flare3192 Posted September 10, 2023 #1 Share Posted September 10, 2023 Does anyone know if Turkish Air is an airline Viking uses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shipboy Posted September 10, 2023 #2 Share Posted September 10, 2023 I was booked on Turkish Airlines for an Asian cruise last year, which was subsequently cancelled (the cruise that is). This was from the UK, so Viking definitely use it in this part of the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare FlyerTalker Posted September 11, 2023 #3 Share Posted September 11, 2023 1 hour ago, shipboy said: I was booked on Turkish Airlines for an Asian cruise last year, which was subsequently cancelled (the cruise that is). This was from the UK, so Viking definitely use it in this part of the world. You meant to say "used it". Whether or not a cruiseline has used an airline in the past has no relevance to what the current contracts are. And also what routes and dates are covered by the current contract. Further, someone else's particular itinerary might be under current contract, while the same airline may not be contracted for a different city pair. Lionel Messi played for Barcelona. But doesn't anymore. Same thing with airline contracts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandshark Posted September 11, 2023 #4 Share Posted September 11, 2023 We are booked on a cruise from Istanbul to Athens in January, with air provided by Viking Air. Our flights from and to Seattle are on Turkish Airlines. So yes, Viking Air does utilize. Turkish Airlines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shipboy Posted September 11, 2023 #5 Share Posted September 11, 2023 8 hours ago, FlyerTalker said: You meant to say "used it". Whether or not a cruiseline has used an airline in the past has no relevance to what the current contracts are. And also what routes and dates are covered by the current contract. Further, someone else's particular itinerary might be under current contract, while the same airline may not be contracted for a different city pair. Lionel Messi played for Barcelona. But doesn't anymore. Same thing with airline contracts. No, I definitely meant to say ‘definitely’. I booked a flight only two months ago, with Turkish being one of the options. However you are correct, what was valid one minute ago may be irrelevant one minute later. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flare3192 Posted September 11, 2023 Author #6 Share Posted September 11, 2023 thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul73 Posted September 11, 2023 #7 Share Posted September 11, 2023 We're taking the Pharaohs and Pyramids River cruise in Oct. After our post-cruise excursion in Jordan Viking booked us on Turkish Air out of Amman Jordan to Istanbul to change to another Turkish AIr flightd. So yes, Viking books passengers on Turkish airlines.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Vineyard View Posted September 11, 2023 #8 Share Posted September 11, 2023 Anyone have experience with Turkish air? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare FlyerTalker Posted September 11, 2023 #9 Share Posted September 11, 2023 18 minutes ago, Vineyard View said: Anyone have experience with Turkish air? Yes. Next question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mich3554 Posted September 11, 2023 #10 Share Posted September 11, 2023 30 minutes ago, Vineyard View said: Anyone have experience with Turkish air? Yes, it’s excellent and better than most US airlines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitchly Posted September 12, 2023 #11 Share Posted September 12, 2023 44 minutes ago, Mich3554 said: Yes, it’s excellent and better than most US airlines. That was very much not our experience. This past spring we flew Turkish Air to Tel Aviv, and then back from Amman, both times with stopovers in Istanbul. The flight out was dreadful. Uncomfortable seats, torn upholstery (I couldn’t put anything in the seat pocket because it had completely ripped out), filthy. The flight back, we were able to upgrade our seats and had a better experience. And all our flights were considerably delayed, more than two hours in one case. But the worst bit was dealing with their booking staff. I won’t go into all the gory details except to say their website is a malfunctioning mess and their staff was truly dreadful. We ended up having to file a dispute with our credit card company. TA has been around a very long time and is, I believe, one of the busiest airlines in the world. If you’re stuck with them, I strongly suggest upgrading your seat if possible. Their best reviews seem to come from folks who have done that. As for us, we hope never to use them again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Vineyard View Posted September 12, 2023 #12 Share Posted September 12, 2023 4 hours ago, FlyerTalker said: Yes. Next question? I have read many negative reviews. So to clarify, does anyone have any experiences flying Turkish airlines. And what was your impression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mich3554 Posted September 12, 2023 #13 Share Posted September 12, 2023 16 hours ago, Twitchly said: That was very much not our experience. This past spring we flew Turkish Air to Tel Aviv, and then back from Amman, both times with stopovers in Istanbul. The flight out was dreadful. Uncomfortable seats, torn upholstery (I couldn’t put anything in the seat pocket because it had completely ripped out), filthy. The flight back, we were able to upgrade our seats and had a better experience. And all our flights were considerably delayed, more than two hours in one case. But the worst bit was dealing with their booking staff. I won’t go into all the gory details except to say their website is a malfunctioning mess and their staff was truly dreadful. We ended up having to file a dispute with our credit card company. TA has been around a very long time and is, I believe, one of the busiest airlines in the world. If you’re stuck with them, I strongly suggest upgrading your seat if possible. Their best reviews seem to come from folks who have done that. As for us, we hope never to use them again. I’m sorry to hear that. We flew them in 2019, on a trip to Turkey. It wasn’t the first time we had flown with them, but the most recent. They were fabulous and picked up the pieces, especially when we had to dispute with Pegasus Air. I’m sorry to hear they’ve deteriorated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare FlyerTalker Posted September 12, 2023 #14 Share Posted September 12, 2023 Have had experiences with TK, and all have been positive. The new IST airport is quite nice, and if you have longer connections, TK offers free tours of Istanbul. They also have an excellent free stopover program. