[IstanbulWarrior]

A bit off topic but I also find Qatar Airways customer service appallingly slow. On the occasional time that I’m sending a 5th reminder regarding an issue and I copy Akbar in my email, I somehow receive an instant reply.

[Charles-P]

‘onajetplane’ fully agree. I nearly split the early morning tea today when I read they had been voted best airline in Europe. I cannot imagine what the criteria for this this ?

Most extensive use of of footballers in an advert ?
Airline with highest percentage of Turkish speaking staff ?

It certainly can’t be based on dealing with their ‘customer care line’ or related to the time it takes them to respond to a complaint.

This award seriously undermines the credibility of the process.

[JohnHarper]

It really depends on what you are looking for. I know others have had problems that thus far I have not experienced.

What I do get on TK is a proper business class seat, a good meal and attentive service. The lounge at IST is excellent and beats quite a lot of F lounges although it’s a C lounge.

That is what many people see until it goes wrong which most of the time it does not.

Compare that to a C seat that is the same as Y with a thirty inch pitch, a BA C lounge and BA food alongside one of their crews who all wish they were somewhere else and show it .

You can see why TK win. But as I commented elsewhere, who believes Skytrax anyway and why are we giving their awards credibility?

[PeterCoultas]

For me, mixed experiences, excellent C-class service throughout until chaos on arrival with dubious Y class passengers (+minders) pushing through while the plane still taxied!

[goalie11]

JH! You must be the luckiest Turkish customer on this forum. My experiences are much like everyone else in the negative camp.

I travel fairly regularly between EDI and AUH via IST and the business class offering isn’t always a proper business seat, sometimes it is the proper medium haul seat but more often it’s no better than the BA or LH offering with the middle seat free and pitch same as Y.

I also feel the lounge at IST, which is an improvement on the old one is far too big now to offer that oasis of calm from the madding crowds, it’s almost a scrum to get to the food when it’s put on the stations.

That said, I did email them recently asking why the EDI flight wasn’t afforded proper business seats on every flight and they responded, after six weeks, with some nonsense about changing aircraft and gave me 10,000 miles by way of an apology. Like I Say, it wasn’t even a complaint, just a question.

[DavidGordon10]

JH – my experience is like yours. I have used TK a lot in the last three or four year, both business and economy, and I have never been let down; but I recognise the distress of those who have not received good service.

[maxgeorge]

I’ve flown TK a few times on their LAX and JNB flights, and on a couple of internal flights (Sinop and Samsun – delightful destinations) and I’ve been well pleased with reliability, service, catering and cost. Ground staff and cabin crew were courteous and efficient.

TK’s fullflat seats are very comfortable, their Business cabin layout spacious. The food service is the best, right up there with SQ and CX.
(cf BA…)

Once you achieve Elite status you have access to a dedicated help line that puts BA’s “hold” line to shame, and miles are credited instantly and confirmed by e-mail.

Connecting to the UK via IST, despite their superb lounge, is a pain, I’ll concede, but they fly into Brum, which certainly beats LHR for me, not least for onward rail service.

Along with NZ and the much improved AA, they are my choice for US West Coast to Europe flights.

[Aljongr]

Beware…
TK changed the rules on mileage accrual on 1st June.
My last Heathrow – Istanbul flight earned me just 389 miles.

To collect the 40,000 miles to qualify for Elite status at that rate would take 52 return trips from London to Istanbul and back.

Making the trip once a week, you could just manage it in 12 months.
Alternatively you could take it as an example of what they think of their customers and choose another Airline

[Charles-P]

I am aware of a Turkish businessman who is prepared to regularly pay extra to fly with Lufthansa to avoid using Turkish Airlines.

[ASK1945]

I have just arrived in Istanbul, having flown Economy from LHR. What a joke airline from beginning to end.

Took ages to check in online. Arrived at the airport to find all on lines had been cancelled due to a plane change. The check in lines were taking up to 90 minutes.

