Travel question: Would you recommend flying with Turkish Airlines?

Have a question? Ask our expert Simon Calder

Are you sitting comfortably? The carrier has excellent inflight service (Getty)

Q If you have ever flown Turkish Airlines, what is your opinion of this airline in terms of safety and reliability?

Name withheld

A I have flown Turkish Airlines very frequently, and indeed I am booked on the carrier a week today. It has the most extensive network of any airline in terms of countries served, and in particular has better connections to Africa than anyone else.

First, let me address the question of safety. Compared with the outstandingly good safety standards of British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair, Turkish Airlines lags behind; its last fatal accident was a decade ago, when a Boeing 737 crashed a mile short of the runway at Amsterdam. But I have no concerns about the current safety of the airline’s operations. In common with all carriers flying in and out of the UK, Turkish Airlines is monitored by the Civil Aviation Authority. And Turkey has a “working arrangement” with the European Aviation Safety Agency, which requires it to meet EU standards.

Next, reliability: with one exception, all the flights I have had with Turkish Airlines have been punctual. The late departure was from Singapore to Istanbul. With hand luggage only, I made the connection to Heathrow, but plenty of other passengers did not.

Third, the inflight service is superb. Flying from the UK to Istanbul on an economy ticket is like business class, with excellent cabin crew, complimentary meals and drinks, and seatback inflight entertainment. (And I enjoyed the same on a brief 80-minute hop from Athens to Istanbul last year.)

The new hub airport at Istanbul is in reasonably good shape, and less chaotic than the old one.

The only issue I will flag up, just in case it is significant for you: Turkish Airlines does not serve alcohol on domestic flights.

Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder