Introduction
Recently, I travelled to Sri Lanka with Turkish Airlines, which allowed me to experience their services on both short and long-haul flights. Here is my review of Turkish Airlines economy class service.
Advertising and Reputation
We have all seen their award-winning advertisements, with Lionel Messi and Kobe Bryant competing for a little boy’s affection, Messi outshining Drogba to find the best food around the world, and the latest advertisement with Morgan Freeman, reminding us to “Widen Your World”. They make flying with Turkish Airlines appealing. Although they have 14 flights per week from Dublin Airport, it was the first time I flew with Turkish Airlines last month.
Turkish Airlines has been voted Best Airline in Europe for six consecutive years by the Skytrax World Airline Awards, and even the Irish travel trade voted them Best Airline in Europe this year. What makes them so special? I hope my Turkish Airlines service review will explain it to you.
No Hidden Fees!
When you book a flight with Turkish Airlines, everything is included in the price, and I mean EVERYTHING! Checked baggage, seat selection, meals, and even alcoholic drinks are included. Not only is all of this included in the price of your ticket, but the allowances are very generous too. You have a generous checked baggage allowance of 30 kg in economy class as well as a carry-on baggage allowance of 8 kg.
You also don’t have to worry about seat selection, you can pre-reserve seats for free, or pay a small supplement if you wish to guarantee seats with extra legroom. Meals are also included on board along with complimentary drinks. Now, I am all for drinking alcohol in moderation, but if you feel like it, you can have as many drinks as you like!
Quality Food
The food on board is quite good, at least as good as airplane food can be! In fact, Turkish Airlines has won numerous awards for their in-flight catering and even have their own flying chef. Although the flying chefs do not actually cook on board, they help prepare the meals before serving them. This certainly gives the impression that, even in economy class, Turkish Airlines cares about the presentation of their food. I had meatballs on the outbound flight and a chicken pasta dish on the return, both were well cooked and full of flavour. They were accompanied by a salad, a delicious chocolate mousse, and a nice glass of Bordeaux.
Breakfast was good too, a pleasant portion of scrambled eggs with bread, cheese, and yogurt, although it was not served at breakfast time, which was a bit odd! There were also plenty of small snacks throughout the flight, so I never went hungry.
Seat Comfort
I was lucky enough to have an emergency exit seat from Dublin to Istanbul, which was great. Unfortunately, they were not available on the Istanbul-Sri Lanka flight, but the standard economy seat was very comfortable. Turkish Airlines has generous space between seats and a comfortable 32-inch seat pitch with a footrest, making them more comfortable than the average economy seats. The seats recline by 7 and a half inches and the adjustable headrest is very practical. I placed my travel pillow between the bars, which prevented me from leaning forward while sleeping.
There are also USB ports, which allowed me to recharge my phone and external battery when I needed to. The individual in-flight entertainment screens offer a wide selection of films, so as soon as I was fed and watered, I reclined my seat and enjoyed two new releases, “Gifted” and “Our Brand is Crisis”.
Extras
In addition to the pleasant blanket and travel pillow, I was pleasantly surprised by the Chopard amenity kit. I was expecting a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a few socks, but the slippers, earplugs, eye mask, and lip balm, inside a silver amenity kit, were certainly above average.
Free Tour of Istanbul
On this occasion, I only had a short layover in Istanbul, but if you have a layover of more than 6 hours, you can enjoy a FREE tour of Istanbul. You do not need to make a reservation, simply go to the TourIstanbul desk in the arrivals hall in Istanbul. This is not only a fabulous activity, but it is also ideal if you struggle to get connecting flights at a good price. I regularly find that the cheapest airfares tend to have longer layovers, so if you are on a tight budget, this is an excellent option. You can visit the TourIstanbul website for more details.
Conclusion
Turkish Airlines flies from Dublin to Istanbul 14 times per week with connections to over 300 destinations in the Middle East, the Far East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and America. Be sure to check their website before booking your next trip.
