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Award space is wide open in Turkish Airlines Business Class between the United States and Europe for four people per flight over the heart of the Summer.
This is amazing news because normally award space over the summer is the toughest to find, finding four seats on the same flight in Business Class is almost unheard of, Turkish flies to more countries than any other airline, and you can book the space for as cheap as 40,000 miles one way with no fuel surcharges.
Turkish Routes
These are Turkish’s routes to the United States.
From Istanbul, there are great connections within Europe, to Africa, to the Middle East, and to the Indian Subcontinent.
Award Space
Unfortunately, United made united.com worse, so I can’t isolate the direct award space.
All these calendars show award space for four people. Green and blue days have four Business Class seats, not necessarily on the direct Turkish flight (but probably.)
Boston to Istanbul
Los Angeles to Istanbul
Istanbul to New York
Check the route that most interests you for award space. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Product
Here is the “catch.” Turkish’s Business Class is 2-3-2 across each row. That’s a terrible configuration. You could get a middle seat in Business Class (although you almost certainly won’t if you select a seat soon after booking.) Seat Guru describes the seats as having 177 degrees of recline, which is basically flat.
Here is a recent video of Turkish Business Class.
Other than the seats, Turkish Business Class looks top notch, including having an onboard chef.
Searching, Connections, Booking
Search Turkish award space on united.com. Any Turkish award space you find there, you can book with any Star Alliance miles.
If you don’t live in a city served by Turkish, that’s no problem. You can hook up any United Saver award space in economy or first class to get to a Turkish gateway for no extra miles. If you want to connect to somewhere else in Europe or to Africa or Asia, you can definitely do that too, though other continents will cost extra miles.
Book online on the website of the airline whose miles you want to use, or if that’s not possible, by calling the airline whose miles you want to use. I’d recommend booking with:
- 52,500 Aeroplan miles and no fuel surcharges to Eastern Europe. Aeroplan is a 1:1 instant transfer partner of AMEX Membership Rewards.
- 63,000 LifeMiles and no fuel surcharges to Europe. LifeMiles are frequently sold for around 1.5 cents each, so you could pay about $1,000 one way for this Business Class.
- 70,000 United miles and no fuel surcharges to Europe. United is a 1:1 instant transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards.
- 40,000 Asiana miles + $170 in fuel surcharges each way. Asiana is a 1:1 slow transfer partner of SPG, with 5,000 bonus Asiana miles for every 20,000 SPG points transferred.
- See the prices to Europe in Business Class with all major Star Alliance miles here.
Bottom Line
No excuses for not taking your whole family to Europe this summer in Turkish Business Class.
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With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel℠ and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
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I flew Turkish Business Class a few months ago from Istanbul to Chicago. It was great. The cabin was mostly empty (maybe why they are opening up so many seats). The food and service was fantastic and the seats were comfortable. The Turkish Airlines lounge in the airport is the best I have been to without question.
In the Istanbul Airport?
I looked at that as a way to get to Rome cheaply (either with cash or miles).. Unfortunately (a) it adds many hours to the trip time, since it’s further east than I want to be, and (b) the terror risk there is non-zero. Ah well. Ended up booking a very cheap flight via Oslo, with an overnight there for a visit..
Great! I spent 23 hours in Oslo. Beautiful and way too expensive to afford more time there.
Is the map above really USA? It appears too far north and shapes don’t appear to be representative.
ToddC is right. Read some Wikipedia articles on cartography and great circles. Interesting stuff.
Ali, that is the USA. You are viewing the globe from the North Pole.