Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines leave you with mixed feelings wherever you look: most advanced Middle Eastern airline, but a service quality which looks more like Eastern improvisation than Western professionalism; an Economy Class designed for Anatolian cattle, yet a Business Class to make you feel like a Pasha.

The verdict depends much on whether you view them as a Middle Eastern airline or as a European carrier, i.e. which standrads they have ...
...only to be found onboard Turkish Airlines.

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NETWORK
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Turkish Airlines (or THY, short for its official Turkish name Turk Hava Yollari), stand out for their extensive connections to the Middle East and Central Asia. It is the only outside the former Soviet Union to serve ALL of the C.I.S. republics in the Caucasus and Central Asia almost on a daily basis (although Lufthansa's network ... more

Turkish Airlines leave you with mixed feelings wherever you look: most advanced Middle Eastern airline, but a service quality which looks more like Eastern improvisation than Western professionalism; an Economy Class designed for Anatolian cattle, yet a Business Class to make you feel like a Pasha.

The verdict depends much on whether you view them as a Middle Eastern airline or as a European carrier, i.e. which standrads they have to live up to. I have flown with them almost twenty times and have had a close look at their network, fleet, product and service - and the "special atmosphere" only to be found onboard Turkish Airlines.

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NETWORK
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Turkish Airlines (or THY, short for its official Turkish name Turk Hava Yollari), stand out for their extensive connections to the Middle East and Central Asia. It is the only outside the former Soviet Union to serve ALL of the C.I.S. republics in the Caucasus and Central Asia almost on a daily basis (although Lufthansa's network in this region comes very close to THY's).

So if you are bound for one of the following destinations, you almost won't get around flying Turkish Airlines: Tbilisi (Georgia), Baku (Azerbaidjan), Ashgabad (Turkmenistan), Tashkent (Usbekistan), Bishkek (Kyrgystan), Almaty (Kasachstan).

Most international flights depart from THY's hub in Istanbul. To a lesser extend, international flights are operated from the capitol Ankara, and few from Izmir.

Turkish Airlines also have extensive connections throughout the Balkans, but other European carriers have almost closed the gap here.

Due to Turkey's vast size and underdeveloped road and rail network, most long distance travel in Turkey is by air. Thus THY serves around thirty cities in Turkey from Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

Their longhaul intercontinental network can be neglected, it only includes four destinations in North America, three in the Far East, plus South Africa, and the service provided on THY's long haul flight wouldn't satisfy any European traveller.

Thus my review will focus on their short and medium haul services.

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FLEET
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Turkish Airlines have built their fleet mostly around Boeing's 737. The backbone of the fleet are around twenty 737-400s, yet THY are currently adding around twenty Next Generation 737-800s with a new class concept. There also some AVRO Regional Jets and a handful of widebody Airbus 310s, plus a few Airbus 340s for longhaul routes.

The planes all appear to be properly maintained, and Turkish Airlines provide their technical and maintenance service to many other airlines in the Middle East and Central Asia.

The interior of the aircraft is not old, but old fashioned: faint green and blue textiles, which look like they have been bought at a corner stand on a bazar in Southeast Anatolia.

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ECONOMY CLASS
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The seat configuration is the usual 3 by 3, with a rather small seat pitch of 78-81 cm (31-32 inch). The seats are made of textile of the itchy kind, so don't wear shorts or T-shirts.

Although there are video monitors fitted on most aircraft, I have never seen them being used on the old 737-400s, and on the new 737-800s they only give the current flight status and the position of the plane. So there is no real in-flight entertainment. Considering that most of THY's international flights last more than three hours, this is disappointing.

The food is plentiful but not very good. Tomato & cucumber salad with dressing as a starter, usually lamb or chicken as the main course, a fruit salad and a cheese selection for dessert. After a couple of flights you know their standard menu.

On domestic Turkish flights you only get a roll, again considering the vast distances and long flights within Turkey, this is not satisfactory.

They are using so much plastic for the wrapping, no European airline could justify that to the environmental conscious passenger, but ecology is not a big issue in the middle east, or not yet.

The stewardesses serving the Economy Class aren't very well trained. They hardly speak English and the slightest out of the ordinary request can get them helpless. They are not trained to react in an attentive and informative manner to passenger needs, and most of them also miss the personal intuition to handle tricky situations.

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BUSINESS CLASS
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On most planes, the seat configuration is the same as in Economy Class. However, the middle seat is left free and converted into a table for drinks, etc. On the newer 737-800s, Turkish Airlines have introduced luxurious Business Class seats in a spacious 2 by 2 configuration with extra legroom.

As far as I know, Turkish Airlines and Czech Airlines (read my op) are the only European airlines to have fitted these spacious seats on their shorthaul fleets, so that's quite outstanding. Again, no in-flight entertainment though.

The food is slightly better than in Economy, with an extra starter between salad and main course, better options for main course, and a better desert. Nothing to get you impressed, though.

I'm used to Business Class meals being served on China and with table cloth, but THY seems to be the only airline to use plastic plates in Business Class, again with all the extra plastic wrapping.

The attention, friendliness and service quality is however worlds apart from the incompetence shown in Economy Class. It seems that only the best of THY's cabin staff get to serve in Business Class and appear to receive extra training for this task. They really read every wish from your eyes and treat you like you are the most important person on the whole plane. They also speak fluent English and sometimes German or French.

