Turkish Airlines

I haven't actually flown Turkish Airlines as I haven't been able to get so far as flying. I booked a flight via a travel web site to fly with Turkish Airlines in May 2016. Three days after receiving confirmation from the travel web site I checked the Turkish Airlines web site to see if I could choose my seats. The airline booking number given to me showed my reservations were cancelled. I checked my credit card and saw a charge of $824 for one ticket on my account and a pending charge of $3000 for the other 3 tickets purchased. I called the travel web site immediately since I know I am supposed to deal with them first. The rep for the travel web site contacted Turkish Airlines and kept me on hold for over an hour while he spoke with reservation agents and supervisors. Nobody could tell us exactly what happened or why. The agents simply stated the reservation was cancelled by the airline for some unknown reason. However, the reservation agents stated I would still be charged the full price for all four tickets as the tickets were non-refundable. Talk about unethical business practice. The airline screws up, cancels my booking without my consent or knowledge, and then charges me almost $4000. I understand charging the full price on a non-refundable ticket if the purchaser chooses to cancel, but how can the airline make that decision without any reason? The Turkish Airlines agent said nothing could be done on his end to rectify or correct the situation and that the travel web site agent would have to call a corporate sales office to work something out if it was possible. Mind you, nobody is saying I will get the situation taken care of. They are only saying I may be able to get the situation taken care of if I talk to the right people. I called Turkish Airlines myself the next day and was told the same thing: IF the situation can be fixed I would only be able to do so with the permission of the higher ups. When I asked for contact information for the corporate offices I was told to, "look it up on the Internet and find it on my own." Awesome customer service - just kidding. I did look up and call all of the corporate sales offices listed. None of them even put me through to a person. One had me on hold after the automated menu for 15 minutes and cut me off. Another simply had an auto message that stated, "We cannot take your call. Goodbye." And the others just rang. Realizing I may not resolve the issue before the pending charge of $3000 went through and a lot of time/red tape I promptly contacted my credit card company and explained the situation. The credit card company contacted Turkish Airlines and were given the same IFs and MAYs, so the credit card company went ahead and refunded me the $824 and promised to block the $3000 or refund it immediately if it went through before they could stop it. In other words book with caution as the customer service is awful and their practices can be very unethical.

Montreal to Ho Chi Minh City via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. Value for your money, excellent quality of service. Flight attendants helpful, food was excellent, the seats were great and I did not experience a delay. No wifi on board. Inflight entertainment program is diverse. The only reason why I have stopped flying with Turkish airlines is because on the LH Miles&More program, to which they are affiliated, you only get 25 % of the miles you've actually flown, whatever your seating class is (I flew in business class and only got 2 % of the miles). The other setback is the fact that Istanbul Ataturk airport is one of their main hubs and this airport is just horrible - too small, totally unadapted to what ought to be a travelers experience today. So if you fly with Turkish Airlines, you're very likely to have to transit through this airport.

Venice to Istanbul on a new A321 with the personal screens. Flight landed at Ataturk 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Cabin crew nice and efficient. Istanbul to Jakarta on an A330-200 with the old seats type which I personally do not like. Flight left 35 minutes late due to airport congestion but landed in Indonesia half an hour early. Both flights not full. I have noticed that food portions in Economy class have increased on long-haul flights. Food quality is top notch. I am an Elite Star Alliance Gold member and fly Turkish Airlines often and have never experienced any big delays or had luggage lost or damaged. The Business lounge at Ataturk airport is impressive.

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!

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.

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.

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.

The flight arrived late for my connecting flight in Istanbul to Aqaba, Jordan - the next available flight was in 3 days. They then told me to check google for other flights (yeah that's right, they told me to check Google). After four hours I managed to negotiate a flight the next day. They then told me my luggage was lost after 3 hours of waiting. They then took 4 hours to take me to a hotel, were late to pick me up the next morning to get on the next flight. And here the drama really started. Turkish Airlines booked me on a Royal Jordanian flight - but obviously hadn't told them. So I went to Royal Jordanian, they said I had no flight and that I should go to Turkish Airlines. TK told me to go back to RJ, and RJ told me to go back to TK. Eventually, TK did their job and spoke to RJ who put me on their flight. But, only as far as Amman. Which meant I would have to pay for a hotel and another flight to Aqaba - utterly ridiculous. And to make matters worse, they couldn't find my luggage. So to cut a long story short, I made my way from Amman to Aqaba, and three days later, I still have no luggage. Turkish Airlines are a joke. In short, they spend too much time tweeting how good they are, and paying for adverts to do their job.

London Heathrow to Tokyo Narita via Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. Firstly we were delayed for 1.5hrs, it happens sometimes, I get it. But when you have to transfer and the airline know they will not transfer your luggage but fail to mention is another story. They had 1 hr in transit to do this but instead made everyone who originated from London wait for an hour at the baggage belt before being instructed to fill a lost baggage form. I had only 2 nights in my destination and spent a lot of the time trying to speak to someone and when I finally got through I instructed the lady on the phone when the lost baggage comes in I will pick it up as I am coming back to the airport before I head to the mountain, she said this was fine and she made a note. On the day I arrived to the airport I got an email saying it will be sent to my hotel by the mountain and will arrive 2 days later. I then had to head to minus temperatures with no jacket and will have to buy / rent all my snow gear. Thanks Turkish airlines for making my trip stressful and needlessly more expensive. Apparently over 150 lost baggage came in that day so this seems to be a common occurrence. Avoid airline if you don't want to be wearing the same clothes for 3 days!

On January 1st, 2016, my flight from Tehran to Istanbul (TK875) was delayed for over 5 hours. The passengers, including myself did not receive any prior notification from the airline. Considering that many previous flights were cancelled due to weather conditions in Istanbul, the airline had surely predicted delay, but failed to inform the passengers, or make announcements in the airport. No information was provided from the Turkish Airline Staff, and finally when the plane took off and landed in Istanbul, we had to wait another 2 hours for the plane to be allowed to park. I had already missed my flight to New York (TK 003) which was scheduled for 7:25 on that morning. I understand that sometimes the weather conditions can cause delays and cancellations. What I am complaining about is the poor management, rude attitude of Turkish Airline Staff, and the very low-quality service provided by the staff in the airport. When I finally got out of the plane, we were confronted with a terminal full of stranded, confused, and unorganized passengers. There was no airport or Turkish Airlines Staff to guide us to the correct directions. Naturally we went to the Transfer Desk, to get information on how to get on the next available flight. More than 1500 passengers were jammed around the counter. There was not even one airport, security or airline staff to organize people and ask them to stand in line. Every one was just jammed in front of the counter. There was rarely enough space to breathe or move. The staff behind the transfer desk were clearly incapable of managing the situation. Instead of managing it, they also lost control and were shouting and banging their fists on the counter! After 2 hours of standing there, my passport was lost by one of the staff, and I had to wait for another hour for them to find it. Only to find out that all that trouble was for nothing, as I was told to go through passport control and then to the Check-in terminal, and go to Turkish Sales Office. This demonstrates the incapability and poor management of the airline and staff. They wanted to get rid of me by making me enter Turkey (through passport control) and go to check-in terminal, so that I am not their problem any more! I had no other choice, so I followed their advice. The Sales Office line was a nightmare. The line stretched all along the Ataturk Airport check-in Terminal. Turkish Airlines Staff couldn’t care less. They acted indifferent and did not help in any way. I immediately begged one of the staff to help me get on the last flight of the day (TK11) at 5:30. A staff member helped me go through and I was told that I can sit on flight TK11 to New York, on business class, and they told me to go to Business Check-in Counter E.

