Turkish Airlines

✅ Trip Verified | Flew Turkish from Istanbul to Cairo. Flight was on time and rather uneventful but cabin attendants extremely rude shouting at passengers to board quickly. They were obviously stressed since it was a night flight but this has happened so often on TR flights. Good planes, decent food but incredibly rude cabin and ground staff. They lost last year the title of Europe's best carrier to Lufthansa which shows why. Customer service at Turkish Airways is very poor compared to other airlines.

✅ Trip Verified | Cape Town to London via Istanbul. It’s a shame that Turkish Airlines use the Bidvest lounge at CPT because it’s one of those pay-to-enter places that’s stuffed with passengers gorging themselves with food. Boarding for the CPT – IST flight started an hour before take-off, which seemed excessive. The business class cabin has a utilitarian décor of shades of grey – no middle-eastern bling or graduated, coloured lighting here. The staggered 2:2:2 seating pattern affords reasonable privacy, although passengers in window seats still have to climb over their neighbour’s legs. Cabin crew use a counter at the front of the cabin to prepare the food and drink service; it’s probably best for that to be done behind the scenes. It was good to have WiFi, even if it was rather slow. The Bentley night bag, Denon noise-cancelling headphones and large-screen IFE with a touch-screen remote were impressive. So, too, was the separate menu card for ordering breakfast in advance. The food service got off to a flying start with LED candles, laying out one’s tray and then the starter options where wheeled past. In principle, one could have as much as one wanted. The meze and mushroom soup were delicious. Less good were the main courses, which were, curiously, both overcooked and barely warm. A trolley of desserts and a cheese plate restored one’s faith in the presence of the on-board chef. Wines were largely Turkish, but the cabin crew seemed clueless about them. The cabin crew in general were efficient but somewhat robotic. Announcements from the cockpit lacked the friendliness of British Airways pilots. Sleep was hindered by the over-hot cabin temperature and being woken three hours before landing for the breakfast service – at 3 a.m. But at least breakfast was a cut above the usual and a feta omelette was actually pleasant. Landing was on time and we were bussed separately to the terminal. The double-level Turkish Airlines CIP lounge is vast, offering 24/7 service, unbelievable square meterage and questionable activities to pass the time. I suspect that if anyone started playing the piano on the dais they’d be asked to desist in case it put the indoor golfers off their stroke. Frankly, it was all too much. For the second leg of IST – LHR, we were on a 777-300 with a 2:3:2 configuration in business class. Thankfully the cabin was less than a third full, so we opted out of a second breakfast and caught up with some sleep. Again, the luxury of a flat bed on a short-haul flight takes some beating. Overall, two good flights with an above average business class product but let down by the necessity of transit at IST at inconvenient times of the day.

✅ Trip Verified | Flew from Stockholm to Tbilisi and back via Istanbul. Generally a very satisfying on-board experience with professional and notably friendly staff, good food (2 choices on a 3 hour intra-European flight is impressive) and a varied drink selection, comfortable seats. The ground experiences were less pleasant and included crowding at the gates, very annoying bus transfers from and to the plane at Istanbul Atatürk airport (hope this will become better when the new airport opens) and chaotic transit security at IST (which missed my filled water bottle. very concerning).

✅ Trip Verified | At half the price for a return trip from Heathrow to Cape Town with other airlines, Turkish Airlines' business class offering was too tempting to pass by, even if there was the inconvenience of transiting via Istanbul Take-off for LHR to IST was delayed by an hour, which was a concern given that we had just 1 hr 40 minutes between the scheduled landing and take-off for the IST-CPT leg. Having the full flat-bed experience for a short-haul flight was a real luxury and Turkish Airlines win hands down for providing this. Food on board was adequate and of the standard that BA now provide in Club Europe. Wheeling a trolley around loaded with foil-topped main courses didn't seem the best way of using the sky chef on board. Landing at IST was delayed by congestion and we'd almost given up on making the next flight. Getting to the terminal was helped by the airline providing a separate bus for business class. Details of gates for transit passengers was helpfully provided on board. IST is unbelievably chaotic, even at 1:00 am, but staff were around to direct passengers, and it was then just a matter of a frantic dash to the gate. Amazingly, we arrived just in time for boarding, but there was then another wait for the bus to fill to take us to a far stand. The food service on the IST-CPT leg was astonishingly good, and the role of sky chef was much more in evidence, with individual plating up of all the courses and a trolley circulated with desserts. A breakfast menu was also offered just after boarding, which allowed us to choose as much or as little as we wanted. Even the scrambled eggs were good! Disembarkation at CPT was quick, immigration was a breeze and we collected our bags just 10 minutes after landing. Overall, we were impressed and we're actually looking forward to our return flights.

