AJet

If you see a Turkish narrowbody aircraft without the red Turkish Airlines tail at a German airport, it’s worth a second look. Chances are it’s AJet – the low-cost subsidiary of Turkish Airlines that was still called AnadoluJet until 2024. AJet is exciting for spotters because here a brand has turned into an airline of its own: new codes, a new livery, a mixed Airbus-Boeing fleet and a transition period in which old colors are still flying. This page shows you how to place AJet cleanly.

AJet at a glance

AJet is the low-cost airline of the Turkish Airlines group based in Istanbul. Its story doesn’t begin in 2024, though, but in 2008: back then Turkish Airlines launched the AnadoluJet brand. The name alludes to Anatolia, and that is exactly where the focus lay at first – with domestic flights from Ankara.

For many years AnadoluJet was not an airline in its own right in the legal sense but a brand. The flights ran under Turkish Airlines’ air operator certificate, with Turkish flight numbers and the ICAO code THY. From 2020 the brand grew considerably: it took over international routes from Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport and almost all scheduled traffic from Ankara – Turkish Airlines itself flew only to Istanbul from there.

Turkish Airlines announced the decisive step in 2023. In summer 2023 a separate company was founded, and in November 2023 the company presented the new name AJet along with its logo and livery. On January 2, 2024, its own air operator certificate (AOC) followed, and with the start of the summer 2024 schedule – end of March, beginning of April – AJet took off for the first time under its own name and its own codes.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code VF: appears in the flight number, so on the departure board, on the ticket and in the airport’s flight schedule.
• ICAO code TKJ: shows up in the air traffic control flight plan and on flight trackers.
• Callsign ANATOLIA: this is how the crew identifies itself on the radio – so the old brand name AnadoluJet is still in there.

For your logbook the changeover matters. If you noted an AnadoluJet aircraft before 2024, you formally saw a Turkish Airlines flight: TK flight number, ICAO THY. Since its own flight operations began, AJet flies under VF and TKJ instead. How IATA and ICAO codes work in general is explained in the article on IATA and ICAO codes.

From brand to airline: the timeline

AJet’s history is a good example of how a network airline builds a low-cost offering – first as a brand, then as a company of its own.

When	Event	What it means for spotters
April 2008	Turkish Airlines launches the AnadoluJet brand, at first with domestic flights from Ankara	Flights run as TK/THY
2020	AnadoluJet takes over international routes from Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen and almost all scheduled traffic from Ankara	The brand shows up more often at European airports
Summer 2023	Independent company founded	Preparation for its own codes
November 2023	AJet name, logo and livery unveiled	First repaints begin
January 2024	Own air operator certificate (AOC)	AJet legally becomes an airline of its own
Summer 2024 schedule	Flight operations under AJet, codes VF and TKJ	New codes in the logbook and on the tracker

The fleet also changed a lot during this time. In the early years AnadoluJet flew Boeing 737-400s and later 737-700s, among others. At times ATR 72 turboprops were also used, and for a short time Embraer jets operated by a partner on its behalf. These types are history today – if you sort old photos, though, you may still come across the livery.

The fleet: Airbus and Boeing mixed

Unlike many low-cost carriers, AJet doesn’t rely on a single aircraft type. The fleet comes from Turkish Airlines’ stock and mixes two manufacturers. According to a fleet overview from May 2026, the picture looks roughly like this:

Type	Number (approx., May 2026)	Manufacturer	Spotter tip
Boeing 737-800	just over 40	Boeing	Largest group, on average much older than the rest of the fleet
Boeing 737 MAX 8	around 30	Boeing	Youngest aircraft, still growing
Airbus A320neo	just under 30	Airbus	Large engines, Sharklets at the wingtips
Airbus A321neo	just under 20	Airbus	Longest type in the fleet

Together that makes around 115 aircraft, with more on order. AJet doesn’t fly widebody jets – those stay with the parent. The numbers change constantly because new aircraft arrive and older 737-800s leave the fleet. Treat the table as a guide, therefore, not as a fixed inventory.

You surely know the two manufacturers: Airbus supplies the A320neo and the A321neo, Boeing the 737-800 and the 737 MAX 8.

Telling four types apart

Because AJet flies two manufacturers and two generations or sizes of each, identifying the type at the spot is a little exercise. The shared livery doesn’t help you there – the technology does.

