Seats were very tight with poor legroom - and I am average height. During the 12 hour flight, tiny paper cups of drinks we're only offered during the super and breakfast services, with the crew nowhere to be seen in between. One of the bathrooms was out of order, leading to long lines waiting to use the remaining two available to the economy class passengers.
Seats paid for in advance. Seat assignments changed by kayak 3rd party. Seats then changed again by Turkish airlines at the gate. Family seated on opposite sides of the plane yet money taken for seat assignments that were not honored.
What I did not like was that the airline changed my seat in Bodrum to one that was not in business class. Up until that moment I was in seat 1A. Then suddenly they told me I was in seat 1K and my "tablet was not working". - meaning my tv screen. I said that was not ok and they said go tell them in Istanbul. Each Turkish Air rep that I consulted told me there were no available seats in Business class. Finally I talked to the 4 airline representatives outside the lounge. When I talked to a woman and explained I wanted to change my seat back to what I had, A lady consulted something, asked me if I signed anything, then turned to a man nearby and spoke in Turkish. The man consulted someone and spoke in Turkish to the woman. Then she said my seat was now A1. Why was my seat changed out of business class in the first place? What would have happened if I had not talked to someone at the lounge? I am totally confused.
Took forever to board. They made announcements without the loudspeaker and since the waiting room was full of screaming kids, no one could hear what they were saying. The business class sleeper seats were designed for tall skinny people. When partially reclined there was nowhere to rest my feet because they did not reach the footrest. and when fully reclined there wasn't room at my sides for my arms. Definitely one of the worst sleeper seats I have ever had.
Bad experience; they are not good anymore. They charge too much for luggage seat are so uncomfortable, Flight delays which may miss your next flight, they don’t care if you miss the flight or not. Zero customer services for front desk representatives Istanbul's airport I’m not using this airline any more.
I took a nine-hour flight in economy class, and the seats were quite comfortable. I even managed to take a long nap, which rarely happens. There was a good selection of movies, and the complimentary kit included socks, ear plugs, a sleep mask, lip balm, and a toothbrush with toothpaste.
It was a nightmare. I booked business class ticket from Ediburgh to Beirut via Istanbul to attend a funeral. I had a wonderful experience flying to Istanbul from Edinburgh. Then I could not get a boarding pass issued to Beirut. It seems that although they booked me and I had a reservation number, I had no seat allocated and the flight was full. I was asked to go from one desk to another and made to wait for 2 hours. I missed my flight as I did not have a seat assigned and it was full. The only option was to put me on the next flight, 6 hours later, for a fee of over $400. They said that was the best they can do to 'help me' and to 'take it or leave it'. Well, I was not about to be bullied; I stood my ground. I booked and paid premium for the journey, which was confirmed. The eventually accepted to not charge me extra and i waited a total of over 8 hours in the airport with no compensation. On top of my grief with the risk of missing the funeral service, I had to put up with their indifference and condescending attitude. They spoke about me in Turkish thinking I would not understand (I hold a British passport) in front of me. When they eventually handed my passport and boarding pass back to me, I showed them I was born in Istanbul and that I understood everything and said a condescending 'thank you' back to them in Turkish. You should have seen their faces. I said that consumers have rights and it is a shame that Turkish Airlines does not have good customer service to at least acknowledge and apologize for errors committed by the airline. Blaming the me, the client, for such an error and placing unreasonable ultimatums, rudeness and dismissiveness to be rid of me, particularly when I was vulnerable and visibly grieving was really shocking... The airline taints the city of Istanbul and the people of Türkiye. Such a shame.
The flight departed on time and the staff was professional.
The seat arrangement from JFK to Istanbul and from Istanbul to JFK is not updated. Since I travelled alone, I felt uncomfortable sitting next to a stranger. There is privacy issue here.
Very friendly crew and a very clean plane. The entertainment system was great with films worth seeing. It's difficult to be critical.
