Just returned from vacation and my first time flying Turkish in over 5 years and wanted to share my experience with them. Yes this was the long way to get there. But I love to fly so was happy to extend my time in the air! I don’t fly for work so this was my chance to get some air time in for me!!

1. The ground experience in EWR was a complete disaster. The incoming flight was diverted to JFK and we ended up having a four hour delay in EWR and left at 4:30AM. There was zero communication from the ground staff in EWR. It was a complete **** show. The SAS lounge in Newark was fine. Better than waiting at the terminal, but it closed at midnight. Nevertheless , it was a decent option and not as bad as people make it out to be.
2. The inflight experience on all my flights was outstanding. No complaints at all. All the flight attendants were super friendly right from the boarding. I was addressed by name and welcomed aboard. Drinks were happily provided and I had no issues with refills. On my flight from BCN-IST, I requested raki with my meal and the flight attendant beamed and showed me exactly how to drink it. He kept coming back to see if I wanted more and it was such a fun experience. I left each of my 4 flights feeling valued as a customer and with a positive view of the flight.
3. Due to the delay in EWR, I missed my connecting flight. I was rebooked while in the air and was emailed the details. This required an overnight stop in IST. TK did provide a hotel and the transportation, but none of this was communicated to me. Upon landing in IST, I asked about a hotel and was told I can go to the hotel desk after immigration. I had no issues getting a room. And thanks to the premium lane at each step, the process didn’t take long. But if I didn’t know to ask, I wouldn’t have gotten it. The communication could definitely have been better. Also the hotel provided was about 50 minutes from the airport, which seemed excessively far.
4. The lounge in IST was great, as expected. The wait for the shower was about 45 minutes on each of my visits and the food stations were kept well stocked.
5. I had booked an Istanbul stopover and was provided a room at the Sofitel Taksim, which was a great hotel. Breakfast was included with the reservation.
6. I was lucky to get the Aeroflot A350 on my flight and from Newark. The seats were amazing. The only issue was that on the EWR-IST flight one of the J lavatory’s was not useable so we have one for business class which did lead to some lines at times.

Overall I was happy with my flights with TK. The ground experience in EWR was abysmal. I’m not upset about the diversion or subsequent delay. That happens. But the communication was atrocious. Outside of that though, the airport experience in IST and BCN was great. The lounge was wonderful. The inflight experience was excellent. The food was fantastic. I was happy enough that I will most likely book with TK again for my vacation next year.