Hello from 38,000 feet above Central Europe! I’m on a Turkish Airlines flight back to Los Angeles…a 13hr45min flight…without my laptop…in economy class.
Why would I do that to myself? Because I love Istanbul, saw a very cheap fare and wanted to experience the electronics-ban first hand. So here I am, typing with two fingers from my iPhone.
A full report is coming on how Turkish Airlines handled the laptop ban with pictures. I already wrote about how Turkish has promised to handle it here. TK’s official policy is:
If passenger prefers not to place his/her electronical devices to the checked baggage during the check-in, according to the amendments, these devices will be handed over to be tagged at the boarding gate for a safe and secure transportation, and will be handed back to the passengers upon arrival at the destination. At this destination there will be Turkish Airlines’ authorized staff who will collect the luggages that contain electronic devices. These staff will take them all to the designated place in baggage reclaim area, and all devices will be delivered to owners by these staff by matching the given luggage tags with the record list they have.
Although the legroom is tight, I must say Turkish Airlines economy class is rather nice with fresh-squeezed orange juice, menus, and amenity kits. But I still would have dropped the miles for business class had the space been open…
Want to follow my progress and see if I survive the experience? Here’s my flight.
> Read More: Electronics Ban Workarounds on Emirates, Qatar, and Turkish
I just did a 9 hour flight with Turkish and had decent IFE but on the outbound the IFE would work for 10 minutes at a time and then reset. It’s nice to have a laptop but enjoy the lighter load. Looking forward to your review. I hope the cabin is cooler than on my flight.
Live over Manitoba, it’s not…very warm in cabin today.
@ Matthew — You ARE nuts! Keep up the good work.
Hey, you can live without your laptop for a “few” hours in exchange for keeping us safe from the terrorists. The terrorosts that are still coming here, but on a connecting flight. With their laptops. So, yeah…safety. And on a side note, over 13 hours in economy? That’s dedication right there!
That’s a false choice.
I think JohnB is aware of that false choice and was writing sardonically. Note the lines “… still coming here, but on a connecting flight. With their laptops.”
Sorry, my sarcastic comments come through much better in person! Though the 13 hour comment was sincere.
It’s always refreshing when the major bloggers (I read OMAAT, TPG and VFTW) take economy class and remind the readers that they are just normal travelers like the majority sometimes. I rarely see that from Lucky, Gary or TPG himself. This resonates with me.