Whoops, where did that drink go.
Written: Apr 05 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: New aircraft, good value, good lounge at Istanbul
Cons: Poor business class seat, unfriendly crew
The Bottom Line: Good value in economy; business class is not worth the extra, at least not for comfort.
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| vodkaboy's Full Review: Turkish Airlines |
TURKISH AIRLINES
I’ve flown a few times with Turkish Airlines, at roughly three year intervals, and my opinion of them has changed each time!
The first was in 1997, economy class on a five hour flight into Istanbul. I was not really impressed. The service was mediocre, the crew disinterested and if the seat next to me had not been empty I would have been really uncomfortable.
The second was in 1999, in business class, and I thought how much they had improved. The seats were wide, comfortable, the food was good and the crew were good representatives of a friendly and hospitable country.
Most recently I flew twice in late 2002, again in Business class on the new Boeing 737-800. Unlike many other airlines, Turkish seem to have taken a backward step, at least as far as business class comfort goes.
This review will focus on a trip in late October 2002 to Istanbul and back, five hour flights in both directions.
CHECK IN
On my flight to Istanbul, the check in was handled by a third party handling agent so was not Turkish Airlines themselves.
On the return journey, checking in at Istanbul itself, I was struck by the new terminal and how much cleaner, brighter and user friendly it is than the old airport. The check in area was bright, clearly signed and thankfully the queues were short. Check in was reasonably quick and efficient.
LOUNGE
The Turkish Airlines Business class lounge at Istanbul is very good. It’s located after Immigration, hen you come into the Duty Free shopping area. At the top of the ramp that goes down to the gates, there is a row of shops off to the left and right. If you turn right and go down a level you’ll find the lounge.
It is large, spacious, and comfortable. As you walk in, to the left is the food and drink, where as well as soft drinks and beer you can also help yourself to sandwiches and some hot snacks. From there, there are dozens of tables and chairs to choose from. At the far end, near the window, is a large screen TV and to the right you can go through into the PC room where there are six or seven PCs connected to the internet.
On this particular trip I was only in the lounge for an hour or so, but I was once there for four hours between flights and managed to avoid boredom!
AIRCRAFT
Turkish Airlines do operate a fleet of modern and predominantly young aircraft. They have been selling some of the older A310 aircraft and acquiring brand new A340s and Boeing 737 800 series. Theirs is one of the younger fleets in Europe.
When I boarded I expected the nice, wide, comfortable business class seats that had been on my last two flights. I was rather surprised to find that the seats are just economy seats converted into a business configuration. This was not just the once but on all four of the flights that I took in autumn 2002.
The way it works is like this. You take a row of three economy seats. The back of the middle seat folds down in between the two outer seats to become a plastic table. That’s it. When you get on you therefore have a standard economy seat, but with the adjacent seat empty. Of course there is nothing to stop you from just lifting the armrest, giving yourself a seat about two inches wider, plus you get a plastic table.
Well, in theory you get the table but in practice, on the four flights that I have taken, it only once came down completely flat. Unless it is flat, of course, anything that you put on the table slides backward, crashes into the back of the seat and empties itself onto your lap. I managed to avoid that, just, but the table was rather useless except for safe things that don’t stain like peanuts, your book, etc
On one flight there was a guy who sat behind me who stank. I’m sorry, I don’t like to say it, but he smelled like he had not washed for weeks. The person who was meant to be sitting next to him got up less than a minute later and moved to an empty seat three rows ahead. I know it is not the fault of the airline, but some airlines do have rules about “offensive passengers” which include people who can offend others by their behaviour, appearance, demeanour or otherwise. I cannot believe that nobody at check in or boarding noticed the stink off this man. Thankfully the air vent on full kept it away!
SERVICE
In typical form, it started just after takeoff with a drinks round, followed by the meal, followed by duty free.
The drinks are a standard choice, with beer or wine or spirits. The meal was plentiful and there was a choice of main course. The crew were polite, if not warm; efficient rather than friendly. A bit gruff, rather than sweet.
The funny part was when I tried to buy something from the Duty Free trolley. I handed over my credit card to pay. She brought out the credit card machine and tried swiping the card. Nothing happened. She pulled out the battery pack, replaced it with a new one, but could not insert the new battery pack into the machine. She struggled, pulled, pushed, pressed them together, wiggled them from side to side, to no avail. Eventually the younger, junior stewardess on the other side of the trolley, who had been watching this, gently took the battery pack from her hand, turned it around 180 degrees and slid it easily into the machine and snapped it shut.
Then she had to pull out the roll of paper for the receipt. She pulled the top off, after a bit of a struggle, pulled out a length of paper, slid it into the slot, then tried to clip it back into place. No luck. She turned it round the other way, still no luck. She struggled for two or three minutes, could not get the top back on. Eventually she tried to swipe the card again, holding the lid of the machine in place. It worked, but no reply could be received from the bank so she apologised and said I could not pay by credit card!
ARRIVAL
The descent and landing were smooth, we soon plugged into a gate at Ataturk Airport, and were off. The procedures to get a visa were very quick and simple, took about two minutes and cost about ten bucks, and then there we were waiting for the car to take us to the hotel – but that’s another story.
SUMMARY
Turkish Airlines tend to sell on price, they are cheaper than other European airlines. It’s odd that a country that has such friendly and hospitable people cannot find cabin crew to project that same image!
My personal opinion is that for travel economy class, they are good value, you can save a couple of hundred bucks against the KLM and Lufthansas, fly in new aeroplanes and get good value. For Business class, however, I would recommend Aeroflot who are the same price if not cheaper but you get a much more comfortable seat and friendly crew.
Recommended:
Yes
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vodkaboy
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