Updated with the return trip.
On a side note, Turkish Airlines did impress me in another way. I had another trip planned for April, which was booked into J class - which I was looking forward to trying, it must be said. Unfortunately, my plans changed so I called them to cancel. The booking was cancelled swiftly (I called on a Saturday). The refund was on my credit card by Wednesday. Compare this to TAM (2 weeks) and Virgin Atlantic (6 weeks!) and it left me feeling quite a bit more positive about TK and using them in the future.
Sure, they have rough edges - but they are making an effort. Even in Economy, the service was better than what some European airlines pass off as business class. They're not up there in the top league yet (and I would have enjoyed sampling their long haul Business cabin/service), but I'd certainly use them again.