CHI - IST

$542 Find Cheap Flights from Chicago to Istanbul

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Chicago to Istanbul departing on 1/29. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to Istanbul Airport

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Chicago to Istanbul.
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Chicago to Istanbul.
Travelers love KAYAK
41,299,237 searches in the past 7 days on KAYAK

Save 23% or moreCompare multiple travel sites with one search.

Track pricesNot ready to book? Create a price alert for when prices drop.

Bundle and saveSave money when you bundle your flight + hotel.

Filter your dealsChoose cabin class, free Wi-Fi and more.

Everything you should know

Cheapest round-trip
$674
Overall average: $993
Turkish Airlines
Mon 4/6Mon 4/20
ORD - IST • Non-stop
Cheapest one-way
$510
Typical prices: $452-$647
Multiple Airlines
Thu 1/29
ORD - IST • 3 stops
Our travelers' advice
AI-powered summary based on content written by travel experts. AI can make mistakes.
Turkish Airlines offers free Wi-Fi for members.
Enjoy 11.3-inch screens in Turkish Airlines economy.
Expert advice
Expert advice
Expert advice
Expert advice
Video guide: How to find cheap flights to Istanbul
Watch video
Watch video
Watch video
Watch video
Top airlines
Turkish Airlines
Cheapest • from $674 (round-trip)
LOT
Best reviews • 7.5 score
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
+1
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
Top routes
ORD
-
IST
Cheapest
ORD
-
IST
Most popular
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
When to book
4 weeks
in advance
Our data shows that travelers who book at least 4 weeks in advance save around 19% compared to booking last minute.
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
When to travel
November
Cheapest • 13% price drop
June
Most popular
Good to know
Good to know
+1
+1
Good to know
Good to know
+1
Start a new search
KAYAK searches 100s of sites at once to find you the best travel deals.
We hope you love your trip to Istanbul!
Flight Deals
Booking Insights
Expert advice
Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from Chicago to Istanbul (CHI-IST)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Chicago to Istanbul that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from Chicago to Istanbul

Mon, Apr 6 - Mon, Apr 20
Turkish Airlines Logo
8:10 pm - 2:50 pm
ORD
-
IST
10h 40mnonstop
Turkish Airlines Logo
2:45 pm - 6:15 pm
IST
-
ORD
11h 30mnonstop
$674Turkish Airlines
Fri, Apr 10 - Mon, Apr 20
Scandinavian Airlines Logo
7:35 pm - 3:40 am
ORD
-
IST
48h 05m
2 stops
Scandinavian Airlines Logo
4:30 am - 4:10 pm
IST
-
ORD
19h 40m
1 stop
$677Scandinavian Airlines
Mon, May 4 - Fri, May 22
Scandinavian Airlines Logo
7:15 pm - 3:40 am
ORD
-
IST
24h 25m
1 stop
Scandinavian Airlines Logo
4:30 am - 4:10 pm
IST
-
ORD
19h 40m
1 stop
$680Scandinavian Airlines
Tue, Mar 31 - Mon, Apr 13
Scandinavian Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 3:40 am
ORD
-
IST
36h 40m
2 stops
Scandinavian Airlines Logo
4:30 am - 4:10 pm
IST
-
ORD
19h 40m
1 stop
$683Scandinavian Airlines
Mon, May 4 - Sun, May 24
Scandinavian Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 3:40 am
ORD
-
IST
36h 40m
2 stops
Scandinavian Airlines Logo
4:30 am - 11:47 pm
IST
-
ORD
27h 17m
2 stops
$685Scandinavian Airlines
Fri, Mar 6 - Mon, Mar 9
Turkish Airlines Logo
11:50 am - 7:10 am
ORD
-
IST
10h 20mnonstop
Turkish Airlines Logo
7:35 am - 11:05 am
IST
-
ORD
11h 30mnonstop
$686Turkish Airlines
Thu, Mar 5 - Tue, Mar 10
Multiple Airlines Logo
12:44 pm - 8:10 pm
ORD
-
IST
22h 26m
2 stops
Multiple Airlines Logo
5:20 am - 12:40 am
IST
-
ORD
27h 20m
2 stops
$693Multiple Airlines
Mon, Feb 9 - Wed, Feb 11
Multiple Airlines Logo
1:26 pm - 4:55 pm
MDW
-
IST
18h 29m
2 stops
Multiple Airlines Logo
4:50 am - 5:45 pm
IST
-
MDW
21h 55m
2 stops
$740Multiple Airlines
Tue, Mar 17 - Wed, Mar 25
Delta Logo
6:34 pm - 3:50 am
MDW
-
IST
25h 16m
2 stops
Delta Logo
4:50 am - 5:22 pm
IST
-
MDW
20h 32m
2 stops
$799Delta
Mon, Mar 23 - Mon, Mar 30
Delta Logo
6:34 pm - 3:50 am
MDW
-
IST
25h 16m
2 stops
Delta Logo
5:20 pm - 5:54 pm
IST
-
MDW
32h 34m
2 stops
$800Delta
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Chicago to Istanbul flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from Chicago to Istanbul to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

