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Turkish Airlines review by Pelin Kose
27 September 2006
JFK to IST return. Good food and service but the crew must strict to the
passenger that didn't use seat belt while needed. They let children run
all over the airplane just like in the playground. Both trips were the
same way. Passengers stand up and turn on the cellphone right away as
the air plane just landed for a couple of seconds. Security is not
really tight because I still have a body lotion in my backpack and
nobody threw it away. Most of them was chatting when package on x-ray
and it seems they let a lot of things that prohibits on board! Try this
airline and you will see.
Turkish Airlines review by Sandy Carter
18 June 2006
Turkish Airlines
The new VIP lounge at Istanbul is now at the farthest most point from
the gates and has to be the most strangest lounge ever designed. Plastic
flowers and indifferent service. The seating is a dreadful mishmash of
styles and totally user unfriendly - very uncomfortable to the point of
injuring muscles trying to lean back. Now that the internal travel
system has necessitated walking to the domestic lounge there should be a
fast track facility for gold/business/first class passengers to clear
immigration. This is standard in most airports.
Turkish Airlines review by Ian Morley
15 May 2006
IST-LED and SVO-IST. First flight was fine although the flight was
mainly Russians. As soon as the plane landed most of them turned on
their mobile phones and started making calls - the crew did very little
except make an announcement (in Turkish and English but not Russian)
that they shouldn't be used. The crew clearly need to be more strict
with this and announcements need to be made in Russian also. The flight
back from SVO to IST was great although why can't you do online check-in
from SVO? Finally, why oh why do Turkish airlines insist on serving
moulded together pasta on every flight - surely it's time for a change!
Turkish Airlines review by Robert Clark
6 May 2006
Adana-Istanbul-Vienna and back. The ADA-IST was much less comfy than I
remember before. Everything was squeezed in. Flight was delayed; no
explanation given in English. The crew was nice, and they were
bilingual. Same sandwiches as before, however, it was lacking a few
ingredients - meat being one of them. Istanbul during ramadan (called
"ramazan" in Turkish) made getting to our next flight to Vienna
horrible. Lots of pushing and shoving to get to the security gates.
Thanks to the good graces of some Norwegian tourists who let us cut
through the passport lines, we finally made the IST-VIE connector. The
flight less than amicable. No cool air from the vent; only hot dry air.
VIE-IST was horrible. The flight delayed 2 hour with no reason given.
Once we boarded, we sat on the tarmac for another hour. Once we got to
Istanbul, we headed for the domestic terminal, which for the most part
looks like a poor section of town. Nice yet overpriced bar in the
middle. The flight to ADA was scary, with lots of turbulence. I don't
recall the seat belt light coming on when that was the case, but don't
quote me. A person with downs syndrome was making a lot of noise on the
IST-ADA, and neither the flight crew not the guardian do anything to
calm her down, or the other passengers who were getting nervous with the
crescendo of voice. The food was despicable. They gave us a "mix it
yourself" soup, with only cold water to pour into it. What happened
Turkish Airlines!?
Turkish Airlines review by Ian Morley
30 March 2006
After flying Manchester-Istanbul on various occasions during the last
couple of months I find the service to be somewhat erratic. The flight
attendants are usually friendly and courteous and the food acceptable
(why is it always Pasta). The somewhat rickety 737's seem to have mixed
leg space also, depending on the plane and where you are sat - seats at
the rear tend to have less leg space than those at the front in economy.
Staff at Manchester airport are friendly but seem to share frustrations
of passengers that the flight is usually delayed - this causes
additional delays at passport control when arriving in Istanbul as
arrival then tends to align with that of the Dubai flight. I feel sorry
for transit passengers who inevitably miss their onward flights. The
systems are somewhat temperamental also - I've struggled buying tickets
online, collecting tickets at the airport and checking in due to the IT
systems failing - it's not great to have to stand for over an hour at
check in because the system doesn't work (where's my free cup of tea I
ask?). Istanbul airport seems quite chaotic and disorganised. I almost
missed one flight because I had to change my ticket on departure - the
lack of people and pace of work at the ticket desk, combined with a
complete lack of customer service, meant it took me almost an hour to
have a new ticket issued. Add this to the 1/2 hour to get through the
security checks simply to get into the airport, and the lengthy check in
queues made it an unpleasant experience. The staff simply did not seem
to care about the need for customer service.
Turkish Airlines review by Louise Doherty
5 March 2006
TXL-IST - a bit delayed going out, but the flight was fantastic. The
food was delicious and legroom great! Duty free was a good selection.
However the cabin crew need to smile a bit more! I am cabin crew myself
so know what customer service is all about.
Turkish Airlines review by Seyed Mansouri
8 February 2006
THR-IST-ORD, a pleasant flight for me on my route from Tehran to
Istanbul. The food was good and seats were neat but a lack of inflight
entertainment on old Boeing 737. Continuing my flight from Istanbul to
Chicago, the airport staff were rude and hard to understand. Airbus
340-300 to Chicago was old and dirty. The crew could not speak English
clearly, and they were mostly speaking Turkish.
Turkish Airlines review by Chris Bruce
18 January 2006
IST-JFK. A340-300, economy class. Flight delayed a little more than a
hour because of luggage problems, which caused us to miss our connection
JFK to DCA. However, after some aggressive lobbying, Turkish Air staff
got us another flight within 2 hours from LaGuardia, as well as a bus to
LaGuardia (we were a group of 30). Overall service was good; two movies,
meals were fine, FAs generally attentive and courteous. Only nagging
downside was a consistent lack of info from the cockpit on where we
were, estimated landing time, etc. I would fly this airline again. They
offer roughly the same overseas service as other airlines but at a lower price.
