Hi there,

I know that this query has been posted before through the years, but I thought I'd start a new thread to cull for more current info:

Has anyone flown Turkish Airlines recently? How was it?

*****
THE DETAILS: I am flying from Chicago to Istanbul in late May--coordinating with friends and using American Airlines Frequent Flyer mileage. My friends booked on Turkish Airlines.

The departure is American Airlines from O'Hare to Heathrow-London, then Turkish Airlines to Ataturk-Istanbul. The return is non-stop on Turkish Airlines, Ataturk to O'Hare.

I am concerned with SAFETY and COMFORT, in that order, which is why I am also considering going separately on British Airways (which I usually like a lot). The BA flights stop in Heathrow-London on both legs.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

ttt

I hope you get the answers you need, but you might also post this in the Airlines forum.

I thought they were very good but then, I used them only for a short flight: Istanbul-Athens last October. The aircraft appeared to be new.

I flew Turkish Airlines Business Class from Heathrow to Istanbul in December. I am also a fan of BA and thought TA compared well. Service was above average, food was good, wine was plentiful, plane was very clean and new.

I have flewn both airlines and ofcourse being Turkish used TA much frequently. Turkish Airlines to me much superior than BA. At least the stewards and stewardesses are much down to earth than BA. TA Safety is good and fleet is one of the youngest in Europe.

Happy travelling,
Murat

In my opinion Turkish Air is at least equal to or superior to BA.
As mentionerd above new fleet of aircraft and good service.
FAs that seem to care a little about the travelers on board.
Food mostly above average airline fare.

Just to avoid Heathrow on return flight is a plus.

Ataturk Airport in Istanbul is relatively new , clean and generally efficient- just buy your visa stampas you enter the Immigration area - then get in line for the control.

Intra-Europe economy on BA is no great shakes; TK should be fine.

One consideration for me would be that both your AA flight and TK flight operate through Terminal 3 at LHR, while you'd need to switch from T3 to T1 in order to use BA. When we flew on BA to IST a couple of months ago, our gate assignment in T1 was a fair march from the duty free area, and AA's gates at T3 are also a major schlep from the connections/bus stop (where you'd go for T1 transfers.) So altogether I think you're better off using the AA/TK combo. You don't need to worry about security, customs, immigration, etc. - just head over to the shops and spend some £s between flights.

The airplane interior and service and food were all fine. But be ready for some cultural differences. On my last Turkish air flight I sat next to an attractive young married couple with the worst body odor I have ever experienced. I eventually overcame my gag reflex but every time one of them raised an arm to adjust their light or AC a wave of foul miasma swept over my nose. I never noticed any such problem during the rest of my wonderful Turkish vacation - just hope you don't run into the same couple.

Hi,

Thanks for all the information--especially the part about the terminals and the B.O. couple. Ick.

An update and further details...

I have a ton of mileage on American Airlines, so I'm aiming for BUSINESS CLASS on pretty much any airline that partners with American (that would include BA or TA).

At this point, can't seem to get anything but coach--not even a coach ticket with an upgrade. Does anyone have any ideas?

I call American every day hoping for a Business Class opening, but then come away empty-handed. Am I wasting my time?

Thanks, Amy

There are two kinds of AA awards that might work for you. The first is a "partner" award - that would allow you to use any combination of AA, Swiss, Turkish, Iberia, British (but not over the Atlantic from the US) Finnair, SN Brussels, or Aer Lingus. For example, on Iberia you could go ORD-MAD-IST; using Are Lingus and British you could go ORD-DUB-LHR-IST; you could even backtrack in order to get to IST - ORD-CDG-LHR-IST. Keep up the pressure on AA.

The second is called a "Oneworld" award and is mileage-based. You'd need to use two Oneworld Alliance airlines plus AA (or just any two not including AA - Iberia, Aer Lingus, Finnair, BA, for instance) and it would require more miles than a regular award (115K instead of 90 for a regular business award) but usually there's OW award inventory when there isn't AA. Ask the AA agent about a Oneworld Award, or look the rules up on aa.com.

The last option is to find the cheapest AA coach seat you can to Europe, then upgrade it with miles (25K each way) plus a $250 copay. Usually there won't be a problem with getting a business class seat using this approach.

Sorry, Polly, I've actually had good experiences on BA. I usually fly British Airways in Business class. Maybe that's the difference? I may l be flying TA anyway, so I'll get to compare for myself.

Gardyloo, thanks for the advice on upgrading. I call AA every day to see if anything opens up. Pain in the ass listening to all those pre-recorded menus, but I do it. I checked into buying a coach ticket and upgrading, but nothing's available. It's that tight. The other option is the "anytime" reward, but only coach was available. I'll ask abt the "one world" award when I call tomorrow.

I flew Turkish Airways to and from Istanbul and also within Turkey in October 2004. I thought it was the best or one of the best airlines I've ever used. They seem unusually careful about security, especially with departures from Istanbul. Every single piece of baggage was opened and checked, and each person was personally checked, at least superficially, but the security people were polite and matter-of-fact about the searches and didn't do it in an obnoxious authoritarian way. I never find airplanes comfortable (except once, on Alitalia, when I happened to get the special the seat with the huge amount of legroom). The food on Turkish was definitely edible, better than on some other airlines, and some of it actually had flavor. The only thing I didn't like was that it flew from and to JFK, and I hate that airport.

If you're especially concerned about safety, I don't understand why you're choosing British Airways instead of Turkish. ???!!!

I didn't like British Airways at all when I used it once in 1997, because it has such a tiny and light carry-on baggage allowance for the flight from London to Milan, and didn't bother to warn me of that fact until I was boarding the plane, so I had to rush to unpack on the spot to remove camera, etc., so that my carryon could be put in the baggage compartment. I also found British slightly more uncomfortable than most airlines, and that's pretty bad.