1st time flying solo

[scattea]

How confident would you be to let your 18 year old daughter fly via Istanbul to Antalya?
Ive been looking at flights, Manchester to Antalya - very flexible with dates but looking around departing 06/08/09 & returning to Manchester 28/08/09.
Fly thomas cook are charging £347 whilst Turkish airlines £287. You have to pay extra for luggage/meals etc on FTC but it's all included on TA.
If I was going, I would go for the cheaper option but I don't know if its better to pay the extra for the direct flight even though I consider it to be very expensive.

 

[KKOB]

How confident would you be to let your 18 year old daughter fly via Istanbul to Antalya?

I'd say that if she's happy about doing it, then let her have a go.

 

[JohnF]

The walk from international arrivals to the domestic terminal at Istanbul is clearly signposted and takes less than 10mins. If she is ticketed through on a THY flight then her luggage will be transferred to the Antalya flight making it a fairly easy transfer. When she gets to Antalya she'll be directed by a member of staff (if its same arrangement as Dalaman) to where she can collect her bags and clear customs.

It all depends on how much time she needs to hang about waiting for the connection; if its only an hour or two then go for THY every time.

JF

 

[Dellol]

Scattea, I am in the exact same situation at the moment with my 18 yr old daughter..... I'm not sure if you saw my thread earlier, but Turkish Airlines in Dublin, have emailed me to say: 'There is a meet and assist service available free of charge. One of the air hostesses will assist with transfer, customs and visa.' At the time I was asking about my Father in Law, but may now also need it for my daughter. This may help you make your mind up....

 

[lilacdiana]

When my daughter was 17 (she is 28 now) she flew to New York on her own via an airport in Germany!! After flying into JFK in New York she then made her way to the GreyHound bus station to catch a connecting bus to Maine. She still talks about it as one of the most exciting trips she has ever done!!

Di

 

[lmsunshine]

iv done the route through istanbul to antalya with turkish airlines sometimes with a few hours stop over sometimes only 1 hour, which is plenty of time. She would probably find a number of people on the flight making the connecting flights and as shes travelling on with the same airline if she did miss it-due to delayed flight, turkish airlines just transfer you on to the next flight, no problems. when you arrive in istanbul you have to get your visa here before you exit through security for the onward flight, when you exit at the arrivals area, internal departures area is off to the left and is clearly signposted.

 

[yalimart]

Istanbul is probably one the easiest airports to navigate, i found customer service 2nd to none there are little cafes at virtually each gate that actually charge reasonable prices, she can collect her visa en route from international to domestic its quite civilised !
extra leg room, free drinks 23 kg of luggage and a meal included puts about 2 hours on a flight to bodrum - anybody know what thos cook etc are currently charging for a gin and tonic this year ?

 

[mrkeith]

Well as long as she has the correct pilots licence and the plane owners pemission then why not

 

[irishmatelot]

transfers at istanbul are quite easy so if she feels confident i would say let her do it...there are enough people speaking english to help her if she gets muddled but i did it last year when transfering to kusadasi and it was really ok.

 

[tinkyman]

i do a free companion service

 

[jane2005]

My daughter done it last year alone when she was 16, and she was fine, absolutely fine. You will be more worried than she is. I was ringing her right through to her boarding the plane and she was as cool as ice about it all, my Mam was there to meet her at the other end. Both my daughter and 15 year old son will be flying alone this year as they will be spending the full summer in Turkey, and I am not worried about it at all. She will be fine. x.

 

[Peregrine]

Turkish Airlines are my favourite - decent meal and if you get low seat numbers theres plenty of legroom

as Nike say - just do it !!

(I am sure your daughter will enjoy the experience)

 

[scattea]

My daughter has no issues with it at all, its me who's concerned.

 

[zuberdust]

i started flying bymyself at 18... no big deal!, trust her

 

[haybags]

hi i went solo last october from london to istanbul then to adana and it was very easy
.i went with turkish airlines and i would say they are one of the best flights etc i have encountered if she is sensible im sure it would be ok

 

[mintyk]

I am an aging teenager and I did it solo two years ago with Turkish Airlines, they in my opinion are the best I have flown with and Istanbul was no problem for me, soooo,, she will be ok.

 

[mrkeith]

I am sure your daughter encounters a lot more danger travelling around the uk than she will flying alone. Airports have to be some of the safest places in the world. If she flies with the same firm or star allience then she can check her bags straiht through and her self then she can go straight to departures without any hassle.

 

[scattea]

A friend is now travelling with my daughter so i'm now leaning more towards Turkish airlines, especially as its exactly £100 cheaper per person than Thamas cook.
I know the process for arriving from Istanbul but on the return leg would she check in at Antalya domestic or international terminal?

 

[lmsunshine]

on the return journey she checks in at the domestic terminal in antalya.

 

[Dellol]

on the return journey she checks in at the domestic terminal in antalya.

Correct! and her baggage will still be checked all the way through!

Also, presuming it is the same as Izmir, on her outward journey, when she lands in Istanbul, she has to get Visa first, the Passport control then through to Domestic to head for Antalya. She should land in Domestic arrivals in Antalya but as she started outside Turkey, she will be bussed to International for her luggage. This is handy to know if she is being collected..