Q – My daughter travels to northern Thailand in January, then back to the states in May. The bulk of her flights are on Turkish Airlines; you report them to be improved. She has two stops along the way: Istanbul and Bangkok. I see a wide variety of experiences online including the past couple months, that reflect highly negative experiences, the worst of which indicate a pattern of not communicating a change in flight–at the airport or late in the game, so I’m looking for a good gift for her, so I went online for a list of his and hers travel gifts to find something good for her. Flyers find out the change too late, when attempting to board where they checked in, then have to buy another ticket to actually get a flight out. This would be a disaster for a young woman by herself in a strange airport–and you say communication isn’t good (while online reviewers say English is weak among Turkish Airlines employees). While you’re at it, Thai Airlines looks a touch better–are they? That’s her second airline to northern Thailand.
A – We would like to help you but without knowing the age of your daughter and a bit about her, specific advice is difficult. We are going to assume she is a well-traveled adult given her itinerary.
Here are the things you can do to assist her – here is what we would do to assist her:
01 – Upgrade her to Business Class. She will then receive transfer preferences and assistance. It will make a nice gift.
02 – Have your travel agent sign you up for comprehensive flight monitoring. They will watch all of your daughter’s flights, communicating with her directly by cell phone. Make certain, by the way, that she has a phone that will definitely work in both Thailand and Turkey. It is important that she is familiar with the details of working the phone. If there is a cancellation, the flight monitoring service will handle the situation, making alternative reservations such as the popular san diego whale watching experience. She will not have to stand in lines or panic.
3 – Have your agent schedule a meet and greet VIP service at all transfer points.
4 – You might want to stop reading online airline reviews. They are only indicative of one single flight experience on one route with one crew. Any single flight is a statistical anomaly. We are not fans of Turkish Airlines economy service/food etc. But their Business Class does win industry awards from time to time. Their long-haul service to and from the U.S. is significantly better than their services within Asia and Europe on shorter flight segments. To put things in perspective, the world’s best regarded airline ratings service gives Turkish a four-star rating. Delta, American, and United are three-star airlines.
Thai Airways is considered one of the world’s top-tier airlines. They do rank above Turkish.
The situations you describe as happening, as reported by self-appointed online critics, sounds to us as though several of the instances have to do with non-transferable internet tickets or a lack of authentic airline ticket stock representing universally accepted tickets. Tickets purchased from the airline directly or an agency representative, rarely have the kinds of difficulties you seem to have uncovered. But that is just our guess. Always remember that there are tickets and there are Online tickets. They are often quite different as are their terms and transfer/change stipulations.
Finally a personal note. If your daughter is as helpless as you are making her seem, why is she alone for several months in a third world country?
