Turkish Airlines announced that it will add a new flight connecting Denver (DEN) and Istanbul (IST). This will be the 14th Turkish Airlines route which connects the massive hub in Istanbul, Turkey with the United States. Turkish Airlines also flies to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Newark, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.

Turkish Airlines Denver To Istanbul Route

Starting June 11th, 2024, Turkish Airlines will operate a three times weekly non-stop flight between Denver (DEN) and Istanbul (IST). In July, 2024, Turkish Airlines plans to increase the frequency to four times per week. The new flight will have the following flight times:

Summer Schedule

• TK202 Denver (DEN) – Istanbul (IST), departing 19:35 and arriving 16:25 (next day) – 11hr 50min flight time
• TK201 Istanbul (IST) – Denver (DEN), departing 13:55 and arriving 16:40 – 12hr 45 min flight time

Credit. GCMapper. Turkish Airlines DEN – IST Route.

Turkish Airlines will operate its Airbus A350-900 aircraft on this route in a three class configuration: 28 Business Class seats, 24 Premium Economy, and 264 Economy Class seats. The Business Class seats have a 1-2-1 configuration and feature the Collins Aerospace Horizon product (rumored); Aeroflot was the launch customer for this design, but sold the planes to Turkish in 2022. The Premium Economy has a 2-4-2 configuration, but is listed as “Economy with extra legroom,” as Turkish Airlines does not officially offer Premium Economy. The “normal” Economy Class has a 3-3-3 configuration.

Note: The aircraft on the DEN – IST route is scheduled to change towards the end of 2024.

Credit. One Mile At A Time. Turkish Airlines A350-900 Business Class.

Credit. One Mile At A Time. Turkish Airlines A350-900 “Premium Economy.”

Credit. Sydney Morning Herald. Turkish Airlines A350-900 Economy Class.

Booking Turkish Airlines Denver To Istanbul Route

At this time, the new Turkish Airlines DEN – IST route is available for both cash and award bookings. Here is an estimate of the cash booking cost based on the average round-trip cash price for tickets in September on Turkish Airlines DEN – IST route:

• Economy Class: $900 – $1,100
• Business Class: $3,500 – $4,500

Here is the one-way point cost using the newly devalued Turkish Miles&Smiles award chart for the DEN – IST route:

• Economy Class: 40,000 points
• Business Class: 65,000 points

Final Thoughts

Turkish Airlines enters into a bit of a “white space” route with the new DEN – IST service. None of the major Middle East carriers (i.e. Emirates, Etihad, or Qatar) and only two or the major European carriers (British Airways and Lufthansa) offer direct service to Denver. This despite Denver International Airport (DEN) being the third busiest airport in the United States and sixth busiest airport in the world [just ahead of Istanbul Airport (IST)]. However, Denver operates as a United Airlines hub, and therefore Star Alliance hub, which means the new route offers increased connectivity to both the United States, Turkey, and beyond.