Article: What’s the Best Way to Fly from Australia to Europe in 2026?

[Tiki]

Has anyone flown Oman Air through Muscat recently?

Yes, I was there last month on a QF award BNE-BKK (JQ) - MCT-IST (WY). Oman Air is a decent airline and reliable. I was in Y and spend 3 days in Oman including a side trip to Nizwa by bus. It's a beautiful country, friendly people and you would never know the neighbor countries are at war. They are swapping aircraft around, apparently using planes that would normally do intra-Gulf flights to add more flights to Asia and Europe. I got a newer 737 from BKK with an entertainment screen. The plane to IST was an older one with no entertainment for the 6 hour flight to IST, luckily I had some movies downloaded on my laptop. Oman is "reconsider your travel" so most travel insurance still covers you. Aussie passport gets free entry for 14 days.

 

[Kim Low]

What’s the Best Way to Fly from Australia to Europe in 2026? is an article written by the AFF editorial team:

What's the Best Way to Fly from Australia to Europe in 2026?

Given the ongoing flight disruptions caused by the Iran War, many Australians are now looking for routes from Australia to Europe that avoid the Middle East. We take a closer look at the options.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

You have left out a convenient method to avoid the ME - Finnair flies from BKK or HKG to Helsinki and then to anywhere in Europe. As part of One World you can connect with Finnair from Australia through any of the One World airlines eg Qantas, BA, MH etc. Another way is if you can get to SG, you can use SIA or its budget, SCOOT to connect with Europe.

 

[VPS]

Turkish Airlines is a great airline to fly with. Transit times are good, their lounge in Istanbul is the best I have ever been in for Business Class (plus you can visit their amazing Archaeological Museum inside the airport while in transit & their service on board is excellent. I have flown with them 3 times to Italy, Turkey & am using them again to fly to London in May instead of via Middle East.

and welcome to AFF

 

[prozac]

Turkish Airlines is a great airline to fly with. Transit times are good, their lounge in Istanbul is the best I have ever been in for Business Class (plus you can visit their amazing Archaeological Museum inside the airport while in transit & their service on board is excellent. I have flown with them 3 times to Italy, Turkey & am using them again to fly to London in May instead of via Middle East.

Welcome to AFF also @Gail S

I’ve not flown them yet, but the UL schedules appear to have improved with decent connection times in CMB (used to 10+ hrs).

There’s actually reasonable award seat availability also.

What’s the transit like? (Ignoring stopovers and the random hotel coughshoot we read about)

Also interested to know about on-board UL and onward bookings ex CMB.

 

[Q Class Plebeian]

Welcome to AFF also @Gail S

Also interested to know about on-board UL and onward bookings ex CMB.

I flew on TK last week, can't complain they were very good.. Travelling with TK I missed all the dramas with carriers transiting via the middle east. Only had a push back on the way home for an hour due to force majeure. I had booked with TK well before the current situation in the middle east. I did research TKs network and safety record before booking.
At time of booking their fare was several hundred dollars less than the other carriers.
I travelled economy and found the seats were wide ,more comfortable and there was a little more leg room.
The unlimited messaging as a M&S member was great as I could keep in contact with family at home and in Europe.
IGA is a large airport but was easy to get around. I didn't have lounge access so I used the IGA lounge.I did apply for a status match ,following the advice on AFF but as a Qanta LTG/OW sapphire they knocked me back.
I didn't have to wait too long for my connection to Europe.
On the way home I can back on Qantas from Singapore.It seems they have a contractual relationship with Qantas, so I earned points with TK not Qantas.
What I did note was that Qantas flight seating was narrower and less comfortable than Tks. I will no doubt fly with Tk again.