Loved the check-in experience. Very friendly staff and not crowded. I did wind up with a middle-middle seat, which was quite uncomfortable. Always appreciate the very professional staff on TAL.
Loved the check-in experience. Very friendly staff and not crowded. I did wind up with a middle-middle seat, which was quite uncomfortable. Always appreciate the very professional staff on TAL.
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.
seat didn't fold children noise in the air plain. no foot space
COmpared to my experience in the business class of other airlines the food variety and offerings were meager. They did not have any cookies or crackers for snacking! They were unable to offer some other items. This has never been my experience in other airlines.
The flight departed on time and the staff was professional.
My flight had two legs. When checking in at the first leg the agent offering for a deal to upgrade the leg to first class for $199. He then claimed I would be able to upgrade the second leg once I got to the next airport. I declined and when I inquired about upgrading at the second airport, the cost was $1,300. I also had an issue at the airport lounge. I am allowed one guest in the lounge. My friend came in the lounge for less than 5 minutes and left when she couldn’t get a sleeping suite. I wanted to bring in another friend. The airport staff first started acting as though they didn’t understand English and then became upset when I asked for their names so I could file a complaint. As an elite member I knew they could do more but were not. One of the agents started over talking me and walked away mid conversation dismissing my request for assistance. A man claiming to be the manager said you were asking for her name. He also never tried to assist me or see what was going on. He claimed the interactions were recorded and management would see everything. I’m not sure how that would assist me days later. I am sure it didn’t help that I was a black American woman.
Food not good, flight attendants not the best, not accommodating very ruff
Crew announced boarding started and they asked passengers to form a queue. Actual boarding didn’t start and queue was not moving for around 40-50 mins. Very poor management.
It was a terrible airline. The air hostess and the people in the flight, just very rude.
I requested a special meal (kosher) several months ahead of the flight . It was listed on the Turkish air website that I had a kosher meal. In-flight, there was no kosher meal. I was not able to eat during the nearly 8-hour flight. There also was no kosher meal on the second leg of the trip. The flight attendants said there was nothing they could do. They had no idea why the kosher meal was not provided. Very bad meal service.