Why are the number of COVID cases rising?.

After the transfer of TC-JGR, TC-JGS and TC-JHC AnadoluJet's fleet has grown to 48 Boeing 737-800

ANADOLUJET (TK/THY)
TC-JFL Boeing 737-8F2 wl msn/ln 29774/269 "DUMLUPINAR" transfered from TK mainline tfd 13/02/2021
TC-JFM Boeing 737-8F2 wl msn/ln 29775/279 "KAVACIK" transfered from TK mainlinetfd 29/01/2021
TC-JFU Boeing 737-8F2 wl msn/ln 29781/461 "ELAZIĞ" transfered from TK mainlinetfd 27/01/2021
TC-JGA Boeing 737-8F2 wl msn/ln 29785/544 "MALATYA" transfered from TK mainline tfd 13/02/2021
TC-JGC Boeing 737-8F2 wl msn/ln 29787/771 "ABANT"" transfered from TK mainline tfd 21/02/2021
TC-JGR Boeing 737-8F2 wl msn/ln 34415/1988 "UŞAK" transfered from TK mainline tfd 04/2021 "new"
TC-JGS Boeing 737-8F2 wl msn/ln 34416/1996 "KAHRAMANMARAŞ" transfered from TK mainline tfd 04/2021 "new"
TC-JGT Boeing 737-8F2 wl msn/ln 34417/2009 "AVANOS" transfered from TK mainline tfd 12/02/2021
TC-JGU Boeing 737-8F2 wl msn/ln 34418/2012 "BODRUM" transfered from TK mainline tfd 13/01/2021
TC-JGV Boeing 737-8F2 wl msn/ln 34419/2021 "ÇEŞME" transfered from TK mainline tfd 21/02/2021
TC-JHC Boeing 737-8F2 wl msn/ln35742/2708 "İSKENDERUN" transfered from TK mainline tfd 04/2021 "new"
TC-JZU Boeing 737-8AS wl msn/ln 40316/4227 stored in SAW full cs, lsd Avolon, dd 28/02/2021 svc 13/03/2021
TC-JZV Boeing 737-8AS wl msn/ln 40319/4220 stored in SAW full cs, lsd Avolon expeceted
TC-JZZ Boeing 737-8KV wl msn/ln 60176/6936 leased CDB Aviation dd 10/02/2021

this means the End of the TC-JF.. and TC-JG... Reg. series on TK Mainline, except TC-JFV and TC-JGY the last two.

OTTOMANAIR wrote:

calstanford wrote:

This is what happens when you're (almost) the only country open to all travelers.
Turkey is now full of all variants of Covid from all over the globe and Sinovac is a barely functioning vaccine for those.

I feel sorry for my friends and family back in Turkey who have to suffer for this for another month or so. By then when the tourism season opens Covid will be gone.

Can you please tell us why the significant booming of covid cases is due to tourists and the Sinovac not working? You’re making baseless claims. Sure, having the borders open during a pandemic is not helping, but it’s not the reason why these covid cases are rising. Nor can you blame Sinovac. So please tell us why you are making these claims.

Plus isn't the UAE vaccinating everyone with Sinovac and aren't their borders open? I am looking at their statistics and cases seem to have dropped from an average 3.000 in March to 2.000 in April. Sinovac takes a bit longer to create antibodies.

https://covid19.ncema.gov.ae/en

TKflyer wrote:

After the transfer of TC-JGR, TC-JGS and TC-JHC AnadoluJet's fleet has grown to 48 Boeing 737-800

this means the End of the TC-JF.. and TC-JG... Reg. series on TK Mainline, except TC-JFV and TC-JGY the last two.

And they are starting to change the seats in AnadoluJet's 738s with the brand new TSI (=Turkish Seat Industries) product.

ONUR AIR TC-OBU April 07th2021 ISL-SJJ on delivery to FlyBosnia in full colours...

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/tc-obu

ONUR AIR TC-OBU April 07th2021 ISL-SJJ on delivery to FlyBosnia in full colours...

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/tc-obu

deleted

Blerg wrote:

Plus isn't the UAE vaccinating everyone with Sinovac and aren't their borders open? I am looking at their statistics and cases seem to have dropped from an average 3.000 in March to 2.000 in April. Sinovac takes a bit longer to create antibodies.

https://covid19.ncema.gov.ae/en

No. They are not. The UAE are using mostly sinoPHARM (a different manufacturer and different vaccine. It's also inactivated though.).