I had traveled with Turkish Airline 3 times now. The last time from Dhaka to Toronto via Istanbul was the worst experience I have had. Their flight from Bangladesh was delayed which reduced the transit time in Istanbul considerably. The staff at Istanbul can barely communicate in English. I was helping a neighbor friend with two children as there were none to help them even with proper direction. And they closed the gate without us although we had our boarding pass. They didn't search for us or even care to find us. Afterwards they flew the family without any further charge but not me, I had to pay for a full ticket. I tried to reason with them but alas if only they could not communicate in English.

On my sisters return from Cape Town, the Istanbul to London leg was cancelled. Istanbul airport was a shambles. Few people could or cared to speak English and airline staff were rude, dismissive and aggressive. They were in a queue for 4 hours to be told they need to return the following day. My nephew had a broken foot and was in a cast. They were also told to sleep in the airport as there was no available accommodation. They arrived home 48 hours after leaving CT. Their 3 suitcases have subsequently been lost. After 10 days they've received no feedback, no returned calls and their calls ring unanswered. When my sister did get through she was told there was no update. We understand that life happens. Bad weather and many other factors mean flights are cancelled but the rudeness experienced as an English speaking woman with an injured son by this establishment is deplorable.

Appalling customer service! Due to snowfall in Istanbul, my flight from Taipei to Istanbul was delayed by 7 hours and I missed my connecting flight to London. The staff at Taipei had reissued my ticket for a later flight but this was cancelled at the last minute without any information. I was treated rudely by staff at the airport (both ground staff and Turkish Airlines reps) forced to queue up in 5 different queues for many hours and buy a £20 entry visa to Turkey to pass into a different section of the airport in order to get the airline to reissue my ticket. When they reissued it they told us that we had to rush as boarding time was in 30 minutes, so I prioritised getting to the gate over staying at the reissue desk to deal with the baggage information. We then discovered that the new flight was 10.5 hours late and they hadn't told us. Turkish Airlines caused more chaos at the boarding gate as they let people onto the plane who had only been issued with standby tickets and then had too many people trying to board the plane. After a 23 hour delay I reached London, only to be told by the Turkish Airlines lost baggage rep that despite being sure my baggage was not on the flight (given what happened in Istanbul and the fact that it was not found on the LHR system) I had to wait two hours by the belt while the staff shifted bags on and off it while everyone on my connecting flight stood around unable to see their bags. Finally I was allowed to fill out a lost baggage form. After three days I called to see if there was any progress and discovered they had mixed up the details of the bag's description. After 9 days by bag was finally returned to me.

Ankara to Washington via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. Best food, service and happy crew, Smooth take off and landing, perfect ground service and connection was not delayed. Good inflight entartainment, acceptable speed internet connection for free. Cheap business class ticket for same price as other airlines economy class.

Istanbul to London, and 6 baggages missing now for 7 days, on the website they say these should be with us by day 4. You can't get hold of Turkish Airlines by phone or email. have provided all baggage tagging numbers and can't contact courier. No one wants to help - will never fly with them again. They simply don't care and it shows.

London to Singapore via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, and a 22 hour delay on the ground. Outbound to London, everything went excellent - service by attendants and minimal delays taking off and landing. When I fell asleep on the first leg from Singapore to Istanbul and couldn't find my glasses, the attendant was very helpful in searching for it, even ripping out the seat in case it was stuck there. Food was really good also, considering when I slept through meal service and by the time I woke up, the flight attendant told me that my meal wasn't fresh anymore so she gave me a business class vegetarian meal instead. However, on my inbound flight on New Year's Eve/day, everything was a mess! I showed up at Heathrow to hear of a flight delay. Supposedly 1 hour became four, then five hours due to snow. They could have updated the website or sent a courtesy email so I didn't have to spend 8 hours at the airport before take off. Landed in Istanbul after circling for 2 hours due to lack of landing spots and another 2 hours waiting on the runway. Missed my connecting flight of course, and had to queue for 2 hours to get rebooked and re-sorted out on my next flight back to Singapore. Total chaos there with 30 crying babies at any one time and very rude, sneaky men cutting in line and making offensive remarks when I didn't let them cut in behind/infront of me. Ground staff and customer service desperately need training on conflict resolution and soft skills. Finally got on my plane, yet after another 1:30 delay. In flight entertainment wasn't working and the attendant had to spend an hour trying to fix my console as the flight was completely full. At least the meal service was wonderfully tasty.

Hoi Chi Minh City to Istanbul via Bangkok, and this was the first time i flown Turkish Airlines. I've heard a a lot about it, but it didn't meet my expectations. The legroom is smaller than some Asian airlines, and it's was hard to stay comfortable for a long-haul flight. Flight crew were not as friendly like I thought. They have a wide selection of movies and games to try, the food and beverages were outstanding, even though it was just economy class meal. So overall, I recommended this airline but they should improve their seat comfort for long-haul flight.

Houston to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines, and one of the best transatlantic flights I've been on. Great entertainment system, a wide variety of movies, playlists and games. Very comfortable seat, setup came with a mattress as well. Served a seven course meal which was out of this world. Ample amount of snacks at the galley for passengers to eat at anytime during the flight. Service was commendable.

Extremely unhappy and will never use Turkish Airlines again. An 8 hr delay in Cairo caused to miss our connecting flight, and we had to wait for 26 hrs in Istanbul Airport. For our return, a 2 hrs delay in Edinburgh caused us to miss again our connection and we had to wait for 7 hrs in Istanbul airport. Was forced to pay GBP 250 for 23 extra kilos and it was stated on the website 40kg allowance per person from Edinburgh - but they meant for outbound not inbound which wasn't clear. Terrible treatment in Istanbul Airport

I am disappointed with Turkish Airlines transit related services specially after they are promoting so heavily as a leading transit destination. I was travelling from Stuttgart to Mumbai via Istanbul on 16th December 2015. I missed my connecting flight in Istanbul due to the delay of the flight coming from Germany. I was put on the next flight scheduled to depart 24 hours later. In order to avail the hotel accommodation provided by the airline, I had to pay the e-visa fees in Turkey. I was told that this fee shall be reimbursed by the airline, but no process for the same was mentioned. Now I am trying to get in touch with the Turkish Airlines and they are absolutely unresponsive.

Turkish Airlines from Cairo to Amsterdam via Istanbul, and the flight itself was fine once airborne, food and entertainment were standard. But the ground operation is shambolic. Our flight leaving Cairo was delayed for one hour. I understand that this happens and little can be done about it, but once we arrived in Istanbul there was zero assistance to help people make their onward transfers. There were no staff at the arrival gate to direct passengers or offer assistance to more elderly people who couldn't run (unlike ourselves- if we hadn't sprinted we wouldn't have made the next flight). We had to push to the front of the security line, whereas many other airlines escort you to the front if the connection time is tight. Our gate had just closed when we arrived, but still made the last bus to the plane. Although the plane then sat on the runway for another hour. In short, there may as well have been no ground staff in Istanbul they did so little. This would be semi-understandable in a small provincial airport, but this is their hub! To finish everything off, our bags were lost. They were eventually delivered to us 4 days later, soaking wet. Not damp - drenched. Every item in my bag was heavy with water, as if it had been left in a thunderstorm for hours. I will not be travelling with Turkish Airlines again.

