I haven't travelled to Africa in several years and now looking at a hunt in Tanzania. One proposed route is Turkish Airlines from Dulles to Istanbul and then to Dar. Any thoughts or concerns going that route or airline. I understand there is a separate fee per gun case. Do they insist on Ammo separate from baggage? Any other thoughts?

We flew Turkish out of DFW to SA in May, no problems with ammo or rifle. They were supposed to charge for rifle case, but there was no way on their for them to charge, so didn’t pay. Flight home did have to pay. Ammo was in checked bag, but I’m sure it depends on the attitude of the ticket agent on any given day. Istanbul is nice! If you fly this route and have a decent layover, I can give you contact info for an amazing tour guide.

.

Flew Turkish from Germany via Istanbul to Cape Town in May with a group of six of us inc guns and ammo. Had to paid for handling both legs but all in all hassle free and will do it again.

Had to have guns and ammo separate.

Have a good trip!

.

We flew ATL to IST to JNB 3 years ago. Great airline, great service and the business lounge in IST was something special.

The flight from IST to Dar will be nonstop on TK.

Qatar flight first stops in JRO and then Dar.

Business is very good on TK, better on Qatar. Eco is the same on both.

The TK business lounge on IST has Beer & Wine, and fresh cooked food right on front of you.

The Priority Pass lounge in TK is not as big and no fresh cooked food in front of you.

TK has a rather high gun fee, Qatar has none.

Turkish is a great option. I flew them in Feb of ‘24 from San Francisco to Douala, Cameroon. The SFO-IST leg was noticeably more comfortable than the IST-DLA portion. As others have said, great biz class lounge in IST. If you can, definitely spend a couple days in Istanbul, it’s a wonderful, fascinating place. As Karl said, there are some excellent tour guides (I’m betting we had the same one) and I highly recommend hiring one as you’ll get a lot more out of your stay. That company also sheparded me through the gun process at IST.

Just got back from a Tanzanian safari. Turkish Air was comfortable, as some have said, not as nice as the middle eastern carriers but TA didn't have the long layover required on QA making the total trip time very reasonable. Ammo doesn't have to be separated and can be in your checked bag in a locked case. The gun fee is interesting... had to pay it in Houston but in Dar they couldn't find the code to charge to and finally let me board without paying. Have flown them multiple time and would agin considering all options...

Since you are flying into Tanzania you might want to check out my post on the E-visa procedure.