Turkish Airlines

This is another difficult review, as I love a few things about Turkish Airlines, and absolutely hate a couple other things. Let’s start with the negatives.
One would think that on long-​haul flights, an airline would fly its most comfortable planes. With Turkish, this was very far from the case. Flying from Miami to Istanbul (9 – 10 hours), and worse yet, Istanbul to Miami (12 – 13 hours), I was treated to the most cramped Boeing 777 I’ve ever seen, with sickeningly tight seat pitch in economy class for any human near 6 feet tall. In general, 777s are very smooth planes — I always enjoy flying on them, but Turkish had this plane configured like a can of sardines. The seats were of course very tight… as a broad shouldered male in economy class on any airline, I’m destined to get up close and personal with any seat mate, right or left. However, I’d be more willing to accept this, if given SOME LEG ROOM. Just some. Some is all I ask!
My knees should not be brushing up against the seat in front of me, yet this is exactly what happened. At the very least, could the airline allow for this very basic standard of comfort and decency, especially on a stinking 13 hour flight???
Of course, the seats were wildly uncomfortable, but then again, the same could be said for every single airline seat my butt has ever sat in.
Now, strangely enough, on the shorter flights we took, from Istanbul to Barcelona, and Madrid to Istanbul, even though the planes were smaller, the Airbus jets we flew were significantly more comfortable, with a bit more leg room, so cheers to Turkish Airlines on that front. I just don’t understand why a 3.5 hour regional flight gets a comparatively luxurious plane, while a 13 hour transoceanic flight gets a leg room-​denying torture chamber.
There is one other negative that plagued all our flights — the planes were way too warm. I’d read this in other reviews of Turkish Airlines, and they were entirely correct. I don’t understand the rationale for this, as even the worst American domestic carriers usually try to keep planes nice and cool. I’m a dyed in the wool, red-​blooded heat generator under the best of circumstances, so to skimp on the AC, especially on a 10 – 13 hour flight, was pretty torturous for me. I get hot sitting in my own car, with the thermostat set to 70. These planes couldn’t have been any cooler than 76 degrees… which is way too hot. I often found myself sitting in a disgusting warm pool of my own sweat, and the seats were very warm to the touch after I’d been sitting in them for any length of time.
What’s good about Turkish Airlines? I would have to say, the food and beverages. At the beginning of every flight, you get a tasty piece of Turkish Delight! Yes, I am easily swayed by such things. Also, «for airline food,» the meals were typically decent, and sometimes quite good. Complimentary alcoholic beverages were available, and I was able to tick a couple Turkish beers off the long list of beers I’ve had.
Entertainment options, though a little «dated» by a few years, were plentiful. It wasn’t difficult finding music to listen to and movies to watch.
Turkish Airlines — they may be uncomfortable for the most part, but hey, at least they’ll keep you entertained, fed, and watered.

We (family of 5) certainly had a positive experience. Booked well in advance (3 months) – trip to Rome with overnight stays in Istanbul on the front and back end. Great planes, timely departures, excellent food, and great service. I did try emailing their customer service and got no response, so I guess if you have a problem things might get messy. Otherwise fantastic first experience with this airline.

Fantastic Airline — the best economy class service I have ever experienced. I took four separate flights on Turkish in Jan-​Feb 2016 — really great food and entertainment each time — attentive and professional cabin staff, modern fleet and very clean cabin interiors. I would recommend this airline to everyone — why pay to fly business class with another airline when you can fly economy on Turkish and have a much better level of service?

Im Flieger top, davor ein Nightmare! So gern man an Bord der Turkish Airlines fliegt, mit hervorragendem Bordservice und einem Showkoch an Bord, so mühsam ist jedesmal der Pre-​Flight Process. Das fängt damit an, dass man bei der Buchung in Economy — anders als selbst bei Airlines in Entwicklungsländern — nicht gleich einen Sitzplatz reservieren kann. Sondern erst viel später, irgendwann vor dem Abflug. Am meisten jedoch nervt, dass ständig die Abflugzeiten verändert werden, bei einer Reise nach Osteuropa aktuell bereits zum wiederholten Mal! Online kann ich den Flug nicht aufrufen — da erscheint stets «Error 404 page not found». Ganz schlimm ist auch, dass ständig, wenn der Connecting Flight ex IST nach vorn verlegt wird, der erste Leg nicht automatisch bei einer Direktverbindung mit einem Buchungscode angepasst wird. Hier bleibt es dem Fluggast selbst überlassen, darum am Telefon der Hotline zu betteln, dass man doch freundlicherweise auch die erste Teilstrecke nach vorn verlegt bekommt, denn es sollte ja schon die Ankunfszeit in IST VOR der Abflugzeit ex IST liegen. All das ist MÜHSAM, SCHLECHTER SERVICE und bringt mich als Miles Smiles Gold Customer nicht gerade dazu, in Zukunft verstärkt Turkish Airlines zu buchen.