Chile is using mostly sinoVAC.

mafaky wrote:

TKflyer wrote:

After the transfer of TC-JGR, TC-JGS and TC-JHC AnadoluJet's fleet has grown to 48 Boeing 737-800

this means the End of the TC-JF.. and TC-JG... Reg. series on TK Mainline, except TC-JFV and TC-JGY the last two.

And they are starting to change the seats in AnadoluJet's 738s with the brand new TSI (=Turkish Seat Industries) product.

Speaking of seats.... any news if TSI will produce Business Class seats in the future??
Also, here is a great look at the UA77W Polaris seats I was raving about earlier this month; just click to different parts of the cabin to get a better look:

https://www.united.com/ual/Areas/Seatma ... ion=AISLE5

One detail was weird, every IFE screen had a camera on it facing the pax. After a bit research I found out that they were initially put there, just in case people can tele conference during fligiht; in the future.
But due to privacy concerns they are inop. I still covered mine

Friend flew on TK to Dubai last night, just 4 empty seats in business class on the B77W. Lots of Russians onboard... most of them drunk. They actually wanted to remove some of them from the flight.

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/la ... s-increase
Russia restricts some flights to Turkey till June1st.

TK787 wrote:

Speaking of seats.... any news if TSI will produce Business Class seats in the future??

I found this at TSI website; ROYALUX, narrow body Business Class seats.... available soon.
https://www.tsiseats.com/products/busin ... ss/royalux
I hope that photo is pixelated intentionally

One more piece of news;
EK to IST going from current 11 x W -> 14 x W on Apr15 -> 18 x W on May11.
according to tolgaozbek.com

TK787 wrote:

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1531686-russia-restricts-flights-to-turkey-as-covid-19-cases-increase
Russia restricts some flights to Turkey till June1st.

Very little information is given, do we know what kind of routes are restricted?

Blerg wrote:

TK787 wrote:

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1531686-russia-restricts-flights-to-turkey-as-covid-19-cases-increase
Russia restricts some flights to Turkey till June1st.

Very little information is given, do we know what kind of routes are restricted?

Basically all charter flights and most flights to Istanbul. Only 2 flights to istanbul will be allowed weekly.

Past weeks there were at least 16-20 K russian arrivals weekly. Until 1st june would mean at least 500 K russians, including the popular may holidays for russians. Such a shame for Turkish tourism. Although this has been excpected for the past 3-4 days. It is naive to think that this is purely related to covid. Recent Ukraine crisis and Turkey's close ties with Ukraine has been bothering Putin. So this is the first warning. Hope this year wont be another 2016 when russians were not allowed to fly to Turkey. Although I am a german tour operator and storng russian business causes us a struggle to find beds, still this is very sad.

Blerg wrote:

TK787 wrote:

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1531686-russia-restricts-flights-to-turkey-as-covid-19-cases-increase
Russia restricts some flights to Turkey till June1st.

Very little information is given, do we know what kind of routes are restricted?

All scheduled and charter flights are banned except for 2 weekly Istanbul-Moscow flights (no further details on that too...)

Sources (in Turkish):
https://instagram.com/stories/herdem_av ... aywmz87fa3
https://tolgaozbek.com/haberler/havayol ... kisitladi/

Well there go TKs 2 daily LED and 5 daily VKO flights...

Did TK restore any other Russian routes besides LED and MOW? What about KRR?

I guess it will be similar to what they did in BEG when both JU and SU were allowed only 2 weekly each. Due to strong demand there are currently three airlines (SU, JU and Nordwind) and 8 weekly flights combined. This could happen to Turkey if the political climate permits it.

Blerg wrote:

Did TK restore any other Russian routes besides LED and MOW? What about KRR?

Yes, 5 weekly Kazan, 1 weekly Yekaterinburg and daily to Rostov-on-Don

TK's March figures:
-Total pax 2.5M, down from 2.8M last year
-Load factor of 66%
-362 jets in the fleet.

