What are people's thoughts on Turkish Airlines? We're looking to fly Business Class from Chicago to Istanbul next year and I wanted to see if anyone knows if they are the newer planes with the lay-flat seats? Also, any information regarding the airline in general is appreciated. Thanks!
Seat guru says they use A-330's for the ORD-IST run with lay-flat seats in business class. Everybody I have talked to has raved about the service and comfort.
http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Turkish_Airlines/Turkish_Airlines_Airbus_A330-300.php
I flew Turkish Airlines a few years ago.... short in-country flight from Kusadasi to Istanbul and another short flight from Istanbul to Athens. Even though both flights were short, they fed us..... real food.....sandwiches, desert etc. Planes were prompt and the personnel were great. They really are one of my favorite airlines. Don't know about lay flat seats.
We've flown them once rt Helsinki to Nairobi and loved the experience! The service was wonderful! Food was delicious...Helsinki to Istanbul was only around 3hr flight but they served a delicious meal of lamb chops that I still remember fondly, the rest of the meals were also great. Flights were on time, cabins were clean, they provided an amenity kit and the attendants were professional. I always recommend them!
We flew economy so I'm sure the Business must be superb.
I absolutely love Turkish Airlines. Very friendly crew, really good food, comfortable planes. You also get a little pouch with an eye mask, socks, a pen, etc. I felt very spoiled! And that was all in coach.
Earlier this month, I was booked on United but after a missed connection (their fault) they rebooked me from Dulles to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines, instead of having to stop in Germany on United. I LOVED Turkish Airlines!!! It was fantastic. I was in coach so the seats were not fancy, but plenty of room, and individual video in the seatback, and the little pouch mentioned above, and good food, plenty of it, excellent service. I wished I was flying them on the return flight!
I flew ORD-IST this summer in coach. It was fine, plenty of tasty food, comfortable, nice entertainment selection.
I recently flew from London to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines sitting in the coach section. I loved this. On a five hour flight they started off by giving us Turkish delight, and later provided an excellent lunch. By way of contrast, my flight back to the USA sent me from Istanbul to Toronto to Seattle. The last leg took about five hours, and all that Air Canada provided was free soft drinks, a bag of pretzels, and the opportunity to purchase food during the fight. When we boarded the Turkish airplane we were greeted by the flight crew, the cabin crew, and a woman in a chef's outfit. I am not sure how much added value her presence provided when compared to a regular flight attendant but she sure added a touch of class to the flight.
The only annoyance that I had was while watching a movie on the screen that was mounted on the back of the seat in front of me. On occasion the movie would be stopped so that announcements could be made in several languages - Turkish, French, English and maybe Japanese.
I would definitely fly with Turkish Airlines again.