Turkish Airlines review by Victor Neagu
13 January 2006
KIV-IST-KIV, on older Boeing 737-400. Snacks were served onboard the
aircraft for this short hop, which were pretty good - cold chicken
sandwich (kebab) on the way out and salmon sandwich on the way back.
Turkish Airlines serves very tasty desserts but otherwise service is
pretty blunt. Seat pitch minimal and aircraft looked like they've seen better days.
Turkish Airlines review by Rod Hocking
30 December 2005
LHR-IST-LHR with LH due to one passenger not boarding flight at LHR
flight significantly delayed (not the fault of LH). Missed connection
at Munich to IST and transferred to Turkish. Surprised by attentiveness
of ground and FA personnel, food good/hot. Not much interested in IFE
at anytime, but toilets clean and aircraft comfortable. Would have
preferred seats with greater legroom. A 6 hour wait at any airport is
not fun, but the cost of food at Munich is a bit off - vendor charge
USD3 for a (very) small coffee.
Turkish Airlines review by Andre Kraft
10 December 2005
ESB-FRA in Y on a saturday morning, the only direct connection to
Frankfurt. Check-in chaotic as desks were besieged by Turkish families
with huge pieces of baggage. Took about an hour to reach the desk, agent
unfriendly and obviously over-worked. Plane itself looked new but
interior worn. FA's friendly but very superficial, actually never spoke
with me as they referred to sign language. All announcements pre-
recorded in Turkish and English, but none in German. IFE with two
episodes of "Frasier" and air show, headsets provided free of charge.
Food very nice. Arrived on time and fares were low.
Turkish Airlines review by Wolfram Wieting
15 November 2005
TXL-IST: Delayed take-off 2 hours, because almost every Turkish
passenger tried to check-in with huge and over weighted hand-baggage
with results in endless discussions with counter staff. On board Turkish
passengers were treated as second-class people. F/A tried obviously to
avoid any contact with undefined cold (contaminated?) meals by wearing
white plastic hand gloves when serving meals. Busy, hectic and noisy
flight. Aircraft (A320) new, but very narrow seats. IST-BKK: Rather new
A340, narrow seats, same white plastic gloves, meals again undefined &
uneatable. Rude and noisy passengers. A group of western prostitutes on
their way to HKG are shrill discussing the bad working conditions in
Hong Kong bars. My wife decided not to fly THY the return flight BKK-
IST-TXL. I did. My reward: When arriving back in TXL my luggage was
damaged beyond repair. Having flown more than 25 Airlines Europe-Asia
r/t, my conclusion and deep intention: Never Again!
Turkish Airlines review by Ken Mcculloch
2 November 2005
Brussels-Istanbul in Economy. Helpful smiling crew, good meal service
(even a choice) and fairly comfortable leather seating on A320. Is it me
or is the seat pitch slightly less than on TK 737-800's. Only downside
was lack of TV screens which I had expected.
Turkish Airlines review by John Murray
23 October 2005
MAN - IST and return 4 days later. The outgoing 737-800 was in decent
order and the aircraft was full. I was impressed with the work-rate and
attitude of the cabin staff. The meal was standard inflight fare, but
hot & decent enough. Seat reasonable and acceptable legroom for a 4-hour
flight. Return flight barely 1/3 full, and although obviously an 'easier
ride' for the cabin crew, they were again pleasant & attentive
throughout. Both fights within 10 mins of scheduled arrival time. Very
good value for money and far preferable to a longer, indirect journey
via Heathrow, Amsterdam or Frankfurt.
Turkish Airlines review by Johannes Boecker
7 October 2005
Flew THY several times from Germany to China in C. Their prices are
competitive (about half Lufthansa price and still 700 Euros less than
Emirates). On the long haul flights the food service is a disgrace. They
announce on their website that they were serving several options, soup
etc. None of this is true. For the first meal there are no options at
all. The second meal (which is breakfast) offers three hot options which
always stay the same (frittata, omelette or crepes). Their inflight
entertainment is average, offering in-seat TVs with a choice of six
movies but only one cycle. The movies are always up to date and in
Turkish and English. Cabin service is pretty much a hit-and-miss game
ranging from outstanding to very poor. The best thing about Turkish C
class is their seat. Seat pitch is very generous (much more than
Lufthansa (old C), Emirates or Air China) about 55 inches. Seat recline
is also okay. On every flight I got a very good sleep and arrived
refreshed. All in all, that is for me what really counts.
Turkish Airlines review by Nedim Demirtas
7 October 2005
VIE-IST-ADB is a monthly route for me and I am always impressed from the
service and the food on board. For VIE-IST in Y class are served 2
choices of hot meal, in C class 3 choices. In both cabins all kind of
drinks incl wine, beer and spirits are served free of charge. On route
IST-ADB you have choice between a snack box and a healthy salad on this
45 min. flight. This service is available half priced compared to any
other Star Alliance or One World carrier, plus a bag full of miles for
the THY loyalty program.