Find cheap flights to Istanbul
Find cheap flights to Istanbul

Planning a trip from Chicago to Istanbul? KAYAK’s data-powered insights will help you find cheap flights. Learn the best time to fly, how early to book your ticket, and other tips to secure great prices.

How much is a round-trip flight from Chicago to Istanbul Airport?

This analysis is based on the cheapest round-trip price found on KAYAK in the last 12 months by searching for a flight from Chicago to Istanbul Airport departing in April.

What is the cheapest Chicago to Istanbul Airport flight route?

Data is based on round-trip flight searches on KAYAK over the past month.

The cheapest return flight from Chicago to Istanbul Airport costs $540 on the route between Chicago O'Hare Intl Airport (ORD) and Istanbul Airport (IST). It is also the most popular route.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Chicago to Istanbul?

The average price of all round-trip flights from Chicago to Istanbul Airport clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

For Chicago to Istanbul, Wednesday is the cheapest day to fly on average and Friday is the most expensive. Flying from Istanbul back to Chicago, the best deals are generally found on Tuesday, with Saturday being the most expensive.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Chicago to Istanbul Airport?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Chicago to Istanbul Airport, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from Chicago to Istanbul Airport is November, where tickets cost $886 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are June and May, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $1,385 and $1,135 respectively.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from Chicago to Istanbul Airport?

The average round-trip price for all non-stop flights, flights with one layover, and flights with two layovers for the route found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

Yes, flying with a layover may cost you more time, but you can also save money on the route, with a 1 stop layover the cheapest option at $909 on average.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Chicago to Istanbul Airport?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from Chicago to Istanbul Airport, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from Chicago to Istanbul Airport, you should book around 4 weeks before departure, which saves you about 19% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 23 weeks before departure.

Expert advice

Expert advice for your flight from Chicago to Istanbul

 
AI-powered summary based on content written by travel experts. AI can make mistakes.
KAYAK teamed up with top travel experts to share the best tips for your journey.
Our travel experts
Robert Schrader

Robert Schrader

Expert on IndiGo

One of the web's original travel bloggers, Robert launched his first site Leave Your Daily Hell in 2009. Since then, he's expanded into destination niche sites (one each for Japan, Thailand and Taiwan), in addition to having written for the inflight magazines of Singapore Airlines and Korean Air. Overall, he's visited nearly 100 countries, and flies business as often as possible.

Gabriel Leigh

Gabriel Leigh

Expert on Turkish Airlines

Gabriel is a writer and video creator. As senior content producer for Flightradar24 and Monocle’s transport correspondent, he keeps a close eye on aviation in particular. He has also written travel articles for the likes of The New York Times. Born in New York but raised around the world, he now lives in Sweden. He’s been to 75 countries, flying 2.3 million miles on 113 airlines and through 234 airports in the process.

Good to know

Low seasonFebruary
Cheapest flight$510
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 10% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 36% increase in price.
Flight from Chicago O'Hare Airport to Istanbul Airport

When to book flights from Chicago to Istanbul

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Chicago to Istanbul based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated round-trip price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or round-trips with a duration up to 40 days. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs for booking Chicago to Istanbul flights

  • What is the cheapest flight from Chicago to Istanbul Airport?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from Chicago to Istanbul Airport was $542 for a one-way ticket and $674 for a round-trip.

