50% off Air Malta direct flights to Istanbul
Ah the joy of competition.
One of my favourite offers of 2013 was Turkish Airlines’ fantastic (and recurring) €99 all-in return from Malta to Istanbul. Indeed, I have an upcoming trip to this vibrant Turkish city booked as a result.
While that offer has now finished, the good news is that Air Malta have responded to Turkish Airlines seductive prices by launching their own “50% off” sale, on their direct route from MLA to Istanbul.
Single fares are as low as €45.91 all in. Even ignoring what a great destination Istanbul is, that is quite remarkable value.
When you include all taxes, “administration” charges etc, the lowest priced return I have found is €99.64. As per the Turkish Airline €99 fare, I would describe that as an almost unavoidably good price.
Key terms are:
- Book between 27 December 2013 and 31 January 2014 (inclusive, it appears)
- Travel between 6 January 2014 and 31 March 2014
As Air Malta flies on a Thursday and Monday, a good option is to make an (extra) long weekend of it. You can, for example, currently fly for €99.64 return if you depart on Thursday 6 March and return Monday 10 March (likewise 20-24 March).
Funnily enough, and they often seem to do this, Air Malta’s marketing pitch for this offer talks about fares being available “from €59 one way inclusive of taxes and charges”. In fact, the deal is clearly better than that – they need to stop selling themselves short.
From a points-collecting perspective, this offer has the obvious advantage to the Malta traveller of also earning you KMiles – doubtless a more relevant frequent flyer programme than Turkish Airlines’ Miles&Smiles.