I'm returning from Ankara to SFO on Sept. 29, J class. Getting over there I'm flying AA/IB to IST (or maybe BA) with a couple of stops on the way, and then THY IST-ESB. Getting back in one day offers limited selections, and for cost and miles reasons it would be best if I could stay within OW. The AA codeshare flown by THY from IST to ORD offers a reasonable alternative.

Has anyone flown this route, or can offer an opinion on the product? I've been to the THY website and know it's a A340 and have a general idea of the offerings, but firsthand experience is more useful. Hopefully it's no worse than AA J. Other suggestions very welcome. Thanks.

The TK A-340 cabin is getting a little long in the tooth. The cabin service is fine, but their command of English is limited; oddly more limited on the US routes than other TK flights I fly. The service has never been excellent, but I have never had a bad experience either. I think that may be due to the language barrier (there are few American’s on my flights). The meal is average and the before landing snack is pretty much another full meal. In the front of the business cabin there is a bar where you can serve yourself wine, juice and water between meals. The seats are something out if the mid 1990’s but do have personal video screens and half a dozen or so English channels. There is almost always enough room to have an empty seat next to you.

The new CIP lounge in IST is something to behold; part Turkish palace, part futuristic minimalist. I have no idea how the Zen rock garden in the middle of the room fits in the scheme though. They have mini sandwiches, serve yourself bar, half a dozen Internet connected computers and a very slow wireless. I have the feeling that after they moved the lounge out of the basement they have everyone poaching the CIP room signal and slowing it down. The planes leave on time and the IST airport security is quite good. They tend to arrive back to ORD during a gap between the other overseas flights, so immigration is usually open.

I fly the route all the time and the price which is far lower than any other carrier (at least on last minute tickets). I find that buying directly from Turkish and sacrificing the AA status miles of booking the AA code share is worth it as the cost is much more.

It won’t affect you, but the ORD ground staff is excellent; their Chicago ticketing supervisor has achieved the impossible for me on several occasions and that is one of the main reasons that I am loyal to TK.

Thanks very much Swoop, very useful info. With about a $2K savings versus BA, and 1 or 2 hours of extra sleep, it sounds worth a try. I've never liked transferring at ORD from an international flight because of the huge lines, but LHR is no picnic now and it's good to hear that TK arrives between other int'l flights.

Swoop, could you also comment on the reverse (ORD-IST)? I am flying this in J and am having a hard time figuring out what sort of meal and seat (aside from the measurements on the TK website) I have to look forward to. Any thoughts on the current offer?

I frequently hear people say that Turkish is cheaper in J than many other carriers, but I often price them ORD-TLV and find that the price is on par with BA, LH, and AF. So what are these low prices people are finding?