A weird combination of attributes.
+: great new planes. Domestic flights, even short, have food, ayran and cherry juice. Business class experience was amazing with a private chef (Note: Business class IS first class. There is no separate first class.)
-: the customer service is HORRIFIC. They don’t know how to deal with tough situations. Everyone who works there is stressed out. In economy, there is trash everywhere and there was no hand soap in the bathroom. Loved the exit row!

Employees can’t get their information straight. Ran around all night because every employee here don’t know anything else beside their own duty. Ever heard of meetings, but they did have great restaurant while we waited for our flight though. Better then lax. But our customer service is a lot better.

Turkish Airlines are one of the best airlines, I have ever flown on. I love the excellent food, service, the seats, selection of movies and even the restrooms are usually clean. The Flight attendants are usually nice also but of course there will be a bad apple or two but this should spoil the experience. They really are amongst the elite in the world.

I wasn’t expecting much from this international flight, but this airline far exceeded my expectations.
Economy seating is tight, but recline is more than with some of the other commercial airlines. As this was a layover spot, we did not use check-​in services, but the staff on board was friendly and efficient. Food was decent and plentiful. Even for flights of about 2 hours, a full meal is served.
A nice touch that many airlines no longer offer is the complimentary amenity pack that they provide for long hauls, complete with dental kit, eyeshade, socks, earplugs, and slippers.
In addition, landing of the planes for all legs of the flights both to and from our destination were some of the smoothest I’ve encountered with any airline.

I am a frequent flyer of Turkish. They offer superb service on board. New planes and great food complimented with warm smiles. Of course if you fly business it is priceless.

I got to admit I was a little nervous when my coworker who lives in Italy set up Turkish Air to fly us around Europe. I now realize he knew what he was doing. We had two legs with them to get from Sicily to Bahrain. Both flights were pretty nice but the Istanbul to Bahrain was the best of the two.
The plane on the second leg had the in seat entertainment throughout the plane. Movies and TV shows in English. The seat were comfortable and even better than the regional jets you find in the US. The flight was only 4 hours but this was a nice ride.
The food was very good and not the disgusting food you get on the US carriers. I had a chicken curry dish that was such a treat. The Turkish Red Wine was very good. The best part was this was all included in our economy ticket. The service was also very good and the flight attendants were super nice and took good care of everyone on the flight.
I have 2 more flights with Turkish Air this trip and I am looking forward to them. A great airlines that does it right and makes flying fun again. Also flying through Istanbul is pretty cool too as the airport is huge and has so much to see I just wish we had a long layover to take it all in. The price for their flights are pretty good of course not the Ryan Air or Easy Jet prices but for a little more Euro you can enjoy the ride with Turkish Air. Shame United isn’t like Turkish Air.

