stevebintley

Up until now I’ve been an almost exclusive OneWorld flyer, and with 90% of my flights being long haul leisure bookings in Economy it’s been far more bearable as a BA Gold / OW Emerald member. At the start of August I was fortunate enough to be granted TK Elite as part of a status match and I have to say they might have earned a new long term loyal customer as a result!

After 8 short haul internationals this is the feedback I’m sharing with friends, mainly compared to BA…

Positive:

• Full entertainment in Economy is superb
• Free wifi on board which is both fast, stable and available from gate to gate
• Full meal in Economy which has been tasty and includes alcohol
• Upgraded at the gate on 50% of flights taken so far
• Proper improved business seating on short haul Europe planes
• Well enforced boarding process even at outstations
• Fast track at IST connection security has been a dream
• M&S lounge at IST is very impressive, especially overnight, with the showers, range of food and different seating areas available
• Star Alliance app allowing you to quickly see lounges available at all airports
• Fast posting of miles following flights with email confirmation

Negative:

• Every time I’ve landed short haul into IST the taxi to a G gate has been excessive and at least 30-minutes, then to be met with a bus transfer. The process of waiting until all the busses are full and the plane empty before departing has made touchdown to terminal around an hour which puts me off booking any future connections <2 hours. It did look like Business passengers get their own bus which leaves right away, but unfortunately each time I was in Economy
• M&S lounge in IST seems to get very busy around 7am with many people taking up multiple seats, and it’s not overly relaxing at that time
• Reluctance of on-board staff to provide more than one drink with meal service, instead saying they’ll come back at the end, but never do

I’ve already booked a number of trips more in September and will continue to do so for the rest of year. I’m looking forward to learning all the hints and tips across TK and IST airport, to make it as familiar as BA and LHR, and extending my new found love even more!

Thanks for welcoming me on-board Turkish!

IAN-UK

Congratulations! But I fear that average can only degrade over time. It's certainly not in TK's interests that passengers expect evens chance of an upgrade



The only upgrade I received in a long life on top of the TK status-tree was a single flight between Istanbul and Cairo.

Maybe I've been unfortunate: i believe politicians, local dignitaries and TK's own do rather better ...

sydunipete

I tend to go through an annual cycle of love-hate with TK.

For 6 months of the year I get frustrated as I try to find and book award flights and if something goes wrong I've given up on getting refunds / points returned. (Maybe that's a deliberate strategy.) And I agree with the long taxi times at IST. Last arrival we did a big figure S passing the entry to the terminal area 3 times.

But for the other 6 months of the year with I'm actually flying with TK they can be great. Their network is comprehensive. I usually fly J and they are one of the best intra-Europe business class offerings. And I can vouch for the lack of upgrades. We recently flew ARN-IST and had the business class cabin to ourselves. It was a shock to have to share the cabin with others for IST-BUS. Food and seat on both legs were great.

TPJ

It is a right thing to do to enjoy the lounge and/or have an extra buffer for delays

flyerby

I stopped taking connection that are less than 2.5 hours due to the move from Ataturk.

stevie

I am in same position having given up on BA after decades as OW emerald. I flew Dub-HKG return in J.
A321 J class is decent, even for 4.5 hr flight.
777 J seat ok as I was travelling with my wife, not sure I would do it travelling alone.
787 seat very good.
Service excellent on all flights
Miles posted almost instantly.
Price 50% of BA, and 75% of others.
Lounge is souless at IST. Went thru late at night and very little food available. Early morning the place is a zoo. Not good. In saying tat shower was great

Overall I now have elite status after BA match for 2 years and I will use TK again.

stevebintley

This was always my intention. But despite a 3.5hr layover, a 20-min delayed departure from SJJ and arrival on runway 34L, the subsequent bus taxi to a G gate meant I had only 55-minutes from terminal arrival to departure time. Why-oh-why is there no taxiway across the south of the terminal, between 35R and 36L?!!

I genuinely feel so grateful receiving the status from a match with BA, but it came with some conditions which I've already met, and a promise of status being extended beyond the four month "trial period". Assuming you had the same, did you have to chase the extension, or did it happen automatically after the original "trial" period?

stevie

I got auto extension 3 days after I met conditions and now have 2 year status.

stevebintley

Oooh that's concerning - mine is still showing an expiry of November 2023. My condition was to take "one international flight in which I gain miles". So far all eight have been short haul, with LHR-IST being the longest. I hope they don't have to be long haul to qualify...

stevie

I took 4 long haul business flights FYI in two weeks. Not sure that should make a difference.

stevebintley

Eek, I might have to squeeze in a long haul trip in October then just to be sure...!

LJEDI

Oh god I only have 1hr 15 minutes between my flight from Paris to Bangkok, might pack some clothes in my carry on in case I make it and my bag doesn't but might also prepare myself for a missed connection. Wish I'd found these threads back when I booked or I wouldn't have even bothered with that short a connection.

flyerby

If you have a schedule change of more than 15 minutes, you’ll be entitled to a free change (and can fix the short connection for free). Or, you can arrive early at the airport and ask to go on an earlier flight (although there are slim chances of success).