"We Love Our Passengers" Rings True At Turkish Airlines

By Mohamad Nasir Yusoff This is the second and the final part of the two-part article from a recent familiarisation tour of Turkish Airlines' facilities in Istanbul. Part two looks into the philosophy behind Turkish Airlines' success, and the all out effort of the fastest expanding airline in the world in ensuring the highest passenger satisfaction. ISTANBUL, May 14 (Bernama) -- "We love our passengers" seems to be the favourite phrase of Turkish Airlines Chief Executive Officer, Dr Temel Kotil. At every mention of the phrase, he gestures by bringing both hands close to his heart and with a big smile in his face, showing how close to heart the phrase is. What more when that phrase of endearment is clearly echoed and is vividly reflected in every aspect of services provided by Turkish Airlines to its passengers. "Passengers are our bosses and we want to give them the best of everything that any airline could give", he said in an interview with visiting Malaysian journalists at the airlines' headquarters here, recently. With that being his philosophy, it is not difficult to see why Turkish Airlines has received numerous awards including the "Best Airline in Europe" for the third consecutive year at the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards 2013. Travelers on any of Turkish Airlines flight that flies to more countries than any other airlines in the world covering 248 destinations including 43 domestic destinations can vouch for the high standard of service. 98 PER CENT OF ITS PASSENGERS GIVE THE THUMBS UP According to a recent survey, 98 per cent of the passengers were satisfied with the airline's in-flight catering, leaving many with little wonder why the Turkish flag-carrier received the recognition as a four-star airline in all services. In-flight dining, for one, is of utmost important especially on long haul flights such as between Kuala Lumpur and Istanbul that takes about 11 hours. Turkish Airlines puts meal service at the heart of its campaign to make every flight a memorable experience. In 2013, the airline was awarded the Skytrax "Best Airline in the World" award for its Business Class in-flight catering. Apart from exquisite menus selected from world cuisines including many of Turkey’s very own delicacies, the airlines employs 200 flying chefs to offer exclusive dining experience to its long haul passengers in the business class. Turkish Airlines General Manager for Malaysia, Firat Yildirim said the flying chefs were dedicated to a single mission that is to ensure its dining experience is the best in the sky. FOOD QUALITY AND SECURITY OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE A visit to its inflight catering entity, Turkish Do&Co, enlightened the journalists on how busy a kitchen could get in preparing 150,000 meals daily. This is the number of meals prepared daily at Do&Co kitchens at nine locations. It supplies not only to Turkish Airlines but also to other international flights arriving and departing from Turkey. Turkish Airlines owns 50 per cent equity in the company and the other 50 per cent by Do&Co. "To ensure food quality and safety, we have 25 quality inspectors working around the clock", Yildirim said while showing the journalists strict security checks being done on all food trolleys before being taken onboard the flight. And, all the processes are monitored manually and by computers at a central office where staff also receive, record and notify the kitchen every special request by passengers for specific food. PAMPER YOURSELF AT TURKISH AIRLINES LOUNGES For business class passengers, the pleasant experience on Turkish Airlines starts even before boarding their flights as they need not stand in long queues for check-in. They are provided with special counters. Upon arrival in Istanbul too they only need to go to the dedicated counters for quick immigration clearance. It is equivalent to that special diplomatic lanes at other airports. Business class passengers too are entitled to use comfortable and cozy Turkish Airlines domestic lounge for refreshment or to freshen up while waiting for connecting or flight departures or upon arrival before proceeding with their journey. While its newest lounge for international passengers at Attaturk main terminal is the pride of Turkish Airlines. Situated on two floors covering an area of 5,900 sq metres the International Business Class lounge seems to carry ‘luxury’ as the key word. It offers several open buffets, a library, a movie theatre, a pool table, a business centre equipped with computers and a conference room with teleconference capability, a daycare centre, showers, a prayer room, a TV-room for 24 hour news, a luggage room and re-charge station for electrical device and also a section with live olive trees and a piano. The most welcomed surprise at the two-floor lounge are the availability of bedrooms for long distance international passengers and two massage therapists to give neck, head and hand massages to passengers. Plus there is also a vitamin bar for the usual daily vitamin supplements. "I’ve never been pampered this much", quipped a journalist who after taking a shower was immediately attended to by a male massage therapist. It was an enjoyable experience so much so that the four-hour spent there before the flight departed to Kuala Lumpur seemed a little bit too short. What more with very helpful and friendly staff manning the lounge who gladly explained about the food and never failed to give a smile. All these reflect clearly Turkish Airlines "love for its passengers" as mentioned time and again by Dr Kotil, an exemplary captain of the industry whose core philosophy has obviously been translated into action by Turkish Airlines planners and staffers. A strong believer in Malaysia’s Vision 2020, and confident that by then Malaysia will be an industrialised high income nation, Dr Kotil too seems to have achieved one of his many visions for Turkish Airlines. -- BERNAMA