Here is a look at DAILY pax numbers in the USA according to TSA on April 12th:
2019: around 2.5M pax
2020: around 102,000 pax
2021: around 1.5M pax

What a stark difference in YoY numbers between TK and USA; 2020 vs 2021.

emre787 wrote:

Blerg wrote:

Did TK restore any other Russian routes besides LED and MOW? What about KRR?

Yes, 5 weekly Kazan, 1 weekly Yekaterinburg and daily to Rostov-on-Don

Interesting, this will be quite a blow to them then.

Wow, huge news!

TK is cancelling 10 737 Max orders and is converting other 40 orders to options. This means that TK only has 13 737 Max left to be delivered (which are mostly build, IIRC 12 already awaiting delivery)

Well, imo something like this was expected... At least they're optimistic and converted 40 to options and didn't cancel them directly too.

Source (in german): https://www.aerotelegraph.com/turkish-a ... ax-weniger

Thanks emre787, here it is in English:
https://www.reuters.com/article/boeing- ... SL4N2M62O8

Maybe I'm reading this wrong another article is stating The Chicago-based company received orders for 196 jets – all 737s – during the month and logged 156 737 Max cancellations. Those include newly disclosed scrubbing by Turkish Airlines of 50 737 Max.

Scrubbing meaning cancelling 50 737 Max ?
TK order was 65 Max 8 and 10 Max 9 scrubbing 50 = 25 with 12 on ground = 13 to be delivered ? Please correct me if i am missing something ? Link below;

https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers ... 72.article

-I think TK cancelled firm orders and turned them into options for possible future dates. Not sure about the total number they will have at the end.
-So, starting tonight Turkey is enforcing yet another semi lock down. 7pm-5am curfew on weekdays and all weekend long curfews. But still you can travel by personal car to another part of Turkey during day time. If you have a plane ticket you still can fly anywhere domestically. It just doesn't make sense to me; my unvaccinated 25 year old nephew has to get up and take public transportation to go to his office for work, but my dad who is fully vaccinated can only go out 4 hours a day and juggling between doctor's visits, car repair and other errands
-And the April 14th deadline for Negative PCR results for all arriving pax, extended till 31May.

Latest update from TK for May schedules: (N.America changes)
ATL going from 3 -> 4 x W
IAH, MIA, SFO 4 -> 7 x W
YYZ 5 -> 6 x W
And finally new service YVR 3 x W and EWR 4 x W.

emre787 wrote:

Wow, huge news!

TK is cancelling 10 737 Max orders and is converting other 40 orders to options. This means that TK only has 13 737 Max left to be delivered (which are mostly build, IIRC 12 already awaiting delivery)

Well, imo something like this was expected... At least they're optimistic and converted 40 to options and didn't cancel them directly too.

Source (in german): https://www.aerotelegraph.com/turkish-a ... ax-weniger

Is there any chance to get 50 (or something around this) Airbus A220–300? Or even for more Airbus A321N or A320N?
We know, TURKISH AIRLINES is trying to downsize its Fleet, but need also newer and younger Planes to change it’s older and aging Fleet of Boeing 737–8F2 and Airbus A320–232/A319–132.

Is the Russian ban starting today or tomorrow?

A bit more news on the MAX cancellations by TK:
-Those 40 firm orders converted to options has to be exercised by December21, 2021 ( in 8 months )
-The delivery of the remaining 13 MAXs rescheduled with Boeing.
I wonder how much this cost TK? Will we see something similar with the 787s? Or, in return TK negotiated to convert these options to 77Fs or 77Xs or something else?

Nothing is easy with TK
When I bought a ticket to IST last month, the next day they changed the flight schedule and I had to call and deal with it.
Today, I got an email that my return flight to JFK is cancelled.
I am going to take my time to call them, who knows what other changes might happen in the coming weeks

In January, there was a report of a group of derelict aircraft being auctioned off at Istanbul Ataturk Airport.

https://aviation.direct/istanbul-atatue ... -flugzeuge

Does anyone know the outcome of that?.

Interview with Kadri Samsunlu the CEO of Istanbul Airport

https://www.routesonline.com/news/29/br ... rport-ceo/

TK787 wrote:

A bit more news on the MAX cancellations by TK:
-Those 40 firm orders converted to options has to be exercised by December21, 2021 ( in 8 months )
-The delivery of the remaining 13 MAXs rescheduled with Boeing.
I wonder how much this cost TK? Will we see something similar with the 787s? Or, in return TK negotiated to convert these options to 77Fs or 77Xs or something else?

