Crowded Airports, Gate Changes & a Window Seat! ~ 1 Short Flight, 2 Countries
GENERAL FLIGHT INFO
✈️ Airline: Pegasus Airlines
🔢 Flight number: PC271
📅 Date travelled: 20 May 2026
🇹🇷 Departure: Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW), Türkiye
🇧🇬 Arrival: Sofia Airport (SOF), Bulgaria
⏱️ Scheduled flight duration: Approximately 1 hour 20 minutes
💺 My seat: 7F – Window seat
🚪 Departure gate: Changed to 202A
🚇 Sofia city transfer: Metro to Serdika Station
⏱️ Metro journey: Approximately 30 minutes
🌐 Airline website: Pegasus Airlines
SAW ISN’T ISTANBUL’S MAIN AIRPORT! Sabiha Gökçen Airport is on the Asian side of Istanbul, while Istanbul Airport (IST) is on the European side. Make sure you check which airport your flight uses!
HOW TO ESCAPE THIS CROWD!?
UGH! The SAW airport was so crowded!
I decided to walk all the way to the end of the terminal to just get away from all the crowds, you couldnt even move!
Lucky I did because there was so much more space here, even though there was construction work going on, it was much more comfy here
The Pegasus app is really good – got a message directly to the app I didnt need to go to the screens
Notified via email with transit information which was excellent compared to other airlines
Landed in Turkey a dismal 17 degree overcast day
I walked all the way to the end of the terminal where there was a whole new area built and had plenty of chairs
I just had to add in the prices of some of the things here – a small can of sprite is €7.50!! Thats around $12au
My gate was at the new section which they are building now, so I found a comfy chair and sat down for a couple hours that I was here
The gate was changed to 202A so had to go all the way back to the old terminal
It was hot and sweaty there and i filled mt water bottle and eventually found a seat, and we boarded at 10:50am – i nabbed 7f the window seat im happy with that both seats full next to me
Gate 202a – andddd back into the crowds I go!
Waiting to get boarding passes scanned in
BOARDING PC271 ~ HELLO, WINDOW SEAT!
Yesss…. getting into the plane, comfy and cosy into my seat, im in my happy place
It was raining outside – good weather to be inside!
I was at the front so quickly took this shot – I must have checked in as one of the first
Pegasus have been very efficient and the app has been perfect! Always updating me and making sure I know when they are boarding and which gate – its prob one of the better airline apps that Ive used
Nice views from the window – I dont think ive sat at the front of the plane before, my pics usually have the back of the engine not the front
We walked off the plane into a bus and quick ride to the terminal
Touchdown in Sofia! Next stop, the city centre
Walked 5mins to the metro station, easy to find and best option to go to the cbd
It took around 30mins to get to Serdika – very easy and cheap option to get into the city
❤️ MY VERDICT ~ WOULD I FLY PEGASUS AGAIN?
Yup! I really liked my experience – crowds were chaos at SAW airport
The Pegasus app makes up for a lot, it was the standout for me, the regular notifications, helpful information and clear communication made navigating a busy airport much easier
Add a window seat and an easy metro journey into Sofia, and it was a pretty good travel day!
FLIGHT REVIEW FOR FLIGHT 1
20may26
