Hello there Turkish Aviation fans,
You can find last month's thread here: Turkish Aviation October 2018



Some topics to start this month’s thread:

-Istanbul has 3 airports for the next few months; IST, SAW and ISL. The new Istanbul airport has 5 daily flights for now. By the way, there was a full page ad on the front section of NY Times couple days ago about the “Istanbul New Airport”, at the bottom it still had the logo IGA (Istanbul Grand Airport) and the next day I saw the photo from the entrance of the airport where it read “Istanbul Airport”. Isn’t this ridiculous, to open one of the largest airports to be in the world, hide its name from the public and end up with a mixed message. I have a feeling it will be called 'the new airport” by the locals. Today, again another full page ad in the NY Times front section, similar photo of the new tower and with words; “as the world gets smaller, Turkish exports continue to grow”. Another note, I have seen no news about the IST airport's opening in the US media at all.

-TK to start IST-Dakar-Banjul starts 2 x weekly this month. I have a friend here in NY, so happy about this news, so that he can take TK to his hometown in Gambia.

-OK, this one is really impressive. TK to start Lusaka, Zambia this month. It will be TK’s 54th African destination. 2x week 26Nov 332 via DAR. 54th !!!!! I still remember the former head of TK saying they are planning on flying to 35 destinations in Africa in 3 years time and I had a hard time believing. Well, what do I know??? Congratulations to TK in Africa. Did you know that 50 years from now, Nigeria’s population will be over 500 Million? TK is definitely investing in that future.

-More TK news; TC-LJO; 4th TK 77F will be joining the fleet in the coming days.

-TK also signed a 15 year agreement with Do&Co ending months of catering speculation.

-I posted last month that when buying a ticket I realized that TK had only 267 Y seats on their yet to arrive 787-900s. 30J / 267Y, maybe someone else can confirm.

-ESB is getting few more International connections recently. IMHO, it is still slow compared to the general aviation expansion in Turkey.

-About the new TK uniforms, I don’t know why I have so much to say about them?? They were due for an update, Ettore, Bilotta is a good designer of choice. My only dislike was the use of too much red in the uniforms. It is not a color that I would like to see in a confined space for prolonged times. It does not evoke romance/passion for me. It says danger, negativity…
On the other hand, in other forums, I read people complaining that there should have been more Turkish motives, more red/white, they should have hired a Turkish designer, why gray stockings??…. almost 99% negative comments. Old TK uniforms were in use almost a decade, mostly dark blue. The new uniforms are going to take some time for the crews to get used to. They have to learn how to carry these uniforms and the hats. Tiny adjustments have to me made, so a personal fit can be achieved. Ladies jackets have to be trimmed at the waist to give them a pleasing shape and the skirt length has to be shortened just a bit to go; at or just above the knee cap. I truly like the accessories; the shoes, bags, gloves and the scarfs. Just give it some time. Here is article about chic airline uniforms:
https://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/20 ... an-lacroix

Finally, we have all heard a lot of comments about the new airport. At this point, it is beginning to operate. After all this money spent, sacrifices made; I wish the new airport good luck and safe operations. Istanbul Ataturk will always have a special place in my heart, from where I flew for the first time and I will have a chance to fly for one last time in a few weeks.

Please continue with your news, views, photos, rumors and good old sense of humor. Please keep this thread free of personal attacks or politics. Safe flights and happy travels to all.

Does anyone know when EWR will officially be announced?

jerseyewr777 wrote:

Does anyone know when EWR will officially be announced?

IIRC, first flight is first week of August 2019, daily A333 with a late night departure. Nothing official yet.

TK just announced today 5x status miles for all flights to/from ISL until the end of this year. Great and actually pretty cheap way to collect some desperately needed miles if you ask me.

stylo777 wrote:

TK just announced today 5x status miles for all flights to/from ISL until the end of this year. Great and actually pretty cheap way to collect some desperately needed miles if you ask me.

So, if you fly ISL-GYD business class (J) next month round trip you will earn 17,800 miles at a cost of $500. Wow!!!