Turkish Airlines review by Enrique Simeone
16 September 2005
IST ORLY C Class. Check-in quite peaceful, despite various security
points. Good lounge at airport. Boarding was very messy, and onboard
food a disgrace. Seating was a little old and tatty and in flight
service very "regular" for C class. Not competitive. Ground staff rude
but on board quite helpful
Turkish Airlines review by Robert Clark
16 August 2005
I flew the Adana to Istanbul domestic run, and the Istanbul to JFK connector. The
flight from Adana to Istanbul was suprisingly delightful. The seats were leather for
everyone, and a delicious sandwich with a beverage of your choice for the 1 1/2 hour
flight. The airport in Adana actually had 3 duty free shops for those who were
continuing out of country from Istanbul. Smoking is permitted in the airport but not
on the aircraft. Istanbul, Turkish Airlines ground crew could have been a little more
helpful in helping to find my gate. I had to locate it in the huge airport myself.
I enjoyed an oriental massage while waiting. Turkish hospitality still was very
strong in the airport, as a man noticed my passport was not Turkish and offered to
buy me a cup of coffee. The security to get onto the TAL flight to JFK was bizarre.
You would check your bags in, and then have to check them back out once your name was
called, so that the customs could fish through your underwear. Flight 1 into JFK was
good service. They actually hand you a small bag with a shoe horn, totes
socks, and eye covers to allow you to sleep on the long flight. Very impressive.
The food has no pork. The airline had some Jewish men on it, and so I know Kosher is
available, because the rabbi in back of me kept coughing, and I could smell his
breath. Pretty rancid. We landed an hour late. However, the flight made it there in
one piece, and I am normally not a picky person. The flight back was another story
We departed on TL Flight 2 to IST, about 3 hours late. No sorry was given. 2 hours
we waited in the cabin of the aircraft. The same small bag was given to us with the
totes socks, but I had already been wooed by that. I landed so late that I had to
literally RUN to my connecting flight to Adana. They took me on a bus to get to the
aircraft, sitting on the tarmac. The flight actually WAITED for the 3 people that
were on the JFK run, me being one. Thats pretty nice of them. 2 months later, my
wife took the JFK-IST-ADA flight, and they lost her luggage, but brought it on
the following flight from IST to ADA. They were prompt in calling me once the items
arrived. Overall, I find Turkish Airlines to be a decent airline worthy of a repeat
travel.
Turkish Airlines review by Lawrie Hall
25 July 2005
LHR-IST, then Kars-Ankara-IST-LHR - all Y class. Good basic value for money. The
flights seemed to have more than the average number of screaming infants, but that's
the luck of the draw. The impressive thing was how they handled perturbation. The
1500 Ankara-Istanbul was cancelled due to plane failure (and it seems logical in this
situation to cancel a flight on a route with frequent services). Everyone
accommodated on the next flight because they wheeled out a bigger plane. That is
initiative and customer service. And we got a bun and a drink for the inconvenience!
Additionally, they put additional FAs on the replacement plane and served everyone
with a light meal and a soft drink on the 45 minute flight. IST-LON a delight, as due
to having a lot of freight they put an A340 on the flight - 250-odd seats for 80
people. Food and drink average Y class given that some European airlines now give you
nothing. As I say, pretty good value for money.
Turkish Airlines review by L Thio
21 July 2005
Zagreb-IST-SIN: leg room is quite roomy but the flight was delayed for 4 hours
with no explanations. They also changed the departure gates without telling passengers
which made for an unpleasant rush. No food coupons despite delay, no apologies, rude
airport staff at Istanbul. Food on airline most indifferent; good network routes and
deals but really, ungracious when it comes to customer relations.
Turkish Airlines review by Tapani Utunen
21 July 2005
BKK-IST (Airbus 340-300) and IST-FRA (Boeing 737-800) in economy - full up to the
last seat on both sectors. Flights were on time, meals good & varied, FA´s
professional & friendly plus leg room adequate even for a tall chap; what else could
you possibly ask for a budget price? Can´t say much about IFE since I slept a lot,
but Turkish pop sounded good to me. Moreover, their Miles & Miles programme gives you
full economy miles no matter how much you paid for the flight.
Turkish Airlines review by T Utunen
8 July 2005
FRA-IST-SIN-BKK on a B737-800 and A340-300 and liked their service -: enough leg room on all
sectors (very important!) and their meals were well above average: sumptuous, well presented and
tasty. Since I don' t make friends when flying abroad, I found their FA's professional & quite
friendly on all sectors. In my opinion, Turkish Airlines offers a good product for a reasonable
price and since they seem to fly full on all sectors, it's amazing how well the FA' s managed to do
their job on these flights. With the prices we pay today, Turkish Airlines is very good!
Turkish Airlines review by Takaya Ikezawa
7 July 2005
A340-300 direct flight IST-NRT in economy class. The flight was completely full and
uncomfortable and unpleasant. First of all, the seat cushion was very hard. When one
FA came to me asking refreshment, I asked her a bloody mary but she poured vodka and
tonic and gave it to me. Of course I said that "I am afraid I asked bloody mary" and
she changed it, but no sorry. After a while, when I was eating served meal, I
accidentally dropped my folk to the floor asked the same FA to bring me a fork in a
modest manner. 5 minutes later, she came back to me with a can of beer. I know I
cannot speak English like native speakers, but I can pronounce "fork" and "beer"
differently. I said I had asked to bring me a fork and she brusquely went back to
galley and came back with a fork. No "sorry" again. And then after a while, I tried
in-flight duty free. Total was 80 euros from the catalog and passed my credit card to
the FA but when I was signing, I found they put 128 euros. They put a wrong price
tag! I couldn't believe it. They don't have personal TV in economy, even in business
class too. Movie selection was quite boring for adults. The Turkish FAs offer little
hospitality, no smile and careless, as compared to Asian airlines. Good point is
meals. Generally they are good for economy class.
