Turkish Airlines

The Houston boarding and the return out of Istanbul was unorganized and chaotic at best with people rushing the gate with Turkish Airlines. However, once on board things became very pleasant. The service, the food, the flight attendants all were just as they should be. This is a 2100 hour flight. We food/drink service started fairly quickly after takeoff, we skipped the ample dessert opting to get some sleep. As usual the food is excellent. I think the sleeping arrangements are more comfortable than both Lufthansa and South African (slightly better). The movie selection is good and the screen is nice size. Breakfast was the usual omelet with fruit, and cheeses along with coffee and tea. All good.

I had a great journey from Manchester to Kuala Lumpur via Istanbul. Flight attendants service and attention was magnificent. The food was very good, seats comfortable and check-in experience also fine - being business class I had priority boarding at all airports which went smoothly. Had minimal deley throughout the journey, even transfer through Istanbul was easy and hassle free. No issues with luggage and the lounges at all 3 airports were very pleasant, however the Turkish Airlines lounge at Istanbul was extremely busy. Only little niggle was that I was unable to connect to wifi on the Istanbul - KL leg of the journey - just wouldn't work even though they tell you it's available. I can't fault them.

A new A330 from Bangkok to Istanbul and onboard Wifi and Live TV functions were available. Free for Business Class passengers. I have been flying TK for over 20 years and this was one of the most energetic, sincere and smiling crew I have come across. Even the Purser made a genuine effort to please passengers, which is not very common. Catering was good. The only letdown was that I wasn't able to use the kiosk for check-in at BKK which meant that I had to wait almost 2 hours for ground agents to arrive to the counter. The Turkish Airlines Airport office at BKK was not staffed as usual. The EVA Air lounge at Bangkok is much better than Thai Airways Royal Orchid.

As a regular customer of Turkish Airlines I now have to write a review of the horrible experience we had flying back from Addis Abeba om Jan 2nd (plus the delay of our luggage on the way there on Dec 20th). It started on arrival in Addis on Dec 20th, none of our 5 bags had made it, it turned out that due to a change of plane there was not enough space in the hold and they had left most of them behind in Istanbul. Had to go back to the aiport the next day to get the bags, fortunately they were all there. Then on the way back our flight to Istanbul had a delay of more than 3 hours. We all boarded but then had to sit on the tarmac for 1.5 hours because they had to unload half of the luggage and told us it would arrive later. Of course we missed the connection in Istanbul and were greeted with total chaos due to the fact that extremely light snow had fallen. We had to queue for 4 hours together with hundreds of other people, no water, no food, many very angry people and no help whatsoever from any Turkish Airlines staff. To make a long story short: only because I insisted on getting on a flight that day were we lucky enough to be put on a flight to Amsterdam (not Brussels) which departed in total chaos as well. Many people were stranded for more than one night. We arrived in Amsterdam with 14 hours delay and no luggage. This was delivered to us after 5 days. Service on board this time was a lot less as well, IFE was not working or was not there at all, food was not as tasty and it was a very old plane on the leg to and from Addis. Next time I fly to Addis I will use another airline.

25 hours prior to departure I am informed by Turkish Airlines email that my flight (Muscat to Manchester via Istanbul) is cancelled, and next flight is 24 hours later. Too late for the funeral I was attending. 3 hours later being put on hold and told that nothing can be done and please go to the airport (only 3 hours drive away) decided to give up and book Emirates instead. Hope I get a refund (paid weeks ago through credit card). Being an Elite Card member served no advantage in the discussions either. They have a good business class lounge for members but that is where it ends. So disappointing as have been loyal over the years.

Denver to Kathmandu via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. Great food, but once you land in Istanbul, they don't give any damn about service. You will see staff on their personal phone surrounded by frustrated customers trying to find answer. I literally had to yell to catch attention. No empathy but lot of attitude. Also, I found few staff with no English at all.

Ankara to Boston via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. Flight had nice service on flight, but at the crews convenience. First flight from Ankara to Istanbul was late which resulted in running to my international flight on the other side of Istanbul airport. That flight also took off late which put my arrival in Boston late. Once in Boston we sat on the runway for an hour waiting for a parking place. Completely unacceptable. You get what you pay for, so if you want a cheap flight that is not on time, this is the one to fly. Will not fly again.

Boarded my Turkish Airlines flight from Madrid to New Delhi via Istanbul on 21st January. My flight was late from Madrid so I caught my connecting flight runningly. When I landed in New Delhi I got to know that my baggage is stuck at Istanbul.They assured me that my baggage will be delivered to my doorstep within 24 hours. Today it's my third day of a week long trip only and they still hasn't delivered my luggage. The third vendor who they are using to deliver delayed baggages is rude and said that we will deliver it and we can't tell you when. No one is picking the phone and by chance if you are lucky and they pick up, they simply tell you "we will update you" which they never do.

Istanbul to Amsterdam with Turkish Airlines, and terrible service on the ground and in the air. Apparently the plane got changed, so people got assigned new seats by hand at the gate. My friend got reallocated from 5 to 27, last row in the plane, because a local guy didn't like sitting in the back. When he complained, he was talked to very rudely. The lady handling our queue all of a sudden decided to do something else, and leave us waiting. Boarding itself was according to row, but didn't get enforced, so when we entered, 90% of the plane was already full, including almost all overhead space. We had a huge delay, with close to zero explanation. When people asked about connections, they were told "not my problem", the temperature onboard was at 28 degrees, first we were told they can't change it, then later when half the plane complained, all of a sudden they could. I can accept delays, and even getting other seats. But the lack of courtesy, and plain rude behaviour of staff is not excusable. Last time I fly Turkish Airlines.

What a disappointment! We boarded the Turkish Airlines flight Kilimanjaro via Mombasa to Istanbul. This plane came from Istanbul - and was not cleaned during the stopover in Kilimanjaro. I found my seat dirty, used blankets and pillows - where I would be sitting for the next 9 hours during the night. Staff was tired and not friendly. The first stop would be Mombasa where the rest of the passengeres from Istanbul deboarded and others joined our flight back to Istanbul. On this 45 minute flights not even water was served and their were only 50 people on board. Take into account that at Kilimanjaro airport the shops where already closed during the night. At Mombasa the flight crew changed and cleaning staff came on board to "clean" the plane while we had to wait on board. They just folded away the used blankets - so the new passengers could use it. Everything on time, we departed from Mombasa at 3am. At 4am they turned on the light, served us a hot meal! Who wants to eat something at that time. Approx. 70% of people just wanted to sleep and did it. 5 hours later before landing at Istanbul, where most people woke up and were hungry, they just served a sandwich. Strange service concept. Istanbul Atatürk airport is a mess to transfer. So crowded, bad announcements and dirty. I don't want to mentioned the toilets there. Flight to Hamburg was ok, staff was a little bit friendlier and meal good. Their English skills really basic. The A321-200 was in bad condition. Dirty, some bins taped to hold them closed, my IFE screen broken, sound not working. In all I'm disappointed by this service experience. Only positive: the flights were on time and we landed safely.