Turkish Airlines will launch flights from Sydney to Istanbul, initially with a stop in Kuala Lumpur, from 4 December 2024.

Türkiye’s national carrier, which flies to more countries than any other airline, will launch the much-anticipated flights using its Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Flights are already on sale, with Economy Class fares from Sydney to Istanbul available from $1,447 return.

Turkish Airlines is renowned for its excellent onboard service, which includes lots of delicious food and drinks, comprehensive in-flight entertainment including live TV, and even amenity kits in Economy Class. Wi-Fi is available on board for a fee, or free if you have Miles&Smiles status.

The Star Alliance member also offers Business Class.

Turkish Airlines Sydney-Istanbul schedule

The journey from Sydney to Istanbul on TK175 will take 21 hours and 35 minutes, including a 2-hour layover in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This is the schedule:

• Sydney (SYD) 20:40 – Kuala Lumpur (KUL) 01:55 (+1 day)
• Kuala Lumpur (KUL) 03:55 – Istanbul (IST) 10:15

These flights will operate four times per week, departing Sydney on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

In the other direction, TK174 will operate to the following schedule (leaving Istanbul a day earlier):

• Istanbul (IST) 15:15 – Kuala Lumpur (KUL) 06:20 (+1 day)
• Kuala Lumpur (KUL) 07:40 – Sydney (SYD) 18:30

Although we expect passengers will also be able to book seats exclusively on the Sydney-Kuala Lumpur portions of these flights, tickets on the fifth-freedom sectors are not yet available for sale at the time of writing. The Kuala Lumpur-Sydney timing could be convenient for those looking for a daytime flight from Asia to Australia.

From Istanbul, Turkish Airlines offers onward connections to destinations all over Europe and western Asia. Unfortunately, the departure and arrival times of TK174 and TK175 in Istanbul aren’t optimised to align with the airline’s major banks at its home airport. When timing these flights, the airline’s hand was likely forced a bit by the curfew and available slot times at Sydney Airport.

Nonetheless, there are good connections available via Istanbul to a number of major European destinations. Turkish Airlines also offers free tours of Istanbul for passengers with longer transit times!

Turkish Airlines already flies to Melbourne

Sydney will be Turkish Airlines’ second Australian destination after Melbourne. The airline began flying to Melbourne in March of this year, flying three times per week from Istanbul via Singapore. The Melbourne-Istanbul flights operate on the days that the Sydney-Istanbul flights do not, meaning Turkish Airlines will soon offer daily service to Australia (split between Sydney and Melbourne).

However, Sydney will be the first Australian city that Turkish Airlines services with non-stop flights to Istanbul once it takes delivery of new longer-range aircraft.

Book a seat to Istanbul using points

Turkish Airlines has released 2 Business Class and 5 Economy award seats on almost every flight between Sydney and Istanbul, which you can book using points or miles with any Star Alliance carrier.

For example, it costs just 110,000 Air Canada Aeroplan points + CAD131 (~AU$145) to fly Business Class from Sydney to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. You can even add on a connecting flight from Istanbul to anywhere in Europe (such as Amsterdam), flying Turkish Airlines or any other Aeroplan partner airline, for no extra points and only slightly more taxes.

You can buy Aeroplan points or earn them with selected Australian credit cards, including the HSBC Star Alliance credit card.

These flights are also available to book using Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles. However, unlike Aeroplan, the KrisFlyer program passes on Turkish Airlines’ relatively high fuel surcharges.

If you don’t have points or miles with any Star Alliance airlines, but you do have Virgin Australia Velocity points, there’s a workaround you can also use to redeem your Velocity points to fly on Turkish Airlines.

Turkish Airlines is not a Virgin Australia partner airline, but you can convert your Velocity points into KrisFlyer miles. Then, simply use those KrisFlyer miles to book a redemption ticket on Turkish Airlines.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.