Turkish Airlines review by Janos Andrassy
29 June 2005
BUD IST AYT IST BUD, Economy Cabin and totally four flights with Turkish within two weeks. From
Budapest to Istanbul, the Turkish Crew in the airport were helpful and problem-solver for all the
passengers. After boarded to Boeing 737-800; the flight was good for a 2 hours trip. The meal was so
nice. some spread (butter , cheese etc.), chicken, delicious desserts, good and warm rice, a good
amount of salad with special sauce and good apetizers including fine wines. Then the coffe time.
I think no airline (including "stars") have such a service for a this type of short flight.The
reading material ,"Skylife Magazine", has a very rich content, and better than many cultural and
travel magazines those are sale againist serious prices. Cabin Crew was warm and friendly. From
Istanbul to Antalya, Airbus 320; it was an 50 minutes flight. some cookies soft and hot drinks.
Turkish Airlines review by R Nelson
24 June 2005
SOF-IST-TBS. The plane on the short SOF-IST flight was a 737-400.
Service was courteous and efficient. A light lunch was given on this short flight. Istanbul
Atarturk international airport is very modern and comfortable. There are plenty of shops and cafes
for relaxing between flights. The Advantage lounge was not impressive but was adequate. On the
IST-TBS segment the plane was a modern 737-800. Overall Turkish Airlines offers an excellent
product in terms of price, efficiency and route network. Excellent choice for flying to Central
Asia and the former Soviet Union states.
Turkish Airlines review by P Garay
7 June 2005
LHR-IST on Turkish Airlines, and loved the service. Meals were very good, and staff were very pleasant and helpful.
Audio choices were very good too, and I particularly liked tuning into a channel that offered classical Turkish music (which I
love). My itinerary eventually took me to various points in the Mediterranean, and I ended up in Larnaca, Cyprus (via
Greece), and since on the way back I could not fly direct from Larnaca to Istanbul, flew Cyprus Airways to Amman, Jordan and
the following day Amman to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines (I could have flown Turkish from Ercan Airport in Northern Cyprus
nonstop to Istanbul but no seats were available for that date). Here is where I realized how far Turkish Airlines will go for
a customer. There is a five Jordanian dinar departure tax for passengers who have been in Jordan more than 24 hours. I had
tried to explain to the customs people at Queen Alia Airport that I had not been in Jordan that long, that I had arrived from
Cyprus the previous night, and they did not seem to understand that, or maybe I did not make it clear to them that I had not
been there that long, and should be exempt from paying the departure tax. Problem was, I had only Cypriot pounds on me,
almost no Jordanian money left, and all the banks at the airport told me I need a certain minimum to exchange my Cypriot
pounds to J.D. None would take my credit card as a cash advance and give me J.D. in return. I heard customs officials and
apathetic, rude Royal Jordanian staff who figured I'm not their customer and not flying them so why care, rant back and forth
in Arabic about what to do with me - I finally screamed, "What are you going to do then, keep me here in Jordan with no
money?". Finally a wonderful gentleman came forward...he was a Turk, and happened to be the station manager for Turkish
Airlines in Amman. Not only did he pay the five Jordanian dinars for me, he held the flight for me! He even walked me all
the way to the plane, and escorted me there to the very door of the aircraft, all the time getting on his radio, telling the
crew to hold the flight for me. Turkish Airlines went above and beyond the call of duty. Upon arrival at Ataturk Airport in
Istanbul I was able to use my credit card and get a loadful of Turkish liras. Thank you Turkish Airlines for taking good care
of me!
Turkish Airlines review by Takaya Ikezawa
29 May 2005
Short haul flights. I have been taking IST-ESB-IST many times. The actual flight time, from take-off
to landing, is 45 min. or less. It is so amazing they serve in-flight meal (even if it is lunch box;
sandwich and some snacks) and drinks during this short period. There used to be a choice of salad;
but it was unavailable and also the famous pack of "roasted hazel nuts" has been
disappeared from the
lunch box meal on 28/05/05 flight.
Long haul flights. NRT-IST-NRT. Good points; amenity kit for economy class as same as business class
(actually they are exactly same), slippers for relaxing your feet, not-bad-meals. Things need
improvements; Business class seat comfort like lie-flat seats (seems they they are considering to
improve in near future), IFE (pretty bad quality of audio as well as no PTV), uncomfortably
cushioned economy seats (yet 34" seat pitch is a plus point), no friendliness of FAs.
Turkish Airlines review by Alexis Doukas
29 May 2005
THY should be an example for any airline that focuses on passenger service: excellent food in huge
quantities (even if it was a 1h 15m flight), friendly & proficient staff, smooth landing. Even if
their 737-400's are a tad old, the cabin was very clean and fresh. All announcements are recorded so
everyone understood the safety demo etc.
Turkish Airlines review by Karen Clark
23 May 2005
Istanbul - Kayseri - Istanbul. The check in at Istanbul was easy as we had no luggage to check in. The flight was excellent, new
plane and helpful staff. The food was a lunch box with sandwich and snacks and was very good.