I was at first hesitant about booking this airlines from the prior reviews that I was researching, but was lured by the significantly lower price from the other competitors going to Europe. And I was pleasantly surprised on all levels at how good this experience was. Flew from San Francisco to Istanbul, Turkey and then to Venice, Italy with the return trip, exactly opposite. The hub for Turkish Airlines is in Istanbul, so most flights go thru this hub enroute to your final destination in Europe.
The flight started with a nice cold towel to clean up, and then a small sample of Turkish hospitality, «Turkish Delight» which was a nice Turkish candy like sample of soft chewy gel like treat with nuts and pistachios in it. The onboard experience included a nice entertainment package with about 100 current movies, live TV, music and more. In addition, they gave you a small package with a toothbrush, lip balm, eye shield, slippers to help with the long flight.
The meal experience consisted of two meals with an emphasis on Turkish flavor and was actually quite nice. In addition, there was UNLIMITED drink and alcohol on this flight. The dude next to me kept on wanted me to toast with him all flight long, and several times called over the stewardess over for more drinks. I had to tell him, «Dude, I am only 135lbs, and you are about 250. I can’t keep up with you! He laughed, and ordered one more round before dozing off and then leaning on my shoulder.
Service was efficient and prompt, not overly friendly but good. The flight was calm, and the plane was clean. All in all a good experience for a flight to Venice that was under $ 700 round trip.
One valuable tip to note is that if you have a layover over 10 hrs in Istanbul, You have the option of an all day tour of the city, or alternatively an overnight stay in a hotel in Istanbul. this is a very valuable add on. We took the overnight Hotel stay, and it was a life saver on our mental health. You have to go to the hotel desk which is located OUTSIDE the customs area, so you have to get a Turkish Visa while still inside ($ 20 online, or $ 30 at the airport) before you exit thru customs. And I head that the option is not guaranteed. There was couple with the same flight as ours who were denied the free hotel option which I did not understand. So be careful about that option.

I flew Turkish Airlines to/​from LAX to Rome for my recent TREAT YO’SELF trip to Italy, and I have to say, I was impressed. Maybe it’s because we Americans are used to being charged up the wazoo for everything on US airlines, but I was so happy with the service on this airline.
When I first got to LAX, though, I wasn’t too sure. The desk wasn’t open, even though I got there at the suggested 2-​hour before flight time, and it didn’t open for another 45 minutes. Very strange to be sitting on the floor of the airport in a check-​in line with tons of other people.
When you get on the plane, you are immediately greeted with a nice Turkish delight treat, a hot washcloth to clean up, and several beverage and meal services. And guys? The food is really good, and I do NOT like airplane food. Lots of chicken/​beef options for main courses, vegetables, rice, always warm and fresh bread, and great desserts. Plus, there is free alcohol (not that I drink)!
On my way out from LAX to Istanbul, I opted to upgrade to Comfort Class, a service in between Business and Economy, for $ 350. That got me 46 inches of legroom (SO WORTH IT), better food, and incredible pampering. I also wanted to take advantage of this service since it is being retired in March 2016. I slept like a baby for most of the way, and when I wasn’t sleeping, I was enjoying their incredible in-​flight TV service. I must have watched at least 3 movies that are either still in theaters or just released (Jurassic World, Inside Out, Ant Man, etc.).
I flew Economy on the way home, and I will never make that mistake again. While the service was at the same level, the comfort was NOT. I am 5’11″, and I am not a small girl. And the woman in front of me reclined her seat the ENTIRE 13 hours and 20 minutes it took us to fly from Istanbul to LAX. I did not sleep a wink on that flight and was physically uncomfortable to the point of nausea. NEVER AGAIN.
Now for some negative press. The airline, and its crew, are fantastic. But the Turkish Airlines employees at Ataturk airport are utterly rude. Do they forget that they work in SERVICE? On both my way in and out, the employees had attitude and acted like they couldn’t be bothered to answer questions. I heard comments from other passengers on my flight complaining the same. Someone needs to talk to them to get their act together, because they are doing a great disservice to the many people who work for this airline and are AMAZING.
Overall, I would definitely fly this airline again, even though it stops 3 hours out of the way of where my final destination was (Rome). The ticket price I paid back in March was amazing ($ 890 R/​T). I figured that I would get crappy service for such a cheap fare, but I was really surprised by how pleased I was!

Without fail, they always feed you a full meal with a Turkish delight as an amuse bouche and offer Turkish alcohol! Service is good and we flew them 4x and they left on time. And their pillow covers seem like high quality unlike their American counterparts.

