Turkish Airlines Reviews & Complaints
Reported By: Aoife01
Contact information:
Turkish Airlines
United Arab Emirates
To Whom It May Concern,
I wish to express my disappointment and upset resulting from a recent trip with Turkish Airlines as well as make a complaint about how the situation was handled and also to seek compensation for costs I incurred as a result of the delay by and poor service from Turkish Airlines.
Flight details:
Booking reference VHE7R4
25/05/2018 DXB 02.00 – IST 05.40
IST 07.15 – DUB 10.00
27/05/2018 DUB 16.40 – IST 22.55
28/05/2018 IST 00.30 – DXB 05.45
The Dublin to Istanbul flight was delayed departing Dublin which resulted in me not getting on the Istanbul to Dubai flight.
Costs incurred:
€25 Turkish Visa to allow me leave the airport and go to a hotel
€12 Starbucks drinks and snack while waiting for the shuttle to the hotel
€6 Water and snack at the airport when waiting for my return flight on the evening of 28/05
Loss of earnings on 28/05/2018 as I missed the entire day’s work and have no remaining leave allowance to take as a holiday day.
Complaint:
Lack of information at Dublin – repeatedly told ‘we will have more information in 15 minutes’ followed 45 minutes later with ‘we will board in 15 minutes’ but at know point were we told what time we would be taking off.
I approached a member of Turkish Airlines staff at the gate and asked for help as I did not know if I would make the next flight, and having never encountered this before, I wanted to know what steps I should take next. When I showed her my boarding card she asked me why did I book a flight so close and also asked how did I book it as it is not enough time to connect even without the delay. I informed her that I booked this flight via the Turkish Airways and it was suggested to me by the Turkish Airways site and that I did not choose the connection myself. She dropped the subject.
Is this 75 minutes connection time provided to customers not enough time? I would be very disappointed to learn that Turkish Airways knowingly sell flights which leave customers at a high risk of missing the connecting flight.
The member of staff continued to check for alternate flights for me and informed me there was only one leaving Istanbul at 18.55 the following day for Dubai or one leaving at approx. 14.30 the following day for Abu Dhabi with Etihad airways. I explained that I must get to work and so these were not suitable options unfortunately. The lady kindly explained that she would put a note on the system with my booking to ensure that there would be someone waiting for me on arrival to run me through any queues and get me to the next flight departing to Dubai. She said there was a possibility that this person would have a wheelchair with them but not to worry, that they would help me.
I asked could I instead swap to the Emirates flight direct from Dublin to Dubai as, it would get me to Dubai faster. I would still be late to work (which is why I chose Turkish Airways in the first place) but at least I would get to work. She told me no, as by off-loading my bag I would make all the rest of the passengers miss their flights. She told me also, that as soon as the flight took off Turkish Airways would be notifying the team in Istanbul of the delay for connections and would also look to put people on alternate flights.
Once on board I was seated in the very last row of the plane. Once everyone was on board I explained the situation of the short connection time in Istanbul and asked an air-hostess if she knew would we be using the front or back door for dis-embarking. She said she wouldn’t know until we were in the air and that she would check with the pilot which I was very thankful for.
I did not hear back from this air-hostess again.
As we neared the end of the flight, I asked a second air-hostess the same question, she said she had no idea which door until we landed. I explained the short connection and asked could she or another member of the team please help me to be one of the first off the flight to give me every chance of making me second flight. She shortly told me I was not the only one and that there was nothing she could do to help me. I understand there are plenty of people connecting out of Istanbul – all the more reason to train your teams to be empathetic and at least come across like they are trying to help. She did in fact tell me then that they would have radioed ahead and informed the Dubai bound flight to wait for my arrival. You can’t believe how happy I was to hear this.
On landing the people next to me urged me to make a dash to the front of the plane and wished me luck! One even offered to wait and see if I made my flight as if I didn’t she would show me around Istanbul airport. These fellow passengers were the most supportive people during this whole experience.
When I got off, there was one team member with a wheelchair and so I asked if he was there to meet me (as per the instruction from Dublin), but he was not.
I found out what gate I was to be at for the Dubai flight and RAN to it. Luckily it was just underneath where I had landed. I arrived at 00.10 for the 00.30 flight and was told the gate was closed. I explained that I was just off the flight from Dublin and the lady told me ‘Nothing I can do, no one told me you were coming’ – disappointing as two other members of Turkish Airways staff had promised me that the flight would be notified that I was on the way.
I showed her my boarding card and said ‘But I am checked on, here is my boarding pass, you should know I was on the way’. The lady continued counting boarding cards and without looking up said go to gate 215. At this point a second passenger, connecting from another flight had arrived too. The plane was still here, and when we left the gate, 15 minutes before take-off time, we could have gotten on.
It took a further 4 hours before I was in a hotel. For a company that knowingly books short connection times, and one who apparently launches in to action once a flight takes off late, to re-arrange passengers, the process of getting on a new flight and to a hotel was far from smooth.
At the desk by gate 215 we were told to go to a different floor, at the nest desk the man at the counter said there was no flight to AUH with Etihad and looking confusedly at the computer for over 20 minutes before having to be helped me another woman behind the counter. All the time saying nothing to us. Another 10 minutes and we had tickets for the flight the next day.
To get out of the airport to the hotel I had to purchase a visa to leave the airport – something I only discovered after I had queued at passport control!!
At the luggage counter, I was told that it would take too long to find my bag and was given a wash bag to take to the hotel. The man here was friendly which was a relief at this stage but still, the lack of actual information on timings and processes was getting exhausting. As I was leaving, my bag thankfully appeared!
Once at the hotel counter, I was asked for my boarding card and asked to sit at Starbucks and wait for the shuttle for the hotel. But couldn’t be told how long until we would be collected.
It was a truly disappointing experience from the lack of information provided, to the empty promises to the Turkish Airways’ team’s blatant lack of interest in helping its customers to the claim that the connection time suggested by Turkish Airways was in fact too short a time. I am not an expert so put my trust in you and was let down. I lost an entire day which I whole-hearted feel could have been avoided.
I have attached photos of the boarding cards and visa which I had to purchase and look forward to hearing from you soon in relation to the compensation due to me under current legislation, given that my delay was well over the 3 hour minimum for compensation.
Best regards,
Aoife O’Gallagher