Review of Turkish Airlines -the airline isn't bad you know..

Chilling at the Turkish Business Class Lounge - Istanbul

I never thought a day would come that I will fly with Turkish Airlines, don't get me wrong, reasons being that I just thought the journey on Turkish Airlines was unnecessarily too long, so why should anyone fly with them from Nigeria to connect to other parts of the world.

Then came recession( I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record with this my recession talk, but that's the reality!), in this era, tickets to other African countries like Ghana isn't smiling talk more of Europe, na die we dey for this country. As in! is  vacation necessary sef with the way the tickets are ridiculously expensive?
Some one like me, who is a strong believer in sticking to particular airlines for mileage purpose, have had to reconsider if the mileage is even worth it anymore, with those  preferred airlines becoming increasingly  unaffordable in recent times.
So my destination was ATL (Atlanta-USA), meanwhile this post is not about my trip,  but strictly a review of the airline I flew, so be my guest! One of the most affordable ticket on the Lagos- ATL route was on Turkish Airlines, Oh Lord, I read other traveler's reviews tire in order to prepare my self and my entire family for the long trip, with 2 little children, I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but the end goal was to reach my destination safely, so I equipped my mind with all the information I could get about Turkish Airlines before embarking on the journey.
As usual at the Airport in Lagos, there was a little delay before boarding, but the moment we sat on the plane, the pre-boarding madness was gone. I had read online that they have very good fleet of aircrafts but I didn't believe it till I was seated on the plane, I was impressed! The aircraft  was really big and had a sizeable leg room, the seats were very comfortable and there was inflight entertainment, Wifi (but you pay $10) and USB charging point, It was an Airbus.

comfortable seats and legroom

We were given the regular duvet and very basic blue earphones on our Lagos-Istanbul route.  The food wasn't fantastic, infact in my opinion it was very poor cause my kids and I didn't like it, it was Pasta all through the journey to and fro(very basic and boring),Hubby was okay with the food, and I saw other people munching it  too, so maybe it was just a few of us that didn't like it, but we had the opportunity to request for sandwich or cake as we wanted, based on availability through out the whole journey. For me the first leg of the journey was too long (10 hrs straight) and tiring, I would advice that you plan to sleep through out the journey just in case you are considering Turkish Airlines for your next trip, and that is if you have no child travelling with you.
It was5.20am in Istanbul, when our plan landed on the Turkish soil, we had to reset our time, because Nigeria is  2 hours ahead of Turkey, we went through the security check,(scanners and all, no immigration check) ,then proceeded to the International flight section, that is departure area.
At gate 215, there is  Turkish Airlines desk, where you will be provided with a food voucher you can use at any of the participating eateries at the food court, unfortunately, I got this information after we had  paid money to eat at the food court, but It was useful on our way back though. With my husband and kids surprisingly in high spirit, we went on a tour of the Airport which was big, and had so many people, travelers from different countries, workers and interesting stores, I bet we didn't see the end of the Airport, we settled for some sleep in a comfortable and quiet area where we saw others sleeping and some waiting for their flight , but my kids just refused to sleep, I guess they slept well on the plane, plus there were some other kids around them so they played quietly while we took a short nap beside them.
Don't ever underestimate the toothbrush pack they give you in the plane, it came in useful for us, we used it in freshening up at the Airport. If you are travelling with kids, make sure you carry extra clothes for them to change into at the Airport, it makes them feel fresh once you wipe their body clean with a wash cloth. Also at the Airport there is a Turkish Airlines desk just by the immigration you can always ask them to connect you to WIFI for free, that's part of the package you get for choosing to fly Turkish, but the only thing is that, it only works in that spot. For people who can't imagine being on transit and seating in the Airport for 9 hours or more, they have TAV Airport Hotel which is ridiculously priced, they have 3 to 4 different Lounge you can pay to use, some have bathrooms where you can have a quick bath to freshen up, so its up to you to decide on what to do with your time.
We boarded the next flight to ATL (Atlanta), boarding was seamless, make sure you keep checking the information board to know your boarding gate, because your boarding pass does not carry this information. A bus took us to the tarmac to board our plane, and this was the first time we felt the nice sunny but cooling Turkish weather, The aircraft this time was humongous, a Boeing! and inside was completely different from the one that conveyed us from Nigeria, I thought the Lagos-Turkish was beautiful, oh no! it was nothing compared to the one going to Atlanta, the seats were bigger, more comfortable, this time we got headphones and not ear -piece, the kids got toys, books , bags filled with airline goodies including lovely wristwatches (Ist-Atl-Atl-Ist), the food was same, with the option of cake and sandwich once again, and the 12 hours or so journey was very tiring but we were well attended to (consolation).


Room at Courtyard Marriot

For me we had same in-flight experience to and fro, so I wouldn't bore you with the story of the return journey, but please bear in mind that on your way back to Nigeria with Turkish Airlines from any destination in the world, there is a standard 20hours transit in Turkey, It could be more or less, but be prepared for an overnight stay. In our case we got a Visa into Turkey, the Visa cost $40 and you can get it at   E-VISA , you can also get the visa at the airport but its more expensive. So we got to spend the night in a Courtyard Marriot hotel provided by Turkish Airlines with Breakfast inclusive, so make sure you have enough money to treat yourself to a nice dinner or make use of the meal voucher at the Airport before proceeding to the Turkish Airline Desk after Immigration.(All my organic pictures of the room are with clothes flying every where,(so I had to use pictures from the hotel website, in reality the rooms are well maintained but not as sharp as the pictures above)


Some of the goodies in the business lounge

The Turkish Airlines Business Lounge at the airport is also an experience in itself. My God! you will be mesmerized by the luxury in it. I was opportune to spend sometime there while waiting for the a Bus to take us to the Hotel. There is a cinema where you can get popcorn and drinks and just lounge, a mini golf course, uncountable open refrigerators for cold non alcoholic beverages, open bar for non stop Alcohol, Tea, Coffee, different buffet spot where the chef makes you Alacarte based on what is available, a prayer room, endless desserts, a shower room, with all the amenities you can think of, a massage bed. The Lounge is so beautiful and its on 2 floors in the Airport. And guess what? You don't pay for any of these things!
In a nutshell, Airlines such as Turkish are not as bad as we think in Nigeria, I bet no other airline and has ever  provided me extra amenities on a long distance flight before, I have had to pay for food and hotel on all  my transits if the need arises. For this reason, I wouldn't consider Turkish Airline a low budget airline, I would rate them a 7 over 10 in the league of the best Airlines.
I hope this post helps one or two people , if you have a Turkish Airlines experience , please share with us.