Turkish Airlines

LHR-IST-LHR over the Christmas - We use this airline regularly as they offer a good choice of flights from London with convenient departure times and have always been impressed with the quality of inflight service. B777-300 in both directions - aircraft was very clean and looked reasonably new. Very tasty meals were served in both directions and the Turkish Delight shortly after take-off is a nice touch. Good choice of drinks offered with the meal although it's true to say that they don't regularly pass through the cabin with the drinks trolley (to be honest there aren't many airlines that do these days - especially in economy) all you have to do is ask and they will serve you with a smile! The AVOD offered a good choice of TV and movies - the 4h flight passed very quickly. It's worth remembering however that some of the flights from London use smaller B737 or A320 family aircraft and may not have personal TVs in economy. The 11.40 and 16.10 flights from LHR generally use A330s / 777s. We have flown on smaller planes and the service is fine but not quite as much legroom as on the 777. Overall the flights were very comfortable with good in-flight service and compare favourably with many Western European airlines that I have flown on and have no hesitation in recommending them.

LHR-IST round trip. I decided to choose schedule based on flying on the 777-300 (Jet Airways lease). Chose row 33 out 31 back. Complimentary drinks served quickly followed by offer of a Turkish delight and then a full meal service. Choice of chicken or beef dish same on return journey but still good quality for an economy flight. Cabin crew efficient not really service with a smile however. Seat back on demand films games etc. to pass the time. Both flights spot on time with bags off quickly.

IST-IKA 28th Dec 2013. I arrived from MUC going to IKA. Finally one hour delayed we entered the plane. Crew were very unfriendly without taking any notice of us. Shortly after take-off we got Turkish delights. Then it took a very long time before we got our meal. According to the menu you had the choice of two meals but when they reached my row no choice and a very cold meal. On the A321 you had theoretically inflight entertainment. The menu of the display was in Turkish English German French Arabic but only the menu. The movies etc. were only in Turkish. Summary: Delayed bad service cold meals unfriendly staff chaotic situation at the airport in Istanbul.

On 5th Jan 2014 flew Business class from Manchester to Bangkok via Istanbul. The trip was disappointing in that we flew on different planes than we were advised when booking the flight from Manchester to Istanbul was supposed to be on a 737-900 but was in fact on an old 321 and the flight from Istanbul to Bangkok was supposed to be on a 777 but in fact was on an old 340. However what was good about the flights was the excellent service of the cabin crews and the quality of food and beverage both of which were of the highest order and could not be faulted.

First time on Turkish Airlines. I flew in comfort class from IST to NRT. FA's are quite courtly and the seat was very large and legroom were very large. Meals were very good too I think we had economy class food on a business class plate.

ORD-IST-TLV return in business. ORD-IST old A330 non lay flat configuration not very comfortable. Food excellent. Presentation and service. Took at least 2-3 hours post departure. Took Breakfast orders and woke us up 2 and a half hours before landing. Lounge in Istanbul beautiful. IST-TLV excellent meal and service. One luggage did not make it but was delivered home on time. Return. IST-ORD same aircraft again excellent service. Seats not very comfortable for sleeping.

18/12/2013 Luxembourg-Istanbul TK1354. 19/12/2013 Istanbul-Jakarta TK66. 4/1/2014 Kuala Lumpur-Istanbul TK61. 5/1/2014 Istanbul-Luxembourg TK1353. Staff on various flights were impolite to even rude. A vegetarian meal was ordered and served but turned out to contain meat. After enquiring they simply took back the meal and served a new one without saying a single word. No apology - nothing. Other questions were answered with grimaces only not words. Safety instructions from staff before landing sound more like army orders. The media box in their A340 takes half of the foot space absolutely inconvenient on long distance. The inflight entertainment doesn't contain new releases only old movies. The schedule as per magazine doesn’t comply with the entertainment system. Furthermore very limited language options on some flights only. The food was very good on one flight average on 2 and un-enjoyable on the 4th flight. Journey time was quite long. Website looks antiquated not possible to order special meal only by phone. Online check-in not possible for some origins but they tell you only after all data like passport number date of birth has been entered already. The transfer in their Istanbul hub is horrible. One has to queue for transfer safety check for hours. All in all the second worst airline I have flown with.

Flew GVA-IST-AUH. Seats were dirty and could hardly be reclined footrest is a joke. On both legs staff rushed through the meal to the point where my husband had to physically hold on to his tray (IST-AUH). Staff not very friendly no greeting during boarding and an unapproachable attitude during the flights seats in front of us were used by cabin crew to sleep during the flight between IST-AUH. Entertainment system was poor compared to what other airlines have to offer. On both flights the toilet was smelly and did not feel clean. Not looking forward to our return flights nor the changing of planes in Istanbul we will avoid them in the future.

Bangkok to Istanbul. The inbound flight was the opposite of the outbound. There were people going up and down the aisles constantly prior to take off apparently dealing with this and that. Once aloft the service was ok but there was some disorganisation; the staff seemed to be improvising at times. On the other hand the seat was really good and I slept very well.

Istanbul to Bangkok. Functional yet friendly service esp. from "the chef". Excellent meals this really helped the score. Everything worked though the 340's seat was not so good for a long flight (see my seat review). Only just "good value" here because of the seat.