There aren’t many companies that still offer student travel discounts. The airlines from the Middle East are a welcome exception. In addition to Etihad, Qatar Airways and Emirates, Turkish Airlines also offers such discounts.
Pupils and students up to their 35th birthday can benefit from this promotion. Which advantages Turkish Airlines promises – and which of them are actually granted – is what this article is about.
Benefits
Above you can see the advantages for students listed briefly. Below are a few more details:
Additional Baggage Allowance
The additional baggage allowance is quickly explained. Wherever you can normally check in 30 kg of luggage (weight concept), the free baggage allowance as a student increases to 40 kg.
On some routes, however, Turkish Airlines uses the piece concept with 2x 23 kg. Student status doesn’t change that. On domestic flights in Turkey, fees for excess baggage are apparently only reduced, not completely waived.
“Discounted” Tickets
After registration and login, students can book discounted tickets with Turkish Airlines. The following discounts are advertised:
- 20% discount on domestic flights
- Up to 10% discount on international flights in economy class
- Special prices for international one-way tickets
10% off international tickets doesn’t sound like much. In fact, the discount on some routes is more in the per thousand range than in per cent. Here are some samples, most of which don’t really show a significant saving:
- Istanbul – Diyarbakir (business class): TRY 7,755 (~€223) instead of TRY 9,506 (~€273)
- Lisbon – Mumbai: €592 instead of €629
- Rome – Ulaanbaatar: €691 instead of €738
- Madrid – Hong Kong: €695 instead of €724
- Sharm El Sheikh – Singapore: EGP 41,111 (~€801) instead of EGP 43,821 (~€853)
- Budapest – Antananarivo: €917 instead of €993
- Warsaw – Astana: PLN 4,063 (~€941) instead of PLN 4,560 (~€1,056)
- Basel – Manila: CHF 998 (~€1,027) instead of CHF 1,096 (~€1,128)
- Sofia – Melbourne: €1,133 instead of €1,206
- Stockholm – Sao Paulo: SEK 17,391 (~€1,501) instead of SEK 19,416 (~€1,676)
However, in all fairness, the student tickets have semi-flex conditions, meaning that they are partially refundable. The prices that we compared these to, were the cheap, non-refundable tickets. We chose to do this, as most people would buy non-refundable tickets instead of paying hundreds for semi-flex conditions.
Things are looking a little better for international one-way tickets. But the prices are far from being deal-worthy:
- Brussel – Luanda: €504 instead of €562
- London – Bangkok: £456 (~€529) instead of £486 (~€563)
- Paris – Tokyo: €569 instead of €601
- Stockholm – Seychelles: SEK 6,939 (~€599) instead of SEK 7,539 (~€651)
- Amsterdam – Singapore: €690 instead of €765
- Luxembourg – Seoul: €867 instead of €977
Two years ago, the discounts on one-way tickets were much better, e.g. with one-way tickets to Tokyo for €350.
Additional Benefits
As a student, you will also receive:
- A rebooking without having to pay a rebooking fee (fare difference applies).
- 25% more miles at Miles&Smiles (currently only for flights in 2022)
- 1,000 miles bonus for signing up
Procedure
Although anyone can search for a ticket for students on TurkishAirlines.com, according to Turkish Airlines, you must first register to book. The procedure is as follows:
Register for Student Account
If you don’t have one already, you need a (free) account at the Miles&Smiles frequent flyer program. You can create one here.
You then have to fill out the feedback form so that the status is stored in your account. Under Applications, select the appropriate option:
After a little waiting time (about a week for Peer) you will then receive an e-mail that the application has been approved:
Now you can proceed to book the tickets:
Book Flights
Student tickets can be booked directly on the Turkish Airlines website. To the left of the red arrow, you will find the option to select one (or more) students instead of adults:
The reduced prices are then automatically displayed. And if there are no reduced tickets, then at least the additional baggage allowance and more flexible conditions.
Cover Picture: Kevin Hackert