Turkish Airlines Review: Is It Good for Flight Experience?

After a rigorous brainstorming session and online research, I finally decided to book my tickets on Turkish Airlines for my vacation from Istanbul to New York. I have flown the same route quite some times, but this time, I wanted to try something new that has more than the basic amenities and was also within my budget.

I finalized Turkish Airlines after I read several positive reviews online, and the fact that they have been in operation since 1933 and have sustained in the industry for so long caught my attention. It also has flights that fly to many countries, making it easy to find flights available for different countries and cities.

It costed me somewhere $600 to $650 for a round trip in economy class with access to a lot of other benefits. If you are planning to fly the same or any other route, my honest Turkish Airlines review will help you out in making your final decision.

✈Want more insights? Check out our reviews of Breeze Airways, Condor Airlines, and Frontier Airlines.

Online Booking Via Website and App

The first thing any passenger has to go through is the step of booking tickets online, and I must say, my experience was a mix of both, good and bad. In my case, I booked my tickets using the website. I will share where I found the things smooth and issues while booking my tickets and other things.

For one way trip, the process is quite smooth and you will be redirected to the selection process one by one, like dates, destination, and possible layovers. In no time, you will make transactions for your tickets. However, if you are selecting multiple cities as a part of your travel itinerary, you might face issues and errors.

Selecting add-on services is also convenient, and you can have a detailed view of each add-on available on the website. Some of these services come for free, while some might charge you an additional cost.

Tickets and Other Pricing

I booked my tickets in economy class, which costed me about $600 to $650 for the round trip from Istanbul to New York. There are three different economy class options like EcoFly, ExtraFly, and PrimeFly.

I selected EcoFly, which is the most basic option of the economy class, and it doesn’t come with the option of selecting a seat. I wasn’t even allowed to get a refund, make changes, or receive any other rewards. For any add-on service, I had to pay an extra charge.

The other two options come with certain benefits. Like ExtraFly has a free seating option, you can make changes, but at an additional cost, you get extra miles, while you are not allowed to cancel and ask for a refund.

The last option and the most premium in the economy class is the PrimeFly. You get to choose your seat for free, can make changes for free, ask for cancellation and refunds, and reissue the ticket to a different date, but that will be subject to the current ticket pricing.

However, while booking the tickets, you will not be shown the price for every step, and the overall price will only be reflected at the last step when you have to make the final payment.

Boarding and Baggage Policies

The very first thing you must keep in mind is that though you will receive a boarding pass on your mobile, you will receive the physical boarding pass from the counter. The international flights don’t accept the boarding pass on a mobile.

Coming to the baggage allowance, for the economy class, the baggage limit differs based on three different classes. As I was travelling with the most basic class, I was allowed 15 kg of checked baggage and 8 kg of cabin baggage.

ExtraFly allows 20 kg of checked baggage and 8 kg of cabin baggage, and the most premium economy class, PrimeFly, allows 25 kg of checked-in baggage along with 8 kg of cabin baggage.

The boarding was quite straightforward forward, and there were different queues for boarding so that passengers didn’t have to wait to get on the flight.

In-Flight Amenities

I found the seating to be comfortable, even for the price I paid. It had ample leg space, which was comfortable for even a 10-hour flight. All seats were equipped with a screen that had quite a few good options for movies and other content.

For the economy class, the internet access had to be purchased, but I skipped that option. Most of the headphones had some issues, so they must improve the quality. Minus the headphones, the rest of the thing made the overall journey a great experience.

The airhostess handed over some basic items like a pillow, toiletries, blankets, slippers, lip balm, a toothbrush, and others after the passengers were seated and comfortable on their seats.

Airhostesses were welcoming and were always quick to address any issues, needs, and queries of the passengers. The bathroom, too, was in quite good condition; definitely good if I compare it with the different airlines I have travelled in.

Food and Drinks

As I was travelling on an international flight, my meals and drinks were free. As soon as I was seated, I was given a free welcome drink, which was the most needed thing after going through the waiting and boarding process.

For food, they have a menu consisting of veg and non-veg meals and mainly Turkish dishes, including some of the standard dishes like pasta and chicken. The meal was flavourful and enough for an individual, with dessert, and everything was great.

However, there is a downside regarding ordering food, like a few passengers didn’t have an option to choose a non-vegetarian meal because they were all out, and they were asked to compromise with the vegetarian options.

My Final Verdict – Is Turkish Airlines Good?

My overall experience of travelling with Turkish Airlines was good, but not great. Some things need improvement, like accommodating the right number of meals as per passengers’ demands and waiving charges for making changes on tickets, like date and name.

But, if I compare it with most of the flights flying the same route, then it is one of the greatest options considering the price.