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitchly Posted September 13, 2023 #15 Share Posted September 13, 2023 11 hours ago, Mich3554 said: I’m sorry to hear that. We flew them in 2019, on a trip to Turkey. It wasn’t the first time we had flown with them, but the most recent. They were fabulous and picked up the pieces, especially when we had to dispute with Pegasus Air. I’m sorry to hear they’ve deteriorated. From what I’ve seen, their reviews are all over the map. So it’s likely they haven’t deteriorated since 2019; they’re just wildly inconsistent. That may be in part because, according to Wikipedia, they fly to more countries than any other commercial airline in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylovestotravel Posted September 14, 2023 #16 Share Posted September 14, 2023 On 9/11/2023 at 3:59 PM, Vineyard View said: Anyone have experience with Turkish air? I think Turkish has one of the best business class products in the world (in my albeit limited experience). They use the same catering firm as Austrian and the cuisine and service is exceptional. Mia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Vineyard View Posted September 15, 2023 #17 Share Posted September 15, 2023 Thank you all for your input. I might have to take a second look at them. Their connecting times look to be better than others with fewer stopovers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylovestotravel Posted September 15, 2023 #18 Share Posted September 15, 2023 12 minutes ago, Vineyard View said: Thank you all for your input. I might have to take a second look at them. Their connecting times look to be better than others with fewer stopovers. I think they are one of the largest airlines in the world. Mia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentishincanada Posted September 15, 2023 #19 Share Posted September 15, 2023 We used TAir last year from Heathrow to Istanbul. The flight and food were both excellent but we have never flown with such grumpy air crew which seemed to extend even to the check in at Heathrow. They certainly need a charm initiative. Strange as we encountered only smiling faces in Istanbul and the hotel staff were lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare wine-wine-wine Posted September 15, 2023 #20 Share Posted September 15, 2023 Last year we flew business class from sfo to Istanbul. Onboard the food was excellent and flight attendants friendly and attentive. Their web site, however, is abysmal. Recorded wrong birthdates due to a bug and could not correct. Called service center who assured us that they had the correct dates. Could not check in properly online. But from the time we arrived at the airport onward, everything was perfect. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shmabbies Posted September 16, 2023 #21 Share Posted September 16, 2023 We used TK pre-Covid and loved their business product so much so we are using them again next year (United frequent flyer miles). However, I agree their website IS beyond abysmal though one thing I learned is that using their app on a cell phone gets much better results than using a desktop (I read this advice on Flyertalk & it worked for me). Don't know about a tablet. I did call their customer service with an issue and a Turkish CSR called me back twice on their own initiative to follow up on it (albeit one call came at an ungodly hour as she did not account for time zone differences - I was still impressed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scidee Posted September 18, 2023 #22 Share Posted September 18, 2023 Flew Turkish air in Aug (booked by Viking) Chicago to Istanbul and on to final destination of Basal Switzerland. We felt that we had more leg room than some other economy international flights. Food was plenty however more to the Turkish flavor and not always to our liking. The crew was okay, however we have had friendlier. Enjoyed the convenience pack of socks, slippers, toothbrush, toothpaste, lotion and sleep mask. Also we were not thrilled that we had to fly all the way to Istanbul (10.5 hrs) wait 2.5 hours and back to Basal 3.5 hours when more direct flights would have cut 5-6 hours off the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare oskidunker Posted September 18, 2023 #23 Share Posted September 18, 2023 Its like any other airline. If you fly coach, its bad.Fly business and its good. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breckski Posted September 18, 2023 #24 Share Posted September 18, 2023 Several years ago we flew Turkish Air from Baku to Madrid with a stop in Istanbul. We had a very pleasant flight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestocking7 Posted September 27, 2023 #25 Share Posted September 27, 2023 Flew JFK to Istanbul then transfer to Ankara. Business class, with lots of room and sumptuous meals. While in Ankara there was a coup against Erdogan and the borders were closed and all flights were cancelled. We did manage to fly out and back to Istanbul the next day and on to Bishkek, also Turkish. Barely remember the flights as we were just grateful to get out of the country. A couple of weeks later we flew back home Ashgabat-Istanbul-JFK, which was excellent. OTOH my son flew economy Istanbul to JFK and was in a middle seat and miserably crowded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now