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DELAYS, GROUND SERVICE & BAGGAGE HANDLING
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Turkish Airlines are the one airline with the most delays that I know. Out of 20 flights with them, I may have arrived on time around 5 times, but I always prepare for delays of one to two hours.

On flights from most Asian airports, you cannot check-in for your connecting flight. Luggage will however be checked through (often to an unknown destination in the universe, as you will read). As a result, you have to queue up at the transfer desk in Istanbul, which can easily cut 15 minutes off your transfer time (in the old terminal it used to be over an hour). But Turkish Airlines connections at Istanbul usually have a couple of hours between them so you don't get stressed.

That's indeed a problem with Turkish Airlines: their timetable is not well thought through, stopovers of four hours and more are the usual. My recommendation would be to leave the airport and get a taxi to the city centre (45 minutes to Sultanahmet district, read my op on Istanbul). Should you attempt this, don't tell the ground staff that you are on transit, otherwise they won't let you get out of the airport.

At Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir airports, Turkish Airlines have so called CIP Lounges for Business Class passengers and customers with an Elite Status Card. The lounges are fine, create a cosy atmosphere and provide a wide selection of snacks, drinks, and international newspapers and journals.

LUGGAGE is a BIG PROBLEM. Unless you are flying on direct flights to/from Turkey without onward flights, you can't be sure where your luggage will end up and if it will ever be found again. That alone is a reason not to fly Turkish Airlines.

Don't check in any baggage for connecting flights! All of my five project team members who have been flying with THY to the Caucasus and Central Asia have lost their luggage at least once. I was the only lucky one never to had my baggage messed up by Turkish Airlines and since avoid to check in baggage with them.

Turkish Airlines are extremely reluctant to pay compensations. It has taken my colleagues up to one year of intense correspondence and threats of legal action before THY paid a compensation. This of course was the minimum compensation based on IATA regulations, which doesn't come close to covering the real loss. If you do have to check in baggage, make sure you get proper insurance for it before.

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FREQUENT FLYER SERVICE AND ALLIANCES
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Turkish Airlines were a member of the Qualiflyer Group led by Swissair from 1998 to 2000. This allowed you to collect miles with the Qualiflyer programme on THY flights and benefit from a range of specials.

In Autumn 2000, however, Turkish Airlines decided to leave the alliance and introduce their own frequent flyer programme, Miles & Miles (name plagiarised from Lufthansa's Miles & More). The reasons for this change of strategy have never been communicated.

The structure of Miles & Miles is also plagiarised, it is 100% identical to the Qualiflyer Programme (before that one was adapted in late 2000). The only change is that you can now collect miles on domestic Turkish flights.

Partnerships with three of the Qualiflyer Group airlines - Swissair, Sabena and American Airlines - have been maintained, and bonus miles (though not status miles) can still be collected with Qualiflyer on THY international flights.

The good thing about this change is that the individual Miles & Miles starting balance is equal to the Qualiflyer account balance as of September 2000. So if you had enough miles for free flights with Swissair et al, you now get extra free flights from Turkish Airlines on top.

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PRICES
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Turkish Airlines is extremely cheap! Business fares from western Europe are around 700 GBP return, where BA, Lufthansa and Swissair would charge between 900 and 1200 GBP. Economy specials to Turkey are offered from 150 GBP, comparing to 300 GBP with other airlines. Middle Eastern and Central Asian destinations can be reached for 350 GBP return, again between 10% and 50% cheaper than the airlines mentioned before.

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THE SPECIAL ATMOSPHERE ONBOARD TURKISH AIRLINES
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Flying Economy on Turkish Airlines from Europe is only recommended to culturally open minded Europeans, as it almost certainly reaffirms stereotypes of and prejudice against Turks living in Europe (not my own attitude though).

The first impression is that these people are moving their complete household. It has happened to me many times that I was asked to check in luggage for someone else because they had already exceeded their weight limit. NEVER DO THIS! It is against IATA rules and safety regulations, and you will be held responsible for whatever is contained in the luggage.

What cannot be checked-in as luggage is taken onboard, so be prepared not to have space left to store your own handluggage.

Once onboard the plane, there is a noisy atmosphere throughout the whole flight. Say you are sitting in row 10, you can be sure that the guy in row 9 will have a heated discussion with his cousin in row 11. The only way to endure it is (like I do on almost all of my flights no matter where) to engage in the discussion yourself, talk to people, make contacts, exchange stories, experiences and jokes.

A different picture is painted on Turkish Airlines flights to the Caucasus and Central Asia. Almost no Turkish passengers here, but "upper class citizens" from these developing countries, who are returning from shopping in Dubai and show their new goods to each other during the flight. I loath these people, because they have no idea of the difficulties in their countries, have made some quick dollars in trades not to be examined, and live an elitist life in their nomenclature quarters.

On these flights to the former Soviet Union, there is always a group of development aid workers, NGO people and representatives of international organisations on the plane. In the good old days when I was working in development aid / microfinance myself and THY was the only carrier to fly there, I was always sure to meet some friends or colleagues on the plane.

In Business Class, however, your seat neighbour on flights to Central Asia will almost certainly be an high ranking executive in the oil business.

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VERDICT
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The Turkish Airlines flight experience is one not to be missed, if only for studies in anthropology. And for the price you can't ask for much, except to take you AND your luggage from A to B. But since THY fails even to provide this basic need, they can't really be recommended. They are still doing a lot better than other airlines in that part of the world, which is why I still rate them 'average'.

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© 2001 Hansjörg Gebel, Witten, Germany

 

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