Turkish Airlines is ramping up for the busier northern hemisphere spring and summer travel season with increased services to several North American destinations. Cities seeing increased frequencies include Chicago, San Francisco, Mexico City, and Cancun. Here is what the airline has planned...

Below are all of the increased services alongside the existing flights. All times are local mean time (LMT) unless otherwise stated. According to Wikipedia, ISO 8601 assigns numbers to the days of the week, running from 1 to 7 for Monday through to Sunday. Therefore, if a service is listed as 1, 4, and 6, it means that the flight will take place on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Chicago service increase

The airline's service from Istanbul to Chicago O'Hare will be increased from 7 flights to 10 flights per week as of May 7, 2020. The new flights will be TK185/186 and will operate on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

FLIGHT

START

DAYS

DEPART

ARRIVE

TK 005

29/03/2020

1234567

IST

14:15

17:40

ORD

TK 006

28/03/2020

1234567

ORD

21:35

16:15

IST

TK 185

07/05/2020

1..4.6.

IST

16:30

19:55

ORD

TK 186

07/05/2020

1..4.6.

ORD

23:05

17:50

IST

Turkish Airlines 777-300
Turkish Airline's Chicago services currently use the Boeing 777-300ER. Photo: Lord of the Wings© / Wikimedia Commons

San Francisco service increase

Service from Istanbul to San Francisco will also be increased from 7 flights to 10 flights per week - but only as of June 7, 2020. The new flights will be TK189/190 and will operate on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

FLIGHT

START

END

DAYS

DEPART

ARRIVE

TK 079

29/03/2020

24/10/2020

1234567

IST

13:10

16:30

SFO

TK 080

28/03/2020

28/03/2020

.....6.

SFO

19:15

18:15

IST

TK 080

29/03/2020

23/10/2020

1234567

SFO

18:10

17:15

IST

TK 189

07/06/2020

04/10/2020

..3.5.7

IST

09:55

13:15

SFO

TK 190

07/06/2020

04/10/2020

..3.5.7

SFO

14:45

13:50

IST

The TK79/80 service between Istanbul and San Francisco currently operates with a Boeing 777-300ER. Photo: Turkish Airlines

Mexico City and Cancun service increase

And finally, there will be increased service between Istanbul and Mexico City (MEX) as well as Cancun (CUN). Cancun will be an additional hop after Mexico City. Due to the fact that no passengers can book a flight between MEX and CUN, this is not a true fifth-freedom service. In fact, this type of service would be more often called a triangle route.

The flights to the Mexican cities will increase from 3 flights to 4 flights per week as of June 08, 2020. The additional service will operate on Mondays from Istanbul and cross over into Tuesday when it arrives in Mexico City.

FLT NBR

START

END

DAYS

DEP

ARR

TK 181

29/03/2020

03/04/2020

..3.5.7

IST

21:20

2:35

MEX

TK 181

30/03/2020

06/06/2020

1..4.6.

CUN

08:40

4:40

IST

TK 181

30/03/2020

04/04/2020

1..4.6.

MEX

03:55

7:10

CUN

TK 181

05/04/2020

07/06/2020

..3.5.7

IST

21:20

3:35

MEX

TK 181

06/04/2020

06/06/2020

1..4.6.

MEX

04:55

7:10

CUN

TK 181

08/06/2020

23/10/2020

1.3.5.7

IST

21:20

3:35

MEX

TK 181

08/06/2020

24/10/2020

12.4.6.

CUN

08:40

4:40

IST

TK 181

08/06/2020

24/10/2020

12.4.6.

MEX

04:55

7:10

CUN

The 787 will take over flights traditionally operated by Boeing 777s Photo: Getty Images

Reduced service elsewhere

While these new services should be exciting for those with vacation plans in the upcoming months, there are also service reductions in other parts of the Turkish schedule. Their website states:
"As the airline that always puts the travel security at the forefront, we are closely monitoring the latest developments about the coronavirus with the national and international authorities and take appropriate precautions."
In order to prevent the spread and limit the effects of the coronavirus, the airline has made several readjustments to its flight operations for China and Iran. This is what is listed on its website: China flights: All our Mainland China flights are suspended until 29 February 2020*. Iran flights: Apart from the Tehran flights, all operations to/from destinations in Iran are cancelled until 10 March 2020. Cities include Mashhad, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Tabriz. *As the news was released on 28 February, this is likely an error on the website. We've sent the airline an email requesting clarification.

Will you be flying Turkish Airlines this Spring or Summer? Let us know in the comments!