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Everything you should know

Direct flights
You can fly direct with Turkish Airlines and AirAsia X. Average duration is 11h 29m
FAQs
FAQs
Top airlines
Most flights • 14 per week
Best reviews • 8.1 score
Airline reviews
+1
Airline reviews
+1
When to book
in advance
Our data shows that travellers who book at least 19 weeks in advance save around 19% compared to booking last minute.
Insights
Insights
When to travel
Cheapest • 5% price drop
Most popular
Good to know
+1
Good to know
+1
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Flight Deals

Cheap Flights to Istanbul

 
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent return flight deals to Istanbul

Multiple Airlines Logo
 Kuala Lumpur Airport- Treorchy Treherbert
13451 kmmulti-stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
 Treorchy Treherbert- Kuala Lumpur Airport
13451 kmmulti-stop
Multiple Airlines
Multiple Airlines Logo
 Penang Intl- Treorchy Treherbert
12957 kmmulti-stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
 Treorchy Treherbert- Penang Intl
12957 kmmulti-stop
Multiple Airlines
Booking Insights

Price, demand, and travel trends for flights to Istanbul

Use KAYAK data on prices, travel dates, airlines, and seasonal trends to compare options and book flights with more confidence.

What is the cheapest day to fly to Istanbul?

Wednesday is the cheapest day to fly to Istanbul at RM 2,068 return on average over the past 12 months on KAYAK. Saturday is the most expensive at RM 2,533.

What is the cheapest month to fly to Istanbul?

•June is the cheapest month to fly to Istanbul with an average price of RM 2,032 return.
•August (RM 2,484) and December (RM 2,444) are the most expensive.
•Based on KAYAK data over the past 12 months.

What is the cheapest time of day to fly to Istanbul?

Morning flights to Istanbul are the cheapest at RM 2,113 return on average. Evening flights are the most expensive at RM 2,509.

When are flights to Istanbul the cheapest?

Flights to Istanbul are cheapest 19 weeks before departure. Booking in this window typically costs about 19% less than the average last-minute fare (within 2 weeks of the flight), based on KAYAK data.

Key details for flights to Istanbul

Low season

July
Beat the crowds with an average 48% drop in traveller numbers.
The most popular month to fly with an average 41% increase in traveller numbers.

When to book flights to Istanbul

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel to Istanbul based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated return price

Your questions about flights to Istanbul, answered

Find helpful route details based on KAYAK data, including flight times, airports, airlines, and booking questions.

  • How do I know if a flight to Istanbul is a good deal?

    A good deal on a flight to Istanbul is around RM 1,865 return. This fare is in the lowest 25% of return flight prices searched on KAYAK, averaged across the cities most often searched as origins by KAYAK users.

  • Which airports serve Istanbul?

    Flights to Istanbul arrive at: Istanbul (IST) and Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (SAW).

  • How expensive are last-minute flights to Istanbul?

    Last-minute fares to Istanbul (booked within two weeks of departure) are typically 17% higher than the average return fare of RM 2,130.

  • What is the difference between the most popular and the most frequent airline at Istanbul?

    Turkish Airlines operates the most flights from Malaysia to Istanbul at 14 per week, while Emirates is the airline most often selected by KAYAK users searching for flights from Malaysia to Istanbul. The two are often different because flight volume reflects an airline's schedule, while popularity reflects traveller choice.

  • Which airlines should I consider for flights to Istanbul?

  • Which airports serve Istanbul and the surrounding area?

    Flights to Istanbul can arrive at several major airports serving the metro area, including Istanbul (IST) and Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (SAW).

