Sometimes the urge to travel hits us like a ton of bricks. Sometimes, opportunities open that cannot be turned down. And sometimes that all comes together in the form a remarkable last-minute trip that could not have turned out better. Welcome to my next trip report, covering my recent journey to Istanbul and Belgrade to hang out with a dear friend and fly Turkish Airlines and Air Serbia.
A Return To Beautiful Istanbul + Belgrade
Istanbul is one of my favorite cities in the world. While I am usually a Hyatt guy, a friend invited me to hang out at the Four Seasons Bosphorus for a couple days, an invitation I could not turn down. This was a very dear person in my life (still is!).
With the entire trip centered on three days and two nights in Istanbul, I went to work planning flights. I noted that chefs had returned to Turkish Airlines Business Class, but I’ve reviewed the Turkish Airlines’ Boeing 777-300ER too many times…I had to be more creative.
KLM struck me as a great choice and only 53.5K miles for Los Angeles to Istanbul via Amsterdam. But (and I realize I may be waiting a long time…), I want to try Blue, the new KLM restaurant inside its lounge at AMS. It is currently closed during the pandemic and I’ll save my KLM trip for when that re-open.
Delta would have been a great option – perhaps take the Airbus A330neo from Seattle to Amsterdam or the the Airbus A350 from Detroit to Amsterdam, but no award space on Virgin Atlantic (50K miles one-way) despite low loads.
Then I got to thinking about the Turkish Airlines A350. It’s the only wide body in the Turkish fleet I have now flown and it is currently operating to a handful of destinations including:
- Amsterdam
- Paris
- Manila
- Montreal
Montreal – Istanbul would have been ideal, but there was no award space. Manila was out and Paris looked sporadic — I noticed a lot of last-minute swaps. Amsterdam, on the other hand, seemed to be consistently operating with an A350.
So my next piece of the puzzle was booked: Amsterdam to Istanbul on the Turkish A350 in business class using Aeroplan miles (25K). I almost bought the ticket ($450), but I’m generally opting to burn miles instead of cash these days.
Ultimately, I booked a return ticket on United to Amsterdam and back from Frankfurt (which I will use later this year). While intercontinental flights remain empty these days, transcontinental flights are full. No dice on an upgrade, even to Premium Plus (premium economy). But that’s the dice you roll for booking literally 12 hours before departure. The Newark – Amsterdam flight ended up going out almost empty.
That still left the return. The original plan was to fly Turkish Airlines nonstop to New York, where my friend lives. But with lockdown measures in place (despite or because of, I cannot say), we could not find a Turkish flight to New York or Boston or Washington or Chicago with two seat together. Flying on opposite sides of the cabin somewhat defeated the purpose of the trip, so we looked elsewhere.
I always think in terms of what product I can review and found that Air Serbia had business class award space (70K Aeroplan miles) from Istanbul – Belgrade – New York. Air Serbia just took delivery of a new Airbus A330, so I would get a chance to review that. Furthermore, I’d get an overnight in Belgrade!
Last time I was at the Hyatt Regency Belgrade I was sick as a dog, so at least this time I’d get to actually provide a review of the Hyatt, one of the best Category 1 Hyatt hotels in the entire world.
We could have explored Belgrade, but we did not leave the property. Ah yes, one of those trips.
The following morning we checked out the Air Serbia Lounge, then flew to New York on Air Serbia. While the flight was fine, I must say the true Air Serbia treat was the Airbus A319 flight from Istanbul to Belgrade the day before.
After landing in New York, I caught a JetBlue flight home to LA, arriving home just in time to read a bedtime story to my son.
All of this over four days, the sort of compact, midweek trips that I thrive on.
The report will include the following chapters:
- United Airlines Polaris Taste Test [2021]
- Aspire Lounge Amsterdam
- Turkish Airlines A350 Business Class Amsterdam – Istanbul
- Visa On Arrival In Istanbul Beats Pricier eVisa
- Four Seasons Istanbul Bosphorus
- Air Serbia’s Deplorable Ground Game In Istanbul
- Air Serbia A319 Business Class Istanbul – Belgrade
- Hyatt Regency Belgrade
- Air Serbia Premium Lounge Belgrade (BEG)
- Air Serbia A330 Business Class Belgrade – New York
Stay tuned! I am looking forward to sharing the details of this trip with you.
No issue connecting at AMS on two separate tickets?
At least one airport photo of Belgrade and Istanbul requested but more than one is better.
Apparently you missed Lori Lightfoot’s “Stay Home, Save Lives” PSA:
@Matthew – I’m always torn on whether to visit a place like Turkey where I’m extremely anxious to experience the history, food, and culture but are becoming increasingly authoritarian in a comparatively short time. It’s no secret that this is a complex issue but I’d really be interested in your thoughts.
Do you mean ” It’s the only wide body in the Turkish fleet I have not flown”?
“sometimes that all comes together in the from a remarkable last-minute trip”
is probably supposed to say:
“sometimes that all comes together in the form of a remarkable last-minute trip”
Yep, thanks.
How does the HR compare to Metropol? trying to decide between the two for an upcoming trip.
“Ultimately, I booked a return ticket on United to Amsterdam and back from Frankfurt (which I will use later this year).”
I’m having a hard time parsing this. Did you transit FRA? Was it just another segment(s) on the ticket that you ultimately didn’t fly at all?
Sorry I wasn’t clear. One-way tickets are usually the same price as round-trip. So outbound to Amsterdam, return from Frankfurt this fall.
@Matthew – How can you visit Beograd – one of Europe’s best under-the-radar cities – and not leave the hotel? Serbia is intoxicating (literally and figuratively) – Balkan passion, chaos, and hospitality combined in a loud, smoky, rakia-fueled wrapper. I hope you at leave provide a few caveats to others who’ve yet to succumb to Serbia’s charms… LEAVE THE HOTEL.
I truly look forward to returning to Belgrade and exploring the city further.
Was in Belgrade last week. A fantastic city. Someone commented re: Metropole. I too considered it as well as the CY. Metropole reviews indicate a certain tiredness to the property. CY was well priced, until the daily parking fee was added. There are many well located 4* & 5* properties centrally located. I stayed at the Public House, a small, historically significant, newly renovated property, about 5 minutes from the parliament building, with free parking, and an excellent breakfast buffet. I flew OS J/C, but OS does not contract with a lounge at BEG; so I used PP to enter the Air Serbia lounge. Lounge staff indicated that lounge is strict about a 2 hour limit for PP, and it included 3 drinks (I think meaning alcoholic) and 1 meal. I just had coffee and cook to order eggs; quite adequate and also very pleasant staff!
Thanks for the data point.
Excited to hear about the Turkish VOA. eVisa when I went in September was $50. That’s about double what it used to be.