I had no idea about Turkish Airline's services at an affordable rate until my travel agent booked me a flight via Istanbul. I was kinda skeptical about its services but at the same time, I was happy to avoid a middle eastern airport as my layover hub.
My flight from Chicago to Istanbul was quite awesome (ended up watching "The great Gatsby") and the service was quite good. However, Istanbul Airport wasn't as 'good' as I'd expected. But you can't really compare Doha or Dubai Airports to an average American Airport, let alone a Turkish one, I guess. While in Istanbul, I managed to grab a Doner Kebab, something I'd craved for in over a year and did a bit of people watching - something I've always enjoyed as a travel enthusiast. Shopping in Turkey, however, was a different experience. A bottle of BlueLabel Whiskey ended up costing me 180 Euros. That's quite extraordinarily high. Literally a rip-off.
What sucked was the delay that all of the travelers had to endure while waiting for our connecting flight. But surprisingly enough, the Airline officials had started handing out 'coupons/vouchers' for a BK meal. Upon the discovery (gossip among travelers), those who'd decided to wait out w/ hopes of devouring upon Nepali cuisine upon their arrival (we were originally scheduled to land in Kathmandu at around 9 pm) started hurrying to the Airline desk; that's probably what must've prompted them to bring a cart full of soft drinks, water, and cold sandwich (cheese sandwich, though and it did suck)to the waiting area. I thought that was a nice gesture.
Our flight to Kathmandu didn't have any in-flight entertainment but the seats were quite roomier. And the food they offered was significantly better than what was offered during our other flights to Istanbul.
Overall, I thought the customer service was quite enjoyable and I quite enjoyed my flight. I, for one, definitely enjoyed avoiding the middle eastern crowd and the treatment (or lack of) offered by stewardesses in those flights.
From what I hear, some people have managed to purchase round trips for as little as 900 bucks! I highly recommend this.
Also, you don't need transit visas unless you're a US citizen.