I guess this means TK will decide whether or not they will (wholly or partly) get these 40 MAX frames within the conceivable future, by Dec. 21st. If they don't they will have to pay some penalties to Boeing???

It looks like TK may stop purchasing further 789 frames, after TC-LLP has been delivered. At the least, for 2021. Well, it may be logical they concentrate more on the Airbus 359 deliveries during 2022-2023 (possibly topping up 359 fleet again to 15 frames by the end ıf 2023...). If you look from the pax capacity and cargo capacity points, 359 is a better contender for near 77W replacement, compared to 789.

It somehow worries me is what TK will do with the 30 77W frames which are getting older and less economical to operate (compared to 789/359)??? IMHO, the 77W doesn't seem to have any bright future for the second hand market anywhere and there are huge fleets to be retired from several airlines (like EK, QR, CX, etc.), in due time... One option is that they can be converted into freighters (there are two separate programs presently in progress) but how many 77W pax frames can these absorb and can 77W's old birds get involved any of these? The other option (for TK, but also valid for QR and EK, in particular) may be that some 3-4 birds can be reconfigured with an all economy cabin destined for pilgrimage ops.

mafaky wrote:

I guess this means TK will decide whether or not they will (wholly or partly) get these 40 MAX frames within the conceivable future, by Dec. 21st. If they don't they will have to pay some penalties to Boeing???

IMHO, options by Dec 21st means TK has to decide if they will take those 40 frames in a new timetable or loose spots in production. TK is buying time to see where things are in December. I am sure they have different options for the December deadline; take all 40 in a stretched new timeline, take half of them or convert all 40 to 789, 77F, 77X.
Not exercising this options means, paying penalties and being stuck with only 25 MAX frames for the foreseeable future. Also means not easily acquiring Airbus frames instead of MAX; since there will be a bigger backlog at Airbus.
By the way, I do not remember anytime in the past when TK did not exercise its options. My gut feeling says TK will take them, with a big discount.

mafaky wrote:

TK787 wrote:

A bit more news on the MAX cancellations by TK:
-Those 40 firm orders converted to options has to be exercised by December21, 2021 ( in 8 months )
-The delivery of the remaining 13 MAXs rescheduled with Boeing.
I wonder how much this cost TK? Will we see something similar with the 787s? Or, in return TK negotiated to convert these options to 77Fs or 77Xs or something else?

I guess this means TK will decide whether or not they will (wholly or partly) get these 40 MAX frames within the conceivable future, by Dec. 21st. If they don't they will have to pay some penalties to Boeing???

It looks like TK may stop purchasing further 789 frames, after TC-LLP has been delivered. At the least, for 2021. Well, it may be logical they concentrate more on the Airbus 359 deliveries during 2022-2023 (possibly topping up 359 fleet again to 15 frames by the end ıf 2023...). If you look from the pax capacity and cargo capacity points, 359 is a better contender for near 77W replacement, compared to 789.

It somehow worries me is what TK will do with the 30 77W frames which are getting older and less economical to operate (compared to 789/359)??? IMHO, the 77W doesn't seem to have any bright future for the second hand market anywhere and there are huge fleets to be retired from several airlines (like EK, QR, CX, etc.), in due time... One option is that they can be converted into freighters (there are two separate programs presently in progress) but how many 77W pax frames can these absorb and can 77W's old birds get involved any of these? The other option (for TK, but also valid for QR and EK, in particular) may be that some 3-4 birds can be reconfigured with an all economy cabin destined for pilgrimage ops.

I guess there is no thread for 777W until 359 orders completed. 789 has great economics ( more than 15 tons fuel difference on 10 hrs flight) but no match over capacity. Since pax loads low there is enough room for cargo but 789 is tiny plane compared with 777. After all 359 arrived 777 can be replaced with them. Ost probably at that date air travel will be back 2019 numbers, means 777 can be flown European or any near city pairs with high loads.

Thanks, as always, for a very interesting thread and lots of interesting and informed news.

