Turkish Airlines is Offering These 4 Options for Canceled Flights – Which is Best?

Turkish Airlines has canceled all flights through the end of the month – both domestic and international. If your flight was canceled, you have 4 different options you can take advantage of. Even if your flight is not canceled, you still may be able to take advantage of some of these options.

“My Turkish Airlines Flight Was Canceled – What Next?”

If that is the question you are asking, here is what you need to know! While many may go right for the refund option, the other options have some strong benefits to consider as well. So, let’s go through them one by one.

How to Get a Hold of Turkish Airlines

Before we get started, you may be wondering how you can call them up to talk about your reservation. While they do have a form that will let you submit your request, there are some things they can do right away for you on the phone. The problem is getting them on the phone without a long wait time.

I have had to call them a few times now and have never waited longer than 2 minutes by calling a specific number. You may want to use a service like Skype of Google Voice since it is an international call. The number is in Istanbul and you want to select for English. The number, if you are calling from the US, is 011 – 90-850 333 0849. You will have to through a couple of menu options but should not wait long after that.

Here is the page to apply for the type of ticket option you choose – link.

What Are Your Options with Turkish Airlines for Canceled Flights?

We will take them in the order they appear, not necessarily the best order.

Create a Request to Change Ticket to an Open Ticket

This can be used for canceled flights or any flights purchased before March 20 for travel through the end of the year.

It works like this. You can select to simply convert your current ticket to an “Open Ticket” that will allow you to book at anytime later. This new trip can occur any time before February 28, 2021.

The good part about this option is that you can fly from any city in the current region (meaning your country and, in some cases, nearby countries) to any city in the region you were headed. Again, this means any city in the country of your destination and possibly cities in surrounding countries.

So, for example, if you were flying Turkish Airlines from JFK to Hamburg, Germany, you could instead fly from San Francisco to Munich – or possibly even something like Paris.

Of course, if the current cities already work for you, the only other advantage is that you will not pay any fare increase. So, if you were traveling in the off-season, you could move to peak-season (which could have cost a few hundred more) and not pay a thing.

Create a Free Change Request

This can be used for canceled flights or any flights purchased before March 20 for travel through the end of the year.

This is similar to the above as far as how you can change your ticket but is handled differently. Instead of leaving the ticket open for a future reservation, you can simply make the change right away if you know your new travel plans. Simple!

I would say this would be one of the change options you don’t want to do unless you are very secure in your plans. The reason is that the above option is the same thing but it gives you time. There is no rush unless you think your new flight will sell out (because the new flight must be in the same class).

Create a Refund Request in Miles

This is the most unique of the options. This option lets you convert the price of your ticket (in euros – all-in including taxes and fees) into Turkish Airline miles at a rate of 1,000 miles per €10. So, if you had a €450 ticket, you could instead opt to have that ticket converted to 45,000 Turkish Airline miles.

This could be a really great move if you no longer want to travel but would like to get a cool business class flight in the future. While Turkish Airlines does pass on fuel surcharges (about a couple of hundred with Turkish flights but as high as $500-600 with partners like Lufthansa departing from the US), they also charge just 45,000 miles for business class between the US and Europe. That means that your €450 roundtrip economy ticket just became a one-way business class award! If you book an award flight on United, SAS, or LOT, you will just pay a little in taxes and fees.

While this could be a fantastic option, you should only do it if you are quite familiar with the booking process with Turkish since some awards need to be paid for in person or can be done via e-mail. Also, if you just set up a new account, only the named person on that account can book an award at first. Lastly, award flights may not be there for the flights you want. One more thing – if you have multiple people on a reservation, they will only give miles to each person for their ticket so it will not all go to one account.

If you are familiar with Turkish, this gives you Turkish miles at a cost of €.01 per mile which is really great for business class flights. For economy, I would probably pass since you can get pretty cheap economy tickets with Turkish regularly anyway.

Create a Standard Refund Request

Now, this one would be the one that everyone may want but be aware that you will likely be waiting a while. This is only an option if your flight has been canceled but you would be able to get all of your money refunded to your credit card.

Turkish even mentions on the request form that they “kindly advice you to review the other advantageous options offered” as they really do not want to have to give back money right now. They will not refund you until 60 days after they begin operations again, which means June 30th at the earliest.

Still, if your trip is not going to happen or you want to book with a different carrier, this is the option you want to go with. Just be aware that you could be waiting a while for the money.

Which Option Should You Choose?

If you think you will fly Turkish again to another destination in the same area, I would go ahead and convert the ticket to an Open Ticket. Remember that this could be a great option if you want a different city in the region that would have originally cost a lot more than you paid!

However, if you are a savvy miles and points collector with some knowledge of the Turkish Miles&Smiles program, taking the Miles option could be good.

But, if you just want your money back and have no further trip plans with Turkish, go for the Refund Request.

The good news is that you do not have to decide right now. If your flight has been canceled, you can always call back later – even after the flight was supposed to take place – to select your choice.