how good/bad are turkish airlines?

[ngmassive]

ive just booked through opodo on turkish airlines from manchester via istandbul on the 1st of june return 29th, for just £297 + £5 card fee, i was expecting to pay around £400 so im very hapy with that price, bring on june in thailand!

but read a few comments by bms saying there crap, theres some good reviews on airlinequality, but also so some bad ones, so if anyone has travelled the route im travelling from manchester with turkish what was your exsperience? any IFE ,food, service ect.

im not expecting them to be brilliant, but for £300 i couldnt resist as the stopovers were short.

[todder]

i saw that deal myself the other day mate, great price imo, i paid nearly £500 a few months back. i mean how bad can turkish airlines be? you will get food and drink, so what if the food aint that great, you got a couple of hundred pounds that you saved on the flight, that will get you a lot of good food when you hit patts.

[fosse]

been a few years but the flight was ok,my only gripe was bkk only gave me boarding card to istanbul,when i got there trying to get boarding card to uk was a disaster,one desk one person on it,they were calling my flight and i was still behind about fifty people.had to push my way to the front to get my card.

[whitespider - RIP]

been a few years but the flight was ok,my only gripe was bkk only gave me boarding card to istanbul,when i got there trying to get boarding card to uk was a disaster,one desk one person on it,they were calling my flight and i was still behind about fifty people.had to push my way to the front to get my card.

 

Couple of times for me but both were a few years ago.

 

They were fine, not great but not the worst ever either. This was pre the days of interactive entertainment and I dont know how they compare on that. However the planes were certainly better than the ones Qantas used to serve up back on those days.

 

"crap" is relative isn't it? If they were charging the same as BA etc then yes maybe, but at that price as long as you arrive I am sure you will be happy with your deal.

[chivas]

At that price frankly it doesn't matter if the food drink and IFE are crap does it ??

[ngmassive]

thanks for the info guys, yeah im glad i got the deal now, so ive got more to spend on the good stuff in patts and the rest of los!

[Montien]

Turkish airlines on a long haul trip. oh my god i am sorry to say you will get exactley what you paid for. not a lot. I have travelled with Turkish airlines on numerous occasions to turkey and can honestly say they have the worst business class that i have ever seen in my many years of air travel. In fact i was so dissapointed the last time i flew with thomas cook instead.

 

Delays - don't think i have ever travelled with them and we took off on time. even known delays of up to 3 hours sitting on the tarmac at manchester on the way out. Missed my connection flight but i give credit where it is due and they did get me on the next available one.

 

Food.- not the greatest i have ever eaten on a flight. might be advisable to have some sandwiches with you in your hand luggage.

 

service.- boreded the flight and asked for a pillow to be informed they had run out. we hadn't even took off!!. ok a blanket then. guess what again sorry can not help you there either.

 

in flight entertainment.- well yes they have it but again i have had experices of it not working properley on a flight.

 

istanbul airport is fine so you have no problems there and although i can speak some turkish you will get by with none at all.

 

Now i have aired my gripes would i have booked the same flight for that price . YES

 

just paid just over £500 for a flight in August so you got a bargain there. mind you i think i did too with quatar airways and considoring the last time i flew to BKK with them i was upgraded i am just hoping for the same again.

 

Hope all this helps and have a great holiday.

[alexth]

I'm a frequent flyer with Turkish airlines and never had a single problem. Planes are in order, seating is ok, food is good (by airline standards at least), service is also good, never experienced any delays and prices are great, plus, it's the shortest choice for me. You won't regret it, dude

[univ715]

I've took Turkish from Dubai to Madrid via Istanbul last year... horrible. Unfortunately, there aren't any direct flights on this route and this was the shortest overall transit time and cheapest - big mistake on my part.

 

In my experience:

1) Unorganized check-ins, both ways

2) Old planes/uncomfortable seats

3) IST airport was insanely expensive for both drinks and food. I ordered a double vodka tonic and was charged almost 20 USD. Then, they have the nerve to tell me they forgot to ring up the tonic, so it was almost another 5 USD!!! No smoking lounges either.

4) My bags came 2 days after I did.

 

I hope you have better luck than I did!

Edited May 5, 2009 by univ715

[Baldylocks]

You have had a result mate, and it looks like you know what you are going to do with the money you are saving. sit back relax enjoy the ride. cheapest price I have seen for a return to BKK good for you ... I booked this week to go in June with Jet air. £409 short stop overs and good flying times, well happy to. I was expecting 500ish.