Great flight. The return flight was not as good. It started with a child of about 4,
his mother and her younger child about 18 months trying to go through security and ended with the 4
year old hitting the security person with his water bottle. This was the first alarm bell. On
boarding the plane on a very hot day with no air con yet working this child decided that he didn't
want to go on the plane, the mother left the child screaming at the entrance of the plane. She
settled the other child into his seat and tried to get her other child who was by now hitting the air
hostess. He kicked out at passengers on the way to his seat and screamed his lungs out. The mother
said nothing, not even when he left his seat and screamed in the aisle. The air hostess could do
nothing but try and put him back in his seat as the mother was totally disinterested. The plane is
now full and passengers are waiting in the un air con plane but the child is still screaming and
hitting the passengers next to him. Those passengers are moved to other seats, the mother is still
not doing anything. The saftey demo is given by stewardess who can't complete her demo because the
child is now screaming and running to the back of the plane towards the door. She picks him up and
plops in the lap of a young turkish man who tried to calm him down and got hit in the face for his
efforts. We are all hot and just want the plane to take off. Now head
stewardess comes up and
starts talking to the mother and tries to take the child to hold on to him for take off, she got a
real belt up for her efforts. She takes him back to his mother and has another discussion and
finally an older turkish man stands up and gives the stewardess and the mother a curt talking to. I
don't speak turkish but I imagine he said we are hot and have had enough, if she can't control her
child get her off the plane, we want to go now. This did the trick she took the child and held him
down getting hit in the process but we finally took off. As you can imagine the stewardess were not
in a good frame of mind after this and service was not friendly. The plane was hot the whole way
and never really cooled down. Terrible experience for all concerned and not any fault of Turkish
Airlines.
Turkish Airlines review by Samar Srivastava
18 May 2005
DEL-IST-ALG on Y class and was pleasantly surprised. The manual check-in (Del-IST) didn't
inspire too much confidence and I had prepared myself for the worst. Upon boarding those fears were
quickly dispelled one by one. The English proficient crew were very efficient. The palatable food
was served with alacrity. No bar service though. You had to specifically ask for drinks if you
wanted them which I found a little odd. Before landing we were served juice and
sandwiches. No frowns
on their faces when I asked for extra sandwiches. They even offered me an extra drink saying you
cannot eat sandwiches without a drink! We had to collect our boarding passes for ALG at IST. No through check-in at DEL. Baggage was
checked in all the way. The transfers desk at IST was efficient. IST ALG was a comfortable flight.
Full bar service as well as an excellent brunch. (Makes you wonder why other airlines like Alitalia
must have such a stripped down food service on their flights to ALG). An argument broke out between
two Algerians on the flight. Crew were there in a flash and both parties were assigned different
seats. The leather seats were a bonus. Very very comfortable. They were much better than Alitalia whom i had used in December to fly to ALG via MXP and at 80 %
the price.
Turkish Airlines review by Murat Nal
17 May 2005
I fly economy LHR-IST at least once a month and have nothing but praise
for Turkish airlines. Aircraft are new, clean and nearly on time. Check
in staff are efficient and friendly. Hot food is well presented with
excellent fast service. Business class is good but not worth the
extra £400. given that its only a 3.5 hr flight.
Turkish Airlines review by Francesco Lulli
26 April 2005
FCO-IST economy class on a Boeing 737-800. I showed up at Rome without a ticket and reservation, the ground staff were absolutely great, giving
me a boarding pass before I would actually pay for the flight cause the check-in counter was about
to close. Legroom ok but seats hard as hell (that is, worse than Lufthansa leather seats in economy) , really
only tolerable on a short haul flight. Not impressed with the food, yet it has to be said they at least strive to offer a warm dinner as
opposed to most other airlines flying to Istanbul from Europe. Turkish Airlines would be a very convenient choice when flying to Central Asia and the Orient but
they have to do something about those seats, I can't see myself standing that all the way to, say,
Beijing or Almaty.
Turkish Airlines review by Richard Atkinson
13 April 2005
Flown Turkish airlines 4 times to Bangkok in the last year. First 3 occasions the airline whilst not
being the best in the world was ok even though Flight attendants a bit miserable and any requests
seem to be a bit of an inconvenience to them. My 4th flight with them will for sure be my last!
Having got snowbound in Istanbul on the return leg of our journey for 17 hours the level of customer
service provided by Turkish airlines was worse than poor. Held in a departure lounge for 14 hours
with no access to bars or restaurants due to immigration officers not letting people leave the
lounge and provided one bread roll and one small bottle of water each. This was only provided after
the first 5 hour wait when it was suggested to the one Turkish Airlines official who decided to
bother to come. No information given for the first 12 hours as to what would be done with the
stranded cold and hungry passengers. After 17 hour wait, Europeans allowed to purchase visa and were
sent to hotels in Istanbul. But if you have a Thai wife as I do you cannot get a visa for them so
you are told to sleep on the floor in the airport ! Have since written 4 emails of complaint over the
past 2 months to Turkish airlines complaint department but guess what? have had no reply. My wife
has a return flight booked with them for May but we will not be using it as I would rather fly with
an airline that takes care of its passengers not treat them as cattle ( Thai International ) As I
said airline gets you from A to B but if you use them pray that you do not come across any problems
because they are not in the least bit interested, and if you need to complain to them, forget it,
use your time to do something more useful.