TK will have a new northernmost destination next year as they're planning to launch a seasonal 3x weekly route to Rovaniemi (RVN) in Lapland in November 2019.

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/trave ... global-hub

Welcome everyone to November. Looking forward to reports from the new airport.

In regards to comments last month about LH ending MUC-ESB, we might have an answer....
Airline Weekly has short brief stating that per a Handelsblatt story, LH has reduced Turkish capacity by 50% over the last 5-years as it cannot compete against Turkish carriers due to their cost advantage. Story also says LH is no longer perceived as it historically once was as a preferred choice to access world from Turkey since now Turkish carriers connect much of the globe directly on their own. For example, at one time to the US, LH Group had over 20% marketshare from Turkey, but now its in the low single digits.
Also says as a hub Turkey enjoys other cost advantages. For example, transit passenger facility cost at FRA is €9, while €1.60 at IST per traveler.

Do you have any idea, which 737-800's will be based at ISL?

Will the cost of transit passenger stay the same at the new airport? I wonder if overall charges will go up.

As for the cost at FRA, that's way too much, LH should address this issue with the airport as they are also partly to blame for LH's inability to compete efficiently... the airport and the Green Party that is.

Since the duty free is not opened yet, I wonder what alternative solution did ISL find.

So, I was able to get an upgrade on one of the first TK 787-900 flights out of USA.
It is still confusing for the reservation agent on the other side of the phone this being a new type.
From what I can understand, it is a staggered 1-2-1 layout. 8 rows of A,B,G,K. Believe me, I kept asking over and over again
I imagine, it somehow translates into total 30 Business seats, but she kept saying total 21 Business Class seats on the plane.
It might very well be the seat plan "LAXintl" posted last month, but still I was told nothing other than A,B,G,K. Possible that I misheard B, what she meant was D maybe.

TK787 wrote:

So, I was able to get an upgrade on one of the first TK 787-900 flights out of USA.

congrats!! anything other than business wouldn't give your name the well deserved honor

btw. I was able to book 4 domestic legs (iso mileage runs) from ISL and I'm really looking forward to:
- transfer IST to ISL
- first flight experience ex. ISL
- probably the last flight ex. IST
- many, many status miles due to the campaign

stylo777 wrote:

TK787 wrote:

So, I was able to get an upgrade on one of the first TK 787-900 flights out of USA.

congrats!! anything other than business wouldn't give your name the well deserved honor

btw. I was able to book 4 domestic legs (iso mileage runs) from ISL and I'm really looking forward to:
- transfer IST to ISL
- first flight experience ex. ISL
- probably the last flight ex. IST
- many, many status miles due to the campaign

Awesome, looking forward to some inside information from the experiences, any info will be much appreciated. Safe travels.

LAXintl wrote:

In regards to comments last month about LH ending MUC-ESB, we might have an answer....
Airline Weekly has short brief stating that per a Handelsblatt story, LH has reduced Turkish capacity by 50% over the last 5-years as it cannot compete against Turkish carriers due to their cost advantage. Story also says LH is no longer perceived as it historically once was as a preferred choice to access world from Turkey since now Turkish carriers connect much of the globe directly on their own. For example, at one time to the US, LH Group had over 20% marketshare from Turkey, but now its in the low single digits.
Also says as a hub Turkey enjoys other cost advantages. For example, transit passenger facility cost at FRA is €9, while €1.60 at IST per traveler.

The story is similar to other airlines also -- AZ, OS, LX, DL, SK, AC, IB, etc. Simply too hard to compete against the cost and market advantages the Turkish carriers hold.

In many ways, Turkish travelers are very lucky having a diverse, competitive and high quality choice of homegrown carriers to chose from. Not sure foreign competitors have much to offer.

TK787 wrote:

So, I was able to get an upgrade on one of the first TK 787-900 flights out of USA.

