Low Cost Domestic Airlines in Turkey
There are both low cost domestic airlines in Turkey like Pegasus, Sun Express and Anadolu Jet (subsidiary of Turkish Airlines itself) and full service Turkish Airlines.
All the low cost domestic airlines in Turkey are comparable in terms of service and often the decision to take one over the other could just be a matter of choice of time and airport option. There may be instances where certain flights operate from certain airports only. Case in point being Cappadocia airports – where Pegasus and Turkish Airlines domestic flights operate in the Nevsehir airport while Anadolu Jet and Sun Express operate from the Kayseri airport.
The flight you choose will largely be a function of your itinerary and the number of days you have instead of only price and comfort. I would recommend having a broad itinerary in place before you start looking for internal flights as, if you are planning to squeeze more to see in lesser time, optimizing travel time becomes critical. You will be able to optimize it only when you know your flexibility in taking off and landing times.
What follows is a brief comparison of two of the low cost domestic airlines in Turkey:
Anadolu jet
- Ownership and quality of carriers: Part of Turkish Airlines domestic flights, which gives one a comfort of a basic level of service and accountability. The carriers seemed well maintained with even the washrooms working perfectly and maintained till the end of the flight (2hr flight)
- Pricing: Sharp pricing and lower than Turkish domestic airlines. May not always be the lowest in a sector. I recommend comparing the airline prices and options on a site like skyscanner or Kayak and then booking it through the airline’s own website.
- Baggage Allowance: Check in baggage allowance of 15kg per full priced ticket and 10kg per infant. Cabin bags is limited to 55x40x23 cm in size and 8 kg in weight. They do not check it explicitly unless the size or weight seems way off.For more information, you can refer to their website.
- Cabin and Leg Space: It is a low cost subsidiary of Turkish domestic airlines and hence there is no luxury here. They do provide bassinets for infants and hence the families traveling with children or infants are given preference in the first row with more leg room.
- On time: Delayed by 15-20minutes which could also be because of the airline clogging at airport (Sabiha Gocken airport, Istanbul). Other than airport delays, the ground staff was very efficient.
- Sector and Airport options: Available at most of the major airports in Turkey. Operates in Sabiha Gocken (Istanbul), Kayseri (Cappadocia), Bodrum and Izmir on the tourist circuit.
- Luggage Handling: Luggage handling is alright like the Turkish airlines domestic flights. We did not face any delays in our luggage, no lost bags or no mishandled suitcases either. The stroller was put in a large plastic bag which kept it intact and clean.
- Amenities on board: There is no inflight entertainment or wifi on board. Not entirely low cost as meals are provided on board on a complimentary basis.
- Others: The flight doesn’t offer a fragile luggage option which may be a challenge if you are carrying glass or ceramic souvenirs. Staff is very friendly.
Sun Express
- Ownership: Independant airline and not part of the Turkish domestic airlines
- Pricing: Competitively priced and sometimes the lowest for a given sector.
- Baggage Allowance: Check in baggage allowance of 15kg per full priced ticket. Cabin bags is limited to 8 kg in weight. Again, it is not explicitly checked unless they get curious or suspicious. For more information, you can refer to their website.
- Cabin and Leg Space: It is a low cost airline and hence there is no luxury here. The front seats with extra leg room are available on an extra charge basis. On our flight from Kayseri to Izmir, many of the front rows were empty due to this reason. You get an option to pay and move ahead even during the flight itself.
- On time: Flies right on time in both instances we used this airline. The ground staff was quite efficient too.
- Sector and Airport options: Available at most of the major airports in Turkey. The only direct flight on some sectors (Kayseri to Izmir) while all the other flights fly via Istanbul (Turkish and Anadolu Jet)
- Luggage Handling: Luggage handling is alright and we saw no cases of lost baggage or mishandled suitcases on our flight although our stroller came out all dirty in an urgent need of washing. They did not allow us to use the plastic bag from the previous airlines to put our stroller in.
- Amenities on board: There is no inflight entertainment or wifi on board. Its a typical low cost airline with snacks served on board on paid basis.
