Air Transat Adds Toronto–Istanbul Nonstop Service

Air Transat will open its most ambitious route yet on December 6, introducing year-round nonstop flights between Toronto Pearson International Airport and Istanbul Airport that extend the leisure carrier’s network farther east and farther in distance than any previous service. Operating twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays with 332-seat Airbus A330s, the 5,077-mi. sector will slightly outstrip the airline’s existing Toronto–Athens leg to become its longest flight, giving Canadian travelers a direct link to one of the world’s fastest-growing hubs. The launch is timed to capture surging demand between Canada and Turkey: Sabre Market Intelligence shows 330,400 two-way passengers flew the market in 2024, a 12 percent jump year-on-year, with Toronto–Istanbul alone accounting for almost 132,000 passengers. Fewer than 40 percent of those fliers traveled nonstop, often routing through Frankfurt, London Heathrow or Cairo, so Air Transat sees an opportunity to scoop up travelers who value shorter journey times and competitive fares. The new flight is also expected to resonate with Canada’s 75,000-plus Turkish diaspora—concentrated in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver—and with Canadian leisure customers who have enjoyed visa-free entry to Turkey since 2024. To broaden appeal, Air Transat has forged an interline partnership with Turkish Airlines, enabling passengers to book seamless itineraries beyond Istanbul to more than one hundred destinations across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The cooperation mirrors Air Transat’s existing joint venture with Porter Airlines, which will funnel feed from Western Canada, Ottawa, Montreal and the Maritimes onto the Istanbul service. Competition on the corridor is already robust: Turkish Airlines currently flies six times a week between Istanbul and Toronto using Boeing 777-300ERs, while Biman Bangladesh Airlines touches the city pair three times weekly on a Dhaka–Istanbul–Toronto triangle with Boeing 787-9s. Even so, industry analysts expect additional capacity to stimulate rather than saturate demand, pointing to Turkey’s growing popularity as a value-oriented alternative to Western Europe and the convenience of Istanbul’s new mega-hub for onward connections. Air Transat’s choice of the A330—configured with 12 Club Class and 320 economy seats—aligns with its strategy of using wide-bodies during the Canadian winter to sun and city destinations in Europe, Latin America and now Asia. Flights will depart Toronto at 22:15, arriving in Istanbul at 16:15 the following day after an eleven-hour eastbound leg; return service leaves at 18:15, reaching Toronto at 22:05 local time. Tickets went on sale June 27 and introductory pricing is positioned to undercut rivals while offering full meal service, a free checked bag and in-seat entertainment. The airline says ancillary revenue opportunities—particularly advance seat selection and Option Plus perks—will help the route reach profitability within its first season. If load factors meet expectations, Air Transat intends to add a third weekly frequency for summer 2026. The expansion underscores the carrier’s pivot from a purely transatlantic leisure airline to a broader mid-haul operator capable of linking Canada with emerging long-haul markets, leveraging partnerships to extend its geographic footprint without taking on the cost of a larger fleet.

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