Trip Report: Pegasus Airlines, Zurich to Istanbul SAW (November 2021)

 Trip Report: Pegasus Airlines, Zurich to Istanbul (SAW)
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I needed to fly from Switzerland to Istanbul and the options I found were either Turkish or Pegasus.  I have flown on Turkish many times (in both Business and Economy) and will probably fly them again in the future but have never experienced Pegasus so decided to try them out.  Pegasus is a low-cost airline based out of Istanbul's second airport - Sabiha Gokcen Airport.  Being low-cost means that they offer a lower fare for the flight but that nothing is included except for your seat and a personal carry-on.  Additional hand luggage, checked baggage, meals, picking your seat - all of that comes at an extra cost.  I was not looking forward to the low-cost experience, but it was a direct flight from Zurich, the departure and return timings were good, and the flight was about 2.5hrs long.  This plus there was a significant price difference between Pegasus and Turkish.

It was really easy to go through and book my ticket online and manage my trip through the app - I did

want to say that my Western credit card did think that Pegasus was potentially fraud so that was the only hiccup in the booking process.  Since I was only going for a short period, I did not need to add any extras to my ticket so I did not purchase the extra hand-carry or the checked baggage; there are packages which provide everything including checked baggage and seat selection and I have chosen these on other low-cost carriers but did not need to on this journey.  

I was able to check-in 24-hours prior to my flight but need to check-in at the desk again to show my health documents, check my documents, and obtain my boarding pass.  During check-in I was assigned a seat and I was assigned an aisle seat which was fine with me; had I been assigned a middle seat I probably could have switched it at the airport.  Documents checked and after security I proceeded to the gate.  The plane arrived from Istanbul, deplaned, was 'cleaned' and then we started our boarding process.  The flight was schedule to depart Zurich at 11:45a and arrive into Istanbul at 4:35pm.  The flight boarded a little behind schedule but quickly everyone got to their seats and we pushed back.  Turkish airlines have always had a 'flexible on-time' departure and Pegasus was no different; it was what I have come to expect so if we depart close to the scheduled departure time then I considered it on-time. 

The operating plane was an Airbus A320 on the outbound and a Boeing 737 on the return, both with a 3-3 seat configuration.  I did not see a business class section so I am assuming that its an all economy class configuration.  The seats were basic like a low-cost carrier with a section for magazines/safety card, menu, tray table, and a small pocket below that.  The Airbus was definitely more comfortable than the Boeing with the seats being more comfortable and the legroom a bit better; although it is low-cost so do not expect much.  There is no seatback entertainment but you could stream certain movies and TV shows through your personal device; the free content was extremely limited but you could pay to access more shows.  The only thing with using your own device is that I did not see any power outlets nor USB ports to recharge your device so make sure it is fully charged prior to boarding. Once airborne, the inflight service commenced.  As with all low-cost airlines, nothing is free and everything is buy-on-board.  A lot of passengers were buying onboard or had prepurchased meals and so it looked very popular.  The inflight purchase happened twice, once as soon as we took off and again prior to landing.  

Overall, it was a standard low-cost flight experience with Pegasus.  Given the short flight time, the fact

I was only going for a little while, and it was a direct flight I did not mind the flight.  Had the flight time been longer, my stay in Turkey longer and I needed to add more services, or I needed to transit in Istanbul then Pegasus would not be my first choice.  With low-cost airlines, you have to know what you are getting into and choose them for what they do best.  In my opinion, they are good for short-haul basic flights at a low cost and that is what Pegasus delivered.