TURKISH AIRLINES: Flying to Sydney in December. Non-stop to Istanbul from 2026
Melbourne was the initial destination for Turkish Airlines. It has now announced that Sydney will be its second Australian destination from Wednesday 4 December 2024.
The flights will run as follows:
- TK174 departs Istanbul 3.15 pm (Mon, Wed, Thur & Sat) arrives Kuala Lumpur 6.20 +1 day;
Departs Kuala Lupur 7.40 am arrives Sydney 6.30 pm - TK175 departs Sydney 8.40 pm (Sun, Tue, Thur and Fri) arrives Kuala Lumpur 1.55 am +1 day;
Departs Kuala Lumpur 3.55 am arrives Istanbul 10.15am (11 hours)
Tickets are bookable now, with Economy fares around AU$1,489, with business coming in around the AU$6,476 mark – more for the inaugurals.
These fares will be good for getting to Turkey, and are even competitive for a two-stop journey to say London, with Business Class fares around the AU$8,600 mark. For the same amount of time in the air (30 hours) you could save yourself AU$1000 and travel with Vietnam Airlines Alternately spend longer on your trip, like over 42 hours, but with one stop on Asiana.
Dropping to one-stop, and under 30 hours will set you back close to AU$11,000 with the likes of Emirates, and a little less on one of the Chinese carriers like China Eastern or China Southern in Business Class.
If Economy is your game, and you are heading to the UK then AU$2,500 on most airlines will get you there with one stop and under 30 hours.
Content of this Post:
Fifth Freedom flights
The leg between Kuala Lumpur and Sydney is technically a ‘5th Freedom‘ flight It is likely that Turkish will be able to sell the Kuala Lumpur to Sydney sector separately under these rights. They will be competing with Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia X the only others non-stop on this route.
This will make Turkish Airlines only the second European airline to fly into Australia, joining British Airlines.
A flight to Malaysia from Sydney on Turkish is worth considering. Unfortunately, this ‘fifth freedom’ flight is not showing up as available to book currently.
Moving to non-stop flights from Istanbul to Sydney
The Sydney route will turn into a non-stop 17-hour trip between Istanbul and Sydney from late in 2026. That is if aircraft deliveries go to plan, which of course they won’t!
Airbus A350s on the route
Turkish will be using its A350s on the route, and eventually when they turn it into non-stop flights between Istanbul and Sydney, will still use these Airbus planes, without the extra fuel tanks that Qantas will use on its Project Sunrise routes.
Status Match – Qantas/OneWorld with Turkish/Star Alliance
Turkish is being a little aggressive with its debut in Australia and offering a four-month status match with Qantas Platinum and above flyers. The match will be instant if approved giving flyers Gold level lounge access, free WiFi and a greater luggage allowance. The match gives you the same privileges as other Star Alliance members including Air Canada, Air New Zealand, ANA, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, Thai Airways and United Airlines.
You will need to be a member of the Turkish Miles & Smiles frequent flyer program, log in, and navigate to their Feedback page. Choose ‘Write Feedback’, choose the ‘New Feedback’ option, and then find the Miles & Smiles column and choose ‘Membership Processes’. The page you get will ask for personal details. There is also space for your reasons for the match and a way of uploading attachments to support your case. Provide an image of the front and back of your Qantas Frequent Flyer card. Alternately a copy of your latest FF statement, plus a copy of your passport.
That should get you there or may provoke a request for further information.
If you are successful, you will almost certainly get an offer to extend that matched membership. That’s achieved by travelling with Turkish Airlines on a flight within the match period.
2PAXfly Takeout
Turkish Airlines will be a great addition to the options for flying to Europe, as well as proving an alternative carrier to Kuala Lumpur. The non-stop flights to Istanbul from the Australian east coast will also be a winner when they arrive in 2026.
The status match, even though convoluted for Qantas frequent flyers is the cherry on top!
It begins as a direct flight, later becomes a non-stop flight.
Hi Max,
Thanks for your comment. I was playing fast and loose with the terms ‘direct’ and ‘non-stop’ in an article where the distinction is important. I have amended the title and other text to make the distinction align with your perceptive comment. Thanks again for pointing out my error so I could correct it. Much appreciated.