Qatar Airways flights to Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport to start in May 2014

Most of the international flights to Turkey arrives to Istanbul Ataturk Airport which is at almost the end of this large city on the European side. This is OK for many because much of the tourist attractions in Istanbul is on this side of the Bosphorus. But if your destination is Asian side or other cities near Istanbul such as Bursa, Izmit and Sakarya then you will need to “cross the bridge”. This may mean hours of drive in traffic as well as other conveniences (there is no direct airport shuttle from Istanbul Ataturk Airport to Anatolian side of the city and it will cost a lot to take taxi to there).

Recently, I have taken a flight from Singapore to Istanbul on Qatar Airways and landed in Istanbul Ataturk Airport while my final destination was Umraniye on the Asian side. I had to take a 2 hours long public transportation to reach there (yes I am stingy). If there was a Sabiha Gokcen flight I would just take a shorter airport shuttle and then taxi.

Fortunately, increasing number of international flights are arriving to Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport. Qatar Airways is the last one and one of the few which opens Asian side of İstanbul to long-haul international flights from Africa and Far East. By May 22 2014, the Doha based airline will fly to Sabiha Gokcen. The 4x weekly flights will be served by Airbus A320 aircraft in 2 class configuration with 12 Business Class and 132 Economy Class seats.

This will allow passengers to access Asian side of Istanbul as well as some other major industrial cities in Marmara region such as Izmit, Sakarya and Bursa. And not only Qatar Airways passangers: the airline has recently joined oneworld global airline alliance which is the third largest in the world. Oneworld members include American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, LAN Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas.

Qatar Airways will commence flights to Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport in May 2014.

Qatar Airways have started flying to Turkey in 2004 with the commence of Doha – İstanbul Ataturk Airport flights. Increased demand resulted in introduction of Ankara – Doha flights in 2010. In 2013, Qatar Airways has responded to increased demand for flights to Turkey by replacing narrow body Airbus A320 aircraft on Istanbul route with wide body Airbus A330 and increasing the frequency of Ankara – Doha flights. Doha – Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen route will be the 3rd route of Qatar Airways to Turkey. With these flights total number of Qatar Airways flights to Turkey is increasing from 14 to 18.

Qatar Airways offers transfer in Doha to Istanbul which makes it a cheaper alternative to fly to Istanbul from Far East such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, China and Japan.

Qatar Airlines increasing flights from Doha to Ankara

Qatar Airlines is increasing its capacity to Turkey from Doha by introducing additional direct flights from Doha to Ankara, capital city of Turkey. By September 18th, there will be 4 flights per week between Doha and Ankara.

Qatar Airlines uses airbus A320 aircraft on Ankara - Doha route with 12 Business Class and 132 Economy Class seats. The seats are equipped with inflight entertainment system with more than 700 channels and 1000 videos and music.

Qatar Airlines flight QR462 will depart from Doha on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday at 08:00 AM and arrive to Ankara at 11:55 AM. Return flight QR 463 will leave Ankara on the same day at 19:25 and arrive Doha at 23:00.

Qatar Airlines flies to Istanbul and Ankara in Turkey. The airline has recently increased Istanbul - Doha capacity by introducing wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft on the route which has translated to 50% increase on the route. The airline has started to fly to Turkey in 2003.

Qatar Airways introduces Airbus A330 on Doha - Istanbul flights

Qatar Airways is one of my most favorite airlines to fly from Far East to Turkey. They fly from Doha to Istanbul and Ankara. Both flights were served by Airbus A320 planes which is a drwaback after flying in a fantastic Boeing 777 or Airbus A330 from Singapore to Doha. But finally since 1 July 2013, Qatar Airways started to use Airbus A330 on Doha - Istanbul route. The wide body planes with 36 Business Class and 192 Economy Class seats are equipped with an in-flight entertainment system with 700 channels and more than 1000 videos and music.

With introduction of Airbus A330 on the route, Qatar Airway's Istanbul capacity will increase by 166 seats per day (50% up!). The airline has started flying to Istanbul 10 years ago with 3 x week schedule and with increased demand it is now flying 10 times a week to Istanbul.