I would like to show extreme dissatisfaction on the service I received during my recent experience with Turkish Airlines while coming back from Athens to Nairobi via Istanbul. We were to get a flight from Athens to Istanbul around 22:05 and then a connecting flight to Nairobi from Istanbul on 00:55. Much to our surprise when we reach at Athens airport at around 6:00om we came to know that the flight has been canceled. When I asked why we have not informed on the number we have mentioned on the ticket they declined to answer and asked us to get into a flight which was scheduled at 7pm. I was travelling with my wife and my 2.5 years daughter we actually had to run for check-in, security check, immigration etc as airline staff asked us to rush to get into the flight. Finally we reached to the gate but flight started after 8:30pm. We could not understand why we had been rushed for the formalities with a small baby. When we reached Istanbul, we have been informed that flight is late and eventually it was announced with the gate around 3:40am. We got into the bus and we had been taken to the aircraft but we had not been allowed to go out of the bus for almost 45 mins. Later on we had been taken back to the terminal and asked to wait. When we asked for the reason first they said that the Nairobi Airport is closed due to heavy snow fall which was an utter lie and later on the staff informed us that there is no Crew for the aircraft and it will take some time. We waited at the terminal without any assistance from anyone, sitting on the floor with the baby till 11am, and then they announced that flight has been cancelled and asked us to contact transfer desk. At transfer desk we had been given the new boarding passes and had been asked that next flight will be 0050 in the night which mean the whole day. I requested to give us some assistance as we have a baby and its very cold, but they refused to assist me in any way and later on just asked me to go away from the counter which was very rude. Later I took my own visa and booked the hotel by myself to go out so that we can have some rest. Later on next day when we landed at Nairobi all of our baggage were missing and there were no information. I had to follow-up with airport authorities and Turkish Airlines office daily to get my bags on the 6th after 4 days. The airport staff did not have normal empathy. I was at the airport for almost 12 hrs and did not even get an assistance of a blanket or a bottle of water.

We decided to go with Turkish Airlines this time from Boston to Karachi via Istanbul, over Emirates / Qatar Airways because of recent positive press. Never again. I don't understand how an airline can claim to be the new global hub airline, but then have absolutely no contingency plans in case of bad weather. As a result of snow in IST, hundreds of flights were cancelled, which is understandable. However, there were minimal ground crew available to assist, and frequent misdirection on the part of the crew who were present. Inflight, the crew on almost all four legs of our round-trip were surly and occasionally downright rude. The IFE was of pretty good technical quality, but quality of the programming was awful.

First of all our flight from Islamabad was delayed for 5 hours - our flight to London had two stops, one at Baku and other at Istanbul. When we reached Baku we been told that we have to take another flight from here to Istanbul, when we arrived at terminal there was no Turkish Airline representative there - we wait for 30 mins, and they came he told us that our flight from Baku to Istanbul is cancelled and we have to take next flight in the morning. We stayed overnight at airport with 2 years old baby who was sick and my wife is expecting, but no hotel was offered. Next morning, staff at airport put us on an Aeroflot flight to Moscow and from Moscow to London, and when we arrived there we have no luggage - all our luggage was missing. It's the 5th day today and we haven't received our luggage yet.

Birmingham to Johannesburg via Istanbul return. My wife and I fly from Birmingham to South Africa with our 3 year old daughter quite frequently using Swiss, Lufthansa, KLM, Air France and Emirates. On this occasion we decided to try Turkish Airlines and while the service was okay in flight, we were shocked and disappointed with the complete chaos and lack of organisation we experienced from Turkish Airlines employees at Ataturk airport in the face of adverse weather conditions. After a 3 hour delay at Johannesburg airport, we arrived too late at Istanbul airport to catch our connecting flight to Birmingham and Ataturk airport was utter chaos and disorganisation. We were sent from one very long queue to another – standing for hours with a 3 year old child after a long international flight – no water was supplied or even available, no hospitality of any kind – just chaos and more chaos. After 6 hours in queues in Ataturk airport, we were finally sent on a long bus ride to a hotel on the very opposite side of the city to the airport – the Ramada Encore. Both my wife and I have missed a day’s work as a result of the chaos at Ataturk and are very exhausted and distressed from the whole experience of flying Turkish. It ruined our holiday to see family in South Africa.

Houston to Mumbai via Istanbul return, flying Turkish Airlines for the first time. The outbound trip to India was smooth. But on the way back it was one of the mot horrific experience I had had. We checked in on time as per the rules from Mumbai. The flight was delayed by more than 3 hours. We inquired with he ground staff will we get the connecting flight to Houston from Istanbul, and they said yes. So we were on the way to Istanbul. The flight arrived late. There was nobody at the gate to let us know what we should be doing as your flight connections are not there. We went through the security again and by the time we reached the gate for Houston, they had closed the gate. When inquired with the person there he said gate closed now you go and look yourself what to do. We had no clue where to go. We went inquiring all over the airport, and the people or the staff there kept us sending up and down and left and right. In the end we saw a counter and we stood in that line at least to get in touch with someone authentic to talk to. The lady did not speak proper English, but somehow we got out boarding pass done for the flight for the next day. Now the problem starts, we asked the lady for or hotel stay as we have not missed the flight due to our negligence, but it was due to the airlines mess up. She said go to the hotel counter, but to get there we had to pass through passport control and we needed visa. So we had to pay for the visa which was not acceptable to us, because by now we had lost faith in the staff and the people around. So me and wife decided to stay put at the airport, not realizing the it was snowing and we will get shivery in the night. If you are traveling by Turkish Airlines be careful in Istanbul, as the staff there is very rude, not knowledgeable, and very unprofessional. To top it all my bags did not come on the fight. We are now receiving bags one by one in instalments.

Istanbul to Kansai with Turkish Airlines. We are Star Alliance Gold passengers but boarded the aircraft last - the boarding by bus was chaos, and what a mess. Onboard the crew looked really sleepy and the aircraft was showing its age. The same Turkish beef mince patty thing was on the menu twice and as my second choice was not available second time round, I had to eat the same thing twice. The toilets were dirty and the crew did the bare minimum. Was a terrible experience and will not be flying them again.

This was the fourth of four legs of a return Turkish Airlines trip from Manchester to Kuala Lumpur via Istanbul, and one I'd like to forget. As a business class customer, priority boarding is promised, but at the gate it was a free-for-all. We eventually boarded but due to a computer problem we were delayed at the stand by almost 2 hours. The business class cabin was atrocious. The front of the cabin near the door was soaked in water, due to rain and a leaking sink. The taps in the sink were out of order so we had to rinse hands using bottled drinking water. Seats were economy style, with the middle seat free. When the passenger in front reclined, there was about 6-8 inches of room between the seat and my head, and the leg room was very cramped, knees touching the back of the seat in front once he reclined. There was no IFE, unless you call a sheet of sudoku puzzles entertainment. There were a few drop down screens which were used for the safety video. The screen was so dark it was impossible to see the images. First drink was served in a plastic cup. I am assuming that many of the passengers in business class were passengers from other cancelled flights, as our seat numbers were changed at the last minute (at the boarding gate). After take off, I waited until the seat belt light had gone off before unbuckling and going to the toilet. Once there the chief steward told me to sit back down as the light was still on - I can only assume he'd turned it off prematurely and then back on again after I'd walked to the toilet. I sat back down and waited for him to turn it off again. One passenger got up while the light was on and used the loo. I complained to the chief steward who said, he was ok to use it as he was about to turn the light off anyway. The same steward told another complaining passenger that if he didn't like the service he was more than welcome to leave the plane. I also complained that the lack of hygiene due to non-functioning washing facilities meant the plane wasn't fit for use. He dismissed my complaint. The leather covering of the raised seat arms were velcro-ed on, but the velcro had worn free leaving exposed dirty undersides. This is in no way business class standard - in fact it was less comfortable than economy (I travelled economy with a group to Kilimanjaro in October - that was a far more pleasant experience, despite a malfunctioning air con system leaving the cabin sweltering). The lounge at Istanbul is impressive, but be warned, the lack of their own lounges at other airports is a negative aspect of the experience. At Manchester, the Aspire lounge was in need of a good clean. At Kuala Lumpur the Premier Plaza lounge was packed to capacity, with lots of children and seats very close together. Wine is not included in the drinks service. Good points for business travellers include dedicated check in section and priority baggage loading and unloading. The lie-flat seats are ok (between Kuala Lumpur and Istanbul) and the food is ok. If you are looking for a true business class experience, I would highly recommend paying a bit more and going with another airline.

