Turkish Airlines is making some big strides with their fleet as they are constantly adding their new Boeing 787 Dreamliners on more routes (review of the awesome new business class) and will shortly be adding new Airbus A350 jets as well. Here is the first US airport to get this latest Turkish aircraft
Turkish Airlines Will Fly the New Airbus A350 to Los Angeles
Turkish Airlines revealed earlier this year what their new aircraft interiors would look like for the new planes they had ordered. They are going to do a retrofit on their current aircraft but it will not be the same cabins as the new planes.
The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner is already flying to Atlanta and Washington, DC and will be added to JFK early next year. It is an awesome new cabin and aircraft for Turkish Airlines and the Airbus A350 should be a similar great addition.
Los Angeles is actually the 3rd city to get the new A350, following London and Dubai. So, Los Angeles will be the first, true long-haul to get this aircraft and that will be great for West Coast dwellers who enjoy flying on Turkish Airlines!
What is the Schedule for the New Turkish Airlines A350 to Los Angeles?
This will actually not be replacing the Boeing 777 they have on this route but will be added as an additional flight for the LA – Istanbul route. To my knowledge, this will be the first time that Turkish will be flying 2 daily flights out of Los Angeles to Istanbul.
This new Turkish A350 flight will actually take an earlier morning slot out of Istanbul, which is great if you want to arrive in LA earlier (think lunchtime!). Here is the schedule with the first scheduled flight for the Airbus A350 starting Wednesday, June 10, 2020:
- Depart Istanbul for Los Angeles – Flight TK179 at 8:35AM and arriving 12:20PM the same day in LAX (13 hours and 45 minutes)
- It will operate Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday
- Depart Los Angeles for Istanbul – Flight TK180 at 2:00PM and arriving 1:05PM the next day in Istanbul (13 hours and 5 minutes)
- It will operate Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday
It should be the same as the one on the Boeing 787 (see my full review and photos here).
Awards for the New Turkish Airlines Route to Los Angeles
At present, there are no seats in business class on the new LA route. I would imagine that is simply because Turkish has not opened it up yet for awards rather than all of them being taken (since this is a new route).
But, here are the mileage amounts for LA <-> Istanbul in business class, should you find availability (best place to search is United):
- United Airlines – 70,000 miles one way
- Aeroplan – 57,500 miles one way
- Aegean – 45,000 miles one way (plus fuel surcharges, so about an extra $300 from the US or $200 from Europe)