I was leery of flying Turkish Airlines based on online reviews both on Unilocal and elsewhere.
We had a great flight from SFO to IST, and IST to SFO. No drama either direction.
The flight attendants make it a point of checking the restrooms every so often as it’s a Boeing 777 that flys nonstop from SFO to Turkey.
We were able to do an online checkin from SFO to IST. On our return flight, there are many kiosks at IST where you can check in and get your boarding pass. Then do a bag drop. We arrived at IST early so we needed to wait for the counter to open an hour later. Organized chaos. Turkish Airlines then decided to open another service counter at Counter D. We lucked out as we saw the long line at counter C. Being at the tail end of the queue at Counter C, we were now at the front of the line at counter D.
Onboard, you’re given a Turkish delight sweet treat. Later a toiletries bag. You get a printed menu. You can select from two dinner entrees. Later everyone gets the same breakfast entrée. Free local Turkish beer, wines, non alcoholic drinks. The food was nondescript.
In economy class where we were, the seats are narrow and cramped. I was lucky to have aisle seats to and from.
Plenty of movies to watch. Everyone has an individual monitor with a remote control. There’s live TV and WiFi available.
I’d fly Turkish Airlines again.

AVOID TURKISH AIRLINES at all costs — and, it will cost you!
My husband and I flew with Turkish Airlines on ⁸⁄₂₄ for our honeymoon. Sixteen days in Europe. Turkish Airlines lost our bag the entire time and never even delivered it to its final destination!
Imagine trying to buy underwear and bras in Kusadasi or find some comfortable walking shoes, makeup, formal dress, bathing suit, etc. at random ports all the while missing out on your pre-​paid excursions and dinners because you don’t have proper dress attire! We saved for years for this trip of a lifetime and Turkish Airlines ruined it then and are not doing anything to rectify the situation now.
My poor mother, my mother-​in-​law, our travel agent, and our cruise line all tried to get through to Turkish Airline to find out where the bag was and try to get it to our final destination while we we are on the ship (limited cell service and email for us). Each time Turkish agents told us a different answer, which contradicted the next answer we received. At one point Turkish said they were trying to get it to us at the next port but, it never even left the United States! Then we were told that the file was closed because the bag was delivered, but it was not yet. Finally we had to call a carrier service to go to LAX airport to look through the lost bags and they found our bag.
Now they are claiming we didn’t file within the 21 day policy of missing bag. But we did and have a copy of the Direct Courier Service receipt on the date my mother-​in-​law had to pick up the bag (we were still in Europe at this time), plus we have dated automated emails from Turkish on the date I submitted the claim, to prove it. They are just using excuses to discourage us from standing up to our rights as a passenger.
Turkish is now ignoring our email. We plan to now work with an attorney to escalate the issue if we aren’t contacted by Turkish Airlines shortly.
From my experience, Turkish Airlines does not care about their customers. Don’t fly with Turkish Airlines, fly with another airlines such as Emirates, Etihad Airways or Qatar Airways.
Your wallet, sanity, and marriage will thank you ;)

Excellent experience with this airline. If you have to travel 13 hours in an aluminum tube, down the back, with three kids… sedation is a good idea or take Turkish air. Their food was great and the little service touches that are long since gone from most airlines like hot towels after you take off, handing out Turkish delight etc. The inflight entertainment was second to none and kept our kids entertained for most of the trip.

We were impressed by the service and the cleanliness. The seat back entertainment screen had a very wide selection. A pleasure to fly with them.

This is a superb airline, with good in-​flight service. Perhaps the only fault I can find is the not-​so-​optimal situation in their Istanbul hub, but otherwise, this airline is swanky.
Every flight starts with a small piece of Turkish delight. They also give out menus for the long-​haul flights they have. And even the short-​haul flights, they offer food, which is a great difference when you compare domestic flights in North America, which is pretty much a low-​cost carrier service.
I liked the personal kits they give away when you’re flying long-​haul.
My bag missed its connection when I was flying back from Bangkok to Budapest, yet they were very good in tracking it, and I was not left in the dark trying to figure out where my bag was and when it would arrive. By the time I filed a lost bag claim, they already notified the station that they have located my bag and will send it with the next flight.
Overall, I had a positive experience with Turkish Airlines, and will not hesitate to use them again, but I will make sure that I will have more than an hour to connect in Istanbul.

