Turkish Airlines

✅ Trip Verified | Male to Vilnius via Istanbul. Service is horrible, staff rude onboard and at Istanbul airport. We had 10 hours connection flight at Istanbul airport, and Turkish airlines didn’t provide any hotel like they say. We wanted to book airport hotel by ourselves but it was fully booked. Turkish airlines said, we cannot do anything about it, because you arrived 6:03 am from Male, and to Vilnius our flight is 4:00 p.m. They said it is not enough hours because they provide hotel only when it is 10 hours waiting. If i knew it will be like this,i would book alternative flight. Disappointed!

✅ Trip Verified | Travelled from Accra to Bucharest, through Istanbul. Plane was late and I lost my connection. From Accra, they gave me a boarding pass for a diffrent connecting flight than I had booked. In Istanbul 3 different employees of Turkish tried to convince me that that was the correct one and no change could be done, despite the fact earlier flights were available. Customer service was unwelcoming, poor and inefficient. Istanbul airport is small, dirty and congested. They sell lower cost tickets, just because you have to wait for up to 10 hours in the airport. Be prepared to be misstreated. It seems that rudness is a part of Turkish Airline culture.

✅ Trip Verified | Turkish Airlines in the last few years have been a formidable competitor to European long haul carriers. And quite rightly so. Not only are their prices extremely competitive, book early and you could be in for a bargain. This was my first long haul flight with them, and it will not be my last. They operate on A330 with 2x2x2 and Boeing 777 with a 2x3x2 layout. While the seating configuration was as expected, it's the service that made all the difference. Once on board, they have a rather novel safety video, which is both informative and amusing. The 'onboard chef' is a nice added touch, although it's not like he's going to prepare the meal in front of you. The flight attendants were extremely polite and friendly, regularly checking up on you if you needed anything. The dining was great. With a mini 'candlelight' to compliment the food table, to a delicious selection of appetisers and sweet trolley, the service was excellent without being rushed. The amenity kits were rather basic. The IFE was good on the outbound A330 and 777. With some nice wine, cognac and coffee later, the bed was prepared for me and tucked myself in for a good 3 hours sleep. The outbound flight to Hanoi was near perfection. The flight from Hanoi to Istanbul was a slight disappointment. I first noticed the A330 had the old livery on it. When entering, the cabin looked older, there was no storage space, other than overhead. The seats looked old and felt uncomfortable. The IFE, with the small handset was so difficult to use, even the cabin stall were trying to help others with it. The flight announcements were crackled and weren't clear. The toilet I used, although clean was old - the flush button was held together with duct tape! The flight from Istanbul to London on the 777 was a delight. This was a long haul business class experience on a short haul flight. The service and cabin staff were excellent, even on the old A330!

✅ Trip Verified | Having been on a few European flights so called 'Business Class', I was looking forward to the much praised Turkish Airlines Business Class flying from London to Istanbul. Turkish use widebody on most flights to Istanbul, and I was aware that this narrow body aircraft which I was flying in was not going to be as spacious. But the moment I stepped into the aircraft, I was welcomed with a warm smile and directed to my seat. This was a true Business Class seat (unlike the notorious tight 2x2 with empty middle seat deployed by other European airlines). The wide seat was extremely comfortable, with ample leg room, reading lamp and fold out IFE monitor. No sooner had I settled down, I was offered a selection of soft drinks followed by hot towel. 20 minutes into the flight I chose a traditional Turkish breakfast which included a selection of delicious appetizers, accompanied by Champagne (with refills). The flight attendants were efficient, chatty without being intrusive, and looked like they actually enjoyed serving the passengers. I fiddled about a little with the IFE, watched about half a movie, downing my coffee. Although not a great choice of films and programmes, it was perfectly adequate for a short journey. I enjoyed this flight very much and full marks to Turkish Airlines offering a good business class product on a short haul flight. If they decided to add WiFi on all aircraft, it might really annoy the competition.

✅ Trip Verified | Helsinki - Istanbul return, 6th Dec, TK1764 (B737-800) and 10th Dec, TK1761 (A321). Both flights full, on time arrival at IST and HEL despite delay upon departure. Seating slightly cramped in Economy but fine for 2½ hr flights and all seats equipped with IFE. TK seems to have kept their high quality in catering (Do & Co): full hot meals provided with drinks, very tasty meals. The cabin crews were hard working on both flights and the lady purser on TK1761 was a real star: very warm, friendly and extremely patient with the same unruly passengers who jumped up to the aisle every time the seat belt sign went on in heavy turbulence. Quite annoying but handled with care by the purser and the cabin crew on TK1761. Good quality and great value, will book again.

