Turkish Airline?

Turkish Airlines has been one of the best carriers we've flown. Yes its safe, comfortable , food pretty good and crew very pleasant. I'd fly them again given the chance.

I forget where I read this, but some organization rated them the best European airline last year. Hey, they can afford to hire Kobe Bryant (and a few other celebrities) for their commercials, so they must be doing something right! I've flown with them once, and I found it to be a pretty standard airline experience, but with a really good breakfast.

I believe it was Skytrax that ranked them number 1 in Europe...that's an important barometer for understanding how good the product is, the service is, etc. You would most likely be quite pleased with your experience on board. I looked into Turkish Airlines for a trip last fall precisely because of cheaper fares and their number 1 ranking but decided against flying with them after reading several articles about safety concerns. They've experienced rapid growth and are making a ton of money at present, but it's created some issues. I won't spend the time going into all of it here...you can do the research on your own. Having said that, they're flying lots of flights every single day, and all kinds of people are making it safely from point A to point B. You asked about safety, so that's my two cents about this airline. I personally don't fly on airlines which have widely publicized safety concerns until they get them corrected.

Yes, it's an awesome airline (new planes, good service, etc). They're just trying to break in and establish themselves as a premier carrier (and showing the world that Turkey's on the rise as a global player and destination) so their prices are very competitive. I flew them direct for less than $550 from Washington DC/Dulles to Istanbul, which was a great fare. I'd definitely fly them again (and I'd definitely go to Turkey again - for the 3rd time)

Before a carrier is allowed to operate in the US it has to go through rigorous review for training, currency, maintenance, ad compliance, etc. Safety shouldn't be a concern.

The only problem is that most of their flights to Europe connect through Istanbul coming and going. That just puts you in the air longer.
I've read about the quality of their services and everyone's right.

I was sitting in a doctor's office and reading a copy of Fortune magazine. They had an article on Turkish Airlines and said they were good. Their planes are much younger than the European airlines and the article compared them to the fancy mid-east airlines. Thanks for the replies.

Yes, changing in Instanbul is the reason for the good deal. But take advantage and do a stopover there.