[FlyingChinaman]

MayaNaji,

My impression of TK is a more modernized airline. I did not feel particularly unsafe travelling on their planes, not at least in their key international routes.

I did not witness lots of delayed flights on the display board while in Istanbul airport and I guess TK is not too bad with serious delays on their network.

Domestic flights may be a different matter.

There is little to report on Y class experience with any airlines including the leading Asian ones since by default little can be done to this cabin except slightly better catering and amenities.

TK uses new aircrafts on the BKK-IST and it should be better than their older A340 in all classes.

[Senator]

FlyingChinaman,

I believe the B777-300ER you travelled on is on dry lease from Jet Airways. I think TK leased four of these from Jet a few years back and the actually on-board hard product e.g. seat is the original Jet configuration. As you stated, the TK A330/340 products are very different. TG also has the same aircraft on dry lease from Jet, and I believe is being used on BKK-CDG route as the only European destination.

I have seen some ads from TK in the Economist with a new C/J product. If I am not mistaken, TK has a back-log of Boeing aircrafts to be delivered including new B777-300ERs. My understanding (which I have no 100% confirmation off) is that they will exclude First. TK has on the other hand, recently launched a Premium Economy offer which looks good.

Whilst my experience on TK has been favourable in regards to F&B, I have been less impressed with the basics: Care of safety, friendliness of staff, and lounge offer in IST. I used them extensively on Stockholm – Middle East as they were significantly cheaper on these routes in business. I did not however, feel blown away by the overall experience. I have not been on any long haul aircraft, but on a variety of short-haul configurations of the A320 and B737 families.

[VintageKrug]

There is no question that Turkish is beginning to up its game, and has ambitious plans to become a world leading airline. This is most lcearly demonstrated by its fleet renewal programme.

Sadly, rapid expansion also comes at a price, and even quite routine flights on new aircraft have demonstrated the tragic lack of flight crew training and the lax safety culture at this airline:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7909683.stm

[Charles-P]

During its 75 year history, Turkish Airlines has had three accidents on its international flights, and 18 on domestic flights. They include the following:

On 26 January 1974, Fokker F28 Fellowship 1000 (registered TC-JAO and named Van) on a scheduled domestic flight from Izmir Cumaovas? Airport (IZM) to Istanbul Ye?ilköy Airport (IST/LTBA) crashed shortly after takeoff due to atmospheric icing on the wings. The aircraft disintegrated and caught fire killing four of the five crew and 62 of the 68 passengers on board.

On 3 March 1974, Flight 981 crashed in France due to explosive decompression, killing all 346 people aboard. The main cause was a design fault on the cargo doors of DC-10 aircraft, registered TC-JAV and named Ankara. Prior to the Tenerife airport disaster, it was the deadliest aircraft disaster in the world.

On 30 January 1975, Flight 345, a Fokker F28-1000 Fellowship (registered TC-JAP and named Bursa) on a scheduled domestic flight from Izmir Cumaovas? Airport (IZM) to Istanbul Yeilköy Airport (IST/LTBA) crashed into the Sea of Marmara during its final approach at the destination airport and sank. All the four crew and 38 passengers on board the aircraft lost their lives.

On 19 September 1976, Flight 452, a Boeing 727-2F2 (registration TC-JBH, named Antalya) on a domestic flight from Istanbul Yeilköy Airport (IST/LTBA) to Antalya Airport (AYT/LTAI) struck high ground in Karatepe Mountains during an attempted landing in Isparta instead of Antalya by pilot error. All the eight crew and 146 passeners on board were killed.

On 23 December 1979, a Fokker F28 Fellowship 1000 (registration TC-JAT, named Trabzon) on a scheduled domestic flight from Samsun Airport (SSX/LTAQ) to Esenboa Airport (ESB/LTAC) in Ankara struck a hill in Kuyumcuköy village at Çubuk, 32 km (20 mi) north-east of the destination airport in severe turbulence on approach to landing. Three of the four crew and 38 of the 41 passengers on board were killed.

