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Istanbul and Turkish Airlines
Planning a trip at end feb to Sri Lanka. V expensive or no PE on Sri Lankan. Turkish offer a much better deal but have no experience of them or interchange at new Istanbul airport.
Any views from Turkish users or avoiders? PB |
New Istanbul airport is a single terminal and enormous. Very nice environment, functions well and easy to navigate, but still enormous. Allow plenty of time between flights.
Shops and restaurants at the airport can be VERY expensive. A lot of shops and restaurants. But still REALLY expensive. Eat on the plane if you do not have lounge access at IST. The city centre is a great place to visit if you have a long layover between flights... but it takes time to travel between new airport and city. |
I only used them once: LGW-IST-JNB return in Biz in 2016.
The onboard service was very good indeed. When I had a problem at IST and missed my connection (my mistake) they were actively unhelpful. |
I have not used Turkish, but would echo davidjohnson6 comments on the size of the terminal. Others I know who have used them report favorably on the inflight service like PAXBoy. It is a very large terminal, so allow time for getting to the gate. I cant comment on the food costs as I had lounge access. The terminal compares well with those further East.
Cheers Mr Mac |
Many thanks for replies , at the moment Icannot get past their byzantine online booking system which seems impossible to enter return trip dates
PB |
Originally Posted by pax britanica
(Post 11567576)
Many thanks for replies , at the moment Icannot get past their byzantine online booking system which seems impossible to enter return trip dates
PB |
My experience at the old IST was not much fun. Airline OK.
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Fabulous airline .booked last week for business class return to Singapore with a 24 hour stop over in Istanbul. Did the same trip last year. One of the best business lounges in the world.
Airport huge..transfer on the way back from gate with wheelchair service took more than 50 mins. Gave up on BA and KLM a long time ago. Website last year was a pain but this time went well.. possibly depends on your operating system and broadband speed. |
THY is always a good experience. Use them Bangkok to Cologne via Istanbul about once a year and never disappointed
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THY are very good, and you can always get good priced through fares from LGW or LHR to CMB via IST, on various Web booking engines in all Classes Y and J/C.
Sometimes the IST connection time is long, so you need to see what are the best days for quicker flight connections (check both ways - out and home). Perhaps include an IST stopover?, although the new IST airport is a right old trek from the old City, the famous Pera Palace Hotel is very historic and central, and is a treat. You may find good fares using Oman Air from London via MCT. They are a good carrier. Alternatively, you can get to CMB on a couple of Leisure airlines (seasonal charters) from ZRH with Edelweiss, and from MXP with Neos. (Both have PE IIRC) Of course there is always Emirates from LGW/LHR/STN via DXB. |
Rog747
I used Oman on a code share with Lufthansa from Munich to Muscat and they were fine and 50% cheaper than EK. Cheers Mr Mac |
Very many thanks everyone, some very useful information. At the moment I am looking Qatar with a Biz class pp of £3300. The Turkish website still doesnt like me so I have asked my trav agent to check them out based on the responses her yesterday. I will also look at Oman air, we w ere originally going to Oman but had a change of heart .
DJ6, you are of course correct about empires but the Ottoman empire did operate ina rather Byzantine way ' tkas again and best wishes for New year PB |
As previously stated, it’s an enormous airport, a lot of walking required.
Everything in the airport is ridiculously expensive. Duty free is cheaper at home and a Burger King burger and chips costs around £20. |
Originally Posted by Expatblue
(Post 11588177)
As previously stated, it’s an enormous airport, a lot of walking required.
Everything in the airport is ridiculously expensive. Duty free is cheaper at home and a Burger King burger and chips costs around £20. If you want a 330ml can of Coke to take away however, you're looking at a minimum of 120 Turkish lira or £3.10 |
If the OP is choosing TK Biz Class then he will not have to pay out for food and drinks at IST during his stopover there - He will get Lounge access.
It's possible that my choice today would not be to fly Oman Air just due to the Region's hoo-hahs right now. Have you booked yet pax britanica >? |
Just out of curiosity, why would the prices of services/food/drink be SO expensive in the terminals at the airport ? As in so out of kilter with Turkish prices outside the airport ? I appreciate that airports are shopping centres with runways and that a mark-up should be expected, but it just seems too much. What sort of % of the users will be transit opposed to domestic/international Turkish resident users ?
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Prices in the domestic departures area at IST are significantly cheaper than international departures.
Prices for those flying internationally are not intended to be remotely comparable to what you would pay in Istanbul or any Turkish town or city. IST as a new airport is far from any real town if you do not have a car - it is very time consuming for intl transfer pax to access food/drink sold by independent vendors who are far from the airport. You may see many different branded shops airside at IST - but a single company will operate many brands under licence and co-ordinate prices (ie keep prices high) amongst each of those branded outlets. The pricing policy is about maximising profit from a captive audience. Non-managerial staff at IST are fully aware that many pax are surprised at the high retail prices - they have conversations with pax about this on a regular basis. |
Well once again thanks to people for their comments on ehre
We did in the end change our minds and go back to Sri Lanka but LK Biz class are very very expensive so it QR via Doha. PB |
Prices in the domestic departures area at IST are significantly cheaper than international departures. Prices for those flying internationally are not intended to be remotely comparable to what you would pay in Istanbul or any Turkish town or city. IST as a new airport is far from any real town if you do not have a car - it is very time consuming for intl transfer pax to access food/drink sold by independent vendors who are far from the airport. You may see many different branded shops airside at IST - but a single company will operate many brands under licence and co-ordinate prices (ie keep prices high) amongst each of those branded outlets. The pricing policy is about maximising profit from a captive audience. Non-managerial staff at IST are fully aware that many pax are surprised at the high retail prices - they have conversations with pax about this on a regular basis. |
This all confirms that I shall never touch IST or TK, ever again.
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