Terrible customer service experience. My Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Madrid was cancelled, and the next flight delayed 4 hours. Turkish Airlines staff employees in Istanbul are arrogant, treat customers badly, speak bad english, scream at customers, don't give concise answers, and are difficult to locate during delays. The call center puts you on hold for hours. The cabin staff is much better. Planes are usually okay, although some are old planes without AVOD. The risks of things going wrong with Turkish Airlines are high. Don't risk your time and vacations.

I flew Turkish Airlines from Baghdad to London via Istanbul on the 1st Jan 2016. Firstly there was a 7 hour delay in Baghdad and no hotel was offered. Once we arrived in Istanbul our connected flight had been delayed so we had a few hours to board our scheduled flight - however we were issued standby tickets and our seats were given to other passengers. This should never had happened, and even though there were 9 available seats, no priority was given to our party which had wheelchair passengers, diabetic and two young children. We had to queue up to get new boarding passes and the incompetent tickets clerk issued 8 boarding passes instead of 9 - and issued the same seat for 2 passengers! We were also given a later flight, so we had to wait for 17 hours in the airport with 1 meal ticket and no hotel accommodation provided. In the end we arrived at London Heathrow 25 hours after our scheduled expected arrival time. The ground service is awful, very rude, aggressive and just laugh at passenger distress - lost for words!

Bucharest to Abuja via Istanbul, and the nightmare started when I arrived to Abuja Airport from Istanbul on 11th December on a Turkish Airlines flight. Both of my luggage never came with the flight. Apparently, after some days they sent one of the bags to Kano (another airport in Nigeria) and from there to Abuja. So I got that one. I've never seen the second one. I made complaints and called them and it's been almost one month since I came to the country and I still didn't get it. All my clothes and belongings are inside that bag since it's the big one. I was supposed to travel the same day of the arrival to Calabar, however because I didn't have my bags I had to spend more than one week in the hotel. After that time I got tired so I decided to travel to my destination. They said when the bag is found they'll send it to my address - that's what they say. This is the worst experience I've had. The worst thing is that I have a return ticket.

Dubai to Toronto via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. One of the worst experiences of my life. Delayed flight from Dubai for 7 hours, then a flight delay for two days in Istanbul, and in the end didn't get any checked baggage. Will never fly this incompetent airline.

My Turkish Airlines flight from Stuttgart to Istanbul was delayed 1 hr and 8 minutes, in Stuttgart the lady on the counter said since they know we have a problem and it's delayed and you have checked in and have a boarding pass, they will wait for you for sure. The plane landed 1 hr before the other one and they didn't let us out of the plane for 50 mins and we missed our next flight. The employees in Istanbul airport were rude and aggressive, they don't help or answer any questions. The man on the disk didn't want to offer hotel or even a meal. They speak in a very rude way. About 17 passengers missed their flight to Cairo - no apologies, no explanations and no facilities offered.

I flew with Turkish Airline from Heathrow to Abuja via Istanbul. Upon arriving Abuja my 2 luggage never arrived on my flight. It took me 3 trips to the airport and 4 days before I finally received my luggage. I thought my nightmare was over, then my return flight back to London Gatwick via Istanbul was delayed for 6 hours. Upon arriving Istanbul I missed my connecting flight to the UK. I had to wait 19 hours at the airport. No one gave me directions on what to do or where to sleep or get food. I was basically at the mercy of Turkish Airlines to get home. I arrived London Gatwick on 2nd January having spent my new year stranded at Istanbul Airport. The most ridiculous thing is that my luggage never arrived London too. This is not acceptable. I can't believe this has happened to me twice in one holiday. It's the 4th day now and I haven't got my luggage yet. I have called Turkish Airlines customer service only for staff to hang up on me. Turkish Airlines has proven to be the worst experience so far.

Tehran to London via Istanbul and awful service! Our Turkish Airlines connecting flight was cancelled, no information, no support, nothing. We had to sort ourselves out, the staff were rude, aggressive and did nothing for mothers with children from what I could see. They were utterly incompetent.

Sofia to Manila via Istanbul and a horrible experience. First flight was cancelled without an announcement. Then they put me on the wrong flight to Istanbul even though they had seats on the earlier flight. Flight was 4 hours late so I missed that connection too. Then they moved me on a flight with Emirates with an extra stop in Dubai but forgot to put my baggage in the flight. Stranded at airports twice, took me 5 days to get to my destination (normally should be a day) and my baggage is lost. Staff was rude and unhelpful. Most barely spoke English and were unhelpful and rude. Cabin crew were mere waitresses only - 'I don't know' was their usual answer to every question that wasn't food related. On that note, food was nothing special. On top of that, their call center is bad - they are incompetent, don't know how to handle customer complaints. One of them even hang up on me when I asked why I wasn't offered a hotel room when they left me stranded for two days in Sofia. With all the issues and problems they caused me, nobody took responsibility or offered an apology, let alone compensation.

London to Doha via Istanbul. My flight was delayed for 4.5 hours from Heathrow T2 on Saturday 2nd January. When we arrived to Turkey there was no information on the board regarding our flight, asked a few members of staff no one knew anything. Whenever I tried asking they'd drive away in their Segway. There was no information on where to go or what to do and we had missed our connecting flight to Doha, Qatar. Queued up for hours to be told our flight is cancelled and we'll leave next day at 8pm. Told us to go to passport control and get hotel voucher. Had to pay for a visa then back to passport control - the officer there was so rude. Eventually got out to see the queue for the hotel desk, it took us 2.5 hours to get the front. Next day when we to the airport for our flight we were told to go to one gate, then told no it's changed an hour before departure time. When I asked another member of staff firstly she ignored me so I had to get her attention by waving at her then she replied "I don't know you go check" - she spoke so rudely. It was not snowing very heavily to cancel or delay flights for that long. The customer service was horrendous never have I met such rude people in my life. We also had to pay for our visa to leave the airport and get a hotel. Never will I travel on Turkish Airlines again.

Tel Aviv to Accra via Istanbul. Turkish Airlines does not have its act together. My family was stuck in Istanbul for four days. The first day, we missed our connecting flight because 1 inch of snow caused our flight to be five hours delayed. We wandered around the airport for several hours, looking for employees that could not be found easily. When employees were located, they did not have accurate information to let us know how to deal with our problem. When we finally figured out where we needed to go to get our ticket reissued for the next flight (the following day), we had to wait in a 5-hour line to have it reissued. At the end of the line, our ticket was begrudgingly reissued by rude employees. The flight they rebooked us on was cancelled the next day. That led to more 3-5 hour lines and more rude Turkish Airlines employees. When we came back the next day for our flight, it was overbooked, and they did not get us on the flight. Finally, on day four we were put on a flight and actually arrived at our destination and they lost our luggage. The main problem is that in Istanbul they isolate all of their functions. You cannot go to one desk and get all of the help and information you need. Each desk only has one function and they are not even familiar with the functions of every other desk. They have fooled customers with relatively nice inflight amenities. However, ground services are awful. The worst I have ever experienced.