✅ Trip Verified | Montreal to Mauritius via Istanbul. The web site is terrible, one cannot see which seats are available . I had to phone several times (sometimes with long waits and difficult communication in English)) to reserve seats in a business class. Fully flat bed seats were comfortable but food service was disorganized. Very pleasant staff was running back and forth with individual dishes and glasses in very inefficient fashion. The major problem for us occurred in the Istanbul business class lounge. Our wait time between the flights was 10 hours, and we expected to be able to use their sleeping rooms for at least several hours. To our surprise we were informed that we are not eligible because the rule is that only customers with a wait time 3-7 hours are eligible! We pleaded to let us stay for a shortened period to no avail. After complaining to manager, we were offered an accommodation in an outside hotel (we would need to procure visa and arrange transportation). Before our departure from Canada I inquired by phone if we can reserve the sleeping space because of our long wait and was told that is on first come first served and no mention of the rule. Would we know that there was the stupid rule we would have reserved a hotel room within the airport. On our arrival in Istanbul it was of course fully booked. So we spent next 10 hours in a noisy crowded business lounge, with tables and floors overflowing with dirty dishes, cutlery, napkins and empty bottles and cans.

✅ Trip Verified | Amsterdam to New York via Istanbul. Have always been satisfied with Turkish Airlines: good service, good food, good prices. However there was a snafu on this trip. I'd booked an overnight connexion in Istanbul because the fare was $100 less than the other carriers. My hotel was $50, so it was still a savings. However, I checked TIMATIC for visa requirements on a star alliance site and it said no visa required, but I had to pay $30 at the airport to leave to go to my hotel. So, it turned out to be a false economy. Check-in service at both AMS and IST were top-notch: I had a connexion at JFK to Jet blue to Albuquerque and was very happy that TK interlined my bag to them. US carriers have stopped doing that an American Airlines doesn't even transfer bags to their own flights anymore (if booked on a separate record, which is how you issue two tickets since it has become a self-service world). I gave only 3 for seat comfort but it must be said that it is always painful for me to travel on airline seats.

✅ Trip Verified | Brussels to Dar es Salaam via Istanbul. Very disappointed in Turkish Airlines. Cabin crew very unfriendly, cramped seats, no choice in food. 7 hour flight from Istanbul to Dar es Salaam was on a 737-900 plane. Plane was too small with cramped seats. I do not recommend this airline.

✅ Trip Verified | One of the worst flying experiences. First, my flight took off four hours after schedule and we were stuck in the aircraft. This delay meant a missed connection. There was no one from Turkish Airlines to help or assist. After visiting several counters, waiting for hours, I was given new boarding card for a flight 24 hours later. They did not provide any meal and when I asked for a hotel they made me pay for the visa. The next day they asked me to be ready to go to the airport but they did not come and pick me up. Hotel management contacted the airline and they said I should keep waiting. An hour before the flight time, I decided to take a taxi. Due to a flight delay, I managed to catch my flight. On arrival, I found my luggage broken and the handling agent was not interested in even seeing the luggage but he did write a report.

✅ Trip Verified | Flew Turkish Airlines from Istanbul to San Francisco. Cramped seating on this flight. I’d never experienced this before on a THY long haul flight. Poor food. Very limited entertainment options that I didn’t bother with after 1 mediocre French film. Worst of all was the unbearably high temperature. It was so dry I had to keep asking for water and the cabin service was inconsistent. I couldn’t sleep for the unbearable temperature on the flight.

✅ Trip Verified | Very disappointing! There is absolutely no customer service provided on the ground. After booking my ticket and requesting a wheelchair at the airports - no matter how many times I have called, e-mailed and even personally asked at the counter, they just simply chose to either ignore or they are so disorganized that they simply forgot. I can not understand how it can be possible in such a competitive climate to be as inefficient and unreliable. There were no personnel from the airlines waiting for me in Istanbul on either journeys (to and back from Singapore to Kosice). I have problems walking and it is really necessary for me to have someone help me when transferring via airports. I gave Turkish Airlines a shot and I have to say, I don't think I will be flying them again.