Air Canada has struck a brand new interline partnership with Turkish low-cost service Pegasus Airways, making it simpler for Canadian travellers to achieve Türkiye’s hottest cities.
Beneath the deal, you may guide single-itinerary journeys that mix Air Canada flights into Europe with Pegasus-operated segments to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW) and Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport (ADB), with through-checked baggage and guarded connections.
The settlement takes impact instantly and can roll out throughout Air Canada’s reserving channels as schedules and fares are filed, aligning with the airline’s broader push to attach “folks, markets, and alternatives” whereas giving Pegasus higher entry to Canadian-origin visitors into its Turkish community.
Routes and Gateways To Türkiye
At launch, the partnership covers 9 Pegasus-operated routes that may be bought on a single ticket with Air Canada flights. These hyperlink Air Canada’s present European gateways with Istanbul and Izmir.
Air Canada clients will be capable of join on the next Pegasus routes:
- Amsterdam (AMS) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Frankfurt (FRA) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Copenhagen (CPH) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Munich (MUC) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Geneva (GVA) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Vienna (VIE) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Zurich (ZRH) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Athens (ATH) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Frankfurt (FRA) to İzmir Adnan Menderes (ADB)
In observe, meaning you may fly Air Canada from Canada to one in all these European hubs after which proceed on Pegasus to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen or Izmir, all on a single reserving.
You additionally get the standard interline perks: one ticket from origin to closing vacation spot and baggage checked by way of, which is lots much less hectic than attempting to self-connect on separate low-cost tickets.
Pegasus As A Turkish Gateway
Pegasus is a significant participant at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport and runs a big community of home and regional routes. The airline serves 158 locations in 55 nations, together with 39 home routes inside Türkiye and 119 worldwide routes throughout Europe, the Center East, North Africa, and Asia.
It operates a younger narrow-body fleet, largely Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 plane, in an all-economy structure. There is no such thing as a lie-flat enterprise cabin to get enthusiastic about, and in case you are used to Air Canada Signature Class, the Pegasus sector will really feel extra like “let’s simply get there” than “let’s linger over the wine listing.”
For Canadians, the present partnership is concentrated on getting you to Istanbul and Izmir extra simply. Long term, if the connection deepens right into a full codeshare, Pegasus might develop into a helpful springboard for exploring Turkish coastal resorts and close by nations on the identical Air Canada-linked ticket.
That stated, that is precisely the type of companion that makes a community helpful. Pegasus focuses on sharp pricing and dense schedules out of Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen and different Turkish bases, with the standard low-cost strategy to ancillary charges for seats, baggage, and meals. So long as what you’re entering into, it may be a really pragmatic method to bridge the final leg into Türkiye.
Personally, I’d like to see one thing like Frankfurt (FRA) to Kayseri (ASR) added in a future part. Kayseri is among the primary gateways to Cappadocia, so having the ability to guide Canada to Europe to Kayseri on a single ticket would make these hot-air balloon and cave-hotel journeys considerably simpler for Canadians to plan.
What This Means For Aeroplan Members
Now to the vital half for factors collectors: at this stage, that is strictly an interline settlement.
The press launch explicitly mentions future plans to discover codeshare and loyalty agreements, however it does not announce:
- Aeroplan redemptions on Pegasus
- Aeroplan incomes or Standing Qualifying Credit on Pegasus
- Elite advantages for Aeroplan members on Pegasus
So, for now, consider Pegasus flights as income segments conveniently connected to an Air Canada money ticket. If you’re reserving an Aeroplan award to Europe, you’ll nonetheless want a separate Pegasus reserving to proceed into Türkiye till any loyalty integration is formally introduced.
The fast upside for Aeroplan members is oblique: you may cut back the chance of misconnecting by protecting your Europe–Türkiye phase on the identical PNR, as a substitute of juggling separate bookings and hoping your bag retains up.
Why This Issues For Travellers Heading To Türkiye
Stepping again, that is one other incremental however significant enchancment in connectivity between Canada and Türkiye.
Air Canada positive aspects handy entry to Istanbul and Izmir with out instantly committing plane to Turkish routes, whereas Pegasus will get extra feed from Canadian passengers into its hub at Sabiha Gökçen and its rising Turkish community.
If and when the partnership expands right into a full codeshare with loyalty advantages, it might develop into notably enticing for Aeroplan members who get pleasure from multi-city journeys round Europe and the Mediterranean, with facet journeys to spots like Cappadocia, the Aegean coast, or the Turquoise Coast constructed right into a single, linked itinerary.
Conclusion
Air Canada’s new partnership with Pegasus Airways won’t change your Aeroplan technique in a single day, however it does make it simpler and fewer hectic to get from Canada to Istanbul and Izmir on a single ticket.
Pegasus is a no-frills, low-cost possibility quite than a premium expertise, but its community and pricing are precisely what make this tie-up helpful.
For now, deal with it as a connectivity and comfort play, and keep watch over future bulletins about codeshare and loyalty integration, the place issues might get far more attention-grabbing for factors collectors planning that long-awaited Cappadocia journey.