  • Do I need a passport to fly between Chicago and Istanbul?

    Yes

  • Which airports will I be using when flying from Chicago to Istanbul?

    When flying out of Chicago you will be using one of these airports: Chicago Midway or Chicago O'Hare Intl. You will be landing at Istanbul.

  • Which airlines offer Wi-Fi service onboard planes from Chicago to Istanbul?

    All the following airlines offer inflight Wi-Fi service on the Chicago to Istanbul flight route: American Airlines, Finnair, United Airlines, Lufthansa, British Airways, Iberia, and SWISS.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from Chicago to Istanbul?

    The Boeing 777-300ER is the aircraft model that flies most regularly on the Chicago to Istanbul flight route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from Chicago to Istanbul?

    oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance are the airline alliances operating flights between Chicago and Istanbul, with oneworld being the most commonly used for this route.

  • On which days can I fly direct from Chicago to Istanbul?

    There are nonstop flights from Chicago to Istanbul on a daily basis.

  • Which is the best airline for flights from Chicago to Istanbul, Delta or KLM?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from Chicago to Istanbul are Delta and KLM. With an average price for the route of $1,098 and an overall rating of 7.9, Delta is the most popular choice. KLM is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of $800 and an overall rating of 7.7.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Chicago to Istanbul?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from Chicago to Istanbul.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Chicago to Istanbul?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Istanbul from Chicago is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from Chicago to Istanbul?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to Istanbul with an airline and back to Chicago with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Chicago to Istanbul?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to Istanbul from Chicago up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

KAYAK’s top tips for finding a cheap flight from Chicago to Istanbul Airport

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found flights on this route for $503 or less one-way and $692 or less round-trip.

Prefer to fly direct from Chicago to Istanbul?

 
Direct data is based off flight results for the next 60 days. Find direct flights from all airlines flying direct from Chicago to Istanbul.
Find which airlines fly direct from Chicago to Istanbul Airport, which days they fly and book direct flights.

Direct departures

Chicago to Istanbul

Monday

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines

Tuesday

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines

Wednesday

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines

Thursday

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines

Friday

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines

Saturday

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines

Sunday

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines

See more direct flights

Direct returns

Istanbul to Chicago

Monday

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines

Tuesday

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines

Wednesday

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines

Thursday

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines

Friday

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines

Saturday

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines

Sunday

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines

See more direct flights

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from Chicago to Istanbul

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Chicago to Istanbul. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Chicago to Istanbul? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
7.5
LOTOverall score based on 1176 reviews
7.5Boarding
7.4Comfort
8.2Crew
7.1Food
6.9Entertainment
Airline reviews

Krakow airport is very disorganized. nice seats. friendly crew. long legs had screens. short leg did not

8.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Jan 2026
KRK - ORD
Read more LOT reviews

Krakow airport is very disorganized. nice seats. friendly crew. long legs had screens. short leg did not

Stuck on a plane for 6 hours due to a technical or mechanical issue.

Boarding was a madhouse. Airport staff was completely disinterested in communicating about the delays. Never again.

The seats are very narrow. Communication regarding bids for better seating could be better

Although I was flying in business class, the feeling, comfort and in general the whole experience was like flying in a low cost airline. Boarding by. Us, no priority to business class passengers. The plane was very old and looked poor and rely old. Seats do not recline. Space between rows very small. No separation between business class and economy. No separate toilet for business class passengers. Of course no entertainment, no WiFi and no charging. Very bad experience

Flight was delayed for a hour from Warsaw, not sure why. When we landed in Chicago, plane was still on the runway for about half a hour. Took a while to get off.

No WiFi and ok comfort in business class. Home safe I guess that’s all that really matters.

Boarding was delayed for an unknown reason for more than an hour. While the airplane was at the gate, the boarding time was moved by 10-20 minutes every 15 minutes. No entertainment on the plane.

The flight itself was pleasant and on time. Crew was very good. However, breakfast food was barely acceptable. Unfortunately this satisfies the recent industry standards. I asked for a sandwich with ham (another choice was cheese), but received a sandwich with roast beef.

