On December 12, 2023, Turkish Airlines resumed flights on its Istanbul – Osaka Kansai route. With that, the airline now serves three airports in Japan. Continue reading to learn more about the route. Turkish Airlines Resumes Istanbul – Osaka...
On December 12, 2023, Turkish Airlines resumed flights on its Istanbul – Osaka Kansai route. With that, the airline now serves three airports in Japan.
Continue reading to learn more about the route.
Turkish Airlines is using the 787 on its new flights to Osaka Kansai. (Credit: Boeing)
Turkish Airlines Resumes Istanbul – Osaka Kansai Route
Until January 2017, Turkish Airlines operated scheduled flights between its then-base Istanbul Ataturk Airport and Osaka Kansai Airport. The airline was planning to return on the route (albeit from Istanbul’s new airport) from April 2020 but those plans were scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Turkish Airlines finally made it back to Osaka on December 12, 2023, more than six years after it first terminated the route.
The inaugural flight took off from Istanbul Airport at 2:44AM and landed at Kansai Airport at 6:21PM, after less than 10 hours of flight time. Going forward, the flights will operate with the following schedule:
TK86 / Istanbul – Osaka Kansai / 2:35AM – 8:05PM / Mon, Tue, Fri, Sun TK87 / Osaka Kansai – Istanbul / 10:25PM – 5:55AM+1 / Mon, Tue, Fri, SunThe flights will be operated using Turkish Airlines’ Boeing 787-9s. These are equipped with 30 staggered business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout and 270 economy class seats in a 3-3-3 layout for a total of 300 seats.
With this (re)launch, Osaka Kansai became Turkish Airlines’ third destination in Japan. The airline also serves both Tokyo Haneda and Narita Airports daily out of Istanbul. While the former is operated using the 777-300ER which is larger but has outdated business class seats, the latter is, like the new Kansai flights, operated by the 787-9.
Turkish Airlines serves Tokyo Haneda with the 777-300ER.
Another Good Option for Flying Between Europe and Osaka
From the time when Japan reopened to foreign visitors after the pandemic, the number of non-stop flights between Europe and Osaka has gradually increased to the point where Kansai Airport is now served by the following (all 3x week):
oneworld member Finnair from Helsinki SkyTeam members Air France from Paris Charles de Gaule and KLM from Amsterdam Star Alliance member Lufthansa from MunichAdditionally, Emirates (daily) and Etihad Airways (5x week) provide connectivity to Europe via the Middle East. Qatar Airways is expected to join them in March 2024.
That said, Emirates’ and Etihad Airways’ itineraries make for quite a detour as they require five- to six-hour-long flights between the Middle East and Europe on top of the long-hauls to/from Osaka. While the non-stop flights to Europe are better, they operate less frequently and can take up to 14 hours or more due to their inability to overfly Russia.
With Istanbul being roughly on the route that flights between Japan and Europe take nowadays (when flying southbound rather than over the North Pole), Turkish Airlines offers a great alternative to the two options above. Not only that but it also offers extensive connections to Africa.
Summary
After more than six years, Turkish Airlines has returned to Osaka Kansai Airport with four weekly flights. While the route was originally meant to resume in 2020, those plans were axed due to the pandemic. The new flights between Istanbul and Osaka Kansai are operated using the 787-9.
Osaka Kansai is Turkish Airlines’s third destination in Japan after Tokyo’s two major airports.
The post Turkish Airlines Returns to Osaka Kansai with Four Weekly Flights appeared first on KN Aviation.