Turkish Airlines

Malaga to Istanbul on TK1306 on 22 January 2016. Having recently acquired Elite status on Turkish Airlines, I was well aware that they are great in the air but pretty ordinary on the ground. Based on this flight with my wife today, I am ready to change that opinion. TK has become pretty ordinary both in the air and on the ground. I was confident that we would get exit row seats at check in at Malaga but were told all seats were taken. Luckily, I prevailed on the agent to give us a window and aisle with the middle seat vacant, which she did. There is no in-flight recognition by Turkish Airlines of a person's Elite status. My wife's seat did not recline. The crew were downright poorly trained. They did not do a seat belt inspection before take off and landing, window blinds remained closed as well. Food service was surly. The rice was cold, got standard kebabs that were awful. When I asked for a second helping of water, I was met with a glare. The crew spoke very poor English - something very common with Turkish Airlines cabin crews. When we landed in Istanbul after being in a holding pattern for 45 minutes, we were at the far remote end of the airport. The first bus left and we were left standing in freezing weather waiting for the next bus. Then the chaos of IST airport. All in all, a pretty dismal experience. Dreading our connecting flight to DXB in the early hours but more on that later.

My flight Turkish Airlines from Tel Aviv to Munich via Istanbul was cancelled and I was not notified. I found out once I got to the airport. I went through a brief security before going to check my bag in. The women who checked my bag than got extremely upset, borderline yelling at me, saying that I didn’t go through the security area. It got to the point where the man who put me through security had to come and calm her down. Incompetent in the fact that the new flight they put me on had a 7 hour layover in Istanbul. The check in person, promised my bag would go to Munich, which of course it didn’t - when I finally arrived in Munich and talked to the representative about my missing baggage, she said that since I was flying back to Minneapolis the next day instead of sending my bag to Munich they would just send it to Minneapolis, than have it delivered to my house, which was a lie. When I tried to track my luggage once I was home it didn’t work. I called their customer service, who to be extremely kind, are inadequate at all and any part of their job, to try to locate my bag. The gentleman stated my bag arrived in Minneapolis on Sunday, it was lost on a Friday, and that it should be shipped to my house tomorrow. The next day comes and still no bag so I call back. The man tells me that my bag just passed customs and they have 24 hours to deliver it to me. I wait two days before calling back, quite annoyed at this point. The man I talked to this time tells me my bag went to Munich and that’s all he can see. So I let him know that other customer service staff I talked to were able to find out much more and he should get better at his job. He was than able to see my bag came to the US through Icelandair and is in MSP airport. I told him that everyone I’ve talked to has said it will be shipped to my house and when I would be able to expect it. He said they don’t work with any delivery company in the US and that he isn’t able to give me any more information. So when I asked him what I was supposed to do about getting my bag back and he responded with “I don’t know”, I don’t think he was ready for the reaction he got. After showing him my frustration he was then able to locate the airline that my bag got to Minneapolis with and gave me their phone number. I called the airline and sure enough my bag had been sitting in their office all week. So after being lied to, by multiple people, that my bag would be shipped to my house, I had to make a 4 hour drive to the airport to pick it up over a week after it was lost. So don’t fly this airline unless you want to be so upset that you write a short novel on how much you despise them.

Los Angeles to Tel Aviv via Istanbul and I've never flown Turkish Airlines, and after reading reviews I was nervous. At check in, I knew that one of my bags weighed more than the 50lb allowance, but the woman at the ticket counter was sweet enough to let it slide, and didn't charge me the extra fee. I flew with a friend who bought his ticket before mine, so we didn't have seats next to each other. The women at the gate were sweet enough to tell us there was a row in the back of the plane with nobody occupying it, so him and I were able to spread out amongst 3 seats and actually be comfortable. As soon as we took off they handed out coffee and drinks, little candies and a warm towel. My one issue is that by the time they got to our row, they had run out of the veggie option for dinner. I don't eat non-kosher meat so I ended up not eating, but that was my own fault for not requesting a special meal. The flight went by quickly, and the staff was very sweet and helpful. Even on the second flight, which was only an hour and a half long, we got served a dinner and drinks. The on-board chef even brought this little girl a cake out to the cabin because it was her birthday. I've never seen an airline do that, and it put a smile on my face seeing them go well out of their way to do something that sweet. Will absolutely fly them again!

