Did you know that some snakes die trying to eat themselves? For example, a rat snake was found dead, having swallowed 2/3 of its body. As crude of an analogy as it is, Turkish Airlines does more than starve itself by drastically reducing meal service: it actually eats itself alive.
Turkish Airlines Dramatic Catering Cuts
First, let’s look at what you can expect on Turkish Airlines in terms of dining when flights resume next month.
Turkish Airlines Catering Cuts On Flights Under Two Hours
On domestic flights and international flights under two hours, passengers in both business and economy class will receive a bottle of water.
Turkish Airlines Catering On Flights Two – Eight Hours
On flights between two and eight hours, business class passengers will receive a box containing:
- sandwich
- mezze
- salad
- dessert
- water
Additional drinks will be served and crackers will be offered on flights longer than five hours.
Economy class passengers will receive a picnic box with:
- sandwich
- cake
- juice
- water
On flights over five hours, a second picnic box will be served with a different sandwich and cake.
Turkish Airlines Catering On Flights Over Eight Hours
On longhaul flights over eight hours, business class passengers will still receive only cold meals. The first service will include
- sandwich/wrap
- salad
- 2 mezzes
- dessert
- chips
- pide
- water
Additional drinks will be served.
The second meal service will include a box with
- sandwich
- mezze
- salad
- dessert
- water
In economy class, the first service will include a box with
- sandwich
- salad
- dessert
- juice
- water
The second service will include a picnic box with
- sandwich
- pre-packed cake
- juice
- water
No coffee or tea will be available in either cabin. In business class, no glassware, menus, or towels will be used.
(H/T: One Mile at a Time via Flyertalk member ISTFlyer)
Turkish Airlines Once Had The Best Airline Catering
To understand the depth of the catering cuts, you must understand what catering was like before the cuts. In short: among the best in the business, if not the best.
Take a look at business class service on 633-mile flight from Beirut to Istanbul.
Or the first meal service on my recent flight from Istanbul to Atlanta:
And economy class meal service was also very decent:
For many North American travelers heading to Europe, Turkish Airlines represented an inconvenient option since flying to western Europe via Istanbul requires so much backtracking. But the in-flight catering made it worthwhile. Dining on Turkish Airlines was such a treat; it set Turkish apart and made it one of my favorite airlines to fly. I know many Award Expert clients and blog readers feel the same way.
Why Turkish Airlines Engages In Self-Cannibalism With These Meal Service Cuts
I’m going to be a bit of a contrarian here and argue that food still VERY MUCH matters, even during COVID-19. I get that revenue is way down, demand is way down, and airlines are balancing safety and sanitation concerns with soft product considerations.
But on a long flight, your body still gets hungry? How is a nicely-plated, hot meal more dangerous than a sandwich? If crewmembers wear gloves when serving and collecting the dishes, where is the unacceptable threat?
This new meal service policy is a vast overreaction that goes far beyond the problem itself and represents a pathetic attempt to pinch pennies. Turkish Airlines is hardly alone in looking for ways to preserve revenue, but it’s draconian meal cuts certainly place it in an unfortunate position.
When Turkish Airlines cuts what makes it Turkish Airlines, it cuts itself. It does not just starve itself, but eats itself alive by eating away at the very fabric of what makes Turkish Airlines so unique.
CONCLUSION
These are “temporary” measures. Perhaps by fall Turkish Airlines will return to its legacy meal service model. But I kind of doubt it at this point. I’d guess more like 1-2 years. And not only does take away all desire I have to fly Turkish Airlines, it also confirms my fears about the future of flying.
> Read More: KLM Previews The Dreary New Normal Of Flying…
Wow. This is awful. I wonder if these kind of cuts will also been seen in their IST lounges.
I’ve got to rebook my year end flights. This is a game changing downgrade. Thanks for posting this information.
People didn’t fly from the US to Paris via istanbul etc on turkish because of the food. They did it because it was cheap. Plain and simple. In both economy and business turkish often had fares remarkably lower than the competition. Boston to Paris at the height of summer via istanbul in coach for $400? Deal. SFO to Berlin for $2500 in business? roubdtrip? Score. Great mileage redemption opportunity to Bangkok via istanbul in business? Ok! While people of course enjoyed the food, they were flying it for the fares. It’ll be the same story going forward.
At least they are thinking out of the box. Oh, wait, never mind.
Agree 100% Matthew. When you remove the quality meal service, you are left with a poor J class hard product (even, frankly, on the 787s). Not worth it to fly them. Bigger picture, if airline flying is going to be actively unpleasant, I’d rather not do it. I’m sure this sounds silly, but emotionally, it will be too upsetting to me as it will be a painful reminder of what has been lost. Especially since the ground and in-flight experience in J class was really starting to materially improve in recent years.
