A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us a question about Turkish Airlines fare class downgrade due to involuntary rebooking after a flight cancellation.
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You can access Turkish Airlines here.
Reader Question:
I am writing to share and seek advice/opinion on how to proceed with my ticket issue with Turkish Airlines.
I called Turkish Airline regional contact numbers but eventually discovered that no matter which regional number I called, it will be directed to a central customer serive call centre. I was told that customer service call centres cannot deal with reissue of tickets, hence the only way is to send my complaint/concern via the website online feedback form, which I eventually did.
Dear Turkish Airlines,
Greetings.
I purchased a ticket online via Turkish Airline website (PNR RXXXXX – LGW IST CMN / RAK IST LHR (Q fare)
My original departure flight 26 April TK1930 has an onward connection TK617 (IST CMN) with a 7 hours 30 minutes transit.
Few weeks after the e-itinerary was issused, I received an email from Turkish Airlines informing that my flight on 26 April 2025 TK1930 LGW IST (22:40 – 04:30) has been cancelled.
I am required to choose an alternative flight (free of charge)…the options listed/given were ex-LGW only (I assumed ex-LHR was not listed as a choice cos my original departure is ex-LGW).
The next alternative flight ex-LGW IST is more than 5 hours earlier….TK1998 with a transit time of 12 hours 40 minutes.
I had no other alternative because the choices listed were only ex-LGW, hence I reluctantly chose my alternative flight TK1998 (17:15 – 23:20).
There was no indication of the class fare on the flight choices listed, hence passengers who had their flight cancelled, should automatically be given the same class fare they paid for.
After selection, I was generated a new itinerary.
I did not realise that after requested to select an alternative flight….my entire ticket LGW CMN RAK LHR) was completely downgraded to P & U (Promotional Fare) class fare ….. even I had not change my return sector (RAK IST LHR flight – Q fare).
I am writing to appeal that my original Q fare to be reinstated. My original flight (TK1930) was cancelled by Turkish Airlines and was forced to choose an alternative flight with over 12 hours transit.
In addition, why was my return flight on 6 May RAK IST LHR was downgraded to “U” class fare, which I paid for “Q” class fare?
I opted to purchase a higher class fare (Q) due to the 100% mileage collection.
The above is what I sent via online feedback form (as advised by call centre) and received the standard email response below
(unfortunately does not address the situation)
Thank you for contacting Turkish Airlines Customer Services and informing us about your experience.
We can only process reissue requests in accordance with your ticket’s fare rules. Fare rules may vary depending on whether your ticket is in the flexible, limited or promotional class.
On our flights we offer different types of fares. The fare rates might vary depending on the flight availability, seasonality, flight route, flight date/time and other certain criteria. Also each specific fare might have other ticket rules regarding rebooking/cancellation/baggage allowance etc.
Due to our policies, any ticket is only being issued after receiving our passengers’ confirmation. Accordingly, once an electronic ticket has been issued the ticket rules of the specific fare will apply.
You can apply for cancellations/reissues via our online channels (turkishairlines.com and our mobile application) or by contacting our call center on 0 850 333 0 849 (if you’re calling from outside Türkiye, please visit the “get in touch” page on turkishairlines.com to find the call center number for your region).
We look forward to taking you on your next journey of discovery.
Sincerely Yours,
Kaan Y.
Customer Representative
TURKISH AIRLINES INC.
Customer Contact Center
“You may contact with us regarding our response via clicking here and creating a new feedback. If you reply this e-mail, your response will not be received.”
“For detailed information on the processing of your personal data, please visit our privacy policy page. For information on the processing of your identity/passport information, you can access Turkish Airlines Data Protection Clarification Text here.”
I greatly appreciate your kind guidance/advise as how I could resolve my issue with Turkish Airliness as customer service call centres do not deal with such issue.
I have been told several times via different call centre numbers I called the same answer! “Send online feedback form”. This is extremely frustrating.
Yes. Trying to resolve anything with Turkish Airlines is frustrating because it seems that whoever answers their calls at the Customer Contact Center cannot actually do anything other than ask you to open a ticket on their website.
(Why do they even have a customer contact center?)
Sometimes, these tickers are resolved correctly, while other times, they are not, as is the case here.
It is unclear which program the reader plans to credit these flights to.
The only recourse might be to sue Turkish Airlines after the flights if they haven’t posted correctly and Turkish Airlines refuses to correct them.
This should be fairly straightforward in the UK, where the reader could use MCOL or Aviation ADR, of which Turkish Airlines is a member.
You can easily calculate the loss if fewer award and status miles are received by Turkish Airlines action and then open a claim for this amount.
Conclusion
It is very unfortunate that Turkish Airlines has made fixing any customer service or ticketing issues so difficult and always requires opening a case or usually multiples.
I don’t have an issue contacting a business through email or a website for a non-urgent matter if I know whoever reads the message has basic reading comprehension and understanding skills and can act upon the issue and resolve it.
Nothing is more infuriating than getting a copy/paste word salad response that demonstrates that the issue was neither understood nor fixed.
The reader should open a case with the Aviation ADR in the UK and read what the UK regulator, CAA, instructs passengers to do (read more here).