Your guide to booking Istanbul flights

From booking to airport arrival, find tips to help you plan your flight with more confidence.
  • For the best chance at a low fare to Istanbul, book around 19 weeks before departure. Based on KAYAK data from the last 12 months, fares are historically about 19% lower during this window than last-minute fares.
  • For flights to Istanbul, a good return fare is around RM 1,865. If you find a fare below that, you're getting a strong deal.
  • If your travel dates are flexible, consider flying to Istanbul in June. Return fares historically average RM 2,032, making June the cheapest month to travel based on KAYAK data from the last 12 months.
  • Before you book:

    • Check the route's typical price range so you can spot a deal.
    • Confirm baggage fees and seat selection costs on budget carriers.
    • Verify whether you need any travel documents beyond an ID.
    • Pick a departure airport, since your nearest may not be the cheapest origin.
  • Shift your departure to morning to save up to RM 396 on a return flight. Morning flights to Istanbul average RM 2,113 compared to RM 2,509 for afternoon flights.
  • Bag allowances vary by airline, fare type, cabin class, and route. On flights to Istanbul, some airlines may include bags at no extra cost. For example, AirAsia X includes a cabin bag and a checked bag in Economy class, Turkish Airlines includes a cabin bag and a checked bag in Economy class, and Pegasus Airlines includes a cabin bag and a checked bag in Economy class. Always check the fare details before booking, since bag policies can change by ticket type.
  • Once you arrive in Istanbul, a few great places to start are Taksim Square, Büyükada İskele Meydani, and Galata Kulesi. These are popular with first-time visitors and can give you a good feel for the area.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines flying to Istanbul

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with to Istanbul? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.1
EmiratesOverall score based on 3680 reviews
8.4Crew
8.2Boarding
8.2Entertainment
8.1Comfort
7.9Food
Airline reviews

everything was great , perhaps lower pricing and more miles incentive and prolong expiration of miles

10.0 ExcellentBadrul, Oct 2026
Read more Emirates reviews

everything was great , perhaps lower pricing and more miles incentive and prolong expiration of miles

Business boarding is too messy, if can be systematic will be better

Child’s meal was great along with other nice touches for kids.

Both flights to and back from Lyon with buses taking extra time and delaying flight at DXB. Food serving needed work.

Food was excellent. Leg room in economy, not so good; I’m 6’-1”.

Overall was a good experience and this particular flight the crew were great too at least in business class. It’s not always the case with flydubai. Few things would make me think twice in the future on this route. 1. The arrival into T3 might sound good but it is a real pain as it takes almost 30 mins to get to terminal on the bus as the aircraft still park at T2. The bag takes even longer . If they just let us off at T2, I’d be home within 30 mins of walking off the plane. Instead it takes 1.5 hours. 2. Due to the timing, the very tiny lounge in Penang is so crowded because half the lounge is closed for Qatar crew. Hardly anywhere to sit. 3. Flydubai app and site has a long way to go and using it is very unpleasant.

On this flight, about the last 2 hours the captain kept the cabin too hot. It appeared like the ac was off.

Meals were delicious, however I got hungry between dinner and breakfast.

The food on this flight was just terrible. I have a wheat allergy so when booking I ask for gluten free options. The food given was inedible. The bread rolls were rock hard. Once board I was given one and the only thing I could do was eat the chicken slice and piece of tomato on it. Also given was 4 small cubes of fruit, 2 watermelon and 2 pineapple and a bottle of water. My husband had a regular meal and found his very average. Then the evening meal was also disappointing! Some dried out fish with spinach and 3 sticks of dry white sweet potato. No sauce …. 😳 again, the same fruit and water. The passengers had to wait a long time for the dinner food to be served. My husband just wanted to eat and go to sleep so he was a bit annoyed about that. We got off the plane and I was feeling quite hangry. Not enough food or a good eating experience. Emirates used to be a flight we looked forward to… now we are considering looking at other companies for the future.

Quality and tasty Food and service, bigger seat comfort and leg room, etc.

Boarding took long and there was a long queue. The seat didn't recline. The crew didn't have access to any medicine.

Excellent overall. Boarding was a mess. Queue up too early, takes too long for them to start boarding but they want everyone to queue up and wait and wait.

