Turkish Airlines

Customer Reviews

4 star Skytrax Rating
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Seat Comfort 12345
Staff Service 12345
Value for Money 12345
Customer rating from 2512 reviews
4/10
4 star Skytrax Rating
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9/10

"on-time departure surprise"

(Turkey)

Turkish Airlines from Istanbul to Bangkok, and an on-time departure - what a pleasant surprise! A330 with the latest IFE system which has a extensive selection of movies and live TV, and onboard WiFi. Attentive crew and Flying Chef. Cart service of appetizers and desserts was quite good. Wide selection of beverages. Main Course selections rather repetitive but of high quality. When everything goes according to plan Turkish Airlines, is really a great airline. Wish they were as good on the ground as they are in the air. Fingers crossed for the return flight.
AircraftA330
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteIST to BKK
Date FlownJanuary 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
1/10

"finally got a boarding pass"

(Germany)

Some snow in Istanbul the day before my flight completely overwhelmed Istanbul airport and Turkish Airlines. My flight was 4 hours late out of Berlin. The bus in IST took another 15 minutes to leave the plane and my connecting flight to Johannesburg was nowhere signposted, and no ground staff around that could be asked. Maybe that was just bad luck, but than the nightmare (3 am) began. There was a queue of hundreds of people in front of a transfer desk which did not move at all! There seemed to be quite some ground staff behind the counter, but it was not clear what they did except walking back and forth ignoring passengers' pleads. Children were sleeping on the floor next to the line. After three hours I left my travel companion in the line and walked the airport to find another less crowded travel desk. Here ground staff was also walking away from exhausted passengers and their questions. Ground staff sent passengers to the other transfer desk to get rid of them. I persisted and finally got a boarding pass for a day later. No offer of food, accommodation or anything (7 am). The flight the following day was again 3 hours late and did not make up for the disaster. Filthy seat, uninterested crew and poor food. I don't support reviewers opinion on food. The only smiles I got on the roundtrip was in TXL and JNB at check-in from non TK staff. Return trip was uneventful but I witnessed IST ground staff again walking away from customers who missed a connecting flight to Athens due to a late arrival. Will try to avoid TK and IST by all means.
AircraftA330
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteTXL to JNB via IST
Date FlownJanuary 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
8/10

"really pleasant surprise"

(Belgium)

Brussels to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, and rather unacceptable leg room. Staff nothing to write home about. Very good food though. The flight from Istanbul to Seoul was best flight I've ever been on. Super friendly and accommodating staff, delicious food, good entertainment system, comfortable seats. A really pleasant surprise!
AircraftBoeing 777-300ER / A320
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBRU to ICN via IST
Date FlownDecember 2015
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
2/10

"crew trained to ignore service "

(United States)

Vienna to New York JFK via Istanbul, and the flight from Vienna to Istanbul was pleasant and generally unremarkable until landing in Istanbul. It was pouring rain, the aircraft was parked and buses arrived to take us to the main airport. A bus for business class was provided, however when we tried to board, a ground person aggressive waved his arms and yelled, "No more". I said, "we are business class," and tried to show my boarding pass only to have him become more aggressive, and shout, "go". There are no signs in the gate areas to direct traveler with connections to the the business class lounges. The flight from Istanbul to New York JFK was dismal. I will say the only saving grace is the food service is very good. The overhead bins are literally 1/3 filled with bedding and other equipment. The crew seemed trained to ignore service than provide service. Baggage service at JFK was very slow, and of course when our bags finally arrived, they were completely soaked, obviously having been left out uncovered in Istanbul!
AircraftA320 / A330
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteVIE to JFK via IST
Date FlownJanuary 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"have to face challenges"

(United Kingdom)

During my trip London to Tbilisi via Istanbul last week, we landed only 25 minutes before my boarding time and even though I tried to search for some help, neither cabin crew nor ground staff bothered to tell me anything. The final drop was when I saw my ruined suitcase. The unfortunate thing is that I fly pretty often (10 times a year) most of the time with Turkish Airlines (because of the connections they have) and each time I realize that I have to face challenges with Turkish Airlines, it makes me feel very bad.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteLHR to TBS via IST
Date FlownJanuary 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
7/10

"food and service excellent"

(Denmark)

Flew Turkish Airlines from Nairobi to Copenhagen via Istanbul, and a punctual flight - though planes seemed a bit run down. Food and service excellent (you can have multiple drinks for free), seat was okay and the price was certainly right so I am a happy traveller. No individual inflight entertainment on the last part of the trip which did not bother me. Not sure if there was wifi but I don't think so.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteNBO to CPH via IST
Date FlownJanuary 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
8/10

"very pleasantly surprised"

(United Kingdom)

Edinburgh to Singapore via Istanbul on Turkish Airlines, and punctual flights. Clean modern aircraft, friendly and attentive crews with an easy transfer at Istanbul. Very impressed and happy with value for money. Based on reading earlier critical reviews had concerns about flying Turkish Airlines, so was very pleasantly surprised with our experience.
AircraftA330
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteEDI to SIN via IST
Date FlownJanuary 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
2/10

"I am very disappointed"

(Canada)

We had Turkish Airlines flights from Toronto to Istanbul then onto Shiraz, Iran - but our flight to Shiraz was cancelled due to snow. So we had to stay a night at the airport. Not only they didn't offer us a hotel but also there wasn't any seat available at Istanbul Ataturk airport. So they made us to pay $40 each just for wifi and seat and snack! But which airport makes you pay extra to get you a spot to have a seat? We booked comfort tickets but I couldn't move my seat and I didn't feel comfortable at all. When we came to Iran the nightmare began. Our suitcases didn't arrive we had to go to the funeral the next day but we didn't have our stuff for three days. I think these problems and all the flight delays and cancellations are typical with Turkish Airlines and as a client who always used to travel with Turkish every year I am very disappointed, and I don't think there will be any next time experience for me.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypePremium Economy
RouteYYZ to SYZ via IST
Date FlownJanuary 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
7/10

"hit or miss situation"

(United States)

Tehran to Los Angeles via Istanbul. Have been flying with them for many years and it is a hit or miss situation wih them. Call center staff does not know the benefits each frequent flyer tier of their own program offers. Ground staff overall not helpful. However when it comes to the actual flight, things can change, their service up in the air is really good. Both my flights at this trip I received a real good service. So if you know the exact dates you are travelling, not planing to make any changes, Turkish is a good choice, however it is of course if you don't experience any delays and missed connections and lost luggage.
AircraftBoeing 777-300ER
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteIKA to LAX via IST
Date FlownJanuary 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
7/10

"be aware of possible drawbacks"

(Germany)

I had more than 20 flights on Turkish in the last 15 months, both international (European) and domestic. Out of those flights, half of them were on time with the other half were delayed by about an hour - only one had a four hour delay because of weather. As long as everything goes right, TK is a pretty good airline, but as soon as something goes wrong, their disaster management is a disaster itself and as a passenger you're usually left with no information about what's going on. Besides that, ground services are pretty slow as well and sometimes you're waiting for more than half an hour at the luggage belt. Seats on the narrowbody fleet are mostly okay while those on the A330s are pretty uncomfortable (didn't try the B777 so far). Turkish Airlines inflight catering is excellent and oustanding compared to most other airlines. When changing planes either at Atatürk or Sabiha Gökcen airport, allow yourself some extra connecting time as flights are often a bit delayed and baggage handling and immigration (for domestic connections) sometimes takes ages. That extra time also increases the chance your luggage will make it on the connecting flight too. To sum it up, I reccommend Turkish but you should also be aware of the possible drawbacks.
AircraftA320 / A330 / Boeing 737-800
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBER to IST
Date FlownJanuary 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes