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THY Turkish Airlines Passenger Reviews and Turkish Airlines Customer Trip Reports
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TURKISH AIRLINES customer review : 20 January 2010 by B Cauvin (France)
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Trip Rating : 2/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Business |
BKK-IST B777-300ER and IST-LIS on B737-800. Bangkok to Istanbul a day flight (3.20 pm) vs the
normal night flight. Check in was okay. Boarding on time, business class section spacious but
showed some signs of wear and tear - my seat with breadcrumbs from a previous passenger. Seat
9A very spacious, (seats all the same, but mine had no windows as just behind the second door)
rather comfortable although not perfect and rather hard in full flat position. Cabin crew who
don't understand english, unfriendly and don't know what basic service is all about. We got a
welcome drink (room temperature champagne). We were given menus to fill out our choices. On
the left, the list of drinks (never saw a bottle of wine or liquor for the whole flight) in
the center the main meal (for me lunch) with a choice of three hot courses and on the right a
multiple choice hotel-style menu for breakfast! As we were scheduled to arrive at 9.00 pm
local time, I asked the staff why breakfast, she replied "we would be served breakfast after
we slept"! So I filled in the form. After take off, they came around with awful mimosas, but
were not offered any other pre-meal drink. Then the flight attendant came back asking us if we
wanted beef or pasta for the second meal as they were not going to serve breakfast. They set
up the table, came around with a trolley of appetizers that had nothing to do with what was on
the menu. The main course was overcooked, we had to ask for wine, they never brought water
etc. IFE was good for size of the screen. Headphones basic and no noise canceling. Films were
great for 12 year olds, but hardly any good recent movies. The meal before landing was just
decent, had to ask again for a glass of wine. B77 ER on TK is good if you take a late evening
long haul flight and expect nothing from service, have dinner before boarding and get a good
night sleep. Accomodation was supposedly provided for our connection the next morning. We
stayed and were shuttled in an overloaded minibus to 1-2 star hotel 15 minutes drive from the
airport. We had to change rooms three times because of dirty, smelly rooms etc. The last leg
of the flight the next day was great compared to the previous flight - meal service was
decent, although no coffee was offered after lunch on a 5 hour flight. The catering was better
(Do&Co) and the food served corresponded to what was advertised on the menu. I paid for each
passenger just under 1000 euros for a one way business class from BKK to LIS - very good
price, but an awful experience.
TURKISH AIRLINES customer review : 20 January 2010 by W Mac (Australia)
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Trip Rating : 2/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
Seoul to Berlin via Istanbul and Copenhagen to Seoul via Istanbul. The flight from Seoul did
not start very well with supposedly the wrong plane being sent and the ground crew having to
change seat numbers on boarding to get around that. It did not get any better once on board
the old and tired A340 - crew really did not want to be there but it was not a full flight and
they did there best to put as many people in empty seats as possible. The flight was chaotic
and I was slightly alarmed to see the last 3 centre rows used by the crew as there own
personal sleeping area. The flight to Berlin was not much better - over an hour late
departing, less than 50 passengers but all crammed together at the front on the plane, and the
flight attendant would not answer of my questions even though she was very talkative to the
Turkish passengers around me. Copenhagen to Istanbul again over an hour late without
explanation and crew worse - when we landed at Istanbul you had several Asian flights already
boarding but there was not one announcement about what gate to go to or even a request for
those passengers to disembark first! The flight to Seoul was slightly better, we had a new
A340 with AVOD, great leg room and finally a male attendant who smiled.
TURKISH AIRLINES customer review : 9 January 2010 by Luis Maia (Turkey)
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Trip Rating : 0/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
IST-LIS-IST. Flight was OK on IST-LIS leg. On the return, flight was delayed for 1 hour.
Flight fully booked and cramped. Typical of THY is that they tend to serve meals very late
into the flight and take nearly 2hrs to serve a lunch as there are only 2 hostesses for a full
737-800 in economy class. Safety is very weak with safety announcements done when people are
still boarding. During flight we had strong turbulence which obliged interruption of catering.
