From July 26 Star Alliance member Turkish Airlines is starting to use their new Boeing 787 from Istanbul to Amsterdam as one of the first flights with their new business class. If you would like be one of the first to fly with the new business class read further.
Turkish Airlines already received one of their new Boeing 787’s some time ago. However during the press shot some of photography lighting that was installed outside the airplane apparently damaged a window in a way that parts of it melted. Turkish Airlines was able to repair the airplane relatively quickly.
Award travel to Istanbul
Purchasing a ticket for this route is a very costly affair. One way flights to Istanbul from Amsterdam or flights with a stopover in Istanbul start at around €1,000. Round trips start at about €1,200. Not what you would call a good deal especially bearing in mind the total flight time of only 3.5 hours per way.
If you use your award miles to book a ticket, you can make a much better deal. With Miles & More a one-way ticket is available for 25,000 miles and taxes and fees in the amount of about €70. Roundtrips cost double the amount (50,000 miles and €140 taxes and fees). Availability is not optimal but you may find some flights in August and September.
A big advantage of this way of booking is that tickets are issued as business flex. Changing or cancelling the ticket is not free but only costs €50. This can be useful if there is a change of aircraft or if there are any delays in using the new Boeing 787 on this route.
With United MileagePlus you are paying even less taxes and fees (only €26). The amount of miles needed is the same (25,000). We have found some availabilities in August.
Changing or cancelling award tickets with United MileagePlus is also not free (at least if you are not a 1K member). The fees range from $25 to $125 and depend on your status and the time of changing or cancelling. You can find more information about this on United’s website.
Turkish Airlines’ own Miles & Smiles program is relatively pricey with 30,000 miles and €110 in taxes and fees. The only benefit is that availability is much better (you can still book the first flight from Amsterdam to Istanbul on July 26, 2019).
Bali-Denpasar
Another option to fly the new Turkish Airlines business class for an outstanding 13 hours is to book flights to Denpasar. There are great fares from Cairo to Denpasar via Istanbul right now:
Cover Picture: © Turkish Airlines