Anyway, as a few of you might remember, I need to go (from Sweden) to the US in June for a personal matter and - if I understand everything correctly - one way to get around the current US travel ban from EU countries is to go via TK with a 14+ day stop in Turkey. I'm not vaccinated but I take Covid very seriously and wear FFP2/N95 AND surgical masks when I have to leave the house, and will also be wearing a face shield when in transit, so I think that the risk is manageable. I've booked ARN-IST, followed by 15 hotel nights in Istanbul, followed by IST-ORD on a separate itinerary (and then ORD-ARN a couple of weeks later).

First and foremost, does anyone know if I understand this correctly? I.e. Are you able to visit the US if you've spent the last 14+ days in Turkey (not on any travel bans) and don't transfer in a banned EU country?

I've tried to understand the current (and future expected) Covid restrictions in Turkey, but I don't know if I "get it". What's the current situation like for a foreign visitor? Curfew, right? Are malls opened? I'm planning on staying at the Hilton Mall of Istanbul, since it would be good to be connected to a mall in order to buy food and essentials. Otherwise I'm just planning on staying isolated in the hotel and working. Is a complete lockdown expected? I'm planning on arriving June 9th, so I get that things may (and probably will) change, but what's the general perception in Turkey right now?

Of course I'll modify my plans and book directly if the US removes the EU travel ban, which was rumored to be in mid-May (although I'm not exactly holding my breath). These types of travel bans sure do result in some strange situations; I'm not allowed to fly directly from Sweden to Chicago, but I'm able to do it if I take additional flights and spend two more weeks in a Covid hotspot. If anything, the risk to the US would probably increase. Well, well.

Friend of mine flew ORD-IST-BEG last night. IST-BEG was fully booked on the 11 month old A321neo. He told me that they got a really big meal on this one hour flight and when he asked the crew how come they are no longer serving the sandwich she told him that they revised their meals because of Ramadan. Anyone know more about this?

ARNbased wrote:

Thanks, as always, for a very interesting thread and lots of interesting and informed news.

Anyway, as a few of you might remember, I need to go (from Sweden) to the US in June for a personal matter and - if I understand everything correctly - one way to get around the current US travel ban from EU countries is to go via TK with a 14+ day stop in Turkey. I'm not vaccinated but I take Covid very seriously and wear FFP2/N95 AND surgical masks when I have to leave the house, and will also be wearing a face shield when in transit, so I think that the risk is manageable. I've booked ARN-IST, followed by 15 hotel nights in Istanbul, followed by IST-ORD on a separate itinerary (and then ORD-ARN a couple of weeks later).

First and foremost, does anyone know if I understand this correctly? I.e. Are you able to visit the US if you've spent the last 14+ days in Turkey (not on any travel bans) and don't transfer in a banned EU country?

I've tried to understand the current (and future expected) Covid restrictions in Turkey, but I don't know if I "get it". What's the current situation like for a foreign visitor? Curfew, right? Are malls opened? I'm planning on staying at the Hilton Mall of Istanbul, since it would be good to be connected to a mall in order to buy food and essentials. Otherwise I'm just planning on staying isolated in the hotel and working. Is a complete lockdown expected? I'm planning on arriving June 9th, so I get that things may (and probably will) change, but what's the general perception in Turkey right now?

Of course I'll modify my plans and book directly if the US removes the EU travel ban, which was rumored to be in mid-May (although I'm not exactly holding my breath). These types of travel bans sure do result in some strange situations; I'm not allowed to fly directly from Sweden to Chicago, but I'm able to do it if I take additional flights and spend two more weeks in a Covid hotspot. If anything, the risk to the US would probably increase. Well, well.

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advic ... oronavirus

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/covi ... 2021-04-14

Not sure that Turkey was a good choice. If you look at the links above, somewhere like Israel might have been better.

bennett123 wrote:

ARNbased wrote:

Thanks, as always, for a very interesting thread and lots of interesting and informed news.

Anyway, as a few of you might remember, I need to go (from Sweden) to the US in June for a personal matter and - if I understand everything correctly - one way to get around the current US travel ban from EU countries is to go via TK with a 14+ day stop in Turkey. I'm not vaccinated but I take Covid very seriously and wear FFP2/N95 AND surgical masks when I have to leave the house, and will also be wearing a face shield when in transit, so I think that the risk is manageable. I've booked ARN-IST, followed by 15 hotel nights in Istanbul, followed by IST-ORD on a separate itinerary (and then ORD-ARN a couple of weeks later).

