Turkish Airlines commenced its flights to Santiago (SCL), Chile, from Istanbul (IST), Turkey, with a stopover in São Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU), after initiating ticket sales in September 2024.
The airline had revealed that Santiago (SCL) would be one of its new medium-term destinations in a report published in September 2022. However, the following year, the president of Turkish Airlines, Ahmet Bolat, stated during a press conference held at the 79th Annual General Meeting of IATA in Istanbul that, for the time being, Santiago de Chile was not being considered as part of its Latin American network, citing a lack of sufficient and suitable aircraft to serve the route non-stop.
Nevertheless, at the beginning of 2024, the Chilean National Tourism Service (SERNATUR) announced that it had held meetings with representatives of the airline.
After several months of speculation, the company landed in the Chilean capital at 09:31 this Thursday. The flight was welcomed by high-ranking officials from the airline, DGAC, the airport concessionaire, and others. Although the inaugural flight was carried out with one of its Boeing 777-300ERs, the company will operate four weekly flights using its Airbus A350-900 aircraft, configured with 329 seats, providing a total of 2,632 seats per week.
Istanbul – São Paulo flight TK 215 IST 20:35 – 04:15 (+1) GRU / Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
São Paulo – Santiago flight TK 215 GRU 05:50 – 09:45 SCL / Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
Santiago – São Paulo flight TK 216 SCL 11:40 – 15:15 GRU / Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
São Paulo – Istanbul flight TK 216 GRU 16:50 – 11:20 (+1) IST / Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
The new schedule will replace the current TK 194/193 flight that operates four times a week between São Paulo and Turkey. In total, Turkish will maintain its eleven weekly flights between Guarulhos and Istanbul.
The Chilean capital will thus gain access to Turkish Airlines’ network of 347 destinations, primarily connecting with Europe, East Asia, Central Asia, and Africa. However, the cargo division of the company operates weekly in Santiago during the peak season with its Boeing 777 Freighter.
Turkish Airlines sets a record upon arrival in Chile
Santiago becomes Turkish Airlines’ ninth destination in Latin America, after Buenos Aires (Argentina), São Paulo (Brazil), Bogotá (Colombia), Havana (Cuba), Mexico City and Cancún (Mexico), Panama City (Panama), and Caracas (Venezuela). The Turkish carrier also announced that Lima (Peru) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) will be the next destinations in the region.
Moreover, the arrival in Chile allowed the airline to achieve a record, earning the certification of Guinness World Records as the airline flying to the most countries in the world.
The company will compete in the market between Santiago and São Paulo, currently dominated by LATAM (70 weekly flights) and SKY (10). According to the Chilean Civil Aviation Board (JAC), this is the country’s third most important international route, with 663,476 passengers transported during the first half of 2024.