The boarding process was a disaster. I was comfortably seated in the lounge at Athens when I got a notice the flight was boarding so I rushed to the gate. When I arrived, it was NOT boarding and we waited an additional 10 minutes before boarding started. There were no announcements regarding the order in which passengers should board and it was a bums’ rush. A total mess.

Turkish Airlines changed our business class seats at the last minute and said it was a computer glitch. No other airlines has had this glitch. The steak was like leather and nobody could eat it. The boarding process was extremely slow and we had to stand and wait in line for over an hour in EWR and almost as long in IST. Again while coming back our seats were changed from row 3 to row 6 for no reason. The food was a lot better from IST to EWR. The service was poor from EWR to IST and good coming back.

Boardings in Newark and Istanbul were kind of chaos. Dedicated lines for assigned seats seems to be a smart idea, but most of the people were getting confused and were going back and forth. The agents were yelling where to go. The food was limited. Whatever we asked, they were out of it. For example, I would imagine that most of the people would prefer chicken over pasta. By the time they reached us, only pasta was available. For a long flight, in our case almost 11 hours, it’s very uncomfortable to remain put in the seat where not enough space to stretch the legs. But this is the another story about economy and upgraded flights.

The quality of Turkish Airlines has definitely diminished. The planes are older and the 2x2x2 business class is antiquated and not in keeping with the prices. The food onboard is not as good as it used to be. Cold dishes, flavor not very good and weird selections and accompaniments. Our flight ran out of champagne before dinner. How is that even possible! Cocktails were served without Nuys. The nuts were presented 1/2 hour later. Poor selection of liquor with inferior cheap brands. Gordons gin is unacceptable. Over all I wouldn't choose them again. The end of an era!

When getting to our seats a blanket, headphones and pillow where there already. The food was very good and plentiful. I liked when they came around w/hot towels to freshen up with. Slippers, socks and an eye mask was a nice surprise. My husband and I have mobility issues and the transporters were absolutely wonderful and helpful w/the wheelchairs at each stop. Getting from one gate to the next they were a blessing.

Alright. I don’t like the boarding process. Gate staff shout out in Turkish where to line up etc. no microphone used. You can’t hear it. No English translation. It’s a bit archaic!

Boarding started too early stuck standing in the security corral for 1 hour with no update on when to board

As usual. The perfect flight. Keep it like it is

old aircraft, some of the crew are not polite. I chose my seat to be window and I found it with no window and the seat was not operating...!!!

The plane cleanness, punctuality and crew attention was great. The airline is offering free fast wifi on the flight, however apparently without much policy on the use. Quite a few passengers felt the liberty to watch shorts or other content without headphones from their devices as well as talking for long durations over phone calls. This made a 4-hour, fully booked flight somehow difficult to bear.

Flight departed punctually on time. Unfortunately it seems because the destination airport is a secondary airport the airline sees it fit to operate a plane with lower comfort and offerings. There was no inflight entertainment, wifi or let alone a screen to at least track flight status for remaining flight time.

Plane was good Crew was good Food was just ok Could have had more entertainment options But overall good

Seating is terrible, having seats so crammed is unacceptable for a 15-hour journey. I cannot stress enough how uncomfortable it is to sit in such an aircraft. Leg space is roomier in a domestic aircraft. I have not experienced this kind of crammy seating in domestic flights either in the US or other international airlines overseas.

The crew was great and the food and liquor offerings were good. Seats were a bit cramped. Flight arrived early at destination. That's a plus.

No separate queue for business class/platinum passengers. I had to stay in the long queue to board. I requested breakfast before landing, but the crew didn't offer, except a coffee with milk. No tea with milk was available. Had asked for cookies, but didn't receive them. The crew in the business class was not good in terms of service..

The business class experience was awesome - I will be using QATAR airways again and it'll be business class again - appreciate the privileges afforded to the business class clients - thank you.

some sections of airport are too cramped. The screening of luggage was twice and a huge hassle. They kept saying my boarding the for my next flight was in 10 minutes but were dragging the screening too long. having a 2 hour connecting time with this much delays in screenings is not good. They could see I was traveling with special needs kid yet I was" randomly chosen" to be personally screened again.