We had four flights with Turkish Airlines in December 2015 and January 2016, and every one was a complete disaster. From the entertainment systems not working, rude and unhelpful staff to the delays and lost baggage. I have been trying to find where our bags are for three weeks and nobody can help. When we were delayed for over 8 hours they did not even provide water. Every queue we stood in the result was the same. Please go to counter 'XY' where they will help. It cost me an arm and a leg to get home and then they lost my luggage leaving my without clothes or toiletries. If you email them you will be met with a standard email template reply. To put the cherry on the top of our trip, when returning to Gatwick they left everyone's luggage in the carts and expected passengers to unload bags. Needless to say bags were being thrown around and dropped. See the picture.

I just returned from a trip where I used Turkish Airlines, flying from San Francisco to Rome via Istanbul. I left San Francisco on January 1st. Check in went fine. The flight was fine. I had a layover in Istanbul and then on to Rome. I got to Rome and had no luggage. I was told it was left in Istanbul. The form was filled out and I was told they would deliver it to me either the next day or the day after that. This made me nervous as we were leaving for a cruise 4 days after my arrival in Rome. I didn't hear anything the first day. I tried to call them all through the second day and it was constantly busy, so I emailed them. They responded and said they did not have my luggage. I emailed every day and got the same reply every day for four days until we left on the cruise. Everything I needed for that cruise was in that bag - all the formal gowns, shoes, purses, etc. Once onboard the ship, they also tried to contact Turkish Airlines, but were not given any type of response. I called the airline during the cruise. I was told my claim had been closed and that my luggage had been delivered. When I questioned them about this as I had not received my luggage, they stopped responding to me. I called again and they told me to call a different number which I did. In the end, I was told to call four different numbers before they told me to call back to the original number. Each time I was told they could not help me. When I returned to Rome 16 days later, I went to the airport to try and find my luggage. After a considerable amount of time, they found it. A bit too late, however. Not having my luggage meant my daughter and I could not attend the three formal gala nights on the ship - the thing we were most looking forward to. Although we tried not to let the situation ruin the cruise, it definitely was not the vacation we had hoped for. For my return flight, Turkish Airlines cancelled the first flight and rebooked me on a flight four hours later. They caused me to miss my connecting flight. They were not concerned about my second leg, although it was booked on their airline. When I pushed them to get me home, they ended up booking me on British Airways. When I asked about compensation for the 1500 euros I had to spend on clothes, toiletries, etc, I was told sorry, fill out a form and someone will probably get back to you. So, here I am, not getting compensation and no one will respond to my emails or talk to me in person. Save yourself a ton of heartache and use a different airline. If anyone from Turkish airlines is bothering to read this and actually wants to help, I would welcome an email from you.

Me and wife flew Turkish Airlines from Toronto to Lahore with a layover in Istanbul. The plane from Toronto to Istanbul was a little cramped for legroom, which was a 3x4x3 setting. I can't sit for very long and had to get up a few times and there was very little leg room to stretch my legs, my knees were almost touching the seat in front of me and I am not the tallest guy under 6'. Entertainment system was nice though, nice big screen with a lot of variety, the earbuds the airline provided are terrible for fitting, so just use yours with the adapter they provide. Touch screen is a little annoying as they don't have the best accuracy. One of the few airlines that provide care package that includes slippers, socks, ear plugs, toothbrush and paste, wich is really nice. If you have little kids they will come around prior to take off with little baggies for them. Plane was clean overall, and the crew were overall very nice although English is not the best, making it hard to understand at times. Food was hit and miss. The main meal was decent, the dessert was great. Our next flight after this was from Istanbul to Lahore and the seating was roomier thats for sure. I think I would have enjoyed the flight more if not for the 4 hour layover that was compounded with a 4 hour delay with another 2 hour delay on the tarmac. The plane was clean and the cabin crew were nice once again. The food was again hit and miss as this time the main meal was not so great, dessert was nice though. Also whats nice is that you can ask for a sandwhich or dessert anytime during the flight or get up and go the the kitchen area and they have water or juice ready for you. Coming back, again the planes were clean and cabin crew were nice. Entertainment system was working all the way through. No delays at the airport this time. Overall I would say this is a decent airline, not the best. They have one big flaw and that is they are known for delays. I was told even before I flew that be prepared for this, I took this remark with a grain of salt as I know that it happens with all airlines. When we got to Istanbul I have never seen so many delays and cancellation on the gate screen, so be prepared for that.

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.

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.

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!

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!