Turkish Airlines

✅ Trip Verified | It was the worst experience that I ever had. I bought 3 tickets for myself, my wife and my 19 month old son since we need extra room when we are flying. We flew from Los Angeles to Tashkent via Istanbul and back from Tashkent to Los Angeles after spending 2 weeks in Tashkent with 3 days stop in Istanbul. We really liked Istanbul and it's touristic attractions. We bought tickets via Expedia and I paid full price for my son's ticket. When checking in in Istanbul TK representatives told us that we have to buy new ticket for our son since the one we bought was a child ticket, but it has to be a baby ticket as our son is under 2 years old. They told us that on previous 3 hops TK made a mistake allowing our baby onboard and they sent us to to a ticket office where I got charged an additional 130 USD for a new ticket for our son. It's the kind of Turkish Bazar experience you get when you deal with TK. It was a very stressful situation for our family as we were almost late to our flight to LA. I was very angry and was not able to sleep during our flight to LA. It's a completely different experience with Turkish Airlines in other countries as in Tashkent/Uzbekistan and Los Angeles their representatives are more customer focused. 3 years ago I had another bad experience with Turkish Airlines in Istanbul when TK oversold tickets to our flight to Los Angeles. They push people who bought tickets in advance with cheaper rates to stay and chose a different flight making a priority for those who paid higher buying tickets closer to departure date. That creates a stressful experience for the passengers since they don't have seats on their boarding passes. They first push you that you don't have seat available and later gamble proposing bonuses to passengers to abandon a flight and you have to stand firm to take your flight. Somebody agrees at the end to abandon a flight. Our Turkish Airlines experience was so bad that it spoilt our impression about our vacation in Turkey. We would try to avoid this airline and country in overall for upcoming vacations.

✅ Trip Verified | Because of covid and the fare I paid, my expectations were low. However, it ended up being one of the best experiences, the other one being with Swiss Airlines over a decade ago. The food did not give me the indigestion I usually have with airlines food. It was fast and expeditiously served without the personnel being rude, dismissive, or in a hurry. Some bad turbulences were well handled. People may think that there isn't much an airline can do about turbulences, however, I have flown a lot in this lifetime. If you pay attention, there is actually a lot that can be done. I have been on many flights where I expected something like the felt slippers to be provided. Feet can start hurting and aching when stuck in hard shoes for 10+ hours. Nothing was ever provided. Restrooms were very clean. I have paid more for tickets for shorter flights on hyped airlines where strangely it wasn't feasible to keep the restrooms clean. Customer service, on the phone as well as at check-in at the airport was very professional, meaning detailed and efficient without making me feel that they are forced to serve me because I paid for the ticket or because they have security regulations to follow.

✅ Trip Verified | Took TK from Manila to Ankara via Istanbul in Business Class with A350. I used to fly the same route with Boing 777. Both are good planes but A350 has a better concept for Privacy I guess the families with children may prefer Boing 777. Departed on time received good service and good food. Wi fi was excellent. It seems like There is some additional investment on cabin crew. This time I found them much better, well trained and service oriented. Istanbul to Ankara it was Boeing 777 which was unusual and Business class had 60 to 65% occupancy. This flight was probably the worst domestic flight experience I have ever had. Crew was so noisy talking to each other and using the trolleys to serve the meals. On the way back from Istanbul we had approximately 40 min late departure due to connecting flights and it was also a nice flight

✅ Trip Verified | I flew together with my girlfriend, our flight was delayed for more than 4 hours. Passenger rights regulation EC261/2004 states a compensation of 600 euros per ticket. Turkish airlines, starting offering 25.000 miles. They don't need to offer anything as the regulation states clearly the compensation. I complained and they offer more miles, then I complained again and they offer more miles again when I clearly stated that I don't want their miles. Be careful with this airline, they don't respect the passenger right, rights which can be download also from their website. Further more, according to their own rules, for a delay of more than 3 hours, you have the right to have a cold/hot drink, a snack and a meal. When I asked for it at their desk at the airport, they said that as the flight was delayed for less than 5 hours, I have to ask for these at the boarding gate, gate that would be shown 4 hours later. Finally at the gate they offer a bottle of water at room temperature, nor cold nor hot and a disgusting looking sandwich that of course we didn't take.

Not Verified | Preserve your sanity and AVOID this airline. I purchased my tickets 3 months in advance, and they have cancelled several legs of my itinerary four times so far. I believe they overbooked and kicked me off the flight because they were able to sell my tickets at a higher price to someone else. They provided no explanation but simply that the flight has been cancelled. It is a nightmare to rebook. Their system is set up to make you frustrated so that you cancel the flight, and rebook at a higher price. They have other flights available that they will not give to you saying your class (Economy/Business A B C Z I) do not match. Shouldn't they accommodate the customers to their best since it is Turkish Airline's fault? Right before our vacation, it turned into a nightmare. So much stress because of their unprofessionalism. Do yourself a favor and avoid Turkish Airlines. It is not worth the stress.

