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TURKISH AIRLINES customer review :  20 January 2010 by B Cauvin   (France)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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.