The US will have an average of 530 daily passenger flights to Europe this year. Cirium Diio data shows they’ve jumped by 3% year-over-year, with an additional 15 daily services available. Multiple new routes, from US and foreign carriers, contribute to this development.

Nearly 40 passenger airlines will fly between the US and Europe. They include the little-discussed HiSky, which will double its long-haul network with the addition of Bucharest to Chicago flights. But that tiny operator does not make the longest flights list.

The US’s Longest European Flights This Year

Unsurprisingly, most entries involve the US West Coast or the broad central part of the vast country. And in Europe, cities on the periphery of the continent are particularly important. None more so than Istanbul Airport, which accounts for half of the markets. And yes: it is on the European side of the Bosphorus, which is why it is included.

Only one entry is new this year. On May 21, in time for the peak summer with the highest demand and fares, American Airlines will lift off from its Dallas/Fort Worth fortress hub to Athens. It will be the first time nonstop flights have existed. The oneworld member will now have five routes to Athens, with up to five daily flights.

Athens featured in 2025, too. That was when the Greek capital had nonstop service to Los Angeles. Operated by long-haul low-cost carrier Norse Atlantic, flights only existed between June and September. According to the US Department of Transportation, it filled 88% of seats, but clearly must have done poorly overall.

Turkish Airlines To Los Angeles

The fast-growing operator debuted in Los Angeles in March 2011. Between then and September 2025, the US DOT shows that it has transported nearly 3.6 million passengers. Its average seat load factor was 82%.

Funnily enough, Turkish Airlines also filled 82% of seats in the first nine months of 2025, which was the route’s fifth-worst result on record. This was primarily because seats for sale jumped by 9% compared to the same period in 2024, yet passenger traffic only rose by 4%. As such, the seat load factor fell.

The Star Alliance member plans up to 17 weekly flights to Los Angeles in 2026, i.e., two to three departures daily. The same maximum number of services were also available last year. However, while it had ten weeks with 17 departures in 2025, it plans 23 weeks with it this year. They’ll be available from mid-May and mid-October.

Turkish Airlines will arrive in Los Angeles at 11:40 am (787-9), 6:15 pm (777-300ER), and 10:45 pm (787-9). It’ll depart at 12:30 am (787-9), 1:25 pm (787-9), and 8:10 pm (777-300ER). If performance is insufficient, expect frequencies to fall—even Qatar Airways is cutting San Francisco flights—or the 17-weekly maximum to be available for a shorter period.

Where Turkish Airlines’ Los Angeles Passengers Go

The most recent US DOT data available to me is September 2025. Between January and September last year, the Star Alliance member carried 316,000 round-trip Los Angeles passengers. According to booking data, approximately 72% of passengers connected to another flight in Istanbul.

Owing to the large Iranian American diaspora in the City of Angels, Los Angeles-Tehran was the most popular market. Cairo was second, followed by Beirut, Athens, Amman, Moscow, Delhi, Rome, Mumbai, and Dubai.

Given the huge Armenian American population in Los Angeles and Turkish Airlines beginning a twice-daily Istanbul-Yerevan service in March, expect Yerevan to feature near the top of the list in 2026.