Although I’ve only had one experience with Turkish Airlines, I wouldn’t hesitate to fly with them again. On a trip this spring I contemplated whether to fly with Alitalia or Turkish Airlines, as both airlines served the route I was taking (Bologna-​Istanbul), cost similar amounts and had similar schedules. Am I ever glad I picked Turkish Airlines!
Maybe I’m used to air travel within Canada and the US, where you don’t get anything except perhaps a (non alcoholic) beverages unless you are flying across the Atlantic. With Turkish airlines, even for a short flight, you get a full meal and complimentary beverage (including beer and wine). And the food is actually good!
Another little plus: they come around with newspapers. And with Turkish delight. And the staff are friendly and helpful! It’s the little things that count.

Oh Turkish Airlines I could fill up a swear jar with the string of obscenities that comes to my mind at the mere thought of your joke of a business. I hate you with the white hot intensity of a blazing sun. While that may make me a powerful Sith Lord, it certainly does not make me a satisfied customer or happy traveler.
So, for my fellow globetrotters out there beware of this airline. Let me recall the ways that they have ruined our trip to Turkey: Luggage from Heathrow to Istanbul took almost 90 minutes to appear even though this is their hub. Considering what would happen later, I guess we should be happy they arrived at all. Two hours of ground delays on our return trip for no reason from Antalya connecting in Istanbul to return to London. Once we arrived in London basically our entire flight is huddled around the carousel watching green hard case… black suitcase… black duffel… red suitcase, round and round they go. Two hours later the board is cleared, carousel turned off and a massive queue forms at your hand off luggage service to overwhelm the claim desk with details of missing luggage. No one from TA is around to help and we are told by the poor luggage guys that this is typical and flights from Istanbul have been losing luggage for weeks! Four full days later and we still don’t have our bag. Any contact number rings off the hook and attempts to reach anyone via social media go nowhere. No response at all from the airline or any representative. Words do little to express the frustration and boiling rage that I feel each passing day when I see that tweets, messages and emails have not been responded to and no progress has been made to get us our luggage.
Turkish Airlines has reached new heights of incompetence and their lack of concern or accountability is troubling to say the least. They brag about being the top airline in Europe, but I really have no idea how that is possible. Star Alliance should kick them out. Beware.

Einer der besten Fluggesellschaften die es gibt :)
Das Essen ist super reichhaltig — von Vorspeise bis Nachspeise mit Tee oder Kaffe und einer kleinen Tüte Haselnüssen oder Lokum ! Super :)

The pros: the food isn’t half bad. Don’t order the vegetarian if you can avoid it, because they will not give you dessert or appetizers (even if they’re vegetarian!). There is a nice care package of toothbrush, eye mask, and slippers for your flight. Also, the pilots are great, and it is a world renowned airline. There is also partner status with Jet Blue, so your domestic connections are coordinated into international travel — not bad.
The cons:
–The armrests on the A340 don’t go up all the way, so no cuddling on overseas flights. The seats themselves are very cramped and uncomfortable.
–The flight attendants provide pretty terrible service, and they speak minimal English, even on international flights to/​from the US.
–Witnessed a very poorly handled medical incident on the flight. So don’t get sick!
–No outlets/​USB chargers.
–Poor selection of movies/​TV shows.
–You will never get through to anyone if you call the toll-​free number. You are far better off calling a local office in NYC or Chicago. Otherwise, you cannot reserve your seats in advance.
Next time I fly to Turkey, I’ll try my damnedest to fly with Delta, Lufthansa, or British Airways.

Bei meiner letzten Türkeiurlaub-​Buchung habe ich mich bezüglich desFluges von Bremen nach Bodrum für Turkish Airlines entschieden Dies hat sich später als Glücksgriff erwiesen.
Die Homepage der Airline ist einfach und übersichtlich gestaltet, so dass man Infos bezüglich Freigepäck oder andere wichtige Fluginformationen schnell findet. Die Freigepäckgrenze in die Türkei liegt hier übrigens bei sagenhaften 30 Kilo pro Person. Der Check-​Inn war super freundlich und das Kabinenpersonal war auf unserem Flug top motiviert.
Turkish Airlines gehört der Star Alliance und man hat hier einen Linienflug-​Status. Während des Fluges werden Getränke und warmes Essen gereicht. Das Essen hat meinen Kindern und mir vorzüglich geschmeckt. Auch Alkoholika werden kostenfrei ausgeschenkt. Die Beinfreiheit war in Ordnung.
Eine mittlerweile ausgezeichnete Airline die zu recht sehr gelobt wird.