The incoming plane was 80 mins late (found from the internet) but there was no explanation to waiting passengers. The first was an apology after an hour. It took them about 50 mins to load the not quite full A330 with the passengers.

Then on the hottest day of 2014 in London at 35 degrees we sat there for 20 mins with no air-con. The ear phones for the entertainment were the cheap in the ear type. Mine were broken. My wife had none. From takeoff it took two and a half hours to get food to us, which was stone cold.

As soon as the plane reached the end of the runway in Istanbul many passengers stood up and started to unload the overhead bins. Only halfhearted attempts were made by the staff to get them to sit down, so children were walking around during taxi-ing in. Thankfully there were no injuries (I was once knocked out cold by an idiot who opened his overhead locker before the plane came to a standstill and his duty-free goods fell out and hit me on the head).

Airline of the year? Don’t make me laugh.

[Charles-P]

‘ASK1945’ an all too common experience as many including myself have detailed here on the BT forum. I still have a requirement to fly to Ankara on a regular basis this year but am now using Lufthansa, it may cost more but is worth it in terms of knowing I and my luggage will arrive as advertised.

The problem of Turkish Airlines passengers standing up just after the wheels kiss the tarmac is one that has been discussed before here and you are right that the crew seem little interested in stopping it, in particular if the aircraft is landing in Turkey. I know of a case where somebody sitting in an aisle seat had another pax climb over him from a window seat because he didn’t get up ‘fast enough’.

[ASK1945]

maxgeorge wrote:
“I’ve flown TK a few times on their LAX and JNB flights, and on a couple of internal flights (Sinop and Samsun – delightful destinations) and I’ve been well pleased with reliability, service, catering and cost. Ground staff and cabin crew were courteous and efficient.”

I spoke to several Americans who told me that the service in North America is way above that in Europe, in their experience.

I note that your were describing your Business Class experience. However, in my opinion, to be Airline of the Year, the service should be consistently high and appropriate to the level across classes. The opinion of those Americans was that overwhelmingly the votes were from US travellers.

[SimonRowberry]

ASK1945 and Charles,

Ditto. I have posted before about their abject disregard for safety standards. A brief recap: I flew them Baku-IST on the same day as their crash on landing as AMS (7 dead, if I remember correctly – and which I learned about by watching TV in their lounge at Baku, which was surreal). I was in J class (2-2 “lounge” seating). On arrival I was virtually the only passenger in the J cabin to put my seat back to upright and the crew couldn’t have cared less about the obvious safety risk.

I couldn’t care less about the quality of the food. I want to arrive safely. Ergo, never, ever will I fly Turkish again.

I could also mention getting thrown out of the CP Lounge at IST when I asked to speak to someone in authority about the safety breach.

Awful, awful airline which, in my experience is also dangerous.

Simon

[maxgeorge]

ASK1945 – Indeed, that was in J. But I’ve had staff travel in TK’s Premium Economy, which, while perhaps not up to NZ’s product, pleased them rather more than WT+.

Again, that was on flights to the US.

But I’ve also found their service to JNB/CPT to be very acceptable, and IST is a rather more congenial transfer for SA than DXB with the otherwise commendable Emirates.

My only gripe is the lack of booze on domestic flights, even in the lounge at IST – though perhaps that will be resolved with the opening of the new one by the gates.

I sometimes think that there’s a little of the vitriol that some people direct at Mr Erdogan ricocheting onto the airline instead.

[seasonedtraveller]

I also vowed this year, not to use TK again and my final flight from IST to MAN with them was in May.
I completely agree with Simon R.

To add insult, TK have refused to credit my SAS Eurobonus account with the miles due despite being booked in full Y class offering no explanation whatsover.
I can’t even be bothered to call them about it….. I don’t want the stress of their call centre and I most certainly don’t need the miles.

I am too long travelled & too old in the tooth for their bull sh.t.

So that’s a self imposed ban on 2 major airlines so far this year. Hope I’m not running out of options 🙂

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