Turkish airlines with stopover or SAS?
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Anonymous
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Tickets are on par with both SAS and Turkish. Turkish offers the Touristanbul or Stopover program and it sounds interesting. Also 2 checked baggage with Turkish whereas we have to pay for SAS.
I'm reading negative stuff online about the Stopover program Anyone traveled with Turkish and can comment? If you have been on both, which do you prefer and why? |
Anonymous
| I like SAS and I wouldn’t intentionally sign up for a long layover in Istanbul (unless it was the best alternative but it sounds like you would be going out of your way) |
Anonymous
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About 10 years ago, I did the stopover en route to Tbilisi. Turkish put me in a 5 star hotel and believe I had a meal voucher. Had time for a decent dinner out and some sightseeing the next morning - Hagia Sophia and walking around Topkapi, visiting street vendors and shops. If you choose this, hire a taxi driver thru your hotel so you aren’t ripped off. The driver even waited for me after sightseeing and took me directly to airport. Wish I saved his number!
Why not spend a few hours in Istanbul? |
Anonymous
| What is your destination? If you are going somewhere in Western Europe, makes no sense to go all the way to Turkey, unless you really want to see Turkey. Also, how long is the stopover in Turkey? If it’s only one or two nights, it doesn’t sound worth it. Turkey is a long flight and you would probably need a good day to recover, only to pack up and get on another flight. |
Anonymous
| I would never choose to stop over in Istanbul. |
Anonymous
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What’s the route?
Istanbul is a wonderful city but don’t know if it makes sense for your travels. |
Anonymous
| Oh and Turkish is a great airline— I prefer it over many American carriers. But again, what your ultimate destination is will be important. |
Anonymous
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Depends on your destination. I flew through Istanbul via TA many times, but I had a family member living in Istanbul at the time so I would stay with them/meet them for a meal or a walk.
Depends on how long layover is, etc. I always like walking around outside. Also did this when I had an overnight other cities including Vienna, I would take the train into the city stayed at the Hilton by the train, walked around at night/grabbed food and took my flight back to the States the next day. BUT if I can get a direct flight I always take it. I have not been to Istanbul in 10 years. My family member left right before the 2016 coup attempt, but had lived there for many years. All the expats (and many well-off Turks) they knew left after that and moved elsewhere. Last time I flew through and saw family member as we were walking to their home there were protests and tear gas was used/it was awful. I would read up on what is going on there before you visit and decide if you're comfortable. My family member went back to Istanbul a few years ago and said it wasn't the same and has no desire to go back. |
Anonymous
| We just flew to Athens via SAS since direct was too expensive. Very nice experience. We did not choose check luggage but were forced to do that on the outbound (but not at our expense). On the way home yesterday, there was plenty of room in the overheads so we did not have to check. There were some itineraries that left long layovers so that you could go into Copenhagen for a few hours. Ours was not one of those, but that is also another reason to consider CPH. |
Anonymous
| Definitely depends on the destination. I will say though, if it’s through Copenhagen, I now have an absolute hatred for that airport and will never do a stopover there again. They have some insane loading process where everyone stands in the hallway with no seats while they load the plane, passing through a lounge with seats for everyone. |
Anonymous
Is a 40 min layover enough to transfer planes? I saw some good deals with a short layover. |
Anonymous
Absolutely NOT. |
Anonymous
No way. I would suggest a layover time of at least 3 hours. Have to take into account Plane delays and customs/immigration lines, plus traversing the airport. |
Anonymous
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Turkey is a dictatorship and you will not be treated well there by any government officials, including immigration officials. I wouldn't go there on purpose.
When my family went there last year on a layover, we became separated while exiting the plane and my teenage son was almost detained because I had his documents and he didn't. It was a scary moment and told me that they don't mess around there. |
Anonymous
Definitely not! We’re on our way home from there now. Landed from Paris at gate A2 and then had to get to our connecting flight at gate E135! |