dailynewsnblog
Time goes quickly. Next month, Canada’s leisure airline, Air Transat, will inaugurate its second nonstop route to the enormously busy 
Istanbul Airport (IST). It is on the European side of the Bosphorus Strait.
Air Transat arrived in Turkey last year. The carrier did so from 
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), becoming the first Canadian airline to fly to the nation since Air Canada pulled out nine years ago. Of course, 
Air Canada flew to what was then Istanbul’s main airport, Atatürk. Air Transit did so between 2011 and 2014.
Air Transat From Montreal To Istanbul
Northern Hemisphere airlines, including Air Transat, will switch to winter schedules on October 25, based on IATA slot seasons. On October 29, Canada’s second-largest operator for long-haul flights will lift off from Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL) to IST.
Covering 4,162 nautical miles (7,708 km) on a great circle basis, Air Transat will initially fly weekly (!). The frequency will increase to twice-weekly in mid-December ahead of the Christmas rush, with the schedule shown below.
The Airbus A330-200 operating from YUL on Tuesdays will return to Quebec’s busiest airport the next day. However, the IST-YUL service on Thursdays will use the frame that arrives from YYZ. This will then return to IST, before flying back to YYZ on Fridays.
Days | YUL To IST; Local Times | Days | IST To YUL; Local Times |
|---|---|---|---|
Tuesdays, Thursdays | TS314: 8:50 PM-2:05 PM+1 | Wednesdays, Thursdays | TS315: 4:25 PM-7:05 PM |
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The Routes Exist Because Of The Partnership With Turkish Airlines
Air Transat probably would not fly from YYZ and YUL to IST without its interlining and codeshare agreement with the major 
Star Alliance member, 
Turkish Airlines. And unless the performance of YYZ-IST flights, which began in December 2025, was sufficiently good, it would not be launching a second route to Turkey. In fact, it would not have grown YYZ-IST flights from the initial two weekly departures to the current three.
It’d be easy to conclude that Air Transat only flies to IST because of Turkish Airlines, whose access to the important Canadian market is limited by the current bilateral air service agreement. Some may say that Air Transat serves IST on behalf of Turkey’s flag carrier.
In the run-up to Christmas, the pair plan 22 weekly departures, as outlined below. The combined offering is up from 14 weekly departures in November 2026, which is a strong rise of 57%. Some equipment swaps made by Turkish Airlines mean that the number of seats for sale has jumped by 49% in the past year.
The duo’s combined approach means more flights between the two nations than would otherwise be available. It is similar to Air Canada flying to Dubai for Emirates, like United Airlines does, and it is similar to Virgin Australia flying to Doha on behalf of Qatar Airways. However, Qatar Airways takes it even further, as it leases its own Boeing 777-300ERs to Australia’s second-largest operator.
Airport Pair | Air Transat: Mid-December 2026 | Turkish Airlines: Mid-December 2026 | Weekly Flights: Mid-December 2026 | Change Vs. Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
YUL to IST | 2 weekly A330-200 | 5 weekly 787-9 | 7 | +3 |
Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to IST | None | 5 weekly 787-9, 777-300ER | 5 | +2 |
YYZ to IST | 3 weekly A330-200** | Daily 777-300ER | 10 | +3 |
22 | +8 |
An Initial Look At Air Transat To IST
Booking data via OAG Traffic Analyzer for December 2025 to June 2026 shows that Air Transat transported an estimated 34,500 round-trip passengers between YYZ and IST. Relating this figure to seats for sale suggests that the load factor was 80%. As always, this is just one performance measure and should not be considered in isolation. Nonetheless, the frequency of three weekly flights suggests that it is happy with the route so far.
Despite the relationship with Turkish Airlines, booking data shows that the vast majority of the passengers (approximately 78%) only flew YYZ-IST-YYZ. They did not continue past IST with the Star Alliance carrier or via YYZ with Air Transat or partner Porter Airlines. Some of those who would have flown with Turkey’s flag carrier switched to the Canadian airline, which meant more space for Turkish Airlines’ critical sixth-freedom traffic.
Let’s focus on those who transited in IST. While each number was small, Air Transat’s ten most popular segments were YYZ to/from Tehran, Erbil, Baghdad, Islamabad, Amman, Jeddah, Lahore, Medinah, Riyadh, and Shiraz. In contrast, Turkish Airlines’ top ten YYZ markets were Delhi, Tehran, Kabul, Karachi, Lahore, Mumbai, Ankara, Jeddah, Ahmedabad, and Antalya.