Manchester to Tokyo return via Istanbul. The inflight entertainment systems were great, seats comfy, food great on all the flights as well. My return flight from Tokyo to Istanbul when I booked was 11:40pm, with no communication from the airline this was moved to 10:40pm. I made the flight (barely) after turning up almost 2 hours early and there being next to nowhere to help someone new to such a large airport. The ground service and cabin service were very inconsistent, cabin service was average on all 4 flights. On the last flight I and the passenger next to me had to ask 3 times for a drink with our meal. The ground staff outside the UK seemed clueless at times as well.

Gatwick to Abuja return via Istanbul. Absolutely horrendous experience travelling with my wife and 2 year old son on this flight. First we had a 30 mins system shutdown at Gatwick upon check in. We got to Istanbul and delayed for almost 2 hours - no staff offered any explanation. Finally we boarded the plane to Abuja, on arrival no bags. 5 luggages did not come until 5 days later. I drove to the airport every night to check any inbound flights for my bag - after 6 nights we got my bags. By this time our Christmas holidays was already ruined. I thought, it can't happen again on our return trip to the UK, bit it did. The flight from Abuja to Istanbul arrived 1.5 hours late and we missed our connection flight and were put onto the next flight. On arrival to Gatwick all our 4 luggages lost again. It's been 3 days now and no explanation. I just got in from work now and saw that 1 bag has been delivered - 3 more to go. Fly Turkish Airlines at your peril.

Turkish Airlines from Dublin to Abu Dhabi via Istanbul. From start to finish this airline was disastrous. My flight was supposed to depart from Dublin at 11.10am on 1st January - we did not depart until 5.08pm. We were sitting on the runway for almost 3.5 hours. We were given cold food and no explanation. Arrived in Istanbul to be met by chaos. My flight had already departed for Abu Dhabi and I queued for over 7 hours just to get a new boarding card and hotel room for a couple of hours. The airport was completely understaffed and staff members were very unhelpful. After queuing for 5 hours they asked me to go to another desk for a boarding card. Completely unacceptable! When I arrived back in the airport after 5 hours rest in hotel I checked in and went to my gate to be met with information that the flight was delayed. We were not given any information as to why this was delayed. I arrived in Abu Dhabi 1 hour 20 minutes late, to discover my suitcase had not been on my flight. It has been 2 days now and still I have not received my luggage. I will certainly not be flying with Turkish Airlines again.

Turkish Airlines was one of the worst experiences I have ever had. We arrived from Tehran in Istanbul at 12 am, where it was one big mess. We were supposed to fly to Amsterdam an hour later, which never happened. For three days we had to stay in 4-5 hour lines for a ticket to Amsterdam. They were not giving any helpful solution. The first date after 7 hours standing in lines, they gave us a boarding pass for a flight that was canceled the next day. The next day the gave us a ticket for a flight that was already full the day after. Finally after an hour of arguing with their manager, the 3rd day we got a flight back to Amsterdam at the end of the day. Keep the long story short, instead of having transparency and communicating the issues with the clients, they were hiding the issues, not giving all the choices we had for flying back etc. Just sending us from one desk to another.

We missed our Turkish Airlines flight to Berlin from Istanbul due to the delay from Ankara because of snow fall. When we arrived in Istanbul they transferred us to a further flight, which was again delayed multiple hours. In the return flight there was again a 1 hr delay from Berlin for no appearent reason. They changed our tickets to a later flight for Ankara. I will be surprised if it won't be delayed also.

Beijing to Barcelona via Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. When we arrived at the airport for our 12:50 am flight, we went to check in to learn our flight had been delayed until 430am because the crew had worked overtime. At that point I asked why weren't we notified so we could have stayed at our hotel longer and not have had to sleep at the airport. Their response was that they still had to check everyone in at the normal time, which I find absurd. After waiting for two hours they offered us sandwiches. At 4.30 the pilots had arrived and boarded the plane, remember we were told we'd be taking off at 4.30. 20 minutes later the cabin crew arrived. We didn't start boarding until 5.20. The plane didn't take off until 6, an hour and a half later than what we were told it would be. What bothered me more is that at no point were we apologized to for the inconvenience. I felt completely powerless and mistreated flying with Turkish airlines. I won't ever fly with them again.

Athens to Lyon via Istanbul, and Turkish Airlines is a very bad and unprofessional company when there is trouble. I was stuck in Istanbul because of the snow for 30 hours and got no information, no food or suficient water. It was a total chaos and I had to wait in line for nearly 6hours just to get another plane as my plane was cancelled. Then they lost my luggage and I have no news of it, they keep saying they can't know were it is although I have the luggage number and did the right reclamation. Unbelievable!

I was flying Turkish Airlines from Dubai to Bilbao via Istanbul. Obviously my flight was delayed, as every single flight was with Turkish Airlines. Got to Istanbul and it was a complete chaos when I found out I lost my conection flight. The service provided was terrible, I did not know where to go or who to talk to. After 3 hours of trying to talk to someone in charge, I decided to go to the main office, outside the airport. There, a person found a flight to Paris, and from there to Bilbao. I took 4 flight with turkish, never on time, the service is terrible, and they dont provide solutions to any problem. They wanted to send me back home the next day, but I refused. Obviously I'm never flying with them again.

After snow fall on New Years Eve, on Jan 1st we checked prior driving to the airport the airport departure information and found no information on delays or any problems whatsoever. We then drove through beautiful weather to the airport. There we found total chaos: About 20 to 30 flights had been cancelled. At 11.00 our flight (TK0786 to Tel Aviv at 12.20) was marked as cancelled too, almost all other flights where delayed. The Turkish Airline transfer desk had kilometer-long lines, and after waiting and pushing for many hours, all they did there was copy passports. Then we were sent to the ticket counter, again km long lines. We did finally arrive in Tel Aviv with 11 hours delay. But our luggage had been lost. Now, 3 days later, still no news about our luggage. And guess what, the service number of Turkish Airlines in Tel Aviv is engaged constantly. Durning the 10 hours of queing and being pushed around there was no anouncement of appology, no public appeal through the intercom system, no drinks were offered, no assistance to disabled people was arranged, no special treatment for families with pregnant woman or little children was offered. Turkish Airlines did not seem to make any effort whatsoever to put some substance to their solgan "we are the most popular airline". They let their own few staff members who were trying to handle the situation down badly. They had to stand on the table tops and shout into the crowd all day to prevent being squashed by the thousands of people. And now, on Jan 4th in the afternoon our luggage has still not arrived. Any more news!?

