Turkish Airlines

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.

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.

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.

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.

I must say that I could write a book for the three days in Ataturk Airport and the service of Turkish Airlines. We flew 4 hours from Athens to Istanbul, the plane was flying over the airport in circles, and we missed our connection flight to Toronto due to weather conditions. And then the nightmare begins - three days later we managed to fly to Toronto. Just do not fly with Turkish Airline.

Pristina to Gatwick via Istanbul. I travelled on a connecting flight through Istanbul and on my arrival I was greeted with chaos, I could not get to the front of the queue at the Transfer desk due to about 75 other people and because I only had 1 hr 20 mins to get to my connecting flight, I had to push in, only to be told my flight had been sold, then they changed their words to my seat had been sold. From then onwards everything was a nightmare, I was told I had to buy a visa (£20) and then go through security to passport control and then go outside the airport to the Turrkish Airlines ticket sales desk. I decided to try to get my luggage and given false information - it was on my connecting flight, then it's here somewhere but we cant possibly get it for you. I was then directed outside of the airport by a police officer and had to go back through security to get back in. I joined the 6 hour queue at Turkish Airlines desk and managed to get another flight 2 days later. I then had to join the Supervisor queue then the hotel queue and finally put up at a hotel. When I returned to my allocated flight I was told twice that my luggage was on the flight, guess what I arrived Gatwick and No luggage! And no compensation for things I had to pay for.

When I fly from Amsterdam to Istanbul, I normally choose between Turkish Airlines and KLM. In the last two years the timeliness of Turkish Airlines is deteriorating. Also, often at Ataturk airport a bus is used for transport to the gate, causing extra travelling time. This time we left Amsterdam with almost two hours delay to Istanbul. So I will be in my hotel bed in Istanbul far after midnight. Too bad.

Like others have said here, the service by Turkish Airlines over New Year 2016 was appalling. I was flying Baghdad to London via Istanbul, and eventually arrived in London 31 hours late. The delays are bad enough and are far worse than can be justified by the bad weather alone - don't they know it snows sometimes! But it was the service and couldn't be bothered that made it so much worse. The level of service at the transfer desk for people who had missed connecting flights was so bad I thought it must be a hidden camera TV show. There were about 500 people in the queue, but only 4 or 5 people working. There was no security and on several occasions fights nearly broke out. This is not surprising as it was the early hours of the morning and people were tired. Any decent airline would have put on extra staff and kept people updated. They would have identified elderly passengers and people with young children and provided them with special service. I was in neither of these categories but would have understood the need. What I would not have understood was why it seemed Turkish passengers able to speak the language were frequently being given special treatment and allowed to jump the line. I was stood in this queue for 4 hours and not once did I see anyone that vaguely looked in charge. It was atrocious. But no one from Turkish Airlines seemed very bothered. Whilst TK might be cheap, you clearly get what you pay for! A lesson learned for me. TK claims to be one of the best airlines in Europe. Under EU law I would be entitled to some compensation I'm sure (even the bad weather can't justify such a terrible delays) but I doubt Turkish Airlines will live up to those standards. Because they so unreliable I'm sure it suits them not to have to.

When things go wrong (which often they do when it comes to international air travel) Turkish Airlines simply are not equipped to handle it, nor do they have any interest. Their company is built with a front end, but no back end. Incompetent and rude staff hangs up and walks away in the face of concerned customers. Turkish Airlines uses confusion, bouncing their customers from call center to call center and desk to desk, playing them in circles until they tire and give up. Most of their flights connect through Istanbul airport and it is pure chaos. A shiny building and western style stores and restaurants do not make up for under experienced, under trained and the lack of an idea of what the concept of customer service is. This is something I experienced on a flight from Chicago to Istanbul 7 days ago. In the 7 day time span my bag has been "found" 3 times, even informing me of its location at the Sofia airport. I had confirmation from a Turkish Airlines desk, and their Call center. When I traveled there to gather it, I was told it was never there. The lost luggage airport staff in Sofia informed me this happened with 80% of the people coming to the airport to gather luggage sent by Turkish Airlines. I have never seen anything like this. Yes, the flights are cheap and they pamper you inflight, but be aware you are gambling.

Houston to Abuja via Istanbul. I chose Turkish Airlines because they were the cheapest when I bought the tickets. When I arrived to Abuja I found that a only a portion of luggage came from the flight. Many of us on the plane had to wait over 5 days just for the luggage to arrive and they never contacted us by phone or email. What's worse was that several flights that came to Abuja as well, and had the same thing happen as well.