✅ Trip Verified | Online check-in and baggage drop have been relatively smooth, boarding too. Flight staff had been seen arguing before take-off which gave passengers an uncomfortable feeling. Comparing to the hospitality we were experiencing in Japan, the flight staff has been rude, tired and forgetful. With the seat belt sign turned on, seating in a window seat, I kindly asked for a tissue I did not receive, despite reminding the stewardess once more. We had a slight delay in departure but we arrived on time, which I really appreciated. The aircraft was old, with narrow seats and not a lot of legroom. My friend who is 186 cm tall had a hard time seating in the middle seat. Despite expensive price for the tickets, Turkish does not allow to choose your own seat - not when you buy nor when you check-in. Seat prices were ridiculously priced, where the extra legroom cost almost 90 EUR per person, per flight. My food was served lukewarm and the fresh bread was served to our hands before we could use their wipes to clean them. Taste was acceptable, portions are somewhat generous but the ingredients were repeating themselves. That includes our return flight. Onboard wifi was for free for Miles&Smiles members, but only 10 Mb which is laughable. The internet speed was poor and after trying 15 minutes to connect to the WiFi service, I shut down my phone after 5 minutes of trying to read some news. Unacceptable for this day and age. Overall, I would not recommend this airline.

✅ Trip Verified | It’s not our first flight with Turkish Airlines, but this is the first that disappointed us before even getting to aircraft. We arrived to the airport 6 hours prior to check in. The staff saw us there. When they started to prepare for check in we moved to the line for infants as we travel with three kids and one of them is just 2 years old. The woman at the desk started arguing with us that he looks older. Quite an argument! Then she asked if he has a seat - and if he has he’s not consider as an infant! Do you believe it? We buy a seat for our kids long before they are 2 because it’s the matter of convenience, not the age! Then, we moved to common line, but of course our place was already took by other passengers and the staff told we have to get to the end of the line. Seeing us with three young kids 7 and under, with two carts full of suitcases and knowing we arrived much earlier than other passengers they moved us to the end of the line! Should it be Lufthansa or even Turkish Airlines in Turkey they would let us pass through the infant line without any questions. It’s sad that the Turkish values of caring about children and families and Turkish Airlines high standards of service are not relevant for some representatives of the staff. Should I have a long flight next time I would avoid this company!

✅ Trip Verified | Disappointing service and I haven’t even flown yet! Rescheduled my flight + 1 day - no compensation or even consideration for the inconvenience it has caused me. It’s cost me a day of work and also an additional hotel! Never using again!

✅ Trip Verified | Cabin crew on all flights were unsmiling and not friendly. On flight from Istanbul to Vancouver there were no snacks and service was almost 10hours apart. Probably the worst service considering galley was so noisy even when they were not offering any service. Cabin crew only smiled when talking to each other and not to customers. I have flown cross Atlantic business class on Lufthansa and Air Canada and both are miles above Turkish airlines Had a short connection in Istanbul from Dubai to Vancouver, bags were tagged priority and yet it took over 1 hour to get my bags on arrival in Vancouver. Not sure I will fly with Turkish again, overall not impressed with Turkish airlines

✅ Trip Verified | They disregard responsibility for their mishandling of bookings. Their grievance process, which they call “Feedback”, is disconnected and frustrating. I will not use Turkish Airlines again. Turkish Airlines cancelled my return flight, yet never notified me. They say, by their “Feedback” email response, that they sent me a SMS about the flight cancellation on February 18, 2022. My text message log shows no such message. That would be a message that would have grabbed my attention and led me to make alternative arrangements. No contact from them was made by phone, email or text about this. They did have all of my correct contact information, demonstrated by several texts and emails received about small changes in my outbound flight time. I also was not notified at my outbound flight check in that the return flight was cancelled. No alternative flight was booked by Turkish Airlines. This led to my being stuck at the Tel Aviv airport, having to return to the city overnight, and flying out the next day: a 19 hour delay and extra $489 of expenses. Turkish Airlines denied all responsibility and did not provide any compensation. There was a United Airlines (a Star Alliance partner) flight 4 hours later than my cancelled flight, which I requested on the phone with a customer service representative and from the ticketing agent at the airport, but this was not granted. Customer Service by Feedback is a brick wall. It is all done by email, and their email response closes the case. The phone customer service agents tell you that everything is handled by Feedback email. The Turkish Airlines website says that they aim to respond to Feedback within 1 week. This does not provide any assistance when you need it at the time of your travel. All of my responses to Feedback came more than 1 week after submission, and only after I called and was told that the response will be expedited. Feedback 1: after 3 weeks and no response, I called, and was told I need to send a new Feedback email. Feedback 2: Claim denied. They allegedly sent me a SMS on Feb 18, which was more than 14 days before my flight, and that absolves them of responsibility. Their email also says that they offered an alternative flight 2 hours later. Feedback 3: I submitted my text log from Feb 17 and 18 showing no message was delivered to me. I pointed out that I was at the airport at 6 am for my 8:30 am flight, I was not offered a 10:30 am flight that they say they offered me in February, and a 10:30 am flight did not connect with any flights from Istanbul to San Francisco. Their Feedback response: Denied – SMS sent February 18. Lessons I learned: Avoid Turkish Airlines. Check and reconfirm all flights ahead of time. Fly nonstop whenever possible. Purchase travel insurance.