Our Turkish Airlines flight from Mombasa to Istanbul (via Addis Ababa) was delayed. On arrival into Istanbul we had to queue for 2 hours to collect our boarding pass for our connecting flight. This meant we missed our connecting flight to London Heathrow. When we finally arrived at the front of the desk the man was very unhelpful and arrogant. He said he could not help us and that we must go to the ticket sales desk to rebook our flight. The process of getting a boarding pass should not take more than 2 hours! We were told that the flight had gone without us and that we must purchase a visa and exit the airport to go to the ticket sales desk to get a new ticket. After a further hour we arrived at the ticket sales office. We then queued for a further 4 hours (where people were fainting, arguing and children were being sick) we finally reached the desk. We were told that there were no flights to anywhere in the UK for 2 more days. Our return destination was not possible so we had to change our return destination to Manchester. After this, we were told we could collect our luggage from the lost luggage area. After waiting a further hour, the staff told us it was impossible to get our bags and were unhelpful. As a result we still have no luggage. After this we had to join the hotel booking queue which took another hour. We have been left with no luggage, no clothes, no toothbrush, no toiletries and no warm clothes in a snowy environment. The customer service for Turkish Airlines at Istanbul airport has been the worst experience of our lives. The airline have been completely disorganised, unhelpful and at times very rude. The staff are unprepared and spoke minimal English. People should not have to wait in queues for hours without being provided water or seating. People with children were not assisted appropriately. We were treated like dogs for a problem that could have been sorted appropriately and efficiently. We hope that our flight tomorrow is on time. We have missed 2 days of work which we want compensation for. We also have a car parked at Heathrow airport (our original destination) which we will have to try and get as our destination was changed due to their incompetence. We will never fly with Turkish Airlines again. I cannot believe they have been voted the best airline in Europe. The way they have treated people is disgusting and an outrage. We hope they are ashamed of their service. We just hope our luggage turns up eventually; somewhere.

Kayresi to Hong Kong via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. After 33+hrs domestic flight delay plus 2+ hrs international flight delay, I'm home after 50+ hrs - they totally ruined my 2015 New Year eve! Thousand of passengers lining up in front of their counters have similar awful experiences, pointed to wrong line (every line have to line up over a hours or couple of hours), the staff brought up other passengers who can speak Turkish to cut the line, given out wrong information, said they don't speak English after 5 minutes conversation. The rudest staff I have seen among traveled many cities. I will never fly with this horrible airline again!

Flight from Istanbul to Athens on Sunday 12.05, I was unable to use the Automatic check-in, because there was an error message "No Seats Available". A kind employee suggested that I should ask at the Administration desks, where of course there were more people waiting from different flights with all kinds of problems, due to the bad weather and cancellations. After about 35 mins, I gave my ID and I was told, even without apologies, that my possibilities to board were 50-50, because I was late to check-in, and there were some extra tickets sold. Further explanations were not given, but my guess is that they thought on this bad weather some people will not make it to the airport (as it happened ) so why can't we sell some extra tickets for more profit? I arrived at the gate and I gave my non-seat Boarding Pass, and I was been told to wait. I discovered that there were 3 more people with the same problem as mine. After the last passenger boarded, we would have to take the bus leading to the airplane, and wait again, until all passengers were counted, so they were making sure that there were available seats. Finally, we were told to enter the plane and take our seats, but this unrest is not justified by an airline such as the one I used. I hope this will be the last time something like that happened.

Dublin to Jakarta via Istanbul. A total shamble, missed the connection at Istanbul due to a slot time for the first flight. Turkish Airlines did not provide direct plane to plane bus transfers. Had they done so many would have been able to make connections. Once inside the terminal the staff rebooked on the next flight 24 hours later. The following night that flight was delayed and delayed. The lounge monitors were inaccurate and the CIP lounge staff incompetent. No information, no announcements, no service. They refused to rebook onto other airlines and failed to deal with customers properly. When we finally got on our way we arrived 34 hours late. As to the long haul flight: avoid the A330-200. The seats are old and uncomfortable (angled and not lie flat) and the IFE is unresponsive. This is not a premium airline. Every time there is a slightest problem Turkish Airlines miserably fail at customer service.

Cairo to Washington DC via Istanbul. We were catching a connecting flight in Istanbul and due to weather conditions, our flight was delayed nearly 4 hours. Once we arrived, we ran to our gate just missing the flight. Bad weather, delays and cancellations can happen to any airline. What was disappointing was how this situation was handled by Turkish Airlines staff. It was total chaos with lack of communication, poor management, and staff unwilling to provide assistance. It was difficult to find someone who could speak English and when you did, they were rude and condescending. We waited for over 7 hours at the transfer desk to get another flight. We were told the airline would provide us with hotel accommodations, but we were shocked at the length of the line requiring another 5 to 6 hour wait. Eventually we paid for our own accommodation. I was horrified by the way customers' escalating anger and in some cases, medical emergencies were handled or in this case, mishandled. While waiting in line, we witnessed at least 3 physical fights, two people who fainted, and customer service representatives who were in desperate need of proper training. I have flown with this airline on two other occasions without problems, but Turkish Airlines certainly cracked under pressure.

The holiday started quite well with our first flight from Manchester to Istanbul with reasonable seats for our 4 hour flight, even though the seat television wasn't working, an ipad solved this problem. We were expecting the same or better for our next flights on the longest leg (9 hours) from Istanbul to Bangkok, but were very disappointed to have less leg room and with the seat in front reclined couldn't even eat the meal properly. On the return flight from Bangkok to Istanbul we were told we would be delayed for 2 hours 30 mins, then held on the runway in Istanbul for a further 30 minutes due to congestion and only just made our connecting flight to Manchester. Unfortunately no luggage made it with the passengers. Both return flights had very little leg room and were the smallest legroom seats we have had on long haul flights - less than 1 hour internal flights within Thailand. The staff were very unhelpful when asked for most basic requests and very rarely smiled. We looked at the reviews for Turkish Airlines and expected a good flight, but were very disappointed. It is now the 3rd of January, some 12 hours after our return and still no news of all of our 6 items of luggage. All in all very disappointing airline.

Oslo to Bahrain via Istanbul. Have flown with Turkish Airlines many times and from many different countries but now is enough. Poor customer service. Bad language skills of staff makes it impossible to communicate or understand messages. Our latest travel took us through Istanbul in the snow storm that crippled the airport and the "help" we got was non existent. They dismissed us after giving us a new flight 20 hours later. We were given no food, water or a place to sleep. We were told "it is not our problem".

Turkish Airlines from Algiers to Kuala Lumpur via Istanbul. Flight got delayed 2 hours for snow and 2 hours in Algiers for technical issues, hence I missed my connecting flight to KL. Worst ever ground service. Turkish airport staff suggested me to pay in kiosk to take e-visa which I did, but immigration didn't allow me to enter because I don't have US or Schengen visa! After 2 hour of waiting and standing, paying $60 for visa and it's not acceptable? They ask me to pay if I want go to airport hotel or stay in waiting list for rest area from 3am to 12pm. My next flight is after 24 hours and this is the service they provide?

London to Istanbul. My bag was lost by Turkish Airlines on the 28th of December. Airport staff said my bag would be returned to me the next day. It did not arrive. I was told that it had been given to a company called ABS Kargo. Two days later, the courier called me and I had to get a Turkish friend to talk to him as he spoke no English (not his fault but you'd think Turkish Airlines would use a company that was able to comunicate effectively) and was told he could not find my address. My friend gave the courier my work address and I was assured the bag would arrive the following day. It did not. Days passed and the courier turned his phone off and was not contactable. During this time I was calling Turkish Airlines every day and was told they could not speak to the courier firm on my behalf. I was told every day that my bag would arrive the next day. It did not. Eventually, following complaints on Twitter and by email I was called by Turkish Airlines to say my bag would arrive the following day - the 3rd of January - it did was damaged.

Munich to Singapore via Istanbul. Due to snow in IST all flights were delayed and I missed my connection. Snowfall happens and I understand this is not in the power of the airline. However the way to deal with difficult situations shows the real quality of the airline. Turkish Airlines fails at all levels. Flight is delayed by 4 hours, in reality you have to beg for a voucher, passengers are stuck and TK staff hide from the gates. To get information or vouchers one needs to go back through customs. Delayed arrival at IST airport, missed connection - no information is given, transfer desks have 3hr waiting queues. In reality it took 4 hours between delayed arrival and hotel checkin (at 6am) - surely this process can be improved. Make sure that passenger receive an apology, very simple, cheap and effective but this does not seem within the standards of TK. Overall this situation was very badly managed. Inflight I find Turkish Airlines a good airline but it is the whole customer experience that counts. I have seen other airline who are much more professional and prepared to crisis situations.

