Extra legroom not possible for over 65. We booked a flight from Tashkent to Heathrow via Istanbul (12 July 2023). I am 1.97m tall and wanted to pay for extra legroom seat in economy. During booking on website, the seat selection option flagged that those over 65 cannot book exit row. It's first time I've encountered this - having flown on many other airlines where exit row can be occupied by 16 or older and capable of assisting with evacuation. Having accepted that Turkish and some other airlines set a maximum age, I searched the seat plan (Airbus A330-300) and selected extra legroom seats by bulkhead (row 11) - not shown as an exit row. All seemed ok when I completed the booking and paid. Weeks later, I completed the on-line check-in (only possible 24 hours or less before flight) which showed our extra legroom seat allocation, but when printing boarding passes we discovered we had been allocated seats in row 36. The seat pitch is too small for me and most uncomfortable for 5 hour flight. Even painful when passenger in front reclines. There seems to be an unclear or unreliable booking process. Please be warned - if you are over 65 and require extra legroom then don't book Turkish Airlines - or pay more for business class. Another comment which might help some travelers - if you are transiting in Istanbul then make sure your next flight leaves you enough time for transfer. Our flight from Tashkent to Istanbul landed 20 mins late. It then took an unbelievably long 45 mins to taxi a long way around the airport to hardstanding. Another 10 mins to disembark aircraft. It then took us 30 mins walking at a fast pace through transit and bag scan to next boarding gate where passengers had already started boarding. The flights themselves could have been better - toilets were not cleaned, all rubbish not collected (left on floor during landing). Maps would not load on in-flight information screen.
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