Turkish Airlines short haul business recliner

Since the devaluation in spring 2024, Miles&Smiles miles, Turkish Airlines’ frequent flyer program, have unfortunately become significantly less valuable. However, mileage upgrades from Economy to Business Class are still comparatively worthwhile.

In June, this becomes even more attractive. Those who use their miles for an upgrade on short- and medium-haul flights will receive a 30% discount on the required mileage amount. The offer is only valid for flights until June 30, 2026, and upgrades must be booked no later than June 15, 2026.

The offer applies to selected routes in the following zones:

Zone Example Route Upgrade Price Colour on Map
Europe 1 Bucharest – Istanbul 14,000 20,000 miles light green
Europe 2 Frankfurt – Istanbul 17,500 25,000 miles blue
Central Asia Istanbul – Kathmandu 14,500 35,000 miles orange
North Africa Istanbul – Cairo 28,000 40,000 miles black
Central Africa Istanbul – Mombasa 42,000 60,000 miles wine red
East Asia Istanbul – Phuket 45,400 65,000 miles turquoise
Southern Africa Istanbul – Seychelles 52,500 75,000 miles purple

We’ve mapped all destinations included in the promotion below. You can find the zone assignment in the table above:



Unfortunately, some popular destinations, such as Dubai, are not discounted. Within the UAE, only Abu Dhabi (without a lie-flat seat) is included.

Conditions

  • Booking period (for upgrade): Until June 15, 2026
  • Travel period: June 1 – June 30, 2026
  • All upgrades are subject to availability and are never guaranteed
  • Valid only for upgrades completed online
  • Applies only to flights operated by Turkish Airlines, not Star Alliance partners
  • Valid only for Miles&Smiles miles, not upgrades through other programs

If the conditions are met, the reduced price is automatically displayed when attempting the upgrade. For example, here on the Istanbul – Kuwait route during the previous sale:

TK 30 upgrade rabatt

Upgrade availability is generally better than for award flights. Based on experience, they are usually available if at least one seat is still being sold in booking class J. However, this is not guaranteed.

European Routes with Lie-Flat Seats

Unlike Lufthansa and others, Turkish Airlines also offers proper Business Class seats on short-haul routes. On Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft, this means a 2-2 seat configuration.

On some routes from Istanbul to Europe, Turkish Airlines even deploys wide-body jets with lie-flat seats. For the roughly 3-hour flight time, you can expect significantly more comfort and space. This is the case, for example, on the following routes:

  • Amsterdam: 3x daily A330 (angled-flat), 1x daily Boeing 777 (lie-flat), 1x daily A321 (recliner)
  • Barcelona: 1 daily lie-flat flight
  • Dublin: 1x daily A330 (angled-flat), 1x daily A321 (recliner)
  • London Heathrow: 2x daily Boeing 787 (lie-flat), 2x daily A330 (lie-flat), 2x daily A321 (recliner)
  • Paris CDG: 3 daily lie-flat flights on various aircraft types
  • Rome: 1x daily Boeing 787 (lie-flat), 1x daily A330 (angled-flat), 2x daily Airbus A321 (recliner)

Sadly, out of the airports on the list above, only upgrades to Rome are discounted during this promotion. Smaller European airports like Bilbao, Manchester, Porto and Stuttgart are on the list, but only receive narrow-body service.

Translated and edited by Ditmar