The Turkish Airlines support at Istanbul Airport was really poor. We had our flights delayed 14 hours due to the snow and weren't given a lounge or room to rest in. Staff at the gates were horrible (shouting at other customers) and were not helpful at all. However, onboard flights the seats are really comfortable, cabin crew were wonderful, food wasn't too great and in flight entertainment was great.

I've just had the worst experience of my traveling life, and it is not over. We (a couple and 5 year old) were due to fly out from Istanbul to London Gatwick on Wednesday with Turkish Airlines. Due to what would be a manageable snow storm elsewhere, we were first kept in the airport with a four hour delay. The area we were kept in was very crowded and not equipped to handle thousands of passengers they were bussing to the planes. Then we were kept in the plane for seven hours. Finally we were let off the plane. Once we got back to the airport we had to pass through customs and saw that they had made no allowances for the mess they themselves had created. Nobody seemed to know where we should go or what we should do. Then it was more waiting in various lines to get rebooked. Next day our flight was cancelled again. More lines and hours of waiting to rebook. Turkish Airlines has this "amazing" system where one cannot get rebooked at a check-in counter and instead has to go to a special desk called "ticket sales" to get rebooked. There are at most 10 of these desks throughout the airport, which were trying to process thousands of passengers yesterday. So after Turkish Airlines cancels your flight, they make you wait in line for hours for the privilege of getting rebooked. The fact that I am an Elite passenger (Star Alliance Gold) made no difference whatsoever. We are still stranded here - no seats available until Wednesday they say. And they make no compensation for hotels or food. Turkish Airlines should be ashamed of itself. After more queuing we managed to file a claim to get our luggage back but thus far no news of that either.

Birmingham to Kuala Lumpur via Istanbul. The second leg from Istanbul to Kuala Lumpur was delayed for 5.5 hours. Queued at the Turkish Airlines care desk for 30 minutes, just to be brought directly to Burger King for a free meal. A free meal is probably OK, but the staff could have been more polite and friendly. He could barely speak English. There is no apology for the flight delay at all, no explanation as to why it was delayed. Really incompetent staff. On the flight, the food and drinks were good. The orange juice was fresh. Choices of movies were plenty. The air stewardess were not the friendliest, but at least they were quite fast in serving, unlike certain other airlines. I would not recommend this airline purely because of the 5.5 hours delay without any apology.

London to Baku via Istanbul. Turkish Airlines has increased its profile for destinations offered; but arguably the main criticism is that it takes famous Turkish hospitality a touch too far. All flights were on time and early and seats were perfectly comfortable, and I was able to get exit seats throughout. The food service was ample, although I strongly recommend against drinking anything not in a container, I was given a vodka and tonic that must have been a quadruple measure simply because many of the cabin staff do not know the measurements. The only gripe is the over-servicing of passengers, staff sought to wake me up when I had been happily sleeping for 2 hours with no cause to do so, when there was a seat and tray table available next to me. I may not have been able to place a drinks order but I would have been fine. From the looks of the other passengers I do not think I was alone. Otherwise a good service throughout.

Istanbul to London. Due to snow my flight was cancelled, but Turkish Airlines customer services was unacceptable. As Turkey is not in the EU they do not follow EU regulations. They are quite happy to inform you that you are entitled to nothing to purchase food and drink for a 22 hour wait in the airport. Attitude of staff is nonchalant, uncaring and downright rude in some cases.

We booked a flight from Kuwait to Toronto via Istanbul, myself my husband and kids, on December 31 2015, with 3 hrs transit through Istanbul. The first flight was 90 min delayed without. Upon arrival to Istanbul we missed our second flight. Ataturk airport was a chaos. Nobody knew where is the Turkish Airlines ticketing office is and when found it, it was 3 hours waiting line. The ground staff are few to handle the chaos. There is overbooking to Toronto, so we had to change the booking heading to Montreal instead of Toronto on the next day. The airport hotel is overbooked. The airline did not cover costs of my stay in Istanbul since we have to get in another 3 hrs waiting line just to ask for that, and you have to apply for Turkish visa. The next flight got 5 hrs delayed without notification. The lounges and restaurants at the airport are crowded. I am writing this review while am still stuck in Ataturk's airport.

Flew Istanbul to Lisbon on 26th December, Seat 25A. and an excellent flight. We were served a very tasty lunch and Turkish red wine. The cabin attendants were pleasant, helpful and efficient. I have a very good impression of this carrier and will use Turkish when possible.

I flew Turkish Airlines, Kathmandu to Istanbul via Delhi on Christmas Day, TK 0727, Seat 15D. Check-in was swift and the agent was charming. Due to no aviation fuel being available in Kathmandu the flight was rerouted via Delhi where we refuelled. Not the airline's fault and our journey time Kathmandu to Istanbul took 11 hours in total. We were well fed and food and drinks were excellent. The cabin attendants were pleasant and friendly. It was an excellent flight. Istanbul Airport was chaotic as usual and since I had a 19 hours connection time I was given a complimentary room at the Grand Cevahir Hotel in the city. I got a visa issued for 30 Euros. I was shocked at the rudeness of some of the immigration police at this airport. The hotel was very pleasant and comfortable with free transport and an excellent breakfast. I am very impressed with Turkish Airlines and will be using this carrier in the future.

Istanbul to Abu Dhabi with Turkish Airlines - total chaos again in IST due to snowfall resulting in delays. Can't blame TK for that. But as usual the handling of the crisis by TK ground services provider TGS was atrocious. Inadequate flight information screens in the lounge. Nearly missed my flight after waiting for 3 hours and having to ask the lounge reception about updates on the status of my flight every hour. On board, the usual incomprehensive cockpit announcement, with very little information. No landing cards loaded. The aircraft was one of the leased birds with a mixed cabin configuration in Business Class. I would recommend TK only to burn miles or on very cheap fares.

Turkish Airlines business class from Bangkok to Istanbul on 26 December at 23.30, and then Istanbul to Manchester on 27 December at 13.10. The cabin crew carried out duties professionally with great interaction and were very friendly. The food was tasty and plentiful. Cockpit announcements were good and not intrusive. No issues regarding my luggage which arrived at Manchester Airport first onto the carousel. If I had one complaint it would be that the boarding at Istanbul was chaotic. I recommend Turkish Airlines.

Malaga to Cape Town via Istanbul. Good but I also had a suitcase lost. Overall service was fine but they need to be more attentive to passengers. Food was very nice, but the business class seats were not totally flat. I am dismayed about how poorly they are handling my lost luggage situation. It has just disappeared and only the staff from Cape Town airport have taken any interest. The business class lounge in Istanbul was great. The luggage thing makes me lose trust in Turkish Airlines.

Great Turkish Airlines flight from Taipei to Istanbul because I had a whole row of seats to myself, so my review is not typical. Prompt food service, cabin crew friendly and spoke good English. Food was delicious and accompanied by Raki and cold Efes. No problems getting more drinks and breakfast good as well. Inflight entertainment was not bad, although I didn't really use it that much. I did not know what to expect on this flight, but the service for me was superb.