During the flight, the fleas biting me in the plane.

My, Syed Zawar Hussein Shirazi frequently flyer membership number was not included on my boarding pass from O’Hare to Istanbul despite my reminder to the attendant at check in. Further she forgot to give me my boarding pass form Istanbul to Lahore and she needs to improve her customer service, please 🙏

Everything about that day was great I was happy with how things went as a first time traveling with the airline thank you for all that you’ve doing by taking us there to our various destinations thanks.

Service was slow and checked bag was off last evening when flying business

Turkish Airline canceled our tickets in the very last minute, with our luggage and everything else, all prepared and good to go. It’s clear that they sold the tickets for better money to someone else. Bad, Bad, Bad business!!!

Awful seating. Bad food. Staff only have one bottle of water and no cans.

it was like a banya -so hot... They did provide a great experience with special food. one toilet broke midflight In general it was a peaceful and relaxing flight - for business class it was good.

Chicago to Istanbul was a much better experience than I expected since I’m more accustomed to Qatar Airways business class. The business lounge in the Istanbul airport was amazing - loved the lockers and phone charging stations, and the bathroom was a spa experience in itself. The onward leg from Istanbul to Karachi was utterly disappointing. Terrible plane, and I felt like I was in economy - the seats don’t come near to lying flat and the food was mediocre. What a sad downgrade - it isn’t as though the ticket on that leg was cheaper. So, on that front, there’s no contest with Qatar airways.

Second leg of Turkish Airline with Indigo is disaster for following reason. 1) You have to carry your cabin bags through ladder to boeing 777 because it was parked somewhere in parking lot and was not given a gate to board passengers and this seems to be people traveling to and fro from those flights and is not issue with flight itself. 2) I choose non vegetarian food on Turkish portal way ahead of checkin to entire trip, However the Indigo flight gave me random veg food saying they code veg food code from Turkish. 3) Indigo did not served any alcoholic beverages stating some weird reason which is non nonsensical. 4)Indigo have TV screens in front of you but it displays nothing except "Welcome Onboard" with annoying white black ground in dark flight. This is the most stupidest and annoying part because you are held hostage for 7 hours and only thing you could do is stare back at white screen which does not have entertainment package or even flight tracker. Such a shame.

Overall it was good. Food was bad. I ordered gluten free vegetarian meal. But I got gluten free chicken for my long flight from Seattle to Istanbul. I don’t eat any kind of meat. Second meal I got eggplant with meat which I couldn’t eat. I don’t understand why we can’t get gluten free vegetarian meal for a 12 hour flight. I eat the bread and that was it.

As a big guy the seats are way too small for me. Would prefer more comfortable seats on these long haul flights.

The customer service was unbeatable from the wheelchair assist team to the flight attendants. The pilot also did an excellent job managing the turbulence.

Delays at check-in, seemed like they were short ground staff at the time and some passengers needed extra processing.

Problems checking in both on the laptop and on the app. No free seating available at check-in as advertised - must pay for EVERY seat between $23 and $75. No way to cancel seat choice. App menus and site menus are not responsive, and some items are impossible to find. Crew and mobile assistance are friendly and helpful.

Food - Non-Existent. You pay for everything. It is strictly Pay-to-Play!

The Experience Was Torture Spend a few extra dollars and avoid Icelandair at all costs. There is absolutely no refreshments, no food, no drinks. Only water, coffee, tea are free and at only half a tiny cup. Entertainment is limited selection of films, shows and mostly outdated. The seats are smaller than usual, with no cushion, no pillows, no blankets. First time in my life have I witness an airline asking for donations in spare change for a charity. With all the money Icelandair saves by starving the passenger, they can afford to give this charity on their own.

Again, we paid $ 328.00 for specific seats are were assigned those seats.

Having been prepared for paying for everything on board other than water, coffee and tea the service was OK. Food and drink is expensive but the food was OK if limited in scope. Plane was clean and obviously well serviced. After complaining about having to walk in wind and rain to a get a bus to the airport the same thing happened at Portland. I’m sure you could get a terminal gate flight, complimentary food and drink for not much more money without traipsing through rain and slush in Reykjavik. Not bad but not great.