Qatar Airways flies to many major destinations in Asia, Africa, Europe and America. Although it is not practical to fly to Europe and USA from Turkey, airline offers relatively cheap tickets and very high quality alternative on route to Middle East, Africa, East Asia (i.e. Thailand, Singapore, Maldives, China, Malaysia) and Australia and New Zealand.

An Airbus A330 of Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways Istanbul - Doha - Istanbul flights are now served with these
large body aircraft.

Qatar Airways flights to Istanbul will be served by Airbus A330 aircraft

Doha based international airline Qatar Airways has increased its capacity on its flights to Istanbul from Doha by introducing wide body Airbus A330 aircraft. As of July 2013, with the introduction of these larger aircraft, Doha - Istanbul capacity will be increased by 166 seats per day, or almost 50%.

Qatar Airways Airbus A330 aircraft feature two-class seats (24 Business Class and 258 Economy Class), seat-back TV screens providing passengers with the next generation interactive onboard entertainment system and a choice of more than 1000 audio and video on demand options.

“After more than 10 successful years of operations in Turkey, we are absolutely delighted to introduce a wide body aircraft on our Istanbul route, which will provide our passengers extra capacity and an optimised level of service and comfort” says Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker.

Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, business, culture and tourism center, is a popular route for both leisure and business travelers. Qatar Airways started flying to Istanbul in 2003 with only 3X weekly flight frequency and now flies 10x a week thanks to the strong demand from Turkish market. From its hub Doha, which is only 4 hours flight from Istanbul, Qatar Airways offers quality and relatively cheap flights to Middle East, Africa and East Asia which is increasingly making the airline popular among Turks. The airline has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 127 aircraft to 128 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas.

A Qatar Airways Airbus A-330.

Below are Qatar Airways Istanbul flight schedules:

Flights from Doha to Istanbul (Sundays and Thursdays)
Depart Doha on QR 482 at 0750hrs, arrive in Istanbul at 1220hrs
Depart Doha on QR 480 at 1400hrs, arrive in Istanbul at 1830hrs

DOHA – ISTANBUL (Mondays)
Depart Doha on QR 482 at 0750hrs, arrive in Istanbul at 1220hrs
Depart Doha on QR 480 at 1350hrs, arrive in Istanbul at 1820hrs

Flights from Doha to Istanbul (Tuesdays and Saturdays)
Depart Doha on QR 480 at 1400hrs, arrive in Istanbul at 1830hrs

Flights from Doha to Istanbul (Wednesdays and Fridays)
Depart Doha on QR 482 at 0750, arrive in Istanbul at 1220hrs

Flights from Istanbul to Doha (Sundays and Thursdays)
Depart Istanbul on QR483 at 1320hrs, arrive in Doha at 1730hrs
Depart Istanbul on QR481 at 1930hrs, arrive in Doha at 2340hrs

Flights from Istanbul to Doha (Mondays)
Depart Istanbul on QR483 at 1325hrs, arrive in Doha at 1735hrs
Depart Istanbul on QR481 at 1930hrs, arrive in Doha at 2340hrs

Flights from Istanbul to Doha (Tuesdays)
Depart Istanbul on QR481 at 1935hrs, arrive in Doha at 2345hrs

Flights from Istanbul to Doha (Wednesdays)
Depart Istanbul on QR483 at 1325hrs, arrive in Doha at 1735hrs

Flights from Istanbul to Doha (Fridays)
Depart Istanbul on QR483 at 1320hrs, arrive in Doha at 1730hrs

Flights from Istanbul to Doha (Saturdays)
Depart Istanbul on QR481 at 1930hrs, arrive in Doha at 2340hrs

Qatar Airways has so far launched six destinations this year – Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Salalah (Oman), Najaf and Basra (Iraq), Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Chicago (USA).Over the next few months, the network will grow further with Sulaymaniyah, Iraq (August 20), Chengdu, China (September 3) and recently-announced new routes of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (September 18), Clark International Airport, Philippines (October 27) and Philadelphia, USA (2 April 2014).