PHayden

Has anyone flown on Turkish Airlines? They appear to be about $1000 cheaper than other airlines and about the same timeframe to get from Kilimanjaro to Austin Texas. It flies from Kilimanjaro to Mombasa to Istanbul to Chicago. Then American Airlines to Austin.

colduphere

We have flown TA three times and our daughter has several times. They were very good. I can't speak to those routes though.

mango_eater

I've been on two flights with Turkish Airlines. I would fly on them again. Also their airfares are very reasonable.

Fra_Diavolo

Only one roundtrip for me on the NY-Istanbul route. I thought they were very good, with comfortable seating and better than average food.

moremiles

I also had a good experience with them flying from Amman to Istanbul.

one2travel2

Agreed. They were very good and I would have flown them this year to Kenya and S. Africa if the times would have worked out.

LeePr

I remember trying to go to Kampala, Uganda, for a safari with www.instinctsafaris.com

I began my flight from Zurich Switzerland with a bad start. The Turkish airplane was not at the gate even 3 hours after it was scheduled to leave for Istanbul, making it super hard for me to be able to connect my Istanbul-Entebbe (Uganda) flight. Unfortunately, after we landed, the entire airport was basically out of order. It was the 2nd of February and one inch of snow (which they dont usually get) made everything halt. After about 4 hours of fighting at the check ins to get a flight to Uganda that night, they finally managed to rebook me to an Emirates flight to Dubai. It was the last flight to leave Istanbul for almost 2 days after that.

Compared to Emirates, especially, but also British, Swiss, and KLM, Turkish has the most basic interior for their airplanes. The only thing I remember from my flight with them is that I never had an uncomfortable seat like that in a plane.

The two reasons I booked with them in the first place was a lower price (but only about 50 or 75 USD lower) compared to KLM. Furthermore, they have the shortest connections to my destination at only about 11 hours. (Emirates mostly has lay overs at DXB of 3-4 hours and the overall flight time is also another 3 hours longer)

Everything might have been to the weather conditions in Istanbul at the time, but I don't recommend Turkish at all.

NB: My safari was amazing, however

bwanajim

Yes, I flew that exact route within the last 6 weeks (except it was Chicago to Denver and not Chicago to Austin). I was very happy with the service, the airplanes were clean and as new as United or American planes. I would fly them again.

The only thing I didn't like (and I don't know if its a big deal or not), but the flight into Kilimanjaro gets there at 3:30am and out of there leaves at 4:30am. So if the times work for you (and they did for me), its well worth saving the extra $$.

I extended my return trip after the safari to stay in Istanbul for 6 days, since it was a place I really wanted to see and didn't want to just fly there to see it. So if you have an interest in Istanbul and have the time, that's a fun thing to do. I'm glad I did that as I don't see myself getting back to Turkey for another 10yrs or longer.

Zambezi

Like you, I had questions about flying Turkish Airlines, but, upon investigation, I found my misgivings unsupported. Hence, I flew from Washington Dulles to Istanbul round trip in April/May, 2013, and was pleased with every aspect of the travel. I was in business class, however (I had bought the ticket from a discount agent and got a good deal). I'm sorry that I cannot comment on the Africa legs, as I usually fly other airlines through London or Amsterdam (KLM's direct flight to Kilimanjaro). ZZ

ShayTay

I flew Air Canada from Portland to Toronto, then Turkish Airlines via Istanbul into Nairobi. I had no problems with the journey itself, but my bag didn't arrive for a week. I have no idea where it was and can't say which airline "lost" it. I'd fly them again. As on poster notes, their flights do arrive and depart at odd hours. Another alternative into Kilimanjaro is Ethiopian Airlines. I flew them back from Dar es Salaam on that same trip... no problems with them, either. I had been a bit hesitant to fly through Addis Ababa, but had no issues there.

sandi

With those early morning arrivals using Turkish know that your hotel will charge for another nt. And on departure instead of having a dayroom, it's an overnight rate as you depart your Arusha or Dar hotel after 6pm which is usually the latest for dayrooms.

The Turkish fare is tempting, and though the addtional hotel fees might not be much in the overall scheme of things... just be aware.

I still prefer KL... or now that Qatar is flying into/out of DAR or JRO. Otherwise, as long as the plane takes off and lands... who really cares.

PHayden

Thanks everyone for the responses. Sandi, I was looking at Qatar too as their prices aren't bad.

PHayden

If you fly through the Nairobi airport just for a connecting flight do you have to pay for a visa?

sandi

As an 'in transit' paxs as Nairobi/NBO, no need for a Kenya Visa.
Qatar air though does fly into JRO, and so does Turkish.