Awful First Class Experience
EDIT: Thank you commentors. As was pointed out, this was for Business Class, not "First Class".
My wife and I were flying back from Rome to IAD via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines in early Oct 2026. Our tickets had been booked by an agent in early July. We had business class seats with seats selected since July and we selected adjacent seats where I had aisle and she had window (7A and B).
We checked in at Rome to Istanbul. We had already had our seats changed once for the flight from Rome to Istanbul. At Istanbul, right at the boarding gate, my seat is changed to a middle seat 7E. The only reason given is that there's another person in 7B.
Neither of us changed our seats and found it extremely disrespectful that someone else could bump me from my seat without reason.
On the plane, the attendants seemed to claim that some part of the seat was malfunctioned but later fixed, but when the attendants were talking with the passenger in 7B, my wife was able to understand enough Farsi to pick up that he was claiming a medical disability for the aisle seat.
The attendants attempted to resolve the issue to the best of their capabilities, and we were eventually able to get me back my original seat. They did a wonderful job. The gate agent who checked in the passenger at 7B and upgraded him should have known I was already seated there.
I have never received such poor customer service, or seen such poor business etiquette and ethics. I fail to understand why the airline would choose me to change seats to accommodate a nonmedical issue. The airline attendants were fantastic. The business model however requires changes. I would never fly Turkish Airlines with such negative behavior towards me and my wife.