82Ag

So I am looking at business class from Iah (Houston) to Italy.

TK airfare is the best by far.....what is the catch?

How is the service?

Any gotchas? I am star alliance gold, so expecting elite mileage credit on UA.

Thoughts or comments?

Thanks!

blahmeh14

Take a look at this trip report from December:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...nbul-b777.html

Turkish is known for their food, and the business product is full flat, albeit not all aisle access. If you get a 77W, make sure that you don't get stuck with a middle seat in the 2-3-2 layout. You can call ahead about 100(?) days before your departure to select seats. Consensus among people that I have talked to is that they prefer the overall TK business product over UA and Lufthansa, but not Swiss.

The lounge in Istanbul is AMAZING. Google "Turkish CIP Lounge" for pics.

Only caveat of taking TK to Europe is that you overshoot your destination a little when you layover in Istanbul, making for longer flights. Although I haven't experienced IRROPS myself on TK luckily, I've also heard that they are a bit less adept at handling them than the European/American carriers.

If your layover in Istanbul is long enough, look into the complimentary tours that TK offers of the city here: http://www.istanbulinhours.com

Based upon what fare class you book into on TK, you can check what mileage you'll earn with United at the link below. Although, you can be rest assured that you will never earn less than 100% with any business fare on TK, even the discount ones:
https://www.united.com/cms/en-us/mar...spx?itemid=306

Yoshi212

There are lots of trip reports on TK's J class. It's generally rather highly regarded and the lounge is also highly regarded. On the 77W that flies IAH-IST the seat map is 2-3-2 so if you don't want to be in the middle of two people be sure to select a seat otherwise. The shorter flight to Italy will most likely be on a narrow body plane with seats more like US domestic first class or with an empty seat between two regular economy seats.
If you've never been to IST recommend try it. It is a great city.

82Ag

Thanks for the info!

Guy Betsy

TK will be the best business class experience that you have ever taken if you've never flown them...

But note that their cheapest business class fare is booked in J class you only earn 100% of the miles and not 125% if you're booked on K, D and C class.

https://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/mar...spx?ItemId=306

Their lounge in IST is also simply out of this world.

ASUDan130

Best J Product by far they have the best IFE/Food. Service is OK but when the food/ife are great. Service is generally in line with most European carriers. Also can you reserve the seats online 100 days in advance or do you have to call? I reserved seats on the phone 100 days in advance and those seats were given away.

Dudemius

Just returned from an IAD - FCO trip via Istanbul in business.

This was my second time on TK in business and I like it a lot. I don't think it is on par with the top Asian carriers, but it beats United & Air Canada easily. Food service is far superior and, subjectively speaking, the flat bed seems easier to me for sleep. The cabin crews seem uniformly engaged at a high level and are friendly & responsive. This was on the A330. Something to note - the plane on my outbound long haul had free wifi, the return flight to the USA had no wifi.

The IST - FCO - IST segments were B737 & A321 respectively. As noted by others business on these planes consists of a blocked middle seat with a tray like device. Even on these short hauls food service was plentiful.

Three of my four arrivals & departures from IST involved getting bussed to the terminal, which isn't the most convenient way. Hopefully they will do better in the future. For those crediting mile to UA, there is a likely loss of points bonuses. In my opinion it's worth the loss if the TK fare is attractive. Besides, you will have a happier experience on TK.

Last, I really do like the lounge at IST.

TPJ

Cheap oil... The flight relied on oil & gas folks communing to Central Asia and the Middle East. Thy now commute less

TPJ

All B77W's have wifi (free in C) but not all A330's (at least not yet)...

Indege

Hi All,

I have to plan my trip for next week. Unfortunately, no time to redeem my miles (SAA gold).

I would like to ask the average cost for an business upgrade with TK. JFK-IST ??

gnomey

I called up and tried to get the bulkhead window seat for 777-300ER, but is not available

Is it because it is reserved for bassinet? If yes, then when is the earliest i can take it assuming there is no baby on board? 24 hrs before departure?

Thank you

TPJ

No - it will still be blocked for online check-in. Only Airport Customer Service agents can unblock/assign it. In BKK there are no issues, but in IAH they always tell you then they will have to re-seat you if a family with an infant shows up so you may end having a middle seat assigned.

gnomey

Grrr. OK. So I guess the only way is to just go on the day of flight and ask them to assign the seat 1A to me

By the way, has anyone taken the 737-900 plane on TK? Am I right that the bulkhead row should be avoided for this plane?

Thanks

cln

hm,, the guys who say TK C is best ? Did u ever even fly on another airline ?

EK788

This. While I agree that TK's J product is very nice, and arguably the best in Europe or for that matter the western world, I wouldn't even rank it top 10 globally.