On 16 January 1983, Flight 158, a Boeing 727-2F2 (registration TC-JBR, named Afyon) landed about 50 m (160 ft) short of the runway at Ankara Esenbo?a Airport (ESB/LTAC) in driving snow, broke up and caught fire. 47 passengers died, all of the seven crew and 13 passengers survived the accident with injuries.[

On 29 December 1994, Flight 278, a Boeing 737-4Y0 (registration: TC-JES, named Mersin) crashed during its final approach to land at Van Ferit Melen Airport (VAN/LTCI) in driving snow. Five of the seven crew and 52 of the 69 passengers died.

On 7 April 1999, Flight 5904, a Boeing 737-4Q8 (registration TC-JEP, named Trakya) on a repositioning flight crashed in Ceyhan eight minutes after taking off from Adana Airport (ADA/LTAF). There were no passengers on board, but all six crew members died in the accident.

On 8 January 2003, Flight 634, an Avro RJ-100 (registration: TC-THG, named Konya) crashed while on a VOR/DME approach to runway 34 at Diyarbakir Airport (DIY/LTCC), Turkey. 75 of the 80 passengers and crew died.

On 25 February 2009, Flight 1951, a Boeing 737–800(registration: TC-JGE, named Tekirda) carrying 135 passengers, crashed while approaching Schiphol Airport, Netherlands. Nine people died, including the three pilots.86 passengers were transported to local hospitals. The preliminary results of the Dutch investigation found that a faulty altimeter caused the aircraft to throttle the engines back to idle and that the crew failed to react quickly enough resulting in a stall and crash. Boeing advised operators of all 737 aircraft to carefully monitor primary flight instruments and not to engage autopilot/throttle systems during approach and landing in event of a radio altimeter malfunction.

On 6 January 2011, an attempt was made to hijack Flight 1754 from Gardermoen Airport, Oslo to Ataturk International Airport, Istanbul. The hijacker was overpowered by other passengers on the flight and was arrested when the aircraft landed

[Charles-P]

Of course the airlines are not always to blame…..

On November 24, 1971, a man calling himself Dan Cooper boarded a Boeing 727, Northwest Airlines, Flight 305 at Portland Oregon bound for Seattle Washington. Soon after the plane took off , Cooper, seated in seat 18C, stated he had a bomb. He demanded $200,000 in cash and several parachutes. After the plane landed at Seattle, the passengers were allowed to leave. Cooper and four crew members took off with his instructions to fly towards Mexico. The pilot was instructed to fly no higher that 10,000 feet and below 200 mph. He asked the flight attendant how to open the tail stairway and ordered her to the front of the plane. Shortly after, the crew felt a thud and Cooper jumped from the plane with a 21 lb. package of money tied to his waist. He was never heard from again. Despite a massive search, no sign of him was ever found. The FBI calculated he landed somewhere near Ariel, Washington. Cooper jumped into the darkness at 7 below zero temperatures with strong winds and freezing rain. He was not equipped to survive in the wilderness. Cooper, who became somewhat of a folk-hero in succeeding years, was probably killed in the jump or succumbed to the elements. The day after the skyjacking, FBI agents checked out a Portland man with the name D.B. Cooper but quickly cleared him. The newspapers picked up on it and incorrectly call the hijacker D.B. Cooper which stuck and was never corrected. In 1980, a boy playing on the banks of the Colombia River found 5,800 dollars in 20 dollar bills buried in the sand which matched the serial number of the money given to Cooper. Cooper’s lasting contribution to aircraft design is the “Cooper Vane,” a latching device on Boeing 727s that prevents the tail stairway from being lowered in flight.

Or the Grand Canyon Air Piper 32-300 crash in Nov 1976 when an unrestrained German Shepard interfered with flight controls and caused the plane to crash.

The ‘best’ yet….
August 2010 in Bandundu, Congo Democratic Republic. A passenger brought aboard a crocodile hidden in a sports bag. The crocodile escaped, causing a panic among passengers who all rushed to one end of the plane. This caused an imbalance in the aircraft which led to loss of control and a crash.