✅ Trip Verified | Frankfurt to Elazig via Istanbul. The seats are super short. It doesn't fit to my legs and my legs hurt because of the seat. Istanbul airport is totally horrible. Due to the delay of the flight, the crew doesn't speak English and they don't know what you want. As an international airport how come no one can speak proper English? Their instructions are totally different, one says this, another says that. Very disappointed with them.

✅ Trip Verified | London to Lahore via Istanbul. Cancelled my ticket with no explanation on 6/12/2017, 12 days before flying out in peak season. I have flown with them before and the experience has been OK- apart from the rude staff at the airport in Istanbul who think you've forged your passport. However after this experience its easy to know why Qatar, Emirates etc are ranked above these guys. Extremely poor. From a disappointed, out of pocket customer.

✅ Trip Verified | Flew business class, TK35 Istanbul to Montreal on Dec 08 2017. I must emphasize the amazing lounge in Istanbul. No wonder it was voted the best business class lounge in the world by Skytrax. We were a bit deceived though, not to be able to have a suite to relax, since our layover was 30 minutes above the 7 hours permitted as per regulations! At least we were able to use the showers after 2.5 hours on a waiting list. Best shower facilities we have ever seen in an airport business class lounge! Onboard, before take-off they offer a selection of newspapers and magazines but nothing in French! Isn’t Turkish Airlines aware that Montreal is the second largest French metropolis in the world, after Paris? Just as an example, Lufthansa flies to Montreal out of Frankfurt and Munich, their safety announcements are in German, French with English subtitles. Being respectful about these issues goes a long way. Nevertheless, the crew were professional and quite nice. The business class cabin is quite impressive! Lot’s of leg room, very comfortable seats, very large screens, quality headphones. I was able to sleep for 5 hours, which is out of the ordinary on board an aircraft for me. The food was ok, very well presented. We like these candlelight dinners which no other airlines offers to our knowledge. The negative side to this trip though is that we constantly had to beg for a glass of wine. We had just flown on Thai and Singapore and right after you sit down before take-off, they come to offer Champagne, water and juice. Not so with Turkish, they only offer a selection of 4 types of lemonade. When they take your meal order they ask if you want a glass of wine with your main course. No cocktail whatsoever before the meal is offered. If you dare ask for a glass of wine it is secretly poured behind a counter in front of the cabin. Normally with other airlines, they come to your seat and show you the bottle before they pour into your glass. You even have to tell them at some point to stop, because they offer constantly. Not so on Turkish!

✅ Trip Verified | Kayseri to Istanbul. I cannot recommend this airline. After being unable to fly to Turkey due to recent US Visa restrictions, I called the company. Was told to call back two weeks later which I did and then I was told to call back again. I did. Then I was told that I must get a refund at a Turkish Airlines sales office, there are only 2 in the entire US. I complained and was told to call back. Now I am told that I can get a "refund" after cancellation and "no-show" fees are applied. This amounted to $32 euros on a $600 ticket. Apparently, they are only granting full refunds if you depart from the US. This is an absolute sham and seems set up to make the system frustrating to navigate so they can mitigate their losses. They don't seem to care.

✅ Trip Verified | Dubai to Toronto via Istanbul. My wife encountered a problem in Istanbul that involved an airport transit visa through Canada. It took about 8 hours of our time at 5 different airport locations to eventually buy new tickets to get back the next day. Our original tickets say: “Reissue With 200 USD penalty. What I didn’t see was the fine print at the bottom: “Turkish Airlines reserves the right to change rules regarding ticket changes and refunds.”. They mean it. As bad as our personal experience was, the real reason we are so appalled is that we were there long enough to see this is the norm for them. In our single day there, we saw at least 100 other travelers going through similar things. The only solution ever offered is to purchase another ticket. We witnessed several people weeping. Many losing control and shouting. Their own personnel were screaming at customers (in a separate office area though, it was all yucks and laughing). We were lucky because we had the means to purchase new tickets. Others clearly didn’t. I don’t know what happened to some of them. One moment was very symbolic of the entire experience. Another vanquished traveler was paying $843 for a new ticket with cash. He handed an employee $845 but she of course had no change. Instead of the $5, he gave her two $1 bills. I had one in my pocket so gave it to her as well. She held my $1 bill up and pointed to the corner which had a very small piece torn off, no ink was missing, and sneered “I can’t accept this”. She did this simply because she could. We were powerless. She knew it and reveled in it. I usually only add reviews if they're positive. I understand people and businesses can have a bad day. Turkish Airlines is different. This is truly a horrible company with mean spirited employees.