I didn’t expect American Airlines. I excepted QTAR AIR LINES. From KAYAK we are booking so in the kayak site it showed qathar air lines but operating American Airlines. I don’t like .

The crew were really bad mannered! And spoiled all my mood throughout the flight!

Connection booked by Etihad was delayed and upon arrival to counter they closed it and denied boarding although there was still 15 minutes to go . Manager Karen was very rude and did not want to listen seems there as overbooking and canceling boarding was the only solution..

Very disappointed to not have lounge access The shorter flight seats were uncomfortable

Boarding was excellent except they did last call 30 minutes earlier .

Surprised at the lower quality of seats on the Boeing 777 in Business Class. Seats are tight and the whole Business class section is jam packed with seats. It doesn’t feel like Business Class at all. Also the way the tray tables are placed with a huge bulky solid metal hinge at knee level makes it so uncomfortable and always anxious that one will accidentally bang their knee on it. Quality of amenities has also declined. Over priced tickets with diminished quality of the entire experience.

The food could be better. Toilets were smelly all along

Good range of movies but lacking decent tv shows. Wifi was really expensive on this flight, considering flights under 7 hours have a $9.99 USD charge for streaming, to jump up to $24.99 for a 7 hour 40 flight seemed a little bit of a rip off. Staff are inattentive, and really need to improve on the customer experience. The new airport is fantastic, as is the new lounge, a huge upgrade from the old airport and lounge!

It has been a couple of years since I flew with Etihad last, after having a unpleasant experience with them coming out of the pandemic. I can say that the experience has uplifted, but I can’t really rate the service. At Barcelona airport the service was great, with their dedicated Etihad staff very helpful. The onboard experience wasn’t great, not very personalised and it really makes sense why Etihad doesn’t feature in the top 10 2023 Skytrax awards. The crew just seemed to be inattentive and almost absent from the cabin. I felt that I had to keep getting their attention. Even after I’d finished my meal, an hour went by before I had to call them to clear the tray/plate etc.

Crew was good, boarding mediocre, food choices were limited, seating was not comfortable

It feels like the seat did not have any cushion and just ply wood. The seats are so compact that no one would sit comfortably. I am a slim person and it was super hard for me to move in the seat just imagine what someone else would feel. This airline would be my last option. Singapore Air and Emirates are far far far better than this. Do not travel even for free.

All fine - you get what you pay for ! and it is a bargain

AirAsia kept us waiting for hours due to a technical issue with the plane, then eventually cancelled the flight. Unfortunately there is no-one to call or speak with at AirAsia, no customer service department at all, so I flew with another airline instead. Now I am going through the fun process of trying to get a refund from AirAsia. I strongly recommend that no-one flies with them, it's just not worth it.

The best part was Tony Fernandes actually reinstated the Buttercake menu. It has gone missing after Covid & i made a complaint in one of my Tweets back in October 2022. Both flight D170 & D171 landed very smoothly- kudos to both pilots!

The worst experience in any flight I have ever had, delayed for more than 10 hours, lost my other flight so I lost one day during my trip. Didn’t gave me facilities with my luggage either. Never again

I was next to a quite large person. Soni essentially had 2/3 of my seat for myself and couldn't sit properly. Even though there were some other seat available, the staff refuse that I occupy another seat.

Pros: The staff was very friendly. Cons: Long delay. The food is terrible.

I’m a frequent Traveler on all types of airlines, including budget. This was the worst flight experience I’ve ever had. Something was wrong with AirAsia’s systems and we were the whole flight was rescheduled to the following day, the third flight it happened to. Apart from an email which gave the new date the web and app said the original flight date which meant that there were hundreds of people queueing at the airport to try and find out what was going on. People waited six hours to talk to customer service who gave advice that didn’t match the web or app. Nightmare. just advertising for spending the extra hundred dollars I’ve ever seen.

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