Iceland air transfer was bad. They lost my luggage and I just received it 11/1

The boarding process seem to take longer than necessary, resulting in a 20+ minute delay

It was too cold in the plane my feet froze

Missed it by a couple minutes and couldn’t find an alternative flight so had to spend the night in DC and after much shuffling from 1 airline to another managed to get a United to Frankfurt.

There were only 2 toilets and one of them did not work in business class. We are not allowed to cross classes so had to wait in line to use the toilets!! The entertainment touch display was finicky and did not work all the time.

We missed our flight. There was not enough time built into the layover to get through immigration, customs, bagclaim, bag rechecking, and the long trip to another terminal and gate. Kayak really screwed up. We took the bus up to Wisconsin and then were picked up in Brookfield by private car. It was lucky we didnt miss the last bus out.

I tried both on line and by calling the Customer Service line to arrange for a special meal as i have food intolerances. I was under the impression from your service representative that I was successful. I was not. I cannot eat spicy foods and get very ill if i eat bell peppers. I could not eat either menu choice and no special meal was actually ordered. ( your representative tried to order it for a flight that did not have meal service!!! - found this out later). Your wonderful cabin crew managed to put together a fruit, salad, roll and cheese tray for me so I had something to eat. WHY WOULD YOU SERVE SPICY FOOD, WITH NO MILDER OPTION,ON AN INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT???

I liked Quiet people around me. Crew could have helped people with overhead luggage so they aren't moving other peoples bags around and causing problems for people that had there bags there first

The plane was delayed by two hours in Chicago which led to us missing the next flight. Lufthansa rebooked the flight and booked us a hotel for the night in Frankfurt. The level of customer service and getting us taken care of was superb. The flight crew and the service on the ground was superb.

The row of seats were so cramped it was difficult to get in and out of your seat. I even upgraded. A long flight and sad accommodations 😵‍💫 the shorter flight was very comfortable and the seating was spacious

No entertainment since it was a 3 hr flight. Good leg room for economy.

I have flown with many airlines. My first time was several years ago. Now I remember why I avoided them for so long. Lufthanza is the only airline who has ever raised a size/weight issue with my modest standard size carry on. I had to repack three times to meet their carry-on weight criteria. (Apparently the rules of physics apply differently on Lufthansa flight than on other airlines.) In the meantime their staff was quite rude, repeating meaningless phrases like "Rules are Rules." And ignoring the additional fact that weight is also weight, whether it is in found in your carry on or in your suitcase. They eventually acknowledged that customer service and satisfaction is, for them, a low priority. Never choosing Lufthansa again.

They are professional. Nice crew. Still flying Boeing 747. Thank you for that. I love this airplane. Traditional.

The issue was not with BA it was with the link yoiu sent fopr booking the flight

Loved the boarding option from Business class lounge, experience on flight was excellent, plenty of good food choices

Getting the boarding passes between the BA and AA apps was very clunky.

The airline was not clear about a new departure time so we got to the airport early anyway. The flight left early which was great because of weather. The check in process was very easy and staff were friendly and helpful. The crew was great and our flight was very good.

Awful it always is unfortunately is the only way to fly direct to london

I travelled in business class and was disappointed by lack of service, curt and borderline rude time of the crew and to top it off, all of my luggage was delayed. It was like pulling teeth to even report the missing luggage and recover it the next day from the airport.

Plane was extremely delayed, but not all of it was BA fault (some was). Worst part was lack of room - this had as much space as an Allegiant flight. I thought transatlantic usually gave you an extra inch or two, but not this one. Entertainment system sporadically worked and didn’t have great options. Overhead bins are old and tiny, not as good as aunties new planes.

Boarding was poor. All groups called immediately one after the other resulting in a long queue in the jetty/jet bridge. Seats were very hard and and did not recline on a 4.5 hour flight. No food was available. Plane was cold. There was no entertainment.

The cramped seats are cruel and unusual punishment and may violate the Geneva code.

Check in was was and the agent was very friendly and helpful The lounge was nice...boarding was straight from the lounge Everything worked at our seats, and video entertainment was good ..food was mediocre

Everything you need to know for your flight from Chicago to Istanbul

Information on your arrival and departure airports