Turkish Airlines review by Phil Read
26 March 2005
I fly regularly from Ankara to Manchester, usually with Lufthansa,
however their service has deteriorated so I have been travelling with
Turkish airlines. I flew back to Ankara from Manchester TK1996 via
Istanbul on the 30th March to find I could not check my baggage through
to Ankara. The Turkish Government brought in new regulations on the 27th
March and now travellers going beyond Istanbul on domestic flights have
to go through passport control, collect their baggage go thorugh customs
and check into the domestic terminal. This is quite a hassle. This
obviously does not effect other airlines flying direct to Ankara. So
despite the superior service on Turkish it looks as though its back to
Lufthansa.
Turkish Airlines review by Mark Evans
26 March 2005
Having had pleasant memories of THY when I last used them in the mid-1990s, I looked forward to
renewing my acquaintance on an LHR-IST-AYT rtn booking. The initial experience this time was
downright disappointing: boarding was late, the scheduled departure time came and went, and push-
back was nearly an hour overdue. No explanations, apologies or reassurances were offered at any
point. Furthermore, the B737-800 seemed to be inadequate for this full flight - storage space was at
a premium, and the limited seat pitch at the rear was further constricted as almost everyone
indulged in full tilt. Unsurprisingly, FAs appeared stressed as they endeavoured to provide a full
drinks and meals service. (Oh yes, the safety demonstration beforehand was indeed a lackadaisical
show.) An everyday story of modern flying, maybe? Nul points for THY? At this point, matters and my
mood began to improve: it was a full service after all, which I still appreciate and is becoming the
exception rather than the rule in Europe. The FAs were generous with my alcohol requests, the roast
hazelnuts snack was actually tasty, and I had no complaints about the chicken/pasta offerings.
Connections for IST-AYT were tight, but THY ground staff were on hand to speed us through to the
Domestic Terminal, and the flight was held for six of us stragglers. The B737-400 on the AYT flight
seemed a brighter and more spacious plane, making for a pleasant flying environment, and again, a
full in-flight service was offered - friendly FAs, too. THY offers a choice of sandwich or salad in
a BA All-Day Deli box format. It is actually much superior in quality. Again, those delicious
hazelnuts, plus a good quality chicken salad roll and cake or biscuits. The AYT-IST and IST-LHR
return flights were likewise very good, and my mid-plane seat on the 737-800 for the latter sector
seemed to offer a much more generous pitch than on the outbound leg. Was that truly the case, or was
it my imagination (plus the fact I had meanwhile benefited from several contented days of Turkish
sunshine and hospitality, thus wiping out my mid-winter blues)? Overall, 7/10 to THY - just beef up
the information to pax and the emphasis on safety.
Turkish Airlines review by John Gubbins
21 March 2005
LHR to Izmir and back this week and found the experience poor.
LHR to Istanbul leg began with a defective video safety demonstration which began totally
silent, then shot to maximum volume in addition to having a completely distorted picture. we were
still enjoying this as we left the ground.
Crew did not seem at all bothered, probably as most of the passengers were conducting shouted
conversations across the cabin and, or reading papers throughout the film.
No other demos took place and no direction to give full attention to the brief was given
On the return leg, a similar safety video in almost as poor condition was shown.
Later, turbulence was encountered & passengers were instructed to return to their seats & ensure
belts on etc, however a young woman passenger was allowed to ignore the instruction and stand
talking to her friend for periods of half an hour at a time, restricting the aisle and causing chaos
to the the food trolleys and crew members, again the crew just glowered at her but took no action.
On arrival in Heathrow, once more passengers were on their feet trying to pull luggage out of the
lockers with the aircraft still moving, with no reaction from the crew at all.
Little control was exercised by the crew l. Perhaps they should take look at how
other airlines
deliver an excellent safety briefing, and act authoritively when dealing with safety breaches etc by
passengers and yet still remain pleasant!
To end the experience, my "solid" case had the side lock ripped off leaving it
unsecured - this is the
second case smashed beyond repair by Turkish Airlines in a year.
Turkish Airlines review by Hermann Herfranz
16 February 2005
TXL-IST-DEL and vv. in August 2004. We found the THY experience rather inconsistent.
The food on the IST - DEL sector and vv was well presented and delicious. On IST-TXL it was ok
however TXL-IST was the most disgusting airline dinner we ever had.
The variety and frequency of the drink service is very poor.
IFE was from mediocre (TXL-IST vv.) to nonexistent (IST-DEL vv.).
The European flights were operated by sparkling new 737s whereas the flights to/from Delhi were in an
ageing A310 with worn out seats.
All flights were on time. On the return flight one bag went missing in IST (Delivered the next day).
Very disorganised crews on all flights. FA's hectically stowing away things in
the galley while the
aircraft is already thundering down the runway for take-off do not make a good impression!
Turkish Airlines review by Stephen Brunette
4 February 2005
I travel Turkish Airlines three times a year from Ottawa-Chicago-Istanbul-Izmir. The Ottawa-Chicago
portion is by American Eagle, a partner with Turkish so I get my miles and miles points for this
also. I just recently returned from Izmir on 26 January. As usual the flights were very hectic
leaving Chicago, if you are ticketed in Canada by American, make sure you check in to the THY desk
in Chicago, as all non THY passengers like me found out as we tried to board. Also, as mentioned by
another passenger, if you are transiting Istanbul to the US, you will be examined extra in IST. I
had to open my luggage in buses beneath the aircraft at IST for a secondary inspection and portable
x-ray after transiting from Izmir earlier in the morning. This causes much delays, so be prepared
for the extra security. Other then this, the flights themselves were excellent. The
transatlantic
flights on the A340 were comfortable in economy, the food selection and amounts excellent. The
service was professional and friendly . The IST-ADB segment was a B737-800
and the service was excellent. They manage to find time for a beverage and small sandwich
in the 45 minute flight. My experiences with THY have been extremely positive, considering the price, food, service and conditions of the aircraft. I would recommend
THY to anyone flying to Turkey or as a transit point to the middle or far east.
