Turkish Airlines from Istanbul to Italy

Good morning famcguffey,

I have flown Turkish Airlines three times (pre-pandemic), and each time was a very positive experience.

I travel with a small rolling suitcase so I didn't need to check my bag. I would encourage you to contact Turkish Airlines directly with any and all of your questions (I had to confirm a few things prior to my flight from L.A. to Istanbul and my experience with communicating with the staff was once again very helpful/positive).

Turkey is a beautiful country (beautiful, generous, warm people) - have a wonderful time!

Patti

The following text is copied from the Turkish Airlines website: "One piece of cabin baggage per passenger not to exceed 55x40x23 in size and 8 kg in weight and one personal item as bag per passenger not to exceed 40x30x15 in size can be taken on board in the Economy Class." (FYI the dimensions are in centimeters.)

Thanks for the replies. I am unclear whether there is a fee to check a bag. Everything I found on their web page seems to refer to cabin baggage.

I spent 30 minutes on the phone with a rep. I couldn't seem to communicate that the bag in question is not overweight but is oversized. He also never answered my question about if we had to carry all bags on or if we could check a bag.

The bag is 56 x 36 x 23. Their size limit is 55 x 40 x 23. Does that mean the bag is too big to be used as a carry-on?

I fly Turkish whenever I get the chance. Overall, they are generous with their baggage allowance, but they do tend to enforce the rules, especially regarding weight. They have never measured the dimensions of my carry-on, but at the same time I have never been close to the max dimensions for carry-on. They have never charged me for checked baggage on international flights.

Sometimes I fly carry-on only, and sometimes I check a bag. I have never had a problem with one checked bag, one carry-on, and one personal item. (Of course, if I am checking a bag, my carry-on tends to be tiny.)

They have a handy calculator on their website: https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-int/any-questions/free-baggage/baggage-calculator/

It sounds like we'll be ok. Thank you!

Hi! Actually have flown them many times with a few days stop in Istanbul. Yes..flew back from Israel to Istanbul..then to Milan and drove to Bologna..2018..fyi. their rates have always proven better than most airlines and service has been very professional. Yes..it may have seemed a longer route but could not deny the price!!

Sorry..did not address your actual concern..I have always traveled with a carry on bag and a large personal item at no charge. I also found their overhead space generous..but over 3 years there may be more individuals utilizing carry on
We travelled with friends who sent luggage through..a "normal" size larger bag at no charge. Safe travels.

The following text is copied from the Turkish Airlines website: "One
piece of cabin baggage per passenger not to exceed 55x40x23 in size
and 8 kg in weight and one personal item as bag per passenger not to
exceed 40x30x15 in size can be taken on board in the Economy Class."
(FYI the dimensions are in centimeters.)

Exactly. And every ticket I have ever purchased on Turkish Air came with two free checked luggage and the carryon listed above.

And if your carry-on is over the size requirement or over weight; do expect to have to check it; and you should. If you already have two checked pieces, then expect to have to pay quite a bit to check your non-conforming carry on.

I added it up yesterday. In the last 5 years I have flown no less than 50 Turkish Air Flights; mostly with carryon only. No flight was ever canceled, not flight was ever so late that i missed a connection. Great airline.

I am pretty sure you will be charged if you check a bag. Their website says that your carry on shouldn’t exceed 8kg but when I flew them last year, they didn’t weigh my bag for the inbound flight and they didn’t care about the weight for my return flight. I believe free checked bags are for their longer transatlantic or transpacific flight. Their shorter flights only allow a full sized carry on and personal item that fits under the seat. They aren’t very strict about the measurements though so yours being one once bigger shouldn’t be a big deal.

Thanks for all your responses.

I am pretty sure you will be charged if you check a bag. Their website
says that your carry on shouldn’t exceed 8kg but when I flew them last
year, they didn’t weigh my bag for the inbound flight and they didn’t
care about the weight for my return flight. I believe free checked
bags are for their longer transatlantic or transpacific flight. Their
shorter flights only allow a full sized carry on and personal item
that fits under the seat. They aren’t very strict about the
measurements though so yours being one once bigger shouldn’t be a big
deal.

I went to the Turkish Air site and start a booking from Istanbul to Bologna.
June 14, 2022, $148.00 Economy.

1 Carry-on 8kg
1 Checked Bag 20kg
(and the personal item is always allowed)

Will you get caught if its too big or too heavy? Should it matter? So, if you are not checking a bag and your carry on is non-conforming then it becomes your checked bag. But there might be a charge if you get caught at the gate.... dont know. So either conform to the terms and conditions of the contract you entered when you purchase your ticket or check the carry on at the ticket counter so the line at the gate doesn't have to deal with it along with you.

The bag is 56 x 36 x 23. Their size limit is 55 x 40 x 23.

Did you measure your bag, or is that the dimensions stated by the manufacturer? Seems there is often a variance between the nominal ( stated) dimensions and the actual dimensions.

Depending on what the 'real' size is you may or may not have a problem.

The half inch difference I doubt anyone will catch unless they have one of those boxes you have to cram your carryon into to prove the size. To be honest, never seen Turkish Air actually use one.

And Joe, you are correct, the published sizes of bags are often incorrect, I would measure if i were that close. Then, sure, for a half inch go for it. But it something goes wrong, please dont come back here and complain that you were only 1/2" over and they stopped you.

Turkish Air does look, I promise you that. I dont know how many times I, and the rest of those boarding, have had to wait or been slowed down as the agents at the gate have been distracted collecting up non-conforming carry on. Or had to wait at the ticket counter while someone complained their 10kg was "special" and should be ..... then stood there and watched them repack at the ticket counter.

I've seen Turkish check the weight of carry-ons often, but never seen them check the size. If you clicked the link to cabin baggage, you won't find info on checked luggage. There's a separate section for that on the website.

I travelled Turkish Airlines with a packed carry on wheelie bag that was an inch or two bigger than allowable, plus a packed backpack as my "personal item" that was way bigger and heavier than allowable (about as big and heavy as the wheelie bag)... I know, my bad, but I was doing my utmost never to have a checked back on my 9 weeks in Europe in 2019! Anyways, no one every measured or weighed my shamefully huge carry-ons (thank goodness) and Turkish Airlines was kind and gracious the whole time. Travelled without a hitch.