Website: www.turkishairlines.com
Hubs: Ankara & Istanbul
Alliance: Star Alliance
Mile Program: Miles&Smiles;
Destinations: 302
Check In
The check in process is easy just like with any other airline, at Helsinki airport you can either choose to stand in line, use a self-service kiosk or check in online.
I decided to wait in the line since I had a 21.5h layover in Istanbul and I wanted to see if they could check me in all the way through which I assumed wouldn’t be possible if I checked in online.
Flying to the USA I was allowed:
– Personal item
– Carryon
– 2x 23kg Check in Luggage
Atatürk Airport
I have had layovers at countless airports in the past 8 years and never have I seen an airport like Atatürk! Granted I was supposed to find a hotel help desk but even after asking for help twice, I was never told I need to exit the airport before finding the help desk.
I don’t think Atatürk would be such a hard airport to navigate if you only have a short layover there and will never exit the building.
Atatürk also has loads of passengers which makes it a little harder. I do not like to be in the way so the crowds can cause a little of stress if you have to stop and think about where you need to go.
In general the staff at the airport were friendly and helpful, unfortunately they do not speak very good English so asking for directions or ordering food is not the easiest task.
In Flight
I think the in flight experience was great!
The flight attendants were very friendly they greeted you at the door and pointed you to your isle where you could find your seat.
It is probably the airline with the most over the top security video I have seen but it is understandable since passengers now a days don’t pay attention to them anymore.
At your seat you were able to find a pillow, blanket and two pairs of headphones. It is the first time that I have been given two different pairs of headphones. Personally I like to use the earbud type of headphones since they block out sound and I also place my own headphones over them to block even more sound.
Turkish Airlines is most likely the airline with the most in flight entertainment that I have experience. They have loads of movies, games & TV-shows to entertain yourself with. It is also the only company which I have seen that has whole trilogies in their system. They had for example, all Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies which was great on a 13 hour flight.
Every passenger were given a small ”goodie bag” on the long flight which included:
– Toothbrush and toothpaste
– Socks
– Sleeping mask
– Earbuds
– Lip balm
I think giving this to the passengers is great! I do not know how many times i’ve sat on an airplane wishing I would be able to brush my teeth or put on lip balm, this was definitely a nice surprise for me as a first time customer.
Now let’s talk food.
Every time I mentioned to someone before my departure date that I was flying Turkish Airlines to Houston the response I received was ”they have great food” so my expectations were high when getting on these planes from Helsinki to Houston.
Let me say I was not disappointed. I feel that airplane food is usually very bland, which is understandable since so many people have to be able to eat it, BUT I was definitely very surprised at how tasty their food were. I had in total 6 meals on my flights and I actually thought that all of them were very good.
Complimentary Hotel
Now the hotel part can be quite tricky.
I was under the impression after reading the Turkish Airline website that all flights over 10 hours will be offered a hotel room if there are no connections under 10 hours to your destination.
So for me flying to Houston there is two departures per day from Helsinki to Istanbul. However none of these flights will get me to Istanbul in time for the flight to Houston which only leaves once a day.
I found out that Turkish Airlines offers hotels while booking the fights, so keep in mind that I was not even expecting any accommodation at all. I however found out at the Helsinki airport when checking in that I should have taken the later flight to have the shortest possible connection to receive a hotel room from Turkish Airlines.
Now do not get me wrong this all makes sense but the information that they give out on their website only states that you get the hotel if layover exceeds 10 hours (economy class).
What they actually mean is that you always have to choose the shortest layover possible to get a hotel and the shortest layover have to be over 10 hours.
I was definitely disappointed about this, however I still went to the help desk at the Istanbul airport and they were able to offer me a four star hotel for 35€, I definitely took this deal since the airport was extremely crowded and I had a 21-hour layover.
I will be writing reviews on both hotels I stayed at, in Istanbul, link will be provided when posted.
Conclusion
I really do like the airline, all the minor incidents I ran into happened at the airports. The flights themselves were great with lovely staff, great food and entertainment.
The hotel was the only bummer for me and finding the help desk took me a great deal of time. That aside I would definitely recommend Turkish Airlines, they have great prices and comfortable flights.
Have you ever flown Turkish Airlines? Please let me know what your thought on flying with them in the comments below!