First and foremost, does anyone know if I understand this correctly? I.e. Are you able to visit the US if you've spent the last 14+ days in Turkey (not on any travel bans) and don't transfer in a banned EU country?

I've tried to understand the current (and future expected) Covid restrictions in Turkey, but I don't know if I "get it". What's the current situation like for a foreign visitor? Curfew, right? Are malls opened? I'm planning on staying at the Hilton Mall of Istanbul, since it would be good to be connected to a mall in order to buy food and essentials. Otherwise I'm just planning on staying isolated in the hotel and working. Is a complete lockdown expected? I'm planning on arriving June 9th, so I get that things may (and probably will) change, but what's the general perception in Turkey right now?

Of course I'll modify my plans and book directly if the US removes the EU travel ban, which was rumored to be in mid-May (although I'm not exactly holding my breath). These types of travel bans sure do result in some strange situations; I'm not allowed to fly directly from Sweden to Chicago, but I'm able to do it if I take additional flights and spend two more weeks in a Covid hotspot. If anything, the risk to the US would probably increase. Well, well.

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advic ... oronavirus

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/covi ... 2021-04-14

Not sure that Turkey was a good choice. If you look at the links above, somewhere like Israel might have been better.

Hi, thanks. I know that Turkey, unfortunately, is a hotspot and thus not optimal. However, it was the only country I could find where flights and entry requirements worked out.

I will also note that I've spent the last 13 months in Sweden, which is another hotspot (and equally lousy at vaccinations), so I'm kind of used to it by now I use more protective gear than Swedish intensive care staff and I'm fully planning on staying isolated in my Istanbul hotel room. Right now, I'm just trying to get a sense of the situation in Turkey.

ARNbased wrote:

Thanks, as always, for a very interesting thread and lots of interesting and informed news.

Anyway, as a few of you might remember, I need to go (from Sweden) to the US in June for a personal matter and - if I understand everything correctly - one way to get around the current US travel ban from EU countries is to go via TK with a 14+ day stop in Turkey. I'm not vaccinated but I take Covid very seriously and wear FFP2/N95 AND surgical masks when I have to leave the house, and will also be wearing a face shield when in transit, so I think that the risk is manageable. I've booked ARN-IST, followed by 15 hotel nights in Istanbul, followed by IST-ORD on a separate itinerary (and then ORD-ARN a couple of weeks later).

First and foremost, does anyone know if I understand this correctly? I.e. Are you able to visit the US if you've spent the last 14+ days in Turkey (not on any travel bans) and don't transfer in a banned EU country?

I've tried to understand the current (and future expected) Covid restrictions in Turkey, but I don't know if I "get it". What's the current situation like for a foreign visitor? Curfew, right? Are malls opened? I'm planning on staying at the Hilton Mall of Istanbul, since it would be good to be connected to a mall in order to buy food and essentials. Otherwise I'm just planning on staying isolated in the hotel and working. Is a complete lockdown expected? I'm planning on arriving June 9th, so I get that things may (and probably will) change, but what's the general perception in Turkey right now?

Of course I'll modify my plans and book directly if the US removes the EU travel ban, which was rumored to be in mid-May (although I'm not exactly holding my breath). These types of travel bans sure do result in some strange situations; I'm not allowed to fly directly from Sweden to Chicago, but I'm able to do it if I take additional flights and spend two more weeks in a Covid hotspot. If anything, the risk to the US would probably increase. Well, well.

I used Turkey twice to go to the US from BRU, spent 14 days each time then flew to SFO. No issues at all, they verify you spent 14+ days outside the EU at IST before boarding. In the US, they also checked the first time but not questions on my second trip.

For the curfew in Turkey, it doesn't apply to visitors (unless this changed since my last visit). Stores were also open and no problem getting food as takeaway or delivery (make sure to try local food!!).

You will be fine as long as you are careful.

mict wrote:

ARNbased wrote:

Thanks, as always, for a very interesting thread and lots of interesting and informed news.