Oh please. Give me a break. The only reason the vast majority of the poeple took those outrageously circuitous flights from the US through Istanbul to the rest of Europe was because of the fares. the food was a nice bonus. $400 roundtrip Boston to Paris during the height of summer? Yes. $2500 business class fares roundtrip SFO to berlin? Yes. great award avaialbility to Bangkok from the east Coast in J? Yes! The fare was always significantly cheaper than the competition, and the food for the majority of people was the nice bonus that came along with that amazing bargain. The food did not, for the most part, drive people to TK. People will still fly TK through IST for the cheap fares, they just wont get as much nice food for the time being. Definitely not the end of the world, and certainly not the alarmist “self-cannibalization” as depicted.
Ymmv. We will see.
I wouldn’t fly them with catering like that, and in Europe TK fares are anything but cheaper, often more expensive than BA
This exactly.
I fly to Turkey for business fairly often (at least once a month) – or should I say “used to fly”? –, and doing so on TK is significantly more expensive than on BA. We’re talking between 2x and 3x more.
The seat is definitely better on TK and worth some of the price difference. But it was the food that carried the day for me and made it worthwhile (when it was 2x more expensive, not 3x). Take away the food, and it just doesn’t add up.
That’s not true at all. At least not blanketly true. I have (and will continue to do so) specifically flown TK to Europe because of the catering and the layover in IST and their lounge offerings there. The price tag was just icing on the cake, and only sometimes. I have a trip planned in September and chose to fly TK for the same reasons – soft product. Now, though I am very much considering saving my miles and cash and hopping on another airline that’s not as “concerned” about my safety and taking such nonsensical and unnecessary Draconian measures.
Thank you for calling it like it is, Matthew. Transmission of COVID-19 through food service is of virtually no concern ANYWHERE… in the sky or otherwise.
Airline catering cuts are simply cost-cutting masquerading under the guise of “safety.” This example is a particularly egregious example of “hygiene theater.”
I think of premium cabin dining as similar to fine dining at restaurants. Here in NYC, restaurants can only do delivery or pickup. If that’s still the case, then I understand what TK and other airlines are doing. However, once restaurants open up to full capacity again, I really hope TK and other airlines will resume to their pre-covid-19 cabin dining service.
Matthew as far as I can see this is totally temporary due to COVID 19. Whether or not you or I would decide this kind of draconian action is necessary is irrelevant… the fact remains that TK will resume the old catering post pandemic
Yes, but how long is temporary? Until demand improves? That may be two years away. My point is this isn’t about safety, it is about cost-cutting. Why can’t TK just admit it?!
Moves like this can become a death spiral if after cutting meals TK can’t attract passengers then decide to make this move permanent because passengers stay away because of the considerably worse experience.
Agreed.
@Matthew Klint
@Christian
I would imagine ‘temporary’ means until the virus subsides, either through herd immunity or vaccination. Hopefully by the fall we will have a vaccine (fingers crossed) and by December we will be coming out of this hole. I’d imagine the catering to be reinstated as normal by the Christmas season (that’s just a guess, but based on the timeline for vaccination, COVID going away, etc.)
I doubt these cuts will be temporary. History has already taught us that with fuel surcharges.
Yes, it’s about cost-cutting.
And it’s going to be, for a long time.
I can cost-cut too. By not spending any money flying. None. Because there is nowhere I want to go badly enough to put up with the dehumanizing ordeal that will be flying commercial for the foreseeable future.
Ummmmmmmm.
OK, I will agree that it’s a massive downgrade, but the rhetoric of “where is the risk?” is totally unnecessary. Why don’t you also grab an AK and go protest?
Let’s imagine a crew got COVID-19 but unknowingly get on the plane. If that crew member needs to open your food, reheat it, plate it, then the chance that their breath gets on your food is high. Meanwhile, if the crew only needs to grab it and hand it over, the exposure is much less. I mean, common sense?
This is *before* we discuss the hussle bussle of a bunch of people trying to get food out for the entire cabin quickly. I mean, sure, on the ground, you be like “yeah, take your time.” But imagine if you are the last person to be served. Yep, will leave a 5 star review for the crews taking their sweet time getting things out, right?
And how many COVID-19 cases does it take to sink an airline?
Seriously. Can you please use common sense? Or did you leave it with your tactical gears at the protests?
Oh dear … in a world of pandemics, economic collapse and overt, open racism and rioting in the streets across the US, you all won’t get your warm meze. I feel so very bad for you. Maybe its time to focus on restoring safe, economically viable air networks, putting people back to work and sending the troops back int their barracks and stop the truly shocking whining about such trivial matters as food on the flag carrier of a corrupt, war-mongering, authoritarian regime like Turkey’s.
I write four articles per day and address many of the topics you mention. There’s a search bar to the right of each story if you care to look. Try it.
Well said, Matthew – as usual.
Matthew, I’m not going to belabour the use of the word “draconian” with you again but I will say I agree with you and this is just cost-cutting masquerading as health and safety. The sad thing is more and more airlines