You already know what happened after the flight…but here are my first impressions of the flight itself, a 13-hour journey from Los Angeles to Istanbul in the comfort of Turkish Airlines 777-300ER Business Class.
The business class seats were much better than I thought they would be. Although Turkish has a 2-3-2 layout, meaning middle seats in business class, the seat transforms to a 6’4” bed, without any sort of cubby or cutout to constrain your feet.
Turkish also offers comfortable bedding in business class (mattress pad + comforter). Thus, I slept very well…for about eight hours straight.
Or maybe I slept so well because takeoff was delayed three hours and I did not actually fall asleep until about midnight Pacific Standard Time…
Delays can happen on the best of carriers, but seem to happen much more often on Turkish Airlines. Give yourself a generous layover if you plan a same-day connection in Istanbul. Also note the recent visa issue between the USA and Turkey will make your life difficult if you get trapped overnight and hold only a U.S. passport.
But onboard, the experience was excellent. Service was attentive throughout the flight and FAs were very kind and courteous.
One of my favorite parts of flying Turkish Airlines is the fresh juices…in many ways I’d rather have this fresh juice than alcohol, though Turkish has a wide selection of both.
Food was excellent…that’s a given on Turkish Airlines. I enjoyed the “candlelight” dinner and enjoyed the Turkish Mezze, pumpkin soup, and delicious filet of beef.
Turkish even had my favorite pie onboard…pecan.
Prior to landing, breakfast was served and once again tremendous. Beautiful appetizers and a hearty omelet as the main course.
While Wi-Fi did not work all that well until we neared Istanbul, the IFE selection was tremendous.
CONCLUSION
The visa problem in Istanbul now makes Turkish Airlines a tough sell, but the onboard product is excellent. Even with the delay and overnight, I was happy to experience business class on the Turkish Airlines 777-300.
Middle seats, no direct isle access and little privacy yet those are one of my favorite seats out there.
And TK catering never disappoints.
Hi Lack, may i know why u like TK Middle Biz Class seat?
Maybe u can share info that we don’t know.
Thanks & Regards..
I find TK consistently has the best Business Class catering in the industry, outside of QR — and in some cases better than QR. Always a fantastic option (before the US-Visa issues). If they ever go 1-2-1 in business, they’d be close to industry leaders, IMO.
Those meals DO look good!
They have downgraded the international BC service from what it used to be. They offered both a appetizer and dessert buffet which you could pick and choose from when I flew with them in 2015. Now everything is pre-plated no choice.
Actually, the buffet was still available for both the appetizers and dessert. I will include pictures in the full trip report. One thing they did not do was set up a mid-flight snack in the galley between the two business class cabins.
Took the same last year from ORD to IST. Service was superb and food was amazing. The onboard chef honored my requests beyond the menu. Had fried eggs for breakfast made in the hot oven while I was watching.
Their suggestion was to order lamb chops for flights originating from IST because they said the lamb they get for original Turkish catering was superior than other catering locations which I got to try and was amazing.
Hope you got to enjoy the top notch business class lounge at IST.
The only hot spot for Americans to meet other Americans is the Starbucks in front of the lounge.
Agreed. Would take TK biz again in a heartbeat.
without any sort of cubby or cutout to constrain your feet. This! What other airlines have this seat in business and in what planes? Give me these seats any day.
LOT has them for sure. I think it’s a generic 787 seat design, so a couple of airlines with this bird should have it (I think some Chinese ones for sure).
Correct. LOT, AZAL, Uzbekistan, and Hainan have them.
I flew on them on an Air China A330 a few years ago too. Awesome in a 2-2-2 config.
Hi Matt,
Another good review of you. Always enjoyed reading your airlines blog.
Hope will sample TK Biz Class in 2018.
nice review, im flying TK next week and I was thinking whether the upgrade is worth its money- depends on the lenght of your flight- id rather go for a UHAUL flight on turkish and then book business, as in inner european connections its just too short if your asking me…