Anyway, as a few of you might remember, I need to go (from Sweden) to the US in June for a personal matter and - if I understand everything correctly - one way to get around the current US travel ban from EU countries is to go via TK with a 14+ day stop in Turkey. I'm not vaccinated but I take Covid very seriously and wear FFP2/N95 AND surgical masks when I have to leave the house, and will also be wearing a face shield when in transit, so I think that the risk is manageable. I've booked ARN-IST, followed by 15 hotel nights in Istanbul, followed by IST-ORD on a separate itinerary (and then ORD-ARN a couple of weeks later).

First and foremost, does anyone know if I understand this correctly? I.e. Are you able to visit the US if you've spent the last 14+ days in Turkey (not on any travel bans) and don't transfer in a banned EU country?

I've tried to understand the current (and future expected) Covid restrictions in Turkey, but I don't know if I "get it". What's the current situation like for a foreign visitor? Curfew, right? Are malls opened? I'm planning on staying at the Hilton Mall of Istanbul, since it would be good to be connected to a mall in order to buy food and essentials. Otherwise I'm just planning on staying isolated in the hotel and working. Is a complete lockdown expected? I'm planning on arriving June 9th, so I get that things may (and probably will) change, but what's the general perception in Turkey right now?

Of course I'll modify my plans and book directly if the US removes the EU travel ban, which was rumored to be in mid-May (although I'm not exactly holding my breath). These types of travel bans sure do result in some strange situations; I'm not allowed to fly directly from Sweden to Chicago, but I'm able to do it if I take additional flights and spend two more weeks in a Covid hotspot. If anything, the risk to the US would probably increase. Well, well.

I used Turkey twice to go to the US from BRU, spent 14 days each time then flew to SFO. No issues at all, they verify you spent 14+ days outside the EU at IST before boarding. In the US, they also checked the first time but not questions on my second trip.

For the curfew in Turkey, it doesn't apply to visitors (unless this changed since my last visit). Stores were also open and no problem getting food as takeaway or delivery (make sure to try local food!!).

You will be fine as long as you are careful.

Thanks!

TK's first International 737MAX flight was today. TC-LCA operated the flight to CGN.

TK787 wrote:

-I think TK cancelled firm orders and turned them into options for possible future dates. Not sure about the total number they will have at the end.
-So, starting tonight Turkey is enforcing yet another semi lock down. 7pm-5am curfew on weekdays and all weekend long curfews. But still you can travel by personal car to another part of Turkey during day time. If you have a plane ticket you still can fly anywhere domestically. It just doesn't make sense to me; my unvaccinated 25 year old nephew has to get up and take public transportation to go to his office for work, but my dad who is fully vaccinated can only go out 4 hours a day and juggling between doctor's visits, car repair and other errands
-And the April 14th deadline for Negative PCR results for all arriving pax, extended till 31May.

When I check TK website I don't see any specific date as you mentioned. Just curious where did you see the date May 31st.?

Thanks,
H.

YYJTurkman wrote:

When I check TK website I don't see any specific date as you mentioned. Just curious where did you see the date May 31st.?

Thanks,
H.

I do not remember where exactly on TK website. But here it is COVID 19 Travel Regulations map; click on Turkey on the map; section 4.
It used to be April 14-15th and it got extended.
https://www.iatatravelcentre.com

TK schedules A333 on some IST-BEG flights in May. Widebody flights will operate on 05.05, 12.05, 19.05 and 26.05, so basically once a week, every Wednesday.

https://www.exyuaviation.com/2021/04/tu ... -body.html

It seems Freebird are going to offer MAN and LGW - AYT flights this Summer . The flexible options will help to generate bookings.


Freebird Airlines plans summer Antalya flights

Turkish carrier Freebird Airlines is to run stand-alone flights from Gatwick and Manchester to Antalya this summer.

https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/air/fre ... ya-flights

Qantas to operate a charter flight to Istanbul from Sydney in late-May.

https://twitter.com/theaeronetwork/status/1384248822725963786

Couple of related news:
Flying Chefs are back at TK's ER flights starting May, and Do&Co might cut wages to its employees 30% due to economic difficulties.

TK787 wrote:

Couple of related news:
Flying Chefs are back at TK's ER flights starting May, and Do&Co might cut wages to its employees 30% due to economic difficulties.

It seems that TK is gradually going back to its service standards. It was about time to be honest.

The US State Department has updated its travel advisory list and Turkey got downgraded from Reconsider Travel to Do not Travel.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel ... isory.html