Within each manufacturer, detail work then helps you:

• A320neo or A321neo? The A321neo is clearly longer, which you see especially well when it stands next to an A320neo or taxis on the runway. The longer version also has additional doors or emergency exits in the fuselage. How to tell neo from older ceo versions is covered in the article A320neo or ceo?.
• 737-800 or 737 MAX 8? The MAX has new engines with serrated trailing edges on the cowlings and a flatter, extended tail end. The 737-800 has smooth engine cowlings. Its winglets are usually classic upswept ones, but some examples carry retrofitted split winglets – so the engine is the more reliable feature.

How to recognize AJet

Since its unveiling in November 2023, AJet has worn its own livery with the AJet logo. With it the airline deliberately sets itself apart from its parent: the red tail with the stylized wild goose remains reserved for Turkish Airlines. If you see the two side by side, you’ll hardly mix them up.

The repaint happened gradually. That makes AJet interesting for collectors, because besides the new livery you may still come across older colors. On photos from the transition period, for example, you can still see an A320neo in the former AnadoluJet livery. Such transitional cases are typical when an airline changes its brand – you can find background in the articles on livery changes after a rebrand and on hybrid liveries.

Special liveries come on top of that. Since summer 2025, two Boeing 737-800s have been flying with the “Ada Kıbrıs” design – according to the available information, the registrations TC-JFD and TC-JFH. Such examples are among the sought-after subjects because there are very few of them.

AJet and the Turkish competition

In the market between Germany and Turkey you don’t meet AJet alone. A short comparison helps with placing it:

Airline	Role	Typical base	Recognition
Turkish Airlines	Network carrier, Star Alliance member	Istanbul (IST)	Red tail, TK/THY
AJet	Low-cost subsidiary of Turkish	Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)	Own AJet livery, VF/TKJ
Pegasus	Private low-cost carrier	Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)	Own color scheme, PC/PGT
SunExpress	Leisure airline, joint venture of Turkish and Lufthansa	Antalya (AYT)	Own livery, XQ/SXS

The comparison with Pegasus is especially interesting: both have their most important location at Sabiha Gökçen and compete directly there. You can find more on the differences on the page about Pegasus Airlines. How low-cost carriers operate in general is explained in the article How budget airlines work.

By the way: the parent Turkish Airlines is a full member of Star Alliance, not AJet itself.

Spotting AJet in Germany

Germany is an important market for AJet, because many people with Turkish roots live here and travel to Turkey regularly. As of 2026, AJet serves these German airports, among others: Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne/Bonn, Munich and Stuttgart. Add to that Vienna as well as Basel-Mulhouse, Geneva and Zurich.

You have good chances at the big airports with heavy Turkey traffic. In Frankfurt the Zeppelinheim viewing platform is a good choice, in Düsseldorf the observation deck, and in Stuttgart likewise the observation deck at the airport. In Cologne/Bonn and Hanover, too, Turkey traffic has traditionally been part of everyday life.

For the summer and winter schedules, the rule is: frequencies fluctuate with the season. If you’re looking for AJet specifically, you should therefore look at the current season’s schedule instead of carrying over old experience.

Spotting AJet in Turkey

If you want to see AJet in large numbers, it’s best to go to Turkey. The most important address is Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport on the Asian side of the city. There AJet and Pegasus often stand close together. The big Istanbul Airport on the European side, by contrast, is dominated by Turkish Airlines. The guide Plane spotting in Istanbul gives an overview of both airports.

The second important base is Ankara Esenboğa, where the AnadoluJet story began. The third is Antalya Airport on the Turkish Riviera – in summer one of the busiest leisure airports on the Mediterranean and a good place to see AJet alongside SunExpress and many European leisure airlines. In Izmir, too, AJet is part of the picture.

Common mix-ups

• Mistaking AJet for Turkish Airlines – the livery is different, and the tracker says TKJ instead of THY.
• Logging AnadoluJet sightings as AJet – before 2024 the flights ran under Turkish Airlines codes.
• Thinking every TC- registration is AJet – Pegasus, SunExpress, Corendon and Turkish Airlines also fly with TC-.
• Thinking the fleet is all Airbus or all Boeing – AJet mixes both manufacturers.
• Telling the 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 apart only by the winglets – the engines are the more reliable feature.
• Looking for AJet at the wrong Istanbul airport – the main base is Sabiha Gökçen, not IST.

Conclusion

AJet is a young name with a long backstory. The AnadoluJet brand has become an airline of its own with its own codes, its own livery and around 115 aircraft. For spotters that makes the airline interesting: you meet Airbus and Boeing under one roof, plus transitional colors and special liveries. If you note flight number, ICAO code and registration cleanly, you can reliably separate AJet from Turkish Airlines and the rest of the Turkish competition.