Air Canada has struck a new interline partnership with Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines, making it easier for Canadian travellers to reach Türkiye’s most popular cities.
Under the deal, you can book single-itinerary trips that combine Air Canada flights into Europe with Pegasus-operated segments to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW) and Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport (ADB), with through-checked baggage and protected connections.
The agreement takes effect immediately and will roll out across Air Canada’s booking channels as schedules and fares are filed, aligning with the airline’s broader push to connect “people, markets, and opportunities” while giving Pegasus better access to Canadian-origin traffic into its Turkish network.
Routes and Gateways To Türkiye
At launch, the partnership covers nine Pegasus-operated routes that can be sold on a single ticket with Air Canada flights. These link Air Canada’s existing European gateways with Istanbul and Izmir.
Air Canada customers will be able to connect on the following Pegasus routes:
- Amsterdam (AMS) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Frankfurt (FRA) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Copenhagen (CPH) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Munich (MUC) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Geneva (GVA) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Vienna (VIE) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Zurich (ZRH) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Athens (ATH) to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
- Frankfurt (FRA) to İzmir Adnan Menderes (ADB)
In practice, that means you can fly Air Canada from Canada to one of these European hubs and then continue on Pegasus to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen or Izmir, all on a single booking.
You also get the usual interline perks: one ticket from origin to final destination and baggage checked through, which is a lot less stressful than trying to self-connect on separate low-cost tickets.
Pegasus As A Turkish Gateway
Pegasus is a major player at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport and runs a large network of domestic and regional routes. The airline serves 158 destinations in 55 countries, including 39 domestic routes within Türkiye and 119 international routes across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia.
It operates a young narrow-body fleet, mostly Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 aircraft, in an all-economy layout. There is no lie-flat business cabin to get excited about, and if you are used to Air Canada Signature Class, the Pegasus sector will feel more like “let’s just get there” than “let’s linger over the wine list.”
For Canadians, the current partnership is focused on getting you to Istanbul and Izmir more easily. Longer term, if the relationship deepens into a full codeshare, Pegasus could become a useful springboard for exploring Turkish coastal resorts and nearby countries on the same Air Canada-linked ticket.
That said, this is exactly the kind of partner that makes a network useful. Pegasus focuses on sharp pricing and dense schedules out of Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen and other Turkish bases, with the usual low-cost approach to ancillary fees for seats, bags, and food. As long as you know what you are getting into, it can be a very pragmatic way to bridge the last leg into Türkiye.
Personally, I would love to see something like Frankfurt (FRA) to Kayseri (ASR) added in a future phase. Kayseri is one of the main gateways to Cappadocia, so being able to book Canada to Europe to Kayseri on a single ticket would make those hot-air balloon and cave-hotel trips significantly easier for Canadians to plan.
What This Means For Aeroplan Members
Now to the important part for points collectors: at this stage, this is strictly an interline agreement.
The press release explicitly mentions future plans to explore codeshare and loyalty agreements, but it does not announce:
- Aeroplan redemptions on Pegasus
- Aeroplan earning or Status Qualifying Credits on Pegasus
- Elite benefits for Aeroplan members on Pegasus
So, for now, think of Pegasus flights as revenue segments conveniently attached to an Air Canada cash ticket. If you are booking an Aeroplan award to Europe, you will still need a separate Pegasus booking to continue into Türkiye until any loyalty integration is formally announced.
The immediate upside for Aeroplan members is indirect: you can reduce the risk of misconnecting by keeping your Europe–Türkiye segment on the same PNR, instead of juggling separate bookings and hoping your bag keeps up.
Why This Matters For Travellers Heading To Türkiye
Stepping back, this is another incremental but meaningful improvement in connectivity between Canada and Türkiye.
Air Canada gains convenient access to Istanbul and Izmir without immediately committing aircraft to Turkish routes, while Pegasus gets more feed from Canadian passengers into its hub at Sabiha Gökçen and its growing Turkish network.
If and when the partnership expands into a full codeshare with loyalty benefits, it could become particularly attractive for Aeroplan members who enjoy multi-city trips around Europe and the Mediterranean, with side journeys to spots like Cappadocia, the Aegean coast, or the Turquoise Coast built into a single, connected itinerary.
Conclusion
Air Canada’s new partnership with Pegasus Airlines will not change your Aeroplan strategy overnight, but it does make it easier and less stressful to get from Canada to Istanbul and Izmir on a single ticket.
Pegasus is a no-frills, low-cost option rather than a premium experience, yet its network and pricing are exactly what make this tie-up useful.
For now, treat it as a connectivity and convenience play, and keep an eye on future announcements about codeshare and loyalty integration, where things could get much more interesting for points collectors planning that long-awaited Cappadocia trip.
This story originally appeared on princeoftravel