Turkish Airlines review by Bob Cumbers
30 January 2005
I fly Turkish Air from Chicago to the Middle East frequently in Business Class. The fights are
comfortable, on time and are prices half of any other airline charges. Meals are better than most US
carriers although they are very stingy about handing out water on long flights so bring your own.
Security in IST is amazingly stringent, epically for flights to the US. Surprisingly the crews who
work the US flights have a worse command of English than on flights to non-English speaking
countries, but it is never much of a real problem. On long layovers THY will provide hotel rooms at
no charge which is a nice treat and an excuse to explore Istanbul. Don't be surprised if passengers
tend to applaud on landing.
Turkish Airlines review by David Starr
25 January 2005
LHR TO BKK Via Istanbul. I agree with previous comments about the long haul sectors of Turkish airlines.
The flight from London to Istanbul was very pleasant with choice of meals, two drinks service and
reasonably polite crew. The flight from Istanbul to Bangkok was completely different. Although a larger A340 aircraft there
was no boarding by seat numbers, hence a muddle boarding the plane. The seating was comfortable with
good seat pitch, probably the only plus point. Inflight entertainment system faulty on both legs.
There was no choice of meal, which I found unusual for a long haul flight.
The crew were very indifferent, they seemed unwilling to offer any assistance to passengers boarding
or having problems with overhead luggage compartments.
Pre flight safely checks seemed very cursory. The crew seemed unable to deal with passengers who did
not comply with safely regulations.
Although competitive on price I would be reluctant to fly Turkish airlines long haul
again. They need to look very seriously at their long haul service if the want to compete in todays
market.
Turkish Airlines review by Donald Reid
24 January 2005
During a recent business trip to Bangkok from Istanbul I had to change my reservations more than
once. Due to the flight being overbooked almost daily for the return flight, I had myself placed on
standby for flights Thursday and Friday and a confirmed seat for Saturday's flight. Upon arriving at
the airport Saturday (BKK) I learned from the THY staff that there had been a mistake and that my
confirmed seat had been the night before, since I had not shown for that flight, all or my
reservations had been cancelled.
Besides being very angry with the THY ticket office, I was frustrated at the possibility of spending
a night in the airport and possibly being forced to obtain another hotel room and staying for
several more days.
After explaining my situation to the THY BKK Station Manager I was rebooked within 15 minutes for
that evenings flight.
The service and the customer care displayed by the THY BKK personnel are the highest I have seen and
should be a standard for all THY stations to strive to meet.
Many thanks to the THY BKK station personnel.
Turkish Airlines review by Reinhold Ebert
20 January 2005
BKK to IST 04.01.05 in C-class. was quite full, but good value for money.
Improvements could be made in the wine list and its recognition from FA´s as there are just Turkish
white, Turkish red, ROW white and ROW red. Very difficult to get the same wine with a refill.
Turkish Airlines review by Bostjan Napotnik
20 January 2005
ZAG to DEL via IST ZAG to BKK via IST. Since the short haul flights to IST and back were okay (nice aircraft, quite friendly cabin crew and good food) I
would like to put comment on TK long-haul flights which I have experienced recently. The food was ok
and the leg room in their A340 and A300 in economy is reasonable (actually they offer more leg room
than most of other airlines). But the cabin crew was horrible. No smiling, as a passenger you had a
feeling that you shouldn't have been onboard at that time, most of the cabin crew disappeared after
serving the meal and it was difficult to get any drinks - unless you called the staff 3,4,5 times or
walked at the back of the aircraft to get something to drink. Inflight entertainment was very poor
and if you can't sleep and if not having enough personal reading material with you the flights were
very boring. In my personal opinion it's better to pay a little bit more money and fly other
airlines long-haul. And the airline should train their staff on long-haul flights better as it seems
they don't know much about Turkish hospitality which I could have experienced anywhere else in
Turkey.
Turkish Airlines review by Jan Willem Pronk
4 January 2005
Travelled Frankfurt-Istanbul-Shanghai on X-mas Day in business class. Had a good long haul
experience with TK in economy some time ago and I wanted to try their C-class service now as they
offer competitive rates on this route.
FRA-IST in a Boeing 737-800 with fair comfort and service. The (United Airlines) Red Carpet in FRA
is quiet but nothing special in terms of available food. The lounge in IST is quite OK, a bit busier
but plenty of seats and good food/drinks. Then the A340 stretch to Shanghai. The seat pitch is
really good and meals are adequate when it comes to quality and quantity. The FA service was
attentive (12 of the 36 seats where occupied.) No big smiles on their faces but professional and
good, the way I like it actually.
Arrival in PVG was smooth. All in all a good product considering the price. A big minus however for
the total duration of the trip as connection in IST is not good and the plane stops in Beijing on
the way to PVG.
Turkish Airlines review by Murat Ozbas
11 December 2004
economy class from JFK to IST. The seats were comfortable. The entertainment was good
with two movies and news from Turkey and around the world. The cabin crew was awful. You ask for a
newspaper, they make a face. I crewmember actually yelled at me. So if you're looking for a good
service and friendly people, do yourself a favor, do not fly with Turkish Airlines.