[skyguy79]

Comfort Class ought to be introduced on Manchester and London routes on 777/A330 aircraft as TK has enough loads to have bigger aircraft on these routes . As it is Turkish will soon be carrying thousands of Pakistanis from Europe to Istanbul to help them connect with PIA in Istanbul to Pakistan after PK and TK recently signed a Joint Service Agreement !

[FlyingChinaman]

Senator: You are probably right with TK having leased the 777-300ER from Jet Airways as I was sitting in a very similar seating on a Thai flight from Paris to Bangkok last month and I know Thai leased 777-300ER from Jet Airways.

I was not “blown away” (too spoiled by CX and SQ etc) by TK but just commented how much improvement there had been in the last few year. Turkey still has a long way to go before it can catch up with western nations in terms of infra structure but at least it is trying hard.

[skyguy79]

Came across these 2 videos on Youtube and it appears the crews in these flights only welcome and acknowledge you if you are or apppear Turkish ! Also note the unnecessary reaction of the Stewardess in the AMS-IST video ( 46 SECONDS) when she sees the passenger is filming her….She can’t even string a sentence together ! But seems to mellow when realising the person filming is Turkish.

I noted this on my MAN-IST flight a few years ago also.
If you are Turkish they speak to you nicely or they treat you like garbage.

Don’t believe me , see for yourself :

AMS-IST (doesnt seem to work as a live link so copy and paste)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoJqx-Dq-sE&feature=related

IST-AMS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBeOQJIkzRA&feature=related

This is an airline which is trying to make itself the no.1 choice for travellers between East and West and harps on about Star Alliance this and Star Alliance that.

Boarding is a crucial time for cabin crew to make an impression of their home carrier and if these 2 videos are anything to go by,the concerned crews didn’t make any effort whatsoever to be friendly,pleasant or welcoming. Not a great first impression of Turkey hey ?

[skyguy79]

And this Steward had worked a bit too hard during this 4 hour flight from Istanbul to Manchester…he really sounds like he needs a rest !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7ApD80ltPo

This airline seriously needs to be investigated and how on earth did they get entry into Star Alliance with all these tired, selective minded cabin crew ?

[skyguy79]

Message from Cinthya – BT Forum 04/02/2010 06:01 GMT

This just happened to me yesterday, though since few days before I’ve been thinking that their should just remove their phone number from website info, coz I needed to dial about 20 times a day to be picked up for 2 times.. since it’s urgent, I had no choice but to call them that often.

Can you imagine how desperate I was that I even mailed the Turkish Singapore to help me, I got a prompt reply, but still they wanted me to contact the sales office or the travel agent who issued the tickets of number 2353887174185.

Travel agent was unable to reach them too ( U see how funny this is), so I told the travel agent it’s better I followed up by myself for faster info.

Then, finally after being passed here and there,from office to airport, from one staff to another, finally reached the manager in the different office number from website (got it from the airport staff), he told me the price for rerouting from Odessa to Kiev, the destination was Istanbul. But I said I gotta ask my boss first about the prices and WILL CALL HIM BACK.

Then about half an hour then, I called back, asking how much did I have to pay if I didn’t reroute (the date has been changed from 1st itinerary, but through my travel agent, so I was charged too even though I didn’t reroute). It’s another staff picking up, but he had no clue about the sum, so gotta wait for his manager who’s at that time on the phone. After waiting, he asked me to call back. I did, and after several calls, the manager’s amazingly still on the phone. The last call I did to their office, no one picked up. So, I just called the airport staff again, said that I WANT TO CONFIRM THE REROUTE.

She said she would help me, by calling his manager to do it (she’s new), and she will call back. She did call back, saying it had been remarked, which payment will be paid at Kiev airport, and I thought it’s all settled.

Yesterday, the departure date, my boss called me from Kiev, right from the airport, two hours before departure time, saying that the staff there said he should have flown from Odessa, not Kiev!

So, I called again and again to office, still no one’s there. Then, to airport, line’s busy, and I tried again repeatedly. I reached the girl who said it’s confirmed, and I told her the condition. The only thing she did was referring me to her manager (to his mobile phone), not active, called back again, another number again. And finally reached him. Then, I told him about the condition, he said I didn’t confirm, OH MY GOD!

I told him I’ve called his airport staff saying that I wanted to confirm, and she even called me back! I said this was their internal problem, my boss gotta fly that day.

Guess what, a manager of service world, blamed me back for saying it was their internal problem, for problem which was absolutely not mine! He even dared with raised voice asking me not to interrupt him speaking.

Then he grumbled in Turkish and I said “Pardon?”, he replied me ”I’m not speaking with you.”

U see how polite he was?

He did reroute the ticket, but with unfriendly bye bye, he hang up the phone first.

I called back to the airport staff, asking for explanation whether the staff had asked him to confirm. She said she did, and sorry for his manager usual behavior.

I don’t care whether this is her fault or her manager’s, but I am on the passenger side who didn’t fly for FREE, I should be treated well, particularly when it’s not my fault!

And I’m so grateful that I booked SQ for the next flight to Singapore and Jakarta though it’s much more expensive. I assure you that I am not going to book to any Turkish flight anymore, though my top management in four cities in Indonesia fly to Europe often, IF HE IS STILL THE MANAGER FOR TURKISH INDONESIA.

Thanks to Turkish Airlines before for the ‘very great’ attitude from your representative. I’ll make sure all of my friends, colleagues, and anybody who knows how to tweet be informed about this amazing airline.

[cheetah1]

My wife and myself flew THY LHR-IST-SGN-IST-LHR in April this year, since then and despite sending our boarding passes, copies, flight schedule, several e-mails, 2 letters to Dr Christoph Franz (CEO) Lufthansa, only my Miles and More have been credited. My wife is still waiting and apparently, according to Miles and More, she was not on the flights !! In view of the fact that Miles and More/THY/Lufthansa are denying my wife what is rightfully hers we have decided that a) we will never fly with THY again and b) will also consider whether to ever use a Starr Alliance airline again. As a retired airline ground engineer I find the attitude of those concerned to be a complete and utter disgrace.
Yours faithfully
John C Kent

[LuganoPirate]

I sympathize Cheetah but very rarely does the threat of taking your business away from the airline/alliance cause them to suddenly submit to your requests. With respect, 1 or 2 passengers more or less will not make a big difference and if others passengers are happy, they will not all suddenly boycott THY or Star for that matter.

You don’t mention which class you travelled in, or what status you or your wife have, but I’m thinking it’s not HON since if it was you would have been sorted out by now.

Further, if you publicly threaten to remove your business, adding your real name as well, the airline has lost you, so has even less incentive to try and resolve your problem. Presumably in this case you wouldn’t even use your miles?

My suggestion is to call the call center, ask for a supervisor and calmly explain the problem, giving all the details. Don’t threaten but rather ask for his/her help in resolving the matter as you will be so grateful you’ll be more than happy to fly THY?Star again in the near future.

Be a bit groveling (even if you don’t feel its right – but its better than continually banging your head against a brick wall) and I’m 99% certain your problem will be resolved.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[Robertmichaelvincentyuna]

I have flown Turkish Air from Toronto to Istanbul to Erbil and return. I’ve never had better flight experiences in my life from prompt take-off times in both directions, to excellent inflight food to the fabulous passenger lounge at Istanbul. Clean, virtually new 777 300’s from and to Toronto. Polite, enthusiastic crews. The Airbus 321 flight to and from Erbil was also excellent if not as fancy. I expect to return in a couple of months and all specify Turkish Air. My new favorite airline.

[BusinessTravellerMiddleEast]

We put up this review of the Istanbul-Dubai route this month:

http://www.businesstravellerme.com/middle-east/archive/2012/july-august/tried-and-tested/turkish-airlines-business-class

[capetonianm]

A friend of ours travelled to/from SA recently on TK, economy, and said it was excellent. Admittedly he’s not a very seasoned traveller and he wasn’t expecting a lot as it was relatively cheap.

We have another friend travelling the same route in a couple of weeks, she’s recently travelled on EK and QR so it will be interesting to see how she compares them.

[Author]

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