This went on for more than 1 hr but neither the pilot or crew gave any comment. Worse was that
during this phase people were still walking around the cabin and opening overhead lockers.
Remind that seat belt sign was on. Hostesses were very tolerant and did not bother even as
they were with safety belt on their seats and people could easily get injured. THY needs to
take safety more serious.
TURKISH AIRLINES customer review : 7 January 2010 by M de Bona (France)
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Trip Rating : 6/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
CDG-IST-ICN return in Y class. Overall, the flights were mostly on time and food loaded in
Turkey was very good and plentiful but not out of ICN very bland. CDG-IST on A320 rather
cramped and so were A340-300 to and from ICN. IST-CDG on A321 much roomier but in-flight
entertainment not working and emergency instructions demonstrated by the crew. Video equipment
under the seats on A340 takes up a lot of leg room and for long flights the space tends to be
very limited especially if you are tall. Video selection was the same outbound and inbound
even though entertainment program was changed from one month to the next - choice of first-run
films a bit limited. The majority of the crew members do not seem to like their job and there
are not that many who say hello or goodbye when you are embarking or disembarking, no smiles,
- disappointing after all of their advertising about feeling like a star. Some crew members
are professional but many are not and you are just another passenger. Menus, toiletries kit
and earphones are all handed out at the same time in one big pile. I think this should be done
thing at a time otherwise you feel like cattle. There is no drink service in between meals
only a small bottle of water is handed out to each passenger before the lights are turned off
for the night flights. Seat belts and back rests were not checked on three of the four flights
and this is something that really needs to be corrected given their rather poor safety record!
Several seats were reclined during landing and take-off. I chose the routing because their
price was nearly 50% cheaper than any of the competitors. Overall not bad but crews need to be
watched a little bit more carefully by in-flight supervisors. Istanbul airport is quite large
so allow at least two hours to connect (taking into consideration delays of 45-60 minutes).
TURKISH AIRLINES customer review : 7 January 2010 by Simon Maguire (UAE)
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Trip Rating : 4/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
DXB-DUB via IST. Both outbound flights were on A321 the first was previously flown with
Kingfisher and had a proper business class layout, instead of the row of three divided in two.
Large queues checking in at DXB. Both flights were delayed, which made two four hour flights
feel like an ordeal. Crew lacked simple english and certainly weren't friendly. Normal safety
procedures before landing were ignored. Return a nightmare. Check in took two hours in Dublin,
which meant running from check in desk to plane, even though we were there three hours before.
A321 again, when it is full and on this length of flight it becomes very claustrophobic. The
toilets were dirty before take off! Delayed in IST for over two hours, with no apology given.
A330 used IST-DXB, probably the best crew we had, although that isn't saying much! All flights
had drop down tv screens same film was shown on two legs which was annoying. Food ranged from
awful to edible to quite nice on the last leg of the trip. Looking at previous comments most
people used TK because of low fares and we were the same. Another general theme in the
comments made seems to be the lack of proper safety checks before landing, which we certainly
noticed on all of our flights. Will pay a bit more next time for a more comfortable and all
round more pleasant journey.
TURKISH AIRLINES customer review : 7 January 2010 by R Crombie (UK)
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Trip Rating : 5/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
LHR-IST-JKT-IST-LHR. The outward journey was pretty poor mainly because the food was terrible
which was repeated on the leg to JKT. And the breakfast was not heated properly and inedible.
However on the journey back the food was a lot better. I would echo the comments previously
made that the cabin staff have poor interpersonal skills and lack understanding and empathy.
It might be a language problem or a cultural problem.
