I recently flew with Pegasus, a budget Turkish airline, and I wanted to share my thoughts on the experience. I've seen mixed reviews about this airline, with some people having a bad time, so I tried to go in with an open mind.
I'll be sharing my thoughts on our two flights, which were part of a single ticket, without any spoilers - everything went smoothly, and I'm glad it did.

Cost:

From Hurghada to St. Petersburg (with a layover in Istanbul): 56,500 rubles for one adult and one 11-year-old child.

The price was reasonable, but it's worth noting that our layover in Istanbul was 10 hours long, and it was at night. However, I had researched beforehand and found out that it's possible to stay overnight in a capsule hotel right in the airport zone.

First flight.From Hurghada to Istanbul. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 21:30, but we actually took off at 21:45. We made up for the lost time and arrived even earlier than expected.

Pegasus doesn't offer any complimentary snacks or drinks during the flight, not even water. This is a bit of a departure from Turkish Airlines, but I had researched beforehand and was prepared. The food is quite expensive if you don't have any extra euros or lira, so you'll need to be prepared to wait.

Pegasus' in-flight menu:

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I didn't end up buying anything for myself, but my daughter was hungry, so I bought her a chicken sandwich. It looked like the most filling option, and I also bought her a Fanta. Our total bill came out to 13 euros.

The sandwich was 10 euros, and the Fanta was 5 euros, but we got a discount of 2 euros when we bought them together. With the current exchange rate, that's a pretty good deal.The sandwich was a big hit - it was huge, with plenty of chicken in a sauce, served in two big buns. It was very filling!

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The plane was clean, and there was plenty of legroom. Sometimes, I've had issues with the seat in front of me being too close, but that wasn't the case here. The flight was smooth, with no major issues or turbulence. The flight attendants were very friendly and professional.

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One of the coolest features of this flight was being able to connect to Wi-Fi and check out where we were flying, how much longer we had to go. I could also listen to music, watch some movies (in English or Turkish) – it was a great way to pass the time.
_________On a side note, I wanted to share with you where to stay in comfort right in the Istanbul airport. When you arrive, head to the transit zone, and you'll see the Kepler Hotel. Take the escalator up to the second floor, and you'll find the Capsules. You can book for any amount of time – we booked for 5 hours. It was super comfy, convenient, and way better than sleeping on those airport chairs!

For a more detailed review of the Kepler Club Capsules, check out my other post – My Review of the Kepler Club Capsules in Sabiha Gokcen Airport._______
Our second flight from Istanbul to St. Petersburg.We took off at 09:20, and this time we actually left on schedule. Our row was pretty empty, so we had three seats to ourselves for the whole flight – it was amazing!

The menu was the same as before, and since I was starving, I ordered a sandwich not just for my daughter but for myself too. It came out to 23 € – totally worth it. We asked for two cups with our tea, and the steward had no problem with that.

On this flight, we had a male steward who tried to speak to us in Russian. There were only a few of us on the plane, but he seemed to recognize us and tried to chat with us in broken Russian – it was a nice touch.

The plane was different this time. I noticed it by the width of the seat pitch. This time, the backrest of the front seat was really close to me. But since we were sitting two on three seats, everything went well overall.We flew great, the pilots are great, we landed again earlier. The only thing is that we waited a long time for our luggage, because Pulkovo combined three flights and threw all the luggage onto one belt from all three flights.

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Overall, our two flights within one ticket went well. Judging by the reviews, I expected the worst. But as they say, people mostly write reviews when everything is bad. When everything is good, few people write about it and it creates an impression that Pegasus is all bad.
But I was convinced that once is not a coincidence and I'm glad we were lucky. Especially considering the price of the tickets and comparing them with other airlines, Pegasus is great. I hope our future flights with them will go just as well!

I wish you all great travels, I suggest getting to know the reviews of other airlines:

Review of Turkish Airlines

Review of Aeroflot

Review of Nordwind (Northern Wind)

Review of Azur Air

Also, if you need a good hotel in the center of Istanbul, I recommend reading the review of Albatur HERE.

_______________UPDATE (Flight in October 2025)

So, I didn't stop at a couple of Pegasus flights and flew with this airline 4 times in 6 days))) I flew from Moscow to Oman with a layover in Istanbul and back from Oman to St. Petersburg with the same layover in Istanbul. The tickets were ridiculously cheap and it would have been a crime not to fly to a new country at such a price. Sometimes you just have to admit your love for Pegasus for such prices... and no food is needed at all)))

Moscow - Istanbul and Istanbul - Muscat (cost 5500 rubles)

Muscat - Istanbul and Istanbul - St. Petersburg (cost 8000 rubles)

So, there are no complaints. On one of the flights, we took off 30 minutes late, but in the flight, we caught up and landed on time. The other flights went very well in terms of time, everything was great. The staff were polite, as always. When I flew from Istanbul to St. Petersburg, a man sat in my seat. The steward quickly reacted and sorted it out.

One thing that caught my attention was the price hike for food and drinks on board. I got an email about this back in the summer, so I was prepared. Each item went up by €1-2. For example, my chicken sandwich, which used to cost €10, now costs €11.

Fortunately, I had brought my own food and water, so I didn't need to buy anything on board.

Every flight was pretty full, but there were always a few empty seats, so I got to enjoy some solo flying time - a dream come true!

I checked in online through the Pegasus website and, out of four flights, they gave me free seats in the front row twice, on flights five and eight. The other two times, I got seats 32 and 33, but it was still comfortable.

Want to know more about the hotel in Muscat, Oman? Check out my review here.

So, don't let the food prices scare you off - just be prepared and bring your own snacks. You might experience some minor delays, but it's worth it when you can fly to another country for peanuts!