I know it's cheaper than many airlines but it is not worth it. I flew Turkish Airlines from London to Abuja on the 22nd December 2015 and upon landing I soon found out that more than half of my flights luggage was not on the plane, we did not get our luggage! The plane was full of luggage from a week ago, people who had landed a week ago and still hasn't received there luggage. I met people in the airport who had come in days ago also and hadn't gotten there luggage. It is now Saturday, 4 days after I arrived and still no luggage. There has been no apologies from the airline, no compensation, no remorse and a huge bunch of very angry people from various flights still waiting for luggage, wasting money going back and forth to the airport and still nothing. Yesterday was Christmas Day, I had nothing to wear, had none of my things, including all the Christmas presents I had gotten for people. I still do not know when I will get my suitcases. It has been a very upsetting and stressful situation that I would not wish on anybody.

Istanbul to Mumbai. Staff on ground were extremely efficient, my wheelchair was provided. Onboard, I was touched by the service from cabin crew, they were understanding of my situation and made sure I was comfortable. The wheelchair in BOM was provided promptly as well and I was given a touching goodbye by the cabin crew. Seats were alright, food was decent. I love the delicious turkish delight. IFE was excellent. Departure/arrival on time.

Paris to Kuala Lumpur via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. Flight from Paris to Istanbul was delayed for 2 hours. I was very worried that I will not get my luggage even if I can catch the next flight. If I miss the connecting flight, I will have to wait 16h in Istanbul, and I was quite upset when they don't allow me to change my ticket. The plane arrived 3 hours behind schedule after circling Istanbul for 30 min. Never underestimate the air traffic in Istanbul! Thankfully, my connecting flight was delayed too. I ran to the boarding gate for 15 mins and managed to catch the flight. It's a miracle they delivered my luggage in time. Both planes were quite new and nicely decorated. I give the on board experience 5 stars, I don't mind flying with them again because they always offer the cheapest one way ticket.

Excellent total experience with Turkish Airlines at a very good price from Birmingham to Kathmandu via IST. We booked our own flights with a package holiday. This meant we could fly from our local airport, get seats that were 2-4-2 rather than 3-3-3 for the long flight and save nearly £700. It was easy to book window seats on the left for a good view of the Himalayas on the way in - just phone them 99 days before the flight. I got through very easily (in contradiction to what other reviews say) and was treated with respect. No charge for seats. I chose 30A and B for the long flight to be behind the wings - they were good but a few seats further back would have been even better. Complementary food and drinks and was better than most airlines. You even get metal cutlery. Good, clean modern aircraft. Entertainment system worked fine on all 4 flights. Good cabin crew. The leg room was a bit limited on the short flight - as expected. Our flights back were from Delhi via Istanbul - same experience. I would use them again.

Miami to Bangkok via Istanbul. The food was great, the service and seats good. Turkish Airlines is much better than any US airline I have flown. The class separation is weird though. We were served start to finish before economy was served drinks. (I went to the lav and the curtain was open.) I don't understand that. I paid for more room so I could sleep but not to be treated differently. The entertainment options were very good. I love being able to see out the front of the plane when in the airports. I also liked the hot towel, Turkish Delight, flight bags and blanket but I wish the blanket were washed rather than perfumed. The over-ear headphones were great. Of four flights only one was on time. I didn't miss any connections because the next flight was 2 hours late and I had a very long layover. I spoke with a young man who had an overnight layover in Istanbul. I don't know where he stayed but he sent me a text saying Turkish Air paid for his room! I don't know how comfortable it was but anything is better than the airport overnight! I've done that twice when US airlines kept us on the tarmac so long we missed our connections and the last rooms in town.

I flew on TK 1760, seat 15C. After reading several negative reviews about Turkish Airlines I was very pleasantly surprised by the excellent flight from Lisbon to Istanbul. Check in was pleasant and friendly, the cabin attendants were pleasant and very efficient. Food was well above average. We departed on schedule and landed early in Istanbul. We had to be bussed to the terminal and it's a long way. As I heard from many people Istanbul Airport is totally chaotic but that's nothing to do with the airline of course. All in all a very good experience and I'll certainly be choosing Turkish Airlines in the future. (Second leg of my journey in a separate report).

I flew on 16th December TK 0726, seat number 4J Istanbul to Kathmandu (continuing my journey from Lisbon). My original seat number was 13D but I was upgraded to Business Class on boarding at Istanbul Airport. The flight couldn't have been better. The cabin attendants were very friendly and nothing was too much trouble for them. An enormous dinner was served after take-off which was after midnight. The food was excellent and our flight had an on board chef. I tried Turkish white wine which was also excellent. We departed on time and landed well before schedule in Kathmandu. I will certainly be choosing Turkish Airlines in the future. The cost was the lowest of all the airlines and the flight was excellent.

Dubai to Venice via Istanbul. Turkish Airlines is growing too fast, and like anything else if quantity is the focus, quality suffers. Have been an elite class member for more than 20 years. Agree with other reviews that staff does not speak much English and gives priority to Turkish passengers, across all classes of travel. Cockpit crews hardly communicate with passengers, and no relevant information, such as why a delay -0 only the few foreign pilots let you have the true picture! In addition, Turkish Airlines does not care about feedback any more, let them have our views on this website for next year's rating.

We left from Seoul and while flying over Tibet the captain announced that the right wing engine was malfunctioning and that we had to emergency land in Beijing. After waiting on the taxiway for more than an hour and in the airport terminal for almost 2 hours, we were taken to a hotel with no english speaking staff. Because we didn't have a chance to exchange currency, and because it was past dinner time at the hotel, we could not eat. The airline staff also refused to answer questions regarding the plane or when the next flight would leave. The next day, after deciding that no help would come for us to the hotel, some passengers got cabs individually and went to Beijing International Airport, only to wait for another 3 hours until the staff showed up. There were over 100 passengers at the desk by then, and we demanded explanation. The 2 persons who came to represent Turkish Airlines just told us to give them our passports and final destination. My itinerary was 6 days in Turkey and 7 days in Italy. The staff took me and my wife to Lufthansa to board a plane which flew to Munich and then to Venice. They told us that our non-refundable hotel reservations in Turkey would be compensated by Turkish Airlines. That was the one question the staff answered. After we arrived in Venice, our bags did not arrive. They did not arrive for the whole 2 weeks which was the length of our honeymoon. After returning to Seoul, I tried calling Turkish Airlines. Their office in Seoul refused to respond, and their customer service call center in Romania could offer no help. I was referred to the online complaint system, and it has been more than 6 weeks since my report and still no response.

Bangkok to Tbilisi via Istanbul. Flights left close to on-time, the service was excellent - a real effort to attend to my every need. I really like the Turkish Airlines food. Fresh, perfectly balanced and healthy. And a good wine selection. I find the A330 lie-flat beds a bit narrow, I like to hear what the weather is the cities I'm landing in - something they don't provide, and I'm sick of arriving in Istanbul and having to bus to the terminal, especially when you taxi past numerous vacant airbridge bays.

Flight was delayed by 4 hours. We got to know it 1 hour before departure. The real reason is that the aircraft supposed to be used for that flight was delayed, coming from Tokyo Narita. How ever, when complaining to apply the European Rules of Civil Aviation, Turkish Airlines says it is "Operational problems due to airport restriction", which is beyond their control - they say. I'm really sorry but this is not what I want to hear. If Operational problems are beyond their control, then what is within their control? So they rejected any compensation, eventhough I missed my connection flight in Singapore, I had to spend one night in Singapore instead of taking my connecting flight to Denpasar, Bali. Really dissapointed on the fact that Turkish Airlines, even I am a very regular flyer with them, does not assume it's responsibility.