Give THY a TRY (Turkish Airlines)

Member Name: liquidio

Product:	Turkish Airlines
Date:	27/05/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: New planes

Disadvantages: Food could be more culturally distinctive

Turkish airlines has been for me one of the bigger surprises of my travelling life in recent years. I wasn't expecting much the first time I used them, but I was generally quite impressed with the experience. The main advantage they have (and I have since learnt a lot about this as I have had to do some analysis of the company!) is that their fleet is very new. That means that the fittings are generally in good condition, the fuel efficiency is good and the maintenance costs are realtively low, which helps make the tickets better value.

The legroom was comparable to any mainstream carrier such as BA, and the customer service (whilst not bubbling over with enthusiasm) was polite, reasonably efficient. The food was fairly tasty, but I was a bit disappointed that it did not have a more Turkish angle to it (I had a pasta and a beef casserole type dish) - Turkish food can be very tasty even while very simple. And the dessert is *always* a chocolate mousse - again, a decent one and a safe option, but variation could be nice for a regular traveller.

Departures have always been on time, ticketing has been efficient. My only bad experience on a THY flight was caused by Heathrow's baggage people (what's new?!). Ataturk airport, their main hub in Istanbul, is one of the nicest airports I have ever been in.

Summary: Surprisingly good airline