Turkish Airlines review by Herbert Lau
16 August 2004
DUS-IST-BKK in Business class.
I have travelled often to BKK or SIN with them because of the good quality of the
service. But all these things have changed - FA are not interested in serving
passengers IST to DUS. On long haul flights the service was like a low-cost airline, you will find a 1star
economy class service. After an appetizer we didn't get any salad or soup,
they immediately served the main course - no choice, you get what they have and that was
poor. No hot or cold towels and the FA's are mostly busy with themselves. I asked 3 times to
get a glass of water before I got it. Nearly the same on the way back. I am wondering what happened
to TK after previously having a good quality.
Turkish Airlines review by L F Chow
28 July 2004
TK 061/TK 1979 Business class.
We flew Turkish Airlines for the first time from Singapore to Heathrow via
Istanbul and vice versa.
On both flights, catering was average, inflight entertainment - forgettable and crews were not
friendly - not a smile on most of their faces. Footrest on 2 seats not working properly though
attempts were made to rectify them.
Horror! Our baggage arrived on the next flight in London. Will will definitely not recommend or use their service again.
Turkish Airlines review by Soichiro Abe
27 July 2004
DUS to NRT (via IST). Quite reasonable price (1440 EUR RT).
Inflight service was very attentive, catering was average (although, notably, real freshly pressed
orange juice available on the IST-NRT leg). Rather old seating (not 180°
recline
seats), but enough seat space and some average entertainment provided.
Flights rarely on time, in most cases minor delays of 20 to 60 minutes. Departing from NRT, lounge
agreement with ANA entitles C Class passengers to use Club ANA lounges
throughout NRT airport. Due
to schedule, NRT-IST-DUS-flights will require a layover of approx 12 hours in IST. Hotel
accommodation
/ breakfast supplied; unfortunately, baggage can not be checked through to final destination.
All in all, judged by the highly competitive bargain fare, a quite good offer. Will choose that
again.
Turkish Airlines review by Goran Milos
16 July 2004
Flew Turkish ORD-IST twice in last two months. Seat assignments mean nothing, every time I was
asked to change my seat. My wife was seated 10 rows behind me even though we purchased tickets
together and checked in at the same time. On the leg IST-ORD they ran out of meal choices, I was
served whatever was left over. Poor meal quality, almost inedible. Entertainment options were
nonexistent for good 10 rows of seats due to the faulty screen.
In their defense, Turkish Airlines offers the best pricing for travel to Turkey, but at this point I
am willing to take a trip with some of the more reputable European carriers and endure layover.
Turkish Airlines review by Peter Guggemoos
21 June 2004
TK 1164 on 19.6.04, Business class.
Seats below usual business class standard. For a 4 hour flight the offer of inflight entertainment
is very poor. Only one video channel with news and the usual candid camera comic. Very few channels
in audio, bad sound system. No international English reading material was offered.
But friendly staff - three choices of menu, among them one vegetarian meal. All food
was brought wrapped in plastic papers. Turkish airlines has much to do to upgrade seats and electronic entertainment systems to
international standard. If it was not for the friendly staff, I would not recommend this airline.
Turkish Airlines review by Peter Hanauer
6 June 2004
FRA-IST-BKK in C-Class.
FRA-IST B738, seating 2x 2, blue leather seats, excellent catering, (e.g. 3 hot entrees to choose
from), welcome drink (champagne, etc), desert service, cognac, grand marnier etc., very polite and
smiling staff.
IST-BKK: quite disappointing: missed my connection because of late arrival of the FRA-flight. They
sell 45 minutes connecting time, it did not work, well that can happen on any airline. They handled
the situation professionally (however it was a lengthy process) and provided accommodation,
transfer, meals and a rebooking onto the next BKK-flight 24h later (I lost 1 day out of a 5-days
trip, very disappointing).
IST-BKK Airbus 340, departure 30 minutes late, seating 2-2-2, comfortable blue seat with electric
adjustment possibilities, very simple entertainment program, partly not working and not matching
with the printed program guide.
And now the big turndown - the catering!!
A drastically reduced choice of food (I flew the same route 6 months ago, C-class, and you had lots
of items to choose from, e.g. soup, salad, 3 hot entrees, 2 deserts, etc)
This time one appetizer platter (small) followed by one hot meal (no options!!), then cheese and
fruit, then cake and coffee/tea.
I think it is completely unacceptable for C-class to offer no choice at all.
I asked the female purser about it and she was unsure why they changed it so drastically. However (a
very nice touch) she offered me a crew meal (pasta).
I still have the "big" menu from last September. Funny if you put it next to the actual menu (same flight, same class),
the difference is so obvious. BKK-IST-FRA: Same catering experience. Entertainment was working ok. Flights only 1/3 full.
All four flights left the gate late (from 10 minutes up to 60 minutes).
All four crews were polite, relaxed, friendly.
Turkish Airlines review by Bryan Cassady
29 April 2004
Air Travel is filled with frustrations, but none like those I had with Turkish Airlines.
On our flight to Turkey they forgot to load our children's bags on the plane. They only managed to
deliver the bags four days later. On the return flight we found out Turkish Airlines made a mistake in our reservation. We couldn't
fly out for 2 more days and then they charged us for $400 for the pleasure of waiting around in
Antalya. When I tried to call customer service - that was even worse - I have now called 4 times,
sent 2 faxes and 1 letter, but have received no reply
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