Tagged Pages Archive | Southern Europe
2014
19
December
Calgary to Istanbul, Turkey - $819 roundtrip including taxes
19
December
KLM just dropped the price of some of their Calgary to Istanbul, Turkey (IST) flights down to $819 roundtrip after taxes. It was the result of asking Facebook fans 'which destination do you think will be the trendy destination for 2015?'.
Istanbul came in third, after Bali, Indonesia (#1) and Cape Town, South Africa.
KLM
Istanbul, Turkey - $819
Cape Town, South Africa - $1147 (quite a good price. About as cheap as it ever gets from Western Canada)
Bali, Indonesia - $1712 ($1000-$1100 or so to Bali is not uncommon from other airlines. KLM usually isn't that competitive on this route.)
What dates have dropped?
Departures between January and May 6, 2015.
When should I go?
Focus on April/May dates if you can. Temperatures start to climb back up from mild in March & April, to being warm in May.
How long should I go for?
I would say 10-12 nights is about right if you want to explore the highlights of Turkey. Just my opinion based on my trip from 2012.
How to find and book
Normally I would say to start with a 3 day flexible date search on Kayak. Here's an example search...
2 adults - mid April to late April
From Kayak, hit the Select button, which will take you to the KLM website for booking.
But I seem to be having better luck finding flights that are 1 stop each way (the most ideal way to get to Istanbul and back) by using the KLM website directly.
Here's an example...
1. Go to the KLM website
2. Search for Calgary to Istanbul, departing April 5 and returning April 16. Hit 'View Offers'
3. The price should come up as $819. If it's higher, it's likely changed due to this blog post, which can affect demand, which affects the price. Try searching around for other dates.
The KLM website is actually pretty decent for exploring alternative dates, far better than most airline websites.
It seems to be really tough to find flights coming home with 1 stop, that still work out to $800 something roundtrip. Those appear to be the key. If you find any, please help out your fellow traveler and comment below.
An example verified price screen from KLM:
With KLM, you can also always get a free stopover in Amsterdam. It might be easier to call them to make the booking in this case. But first, you might want to note which dates are the cheapest to fly between Calgary and Istanbul, from your searches.
How long do I have to decide?
For this promotion, KLM will be putting their fares back up on Mon, Dec 22nd. But airfare prices always react to demand, so higher demand dates could jump up in price if KLM sells a certain number of seats.
For live discussion of this deal, or to get some amazing travel advice from over 10,400 travel junkies in Calgary, join the YYC Deals Facebook Group.
Hit Like if you like this deal! Click Share to show your friends on Facebook.
2013
28
August
Calgary to Belgrade, Serbia | $799 roundtrip after taxes
28
August
2013
25
July
Calgary to Lisbon, Portugal - $790 roundtrip after taxes
25
July
2013
22
July
KLM is having another voting contest on flights from Calgary
22
July
2013
12
February
Calgary to Barcelona, Venice, Prague | $853 roundtrip after taxes
12
February
2013
11
February
KLM | Which romantic city should we put on sale from Calgary ?
11
February
2012
18
December
Air Canada launches 'Rouge', a new leisure traveler focused airline - any good deals from Calgary?
18
December
You may have heard that Air Canada was planning to start an LCC (low cost carrier) airline that caters to leisure travelers. Well today, they released some info on the name of the new carrier (Rouge), their slogan, and the first sampling of what destinations are available from Calgary, and how much they'll cost.
Read more
2012
9
August
Let's Talk Turkey - A how-to guide for planning your trip
9
August
Back in mid June, KLM Canada held a little contest that resulted in some temporarily amazing prices to Istanbul from across the country. Judging by the number of e-mails, Tweets, and Facebook messages I received, I think it's safe to say there will be thousands more Canadians than usual visiting Turkey later this year and in the spring of 2013.
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2012
12
June
Calgary to Istanbul, Turkey - from $700 roundtrip after taxes!
12
June
I've been waiting a long time for this! Turkey has always been near the top of my list of places on this planet that I want to check out (and it's a long list). Fares are *never* cheap though, and usually hover around a minimum of $1300-$1400 roundtrip after taxes.
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2012
11
June
KLM asking people to vote on which city they should put on sale
11
June
UPDATE:
Read more
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