Turkish Airlines General Rant Thread
Nov 26, 2013, 2:50 pm
#151
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 233
Sorry to hear about your bad experience.
Not sure what to say about demanding a free Elite Plus card. You should be happy that they matched you in the first place... I guess the whole point is to encourage people to fly more with them, and eventually reach E+ as a result of that.
They do send out the card without having taken a single flight, if matched. Though I would still say it wasn't a clever decision for OP to leave his UA*G card back home. It's always smart to carry backups.
Regarding the crews. Yes TK's crews are far from the best, and I suppose my best advice is to always keep your expectations at bay when flying TK, since the staff may often times be rude or incompetent. Though on flights to African destinations, one shouldn't expect the service to be as good as on the flagship routes.
Not sure what to say about demanding a free Elite Plus card. You should be happy that they matched you in the first place... I guess the whole point is to encourage people to fly more with them, and eventually reach E+ as a result of that.
They do send out the card without having taken a single flight, if matched. Though I would still say it wasn't a clever decision for OP to leave his UA*G card back home. It's always smart to carry backups.
Regarding the crews. Yes TK's crews are far from the best, and I suppose my best advice is to always keep your expectations at bay when flying TK, since the staff may often times be rude or incompetent. Though on flights to African destinations, one shouldn't expect the service to be as good as on the flagship routes.
So you agree TK staff can be rude and incompetent -- well that matches my review I guess. Though you can never know, I'll give them another chance one day and will see...
Nov 26, 2013, 2:54 pm
#152
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 233
On short and medium haul I got lots of upgrades. But I recently did MEX-X/WAS-LHR and service in Y was pretty good. Seats nice and clean. AVOD working except on one leg, and for that leg I automatically received 8,000 as compensation: I had an e-mail in my inbox when I landed telling me sorry the AVOD did not work and therefore I could choose USD 200 discount or 8,000 miles etc. Wine was not free, $ 7 a bottle, but the hostess gave me a couple for free. Nice Y experience, for that price.^
Nov 26, 2013, 2:59 pm
#153
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 233
Ghana Airways made me go all the way to Lungi airport in FNA with a confirmed ticket, and at boarding said they had no seats. The station manager and the captain started fighting about who was right in counting seats. Apparently their calculator had no battery. I was offloaded and my baggage left without me, never saw it again.
Air Koryo has meals that are barely edible, old shabby Soviet era aircraft, and total lack of customer service. Though the hostesses smile at least...
Then there is something wrong with Amadeus. Not TK's fault perhaps. But I would have expected the TK agent to be able to speak airline language with me: fare bases, fare rules, routing rules, FQD, FQR... she didn't have this ability. Nor she could speak proper English.
Well, PBH is a totally different case. The country is supposed to be kept like that... it's a whole philosophy. They don't have much IT because they don't want it.
I can assure you those were on duty. Otherwise, it means no-one was on duty at those times... And those rows were occupied by passengers on the flight back which was full, so it was really their choice to sleep rather than be "on call".
...Air Koryo has meals that are barely edible, old shabby Soviet era aircraft, and total lack of customer service. Though the hostesses smile at least...
In aircraft without crew rest areas, rows of seats are blocked off for crew rest on flights beyond a certain length. Crew members in these areas are not on duty, and they are under no obligation to do anything for you at all. Complaining about their dress when they are doing you a favor is ridiculous.
Nov 26, 2013, 3:03 pm
#154
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 233
While I share the (very) positive experience of most responders with TK, I fully agree that the screen at GVA is clearly not acceptable. It's actually a criminal offense in Switzerland, according to article 261bis of the Swiss penal code. I suggest you bring it to the attention of the airport police, since you took a picture. They will have to take legal action against the handling agent.
Nov 26, 2013, 9:33 pm
#155
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden
Programs: VA Platinum, SQ Gold, TK Gold, Hhonors Gold, Accor Plus Platinum, Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Premium
Posts: 1,022
Tomorrow I fly for the first time quoting my TK number on Air NZ. Maybe this will trigger a card being issued.
Hopefully my TK travelling experiences will be better than the OP's. I fly SGN-BKK-IST-CDG // NAP-IST-HKG in J starting March next year.
Nov 26, 2013, 9:52 pm
#156
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: TK E+
Posts: 602
I fly 200K+ miles a year with TK, not because I love the airline, but because they have a route network that fits my living and traveling situation quiet well. In my opinion the major issue with TK is lack of consistency, you never know what you are going to get. It ranges from absolutely sub-zero, terrible third-world standard, to very good, efficient and comfortable.
I have come the conclusion that I always expect the worst and then get presently surprised if I receive better. However, I still get pissed off meeting the lounge dragons in IST, asking me "Are you sure you have lounge access?" in a very rude manner, even though I'm holding a BP clearly saying E+ and show my E+ card (this happens quiet often when flying from airports where they can't/don't print bar code on the BP). Or the TK ground staff at some airports in Europe, that are busy playing computer games and talk to each-other and for sure can't be bothered with customers. Request a change on a booking (on a flexible fare) and they roll their eyes, hand you their phone and say in a very bothered voice, "Call CS in Istanbul".