Wonderful. Look forward to your review and after so many years your username becoming reality.

stylo777 wrote:

btw. I was able to book 4 domestic legs (iso mileage runs) from ISL and I'm really looking forward to:
- transfer IST to ISL
- first flight experience ex. ISL
- probably the last flight ex. IST
- many, many status miles due to the campaign

Likewise look forward to hearing about your experiences.

mercure1 wrote:

The story is similar to other airlines also -- AZ, OS, LX, DL, SK, AC, IB, etc. Simply too hard to compete against the cost and market advantages the Turkish carriers hold.
In many ways, Turkish travelers are very lucky having a diverse, competitive and high quality choice of homegrown carriers to chose from. Not sure foreign competitors have much to offer.

Indeed competing against Turkish carriers with a significant cost base advantage while offering strong products themselves is a difficult task.
Atleast for LH they have their Sun Express vehicle they can use in Turkey which keeps them in the game and produces some revenue. Its better situation than the other carriers that have had to walk away entirely.

In many ways, I am not sure how one would differentiate oneself as a foreign carrier (esp legacy European ones) when flying to Turkey. What value proposition can they make to the consumer that also makes them a profit?

This makes sense actually but in this case we have to see if TK will be able to meet expectations to launch new services from ESB in particular. LH has been the most popular foreign premium airline in Turkey for many years. LH service to Turkey is now reduced to FRA IST FRA only after MUC ESB axed. MUC ADB remains seasonal but I doubt LH will maintain MUC ADB in 2019 if their policy is going to be utilization of Sun Express for services to Turkey in order to enjoy cost savings.

TK has recently disclosed schedules for Rome and Baku but still has not released the London schedule that is going to be very interesting as TK's slots at LHR is full, I am wondering which airport in London will be used by TK for direct services to ESB. The only viable alternative seems to be LGW as TK does not operate to STN or LTN and LCY is out of the question.

Also looking at the schedule of the new flights form ESB to Rome and Baku arrival to ESB is around 2 AM in the morning and making this a very difficult flight option to connect to other Turkish destinations unless you want to wait 5 hours in transit. I guess TK is doing its best to make sure these flights do not capture any connecting pax to secondary markets in Turkey and start posing a competition to ISY, in fact ESB's strength is also smooth transfer from int to dom vice versa as both are under one roof, very convenient etc. Anyhow, at least TK is taking a positive step, reinstating direct flights from Ankara to Rome after 60 years is a great start...

On a related subject I have not heard of any European airline that is willing to relaunch services to new Istanbul Airport, I am mainly talking about AZ, IB, LX, SN, OS etc. I think it is essential for Turkey's largest airport to attract some of these airlines back in because these airlines do have their own customer base and will add additional benefits for Turkey's civil aviation market.

I read comments in the forum about New Istanbul airport and the publicity of the opening of the new airport has been very poor in the US. It is not any different in London and rest of Europe, I guess there is a high amount of jealousy in Western countries that Turkey completed the first phase of this project one way or another and ISY will be a very popular hub that will steal a lot of pax from CDG,FRA, AMS, LHR and other European hubs…I am not too concerned about some issues at ISY (duty free shops, TK lounge etc.) I think there may be some delay with these but will be sorted out eventually. Having seen what is experienced in Berlin with new airport nobody should criticize Turkey. Given the size of the project ISY is a success story in my opinion.




quote="LAXintl"]Welcome everyone to November. Looking forward to reports from the new airport.

In regards to comments last month about LH ending MUC-ESB, we might have an answer....
Airline Weekly has short brief stating that per a Handelsblatt story, LH has reduced Turkish capacity by 50% over the last 5-years as it cannot compete against Turkish carriers due to their cost advantage. Story also says LH is no longer perceived as it historically once was as a preferred choice to access world from Turkey since now Turkish carriers connect much of the globe directly on their own. For example, at one time to the US, LH Group had over 20% marketshare from Turkey, but now its in the low single digits.
Also says as a hub Turkey enjoys other cost advantages. For example, transit passenger facility cost at FRA is €9, while €1.60 at IST per traveler.[/quote]

mercure1 wrote:

In many ways, Turkish travelers are very lucky having a diverse, competitive and high quality choice of homegrown carriers to chose from. Not sure foreign competitors have much to offer.

