Turkish Airlines

I flew with Turkish Airways from Munich to Dubai via Istanbul. The tickets were cheap and the service was mediocre. The food was edible but not good. We reached Istanbul a little late and had to run to catch the connection flight. The staff was rude and was blaming us telling that they were about to close the gate and we should be more responsible. Cabin staff were also late to attend to our requests. I recommend the airline if the tickets are really cheap. Else it is better to consider other middle eastern airlines that are way ahead.

Flew from DXB-IST-JFK in December 2014 and the return JFK-IST-DXB in January 2015. At check-in in DXB I requested an emergency exit seat for the IST-JFK leg. The rookie check-in agent first said nothing was available but his supervisor stopped by and found one for me. This made the long flight bearable. The flight was packed but the crew were cheerful and efficient and did everything right. Food was so-so - getting a bit weary of the standard kebabs and mystery veggies. The IFE was excellent - far better than Emirates' much touted IFE and better than QR. On the way back was checked in by a surly female agent at JFK. She couldn't find me an exit row on the A-330 to IST but said she found me a bulkhead one on the IST-DXB leg. The A330 was surprisingly comfortable much more so that the 777 even for my 6'3" frame and the young lady next to me just curled up and slept the whole way through and was no bother to me. On the home leg I found that the seat the JFK agent had got me a seat in the row behind the bulkhead! On the 777 with the seats compressed for the 'short-haul' 4 hour flight to DXB I found sitting was unbearable. I silently cursed this agent and couldn't wait to deplane and get home. Service was once again good and the scrambled eggs were fluffy and tasty. But any satisfaction I got from this was neutralized by the uncomfortable seat and the incompetence of the check-in agent at JFK. This is the second time this has happened to me. A year ago flying from AGP-IST-DOH the agent at AGP assured me she had got me an exit row and I found myself directly behind exit row in a non-reclining seat. TK has to train its check-in staff to read the seat map better. Am contemplating a trip very soon to AGP and then later to BOS and wondering whether to fly TK after these twin disasters.

Turkish Airlines deserves to be the #1 European airlines! It treats people in the economy class like other airlines treat business class passengers. The food and drinks we received was fantastic in-flight entertainment is also great (too bad it is available only on selected flights). The only thing I can complain about is the leg space which could be a bit bigger.

JFK-IST-DHA and return in Jan 15. Be advised that planes have no individual ventilation system and were unexpectedly quite warm on all segments. The planes on all segments were dirty. Leaving Istanbul in both directions the restroom had not been wiped down or restocked. There was trash in the seat pocket and in one instance on my seat! There was a marked difference in staff treatment of passengers. On US legs the staff were merely uninterested. On the Dhaka leg the flight attendants were actively rude. Though there was no noticeable turbulence on the Dhaka bound leg we were instructed to remain seated and not permitted to go the restroom for 5 hours. The lady in the seat in front of me called the attendant. Three times the attendant came by and switched off the light and left without asking the reason for the call. The fourth time the lady put out her hand and asked for a glass of water. The attendant rolled her eyes and half an hour later brought a half glass. Also delayed takeoff at Dhaka (which seems to be a hallmark of TA judging from these reviews) caused all passengers on the full flight to miss their connections for the night. The only announcement in the cabin at landing at 6pm was to list the connecting gates. But there were no flights until the next day. There was no assistance with arrangements. The lucky people who knew what to do and had money for a visa waited 3-4 hours outside the airport for a TA transfer to a hotel. Those without experience or funds wandered the airport all night looking for a helpful TA rep to no avail. Never again. I will pay the extra for Emirates.

CPH-IST-BKK-IST-CPH. F&B offerings seating and IFE decent on all aircraft. Did not encounter one single smile on any staff on any of these 4 flights. Some of the worst I have come across. No personal touch of any kind and staff clearly not interested in their jobs. This is really a shame since hard product of TK is decent but it all falls to the ground with carelessness of passengers. Will definitely try to avoid TK as good as I can. Lounge in IST was the same feeling - never felt so unwelcome on any Airline before. Price of ticket was good but would not consider using TK Again.

Copenhagen-Istanbul/Istanbul-Hamburg. Overall great service left on time. Information on board given in poor English. Food and Beverages very good. Impressive Inflight entertainment system on outbound flight. Staff poor comprehension of English language.

I flew ORD-IST-BOM and back. Checking in and Boarding at ORD was pleasant. The ORD-IST flight left on time and they offered Turkish Delight (sweet) on board with nice touches like hot towels for the face. Istanbul airport is the worst. The gate isn't announced until just 1 hour before departure and until then there is hardly any seating whatever there is it is for patrons of the overpriced restaurants. At the gate there was no boarding plan and no announcements! Just a hoard of passengers moving towards the gate in any random order. The most intriguing factor is their double standard- flights to/from the US serve Turkish Delights and hot towels have friendly staff who speak good English. On flights to India they don't serve any welcome sweet or hot towels and the staff are rude and can barely muster up basic English. On the return trip this double standard was confirmed. Also the flights to the US connect the airport with jetways where as Indian flights have to use a bus! Flights to the US require extra screening which again is done in a totally disorganized fashion and what's more our gate changed after the screening so we had to repeat the screening at the new gate! They ask weird questions going into much more detail than US immigration ever would and make you grossly uncomfortable. Our flight was delayed almost 2 hrs out of IST due to this gate change fiasco.

Flight 15 Istanbul-Sao Paulo/Buenos Aires as usual operated with Boeing 777-300ER. Flew Comfort/Premium Economy class. This was the best long-haul flight I have taken. What impressed me on this flight was the cabin crew: they were smiling polite and always there. I felt sick (heavy headache) and two members regularly came to me (flight time was 13.30 hours due to bad weather conditions on the Atlantic) to check if I was feeling better or not. Food by Turkish Do&Co was as always delicious. Price paid was super. I do look forward to my next TK flight which will be in six days.

I flew Economy from Istanbul to Lahore. My flight was delayed in Istanbul by 6.5 hours but no one informed us until twenty minutes after the flight was supposed to depart. Even then we had to look at the screens to tell us. Never did an airport representative bother telling us what was happening. We spent two hours walking around the airport like sheep trying to find a single dinner voucher due to the airport staffs incompetence and indifference. Every single staff member in the airport was rude and disrespectful. The one dinner we were offered was a chicken dish that tasted like plastic and was quickly discarded by all of the passengers. Will never fly with Turkish again nor through Istanbul ever again.

STR-IST-DOH TK 1706 A320 (TC-JUK). STR-IST was not as pleasant as previous TK flights: did TK reduce the seat pitch? No more height adjustable head rest no IFE not even overhead screens. Service food flying were TK standard (which is pretty good) but the narrow seat pitch will have me looking for alternatives if this should become normal. Onward flight to Doha on A321 was normal standard nice seats in seat IFE - that's TK I like.