I'm in no way the center of the universe, but when you spend close to 50.000USD a year on TK tickets, you shouldn't have to go through BS like this. If TK wants to be a serious major international airline, they have to train their staff much, much better than they currently do.
I have come the conclusion that I always expect the worst and then get presently surprised if I receive better. However, I still get pissed off meeting the lounge dragons in IST, asking me "Are you sure you have lounge access?" in a very rude manner, even though I'm holding a BP clearly saying E+ and show my E+ card (this happens quiet often when flying from airports where they can't/don't print bar code on the BP). Or the TK ground staff at some airports in Europe, that are busy playing computer games and talk to each-other and for sure can't be bothered with customers. Request a change on a booking (on a flexible fare) and they roll their eyes, hand you their phone and say in a very bothered voice, "Call CS in Istanbul".
I'm in no way the center of the universe, but when you spend close to 50.000USD a year on TK tickets, you shouldn't have to go through BS like this. If TK wants to be a serious major international airline, they have to train their staff much, much better than they currently do.
Nov 27, 2013, 12:21 am
#157
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: SYD
Programs: QF LTS, TK Elite, HH Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 175
I was status matched (SQ Gold to TK Elite) over 2 months ago (in a quite painless process) but I still haven't received my TK Elite card. I'm in Australia so post can take a little while, but 2 months should be sufficient.
Tomorrow I fly for the first time quoting my TK number on Air NZ. Maybe this will trigger a card being issued.
Hopefully my TK travelling experiences will be better than the OP's. I fly SGN-BKK-IST-CDG // NAP-IST-HKG in J starting March next year.
Tomorrow I fly for the first time quoting my TK number on Air NZ. Maybe this will trigger a card being issued.
Hopefully my TK travelling experiences will be better than the OP's. I fly SGN-BKK-IST-CDG // NAP-IST-HKG in J starting March next year.
Nov 27, 2013, 12:23 am
#158
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 114
If you look at my posts you can already see what I think about TK. But I am surprised that your in-flight experience was bad. My view was that their in-flight service was average-above average (of course if you are in Business class they are great).
To reiterate, their ground service is just OK with ...... attitude (good luck with getting a smile from them even in CIP lounge), their customer service on phone and on web simply sucks.
To reiterate, their ground service is just OK with ...... attitude (good luck with getting a smile from them even in CIP lounge), their customer service on phone and on web simply sucks.
Nov 27, 2013, 8:52 am
#163
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: 10 months VLC, 2 months everywhere else
Programs: *A
Posts: 3,770
We had a couple of bad occurrences on yesterday's return legs NRT-IST-VLC. My Biz seat was broken and wouldn't recline, so I was moved to another row. Fine, I can handle it even though I was separated from my wife and daughter.
The second incident was more troubling--upon boarding, my wife noticed her 2E seat had blood on it. Yes, blood. My guess is someone's tampon wasn't working. I took pictures, complained to the purser (who did nothing), and am going to contact TK. Little hope for any kind of response.
The second incident was more troubling--upon boarding, my wife noticed her 2E seat had blood on it. Yes, blood. My guess is someone's tampon wasn't working. I took pictures, complained to the purser (who did nothing), and am going to contact TK. Little hope for any kind of response.
Nov 27, 2013, 12:00 pm
#164
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 233
If you look at my posts you can already see what I think about TK. But I am surprised that your in-flight experience was bad. My view was that their in-flight service was average-above average (of course if you are in Business class they are great).
To reiterate, their ground service is just OK with ...... attitude (good luck with getting a smile from them even in CIP lounge), their customer service on phone and on web simply sucks.
To reiterate, their ground service is just OK with ...... attitude (good luck with getting a smile from them even in CIP lounge), their customer service on phone and on web simply sucks.
Yes, I would say in-flight service could have been described as fair, and I'd even accept that it may even be good when you are luckier, except I was unlucky in several respects:
* I did not get the seat I was supposed to get -- this makes a big difference to a frequent flyer who is used to nothing but first row in Y;
* My AVOD was not working and my seat had a recline problem;
* Being a flight from FIH I guess the crew had lowered their standards (this is a common problem);
* The troubles at check-in and the mess with the transfer (including lost luggage !) did not really put me in the best mood to enjoy my in-flight experience.
True, on the plus side, you get good food, unlimited alcoholic drinks, and AVOD exists (even if mine did not work). I'd definitely give them a chance next time, for in-flight service... But as you and most seem to agree, it is customer service, on-the-ground handling (in IST and elsewhere), that really suck, and this was 90% of my bad experience...
Nov 27, 2013, 12:05 pm
#165
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 233
True, I probably bought more tickets as a passenger, than the average airline agent has sold... But that's why they get training... That makes a total difference. Even between AF and KL which I know pretty well, I can tell you AF is much better trained. At the call centre in AMS they use interns and temporary staff -- I even chatted with them several times. So I always call PAR or visit the AF office where they still exist...