TURKISH AIRLINES customer review : 25 December 2009 by Andrew Joseph (UK)
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Trip Rating : 8/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
Manchester/Bangkok via Istanbul return. I booked Turkish Airlines as it was the cheapest, and
overall I was satisfied. My outward journey had a 2 hr 40 min window in Istanbul to make the
onward connection, but my flight from Manchester was delayed 3 hours, so I was worried I was
going to miss my onward flight, but as there were a number on the flight making the same
connection they held the onward flight. Transferring in Istanbul was very easy, and took only
a few minutes. Manchester to Istanbul on an A340 which was roomy in economy, and I thought
good service. Both Bangkok to Istanbul legs were on B777-300 which again was comfortable with
3x3x3 seating arrangements meaning a bigger seat. The final homeward Istanbul/Manchester was
on a B737-800 was not as good as it was more cramped. Overall a good experience, but I would
take care if using Turkish Airlines for connecting flights and leave a good time window, as I
am not convinced by their punctuality.
TURKISH AIRLINES customer review : 17 December 2009 by O Vuigner (Switzerland)
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Trip Rating : 7/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Economy |
BKK-IST-MXP return. Service on the ground good and professional. (I came to BKK with a Thai
Airways flight and connected directly to TK, luggage was sent all the way through to MXP and
arrived with me.) Flight on time. Crew on Ist-Bkk not too friendly but a few smiles seen, I
would rate average. Welcome drink, dinner and breakfast served. All meals ok, large portions,
only point breakfast was served way too early, around 2 hrs before landing in Istanbul. During
the flight to get extra water had to go to the bar and ask, no crew showed up with drinks.
Entertainment quite good with wide range of music and movies. Aircraft clean and seat
comfortable. Crew did not check neither on departure nor on arrival safety belt for
passengers. Transfer desk in Istanbul small and worn looking and not good English spoken.
Ist-Mxp on 737-800. Boarding with bus. Aircraft not too clean, friendly crew. Good hearty
breakfast and, not common on other airlines short haul flights, headphones provided. Flight
slightly late, as always the case in IST, but arrived on time. Crew did not check neither on
departure nor on arrival safety belt for passengers, on landing some seats were still
reclined. Mxp-Ist on 737-800. On time, clean plane, friendly crew and good breakfast as for
IST-BKK leg. Belts and seats checked before departure and landing. Ist-Bkk on 777. Fast and
efficient check in, luggage sent all the way to my final destination (with Thai Airways). Very
messy boarding procedure, passed security check and waited in the lounge and then no
announcements were made, just saw people going into the plane in disorder and not called by
rows. No priority for family with children, there were many families onboard so at least they
should have been boarded first. Business class boarded with economy. Crew more friendly and
smiling than on Bkk-Ist sector. Plane dirtier though, toilets never cleaned for the whole
flight and LCD screen was quite dirty. Good meals. Breakfast served on landing at 13.30hrs
local time in BKK. Had a good night sleep and woke up finding a bottle of water in the purse
holding the magazines, meaning that the crew distributed water during the night (which they
did not do on Bkk-Ist sector). Turkish Airlines is good value for money, Star Alliance
membership, new planes and the possibility of stopping on the way (which I always do when
flying with them) in Istanbul. I have flown TK a few times and it seems to me that their
product is superior on short range (European and Mid East) routes where they stand out
compared to other airlines. Long range routes are average or below average. Turkish Airlines
is not, in my view, up to standard of a 4 star airline in many ways (crew is not always
professional and smiling, their English language is not that good, planes sometimes rather
dirty, boarding in IST are always chaotic, etc), but how many of the other 4 star rated
airlines are really up to that level?
TURKISH AIRLINES customer review : 14 December 2009 by D Hiralal (Switzerland)
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Trip Rating : 8/10 |
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Recommended: |
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Value for Money: |
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Cabin Flown: | Business |
Geneva to Bangkok via Istanbul in C-Class. Geneva to Istanbul on A319.Middle seat is blocked
in C-Class. Food was excellent. Lounge in Istanbul is spacious but food choice is limited.
Istanbul to Bangkok was an A340. Seats are tired and are angled lie-flat. Food was again top
class. Toilets could have been kept cleaner. On this leg they also fly a Boeing 777 leased
from Jet Airways and that seating is much better. Crew have limited english but were very
efficient. Boarding was chaotic.
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