading glasses, passport, and whatnot.

Turkish Airlines A350 business class.
Turkish Airlines A350 business class.

Each Turkish Airlines business class seat fully reclines to a 1.9m lie-flat bed with an adequately-sized nook for your feet, as long as you prefer to sleep on your back rather than your side.

Turkish Airlines A350 business class.
Turkish Airlines A350 business class.

A highlight of Turkish Airlines’ international business class experience are the meals, especially the ‘Flying Chefs’ program developed in partnership with Austrian catering colossus Do & Co.

Turkish Airlines A350 business class.
Turkish Airlines A350 business class.

This sees trained chefs serving up true restaurant-grade fare above the clouds, with appetisers and desserts served from trolley to add to the sense of theatre; the drinks selection is capped by Taittinger Brut Reserve Champagne and four types of Scotch (up to a 15yo Glenfiddich Single Malt).

The 18” video screen packs a solid roster of movies plus live TV channels from BBC World News, CNN International, CNBC and Sport 24.

Business class passengers currently get 1GB of inflight Internet, with unlimited WiFi  for Miles&Smiles Elite and Elite Plus members; however, plans are underway to deliver free unlimited WiFi to all passengers from tip to tail.

Turkish Airlines A350 business class.
Turkish Airlines A350 business class.

Further out, Turkish Airlines’ A350-1000 will arrive with new Crystal Business Class suites sporting high walls and sliding doors for maximum privacy on non-stop flights to Sydney and Melbourne.

Turkish Airlines' A350-1000 Crystal Business Class.
Turkish Airlines' A350-1000 Crystal Business Class.

Turkish Airlines’ Qantas status match

As part of its continued push into the Australian market, Turkish Airlines is targeting Qantas’ top-tier frequent flyers with a free status match from Qantas Platinum and Platinum One to Turkish Airlines’ Miles&Smiles Elite tier.

Of course, the Turkish Airlines status match also unlocks Star Alliance Gold status and perks across two dozen airlines including Air Canada, Air New Zealand, ANA, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, Thai Airways and United Airlines.

You can also get onto the fast track for Star Alliance Gold status with the HSBC Star Alliance credit card.

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QF

11 Jul 2014

Total posts 984

TK175 landing time in KL doesn't appeal to me 👎 it's no until direct flights.

20 Sep 2018

Total posts 2

I live in Sydney and I welcome the Turkish Airlines Sydney to Istanbul with much joy having experienced flying business class with them for the first time a few years ago from Hong Kong to Istanbul which was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have ever had in my many years travelling.

From the wonderful flight attendants to some of the very best in flight cuisine I have ever experienced I have always looked forward to the opportunity to fly with them again. With flights now departing from Sydney it will be amongst my preferred choice airline to destinations I travel to from Sydney where available. 

Definitely equal in class with Qatar and Singapore Airlines in my opinion. 

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

29 May 2020

Total posts 35

Interesting... I would of thought BKK would of had more chance of working than KUL

01 Jun 2017

Total posts 17

Emirates just ditched DXB - SIN - MEL route.  When Emirates started out, there were numerous stopovers in Asia given Asia is the mid point between Dubai and Australia even though aircrafts could do a direct dash between DXB and Australia.  Also the fifth freedom enabled the airline to pick up and drop passengers in the stop over city in both directions which could be a good way to fill the planes up when first started out.  The fifth freedom routes seem to have proven to be loss making and operationally cumbersome once direct services are / can be in place.  Cathay Pacific also axed HKG - Vancouver - New York a long standing route which has been in place for decades in favour of direct services.  One of the strongest fifth freedom flights is DXB - Bangkok - Hong Kong operating on A380 despite fierce competition for BKK and HKG sector. 

The timing for MEL - SIN - IST flight also has MEL - SIN sub leg arriving in SIN at 02:40.

Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards

24 Jan 2018

Total posts 734

True, but that's no big deal.


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