Hi all,
I think I have worked out airlines selling and clever ways never to lose out on getting the most out of their customers, here is my reasons why I have this thought. I regularly look at online flights to Istanbul and from Istanbul, I have so far booked 4 flights to Istanbul with British airways and Turkish airlines and here is my findings. If you book early enough you can get a good deal on a flight to Istanbul, then if you leave it a few weeks nearer the time you want to go the price goes up but also fluctulates. The same flight I booked went up by £48 English pounds from £159.00 to £207.00 after about three weeks (I check daily), the price had shot up to the £207, okay nothing unusual here but then with only a week to go before the actual flying date, the price had come down back to £159.00, surely with less time to go the flights would be fully booked and instead of going down the price would go up? with less time to go most people would have booked and there would be no available seats left so the prices should be higher. I have now made it quite a hobby to check flights every day sometimes three or four times a day and it is the same pattern. I conclude that if you panic and think there is not much time to book and think there will be no seats left or your travelling times have gone and go ahead chances are a few days later you will see the same flights and times available for less, it is a good ploy by airlines, panic the customer thinking less flights and travelling times left, hike the price up to make the money and then when they think there is not much activity bring the price down again. I sound like an anorak now but it pays to reasearch.

Loveprague, why only direct flights? It can be much cheaper than the 159 GBP you said. If you are willing/ able to buy your ticket at a Dutch agency - you have to pay by credit card and they send you an e-ticket by email.

I just searched a few flights, all on the first of the month for 8 days.

June: Turkish Airline, direct from Stanstead to Ataturk for 170 euro (116 GBP)
September: Allitalia, from Heathrow to Rome to Ataturk for 203 euro (139 GBP)
October: Swiss International Airline, from Heathrow to Zurich to Ataturk for 150 euro (103 GBP)
October: Turkish Airlines, same as June

July and August were more expensive.

The agency I mean is http://www.vliegtickets.nl/
The site is in Dutch but easy to understand and if needed I can help.

Adding: I just see that easyjet has tickets from Luton to Sabiha Gokcen for less than 70 GBP.

I agree with you! Someitmes I feel expolited by the companies because their fares just aren't fair. There's no reason to do what they're doing.

So far I have paid anything from 40€ to 400€ on one ways trips to and from Antalya (from Billund, DK) and as a student who used to live in Turkey and therefore know the value of money I feel cheated again and again

That sounds so cheap compared to the flights I've checked from USA (more specifically Hawaii) to turkey. The prices are around $1900-2500 for a roundtrip ticket. And if you add up hotel/food, etc. it's kind of a lot for a trip.

I mean I could go on a 7 day cruise for around $1000 but I've got turkey stuck in my head...

Anyone know of any cheap flights from the USA please help!!! I would appreciate it so much.

Kat

hi i am going in june direct flight from stanstead to gaziantep it cost 287 for me and my daughter when i priced up to go istanbul then gaziantep it worked out more money and more time took up,i would never go that way it will be my first trip to turkey and i cant wait and it only takes few hours on plane.

i agree with you price doesnt matter i dont care howmuch ihave to pay to go and meet them they are my family money dont matter.

That's true of course, and also I would never dream of not going just because of a stupid price, but it's just that when you actually live in Turkey you simply don't have the money to pay overprice.