I wouldn't call two airlines (TK and PC) a big pool to choose from. Especially from a place like ESB, the only option is now TK. That is outrageous for a city of 5 million people.

I can't agree more, I hope we will see this change soon

leftyboarder wrote:

mercure1 wrote:

In many ways, Turkish travelers are very lucky having a diverse, competitive and high quality choice of homegrown carriers to chose from. Not sure foreign competitors have much to offer.

I wouldn't call two airlines (TK and PC) a big pool to choose from. Especially from a place like ESB, the only option is now TK. That is outrageous for a city of 5 million people.

Lots more choice in Turkey than just TK or PC. Add in Atlas, Onur, Sun Express.

Obviously every airline does not fly every market but I think one can't deny Turkey has a pretty vibrant home grown market and consumers benefit.
On fare basis Turkish consumers enjoy some of the lowest prices globally which is good thing obviously.

Look at this beauty:

Flying ZRH-IST a lot, the loss of LX was unfortunate from a customer perspective. They had very competitive prices (most of the time lower thank TK and sometimes matching PC) and were even 2x daily on some days (I think 10 or 11 x weekly). They pulled out after the failed „coup“ as they must‘ve feared that they wouldn‘t be able to recover the already low yields. Who knows, they might‘ve pulled out anyway.

In peak times and not too long ago I also remember them flying GVA-IST as well as ZRH-ADB. Maybe they could return to IST with the CS100/300?

ugurberkin wrote:

Do you have any idea, which 737-800's will be based at ISL?

Now TC-JZE, JZF, JZH.

I've heard rumours Turkish Airlines will be launching Ankara to London. Yet there seems to be no sign of this yet. TK operates 37x weekly flights to Heathrow. Could the 2 anomalies be used for Ankara?

TK's latest teaser for its ad directed by Ridley Scott; has a similar feeling like the old BMW spot "The Follow" by Won Kar Wai:
https://www.facebook.com/turkishairline ... 10801/?t=0

TK hold slots at Lgw for a service to ESB.

Quick question about this photo where Slyvia Hoeks is leaving the TK Business Class;
I've never seen this center wall design scheme. Anyone?
http://www.airturkhaber.com/haberler/ri ... -yolculuk/

Usually, this is the look (first few pictures)
https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com ... ss-review/

Thank you for the information.

Do you know how many slots are allocated for ESB and any idea about schedule/date of commencement?

BlueTrue wrote:

TK hold slots at Lgw for a service to ESB.

Hello All:

I have two questions, perhaps some might have the answers?

1) Does anyone know when the current IST (soon to be ISL) will close?

2) Someoje started a thread about a possible TK brand refresh? Does anyone know if that is going to happen?

I noticed that a few flights TK scheduled out of ESB return in the middle of the night. Is it because of aircraft availability? Do they operated IST-ESB-...?

[*]

Blerg wrote:

I noticed that a few flights TK scheduled out of ESB return in the middle of the night. Is it because of aircraft availability? Do they operated IST-ESB-...?

In fact most of them are IST-XXX-ESB-XXX-IST with late evening departure from IST and early morning return so they are increasing utilization instead of resting the plane at the outstation.

Anyone with information on Turkish Cargo flights being operated from Istanbul New Airport ? Flightradar24 shows several fights per day mainly operated by Turkish Airlines 777F, A330F aircraft.
I recall it was reported the cargo terminals won’t be ready by year end and that the transition of cargo flights will be several months later?

AsoRock wrote:

Anyone with information on Turkish Cargo flights being operated from Istanbul New Airport ? Flightradar24 shows several fights per day mainly operated by Turkish Airlines 777F, A330F aircraft.
I recall it was reported the cargo terminals won’t be ready by year end and that the transition of cargo flights will be several months later?

yeah, it's a bug or an error, recognized the same a few days ago.
there are surely no TK freighters at the new airport until further notice.


btw. does anyone know how the airport handling is running in the first week of operations?


also, as it seems, TK does not permanently base any aircraft at ISL. looking at FR24 data, the planes are IST based, routed through their outstations to ISL; something like IST-XXX-ISL-XXX-IST. with current schedule, they actually need 2-3 planes:

TK1132 X23 ISL GYD 09:25 13:15 73H 02:50
TK1133 X23 GYD ISL 14:10 16:30 73H 03:20
TK978 D ISL ECN 17:30 18:05 73H 01:35
TK979 D ECN ISL 05:35 08:25 73H 01:50 ==> TK1132 to GYD again

TK2129 D AYT ISL 11:00 12:40 73H 01:40 <== aircraft coming from IST
TK2128 D ISL AYT 13:40 15:15 73H 01:35 ==> aircraft going to IST

TK2031 D ADB ISL 08:35 10:05 73H 01:30 <== aircraft coming from IST
TK2124 D ISL ESB 11:10 12:35 73H 01:25
TK2125 D ESB ISL 13:30 14:55 73H 01:25
TK2030 D ISL ADB 15:55 17:25 73H 01:30 ==> aircraft going to IST

strange thing: just ticketed an ESB-ISL flight in business class, but the aircraft shown on the seat reservation map is clearly a 77W

My interesting experience today IST-YYZ. I get to airport, check in as normal. Head to lounge and think to check screen for boarding gate and note a 3 hour 40 minute delay. Nice of agent not to mention or TK to send a message. Then go to gate one hour before departure but end up sitting for 2 hours instead with no announcement from anyone. Then on plane sit another 1.5 hours until captain said there was a technical fault so now we can take off, no problem this is normal. In the meantime someone had a seizure on the plane also but I guess this was decided immaterial as others would demand off the plane also. Finally in the air but what a crazy experience.

I like TK but this kind of experience is bad for its brand, it has to do better communicating when strange things happen.

slickvik wrote:

My interesting experience today IST-YYZ. I get to airport, check in as normal. Head to lounge and think to check screen for boarding gate and note a 3 hour 40 minute delay. Nice of agent not to mention or TK to send a message. Then go to gate one hour before departure but end up sitting for 2 hours instead with no announcement from anyone. Then on plane sit another 1.5 hours until captain said there was a technical fault so now we can take off, no problem this is normal. In the meantime someone had a seizure on the plane also but I guess this was decided immaterial as others would demand off the plane also. Finally in the air but what a crazy experience.

I like TK but this kind of experience is bad for its brand, it has to do better communicating when strange things happen.

That is not good. AFAIK, TK does not send messages, like gate changes, delays and such. And in general, does not share information with the pax.
It is a cultural thing. Information is power and only the few in the cockpit have it. Last summer, we sat inside a TK 77W with no AC for over an hour. No answers from the crew? "We can't turn the AC on till we have the engines on" is not an answer. What is wrong with Ground power, batteries, APU?... No answer.
Whereas on a DL 757 transcon, the pilot goes in the aisle and explains everything about the problem with the front landing gear and waiting for a part. We sat inside the plane for 5 hours but he kept us informed periodically.

ankaraflyjet wrote:

Do you know how many slots are allocated for ESB and any idea about schedule/date of commencement?

2x weekly overnight service starts in January with 737NG.

SXDFC wrote:

1) Does anyone know when the current IST (soon to be ISL) will close?

Atleast not for a year or two. They still need to build the cargo city and also MRO center at the new airport. Also some GA/bizjet activity will remain at Ataturk in the short term.

However, they likely can shut down runways and start some of the land redevelopment slated to become a park and convention facilities.

I think it was in the other thread about the airport and having now much more space to move around and avoid groundcollissions. Well, here is an accident which occured yesterday at an area of IST which has plenty of space for safe operations. But if you don't stick to the rules (workers) and as a company (TGS) don't invest in people and their education, the same will surely continue to happen at the new airport - the largest in area space around...

Sorry, website is in Turkish, but the pictures don't need language as they speak for themselves:
http://m.airkule.com/haber/KAZA-BOYLE-OLDU/31806

It's really, really frustrating to see (again)... thanks god no one died, but it could have ended worse. Sorry if I'm too harsh here, but this is not the first time and probably won't be the last accident with TGS Ground Handling involvement. As much as I know it won't change anything if I write it down here, there must be something drasticially done about this TK-subsidiary. So many incidents and accidents, someone has to say stop (which of course won't happen in our lovely country...).

TK787 wrote:

slickvik wrote:

My interesting experience today IST-YYZ. I get to airport, check in as normal. Head to lounge and think to check screen for boarding gate and note a 3 hour 40 minute delay. Nice of agent not to mention or TK to send a message. Then go to gate one hour before departure but end up sitting for 2 hours instead with no announcement from anyone. Then on plane sit another 1.5 hours until captain said there was a technical fault so now we can take off, no problem this is normal. In the meantime someone had a seizure on the plane also but I guess this was decided immaterial as others would demand off the plane also. Finally in the air but what a crazy experience.

I like TK but this kind of experience is bad for its brand, it has to do better communicating when strange things happen.

That is not good. AFAIK, TK does not send messages, like gate changes, delays and such. And in general, does not share information with the pax.
It is a cultural thing. Information is power and only the few in the cockpit have it. Last summer, we sat inside a TK 77W with no AC for over an hour. No answers from the crew? "We can't turn the AC on till we have the engines on" is not an answer. What is wrong with Ground power, batteries, APU?... No answer.
Whereas on a DL 757 transcon, the pilot goes in the aisle and explains everything about the problem with the front landing gear and waiting for a part. We sat inside the plane for 5 hours but he kept us informed periodically.

Can anyone help me figure out what the reason was for the original delay? Incoming aircraft was the reason given by the captain but as IST is a hub this seems like a ridiculous excuse.

GA/bizjet activity will remain at Ataturk in the short term.

I think rather the opposite: the GA operations will remain at Ataturk, for the medium term: say at least 5 to 10 years from now. Even after TK and others totally wash out their hands at Ataturk (cargo & MRO facilities also built at New Istanbul) they will most probably keep the "shorter" 05/23 runway operational for GA flights plus for flights during aviation trade shows, etc. The only mishap is that the present day GA facilities are located on one side of the 17/35 rwys at Ataturk and these need to be demolished because these are the ones that actually have airspace clashing with the rwys at New Istanbul. There's more than enough space at Ataturk to carry the GA facilities but who will pay for the expenses?

TK operated a flight from Antalya to JNB last night with 777-300ER, returning to IST ...what is this about, charter flight?

Many thanks, the schedule just announced, long sought after flight, I am sure will be very difficult to find seats in this flight and will not be surprised to see the frequency increase after the flights launched and performance observed, I wonder if TK's slots at LGW are full after this addition??…

Turkish Airlines adds Ankara – London Gatwick from Jan 2019

Turkish Airlines in January 2019 plans to introduce additional route from Ankara, where the airline scheduled Ankara – London Gatwick service. From 09JAN19, Boeing 737-800 aircraft operates this route twice a week.

TK1299 ESB1915 – 2035LGW 73H 36
TK1300 LGW2135 – 0435+1ESB 73H 36

LAXintl wrote:

ankaraflyjet wrote:

Do you know how many slots are allocated for ESB and any idea about schedule/date of commencement?

2x weekly overnight service starts in January with 737NG.

TK787 wrote:

-TK to start IST-Dakar-Banjul starts 2 x weekly this month. I have a friend here in NY, so happy about this news, so that he can take TK to his hometown in Gambia.

It would be a lot faster via Casablanca, unless he wants to visit Istanbul.

slickvik wrote:

Can anyone help me figure out what the reason was for the original delay? Incoming aircraft was the reason given by the captain but as IST is a hub this seems like a ridiculous excuse.

AFAIK, TK do not have a spare Long Haul plane to replace, say a YYZ flight. For short/medium distances they could have used a A343 but that's also coming to an end, they are being phased out.
By the way, I looked at your flight on Nov4, TK 17, it left IST 6 hour or so late. The plane was TC-LJB which arrived from Houston pretty much on time. So TC-LJB subbed for another plane that must have arrived late or had a technical issue that was to fly you to YYZ originally.

peterinlisbon wrote:

TK787 wrote:

-TK to start IST-Dakar-Banjul starts 2 x weekly this month. I have a friend here in NY, so happy about this news, so that he can take TK to his hometown in Gambia.

It would be a lot faster via Casablanca, unless he wants to visit Istanbul.

It is not the fast connection, or visiting IST, it is all about flying TK I backtrack all the time just to use TK

ankaraflyjet wrote:

Many thanks, the schedule just announced, long sought after flight, I am sure will be very difficult to find seats in this flight and will not be surprised to see the frequency increase after the flights launched and performance observed, I wonder if TK's slots at LGW are full after this addition??…

Turkish Airlines adds Ankara – London Gatwick from Jan 2019

Turkish Airlines in January 2019 plans to introduce additional route from Ankara, where the airline scheduled Ankara – London Gatwick service. From 09JAN19, Boeing 737-800 aircraft operates this route twice a week.

TK1299 ESB1915 – 2035LGW 73H 36
TK1300 LGW2135 – 0435+1ESB 73H 36

LAXintl wrote:

ankaraflyjet wrote:

Do you know how many slots are allocated for ESB and any idea about schedule/date of commencement?

2x weekly overnight service starts in January with 737NG.

not quite competitive with 2x weekly night ops to LGW, but at least a starting point.
majority of people will still continue using TK via IST (to LHR) for schedule and PC via SAW or even ADB (to STN) for price reasons.

TK787 wrote:

slickvik wrote:

My interesting experience today IST-YYZ. I get to airport, check in as normal. Head to lounge and think to check screen for boarding gate and note a 3 hour 40 minute delay. Nice of agent not to mention or TK to send a message. Then go to gate one hour before departure but end up sitting for 2 hours instead with no announcement from anyone. Then on plane sit another 1.5 hours until captain said there was a technical fault so now we can take off, no problem this is normal. In the meantime someone had a seizure on the plane also but I guess this was decided immaterial as others would demand off the plane also. Finally in the air but what a crazy experience.

I like TK but this kind of experience is bad for its brand, it has to do better communicating when strange things happen.

That is not good. AFAIK, TK does not send messages, like gate changes, delays and such. And in general, does not share information with the pax.
It is a cultural thing. Information is power and only the few in the cockpit have it. Last summer, we sat inside a TK 77W with no AC for over an hour. No answers from the crew? "We can't turn the AC on till we have the engines on" is not an answer. What is wrong with Ground power, batteries, APU?... No answer.
Whereas on a DL 757 transcon, the pilot goes in the aisle and explains everything about the problem with the front landing gear and waiting for a part. We sat inside the plane for 5 hours but he kept us informed periodically.

I think it depends on the crew really. Back in August, I had a flight from IST-DUB and the captain was late so the gate agent explained the situation to us. We ended up leaving an hour and a half late (3/4 of the flights I took in that trip left over an hour late but this was the worst delay) which isn't too bad but at least there was some communication.

THY748i wrote:

Flying ZRH-IST a lot, the loss of LX was unfortunate from a customer perspective. They had very competitive prices (most of the time lower thank TK and sometimes matching PC) and were even 2x daily on some days (I think 10 or 11 x weekly). They pulled out after the failed „coup“ as they must‘ve feared that they wouldn‘t be able to recover the already low yields. Who knows, they might‘ve pulled out anyway.

That's strange. Actually LX were offering very good fares between IST and MAD and I flew once with them, with a really fast 20m stopover in ZRH. I was very impressed by the efficiency of LX. I thought there was no way I could make that connection but it turned out that I was at the gate with 10 minutes to spare (it took less than 10 minutes to get off the plane, through immigration and to the new gate).

FCO and LGW flights from ESB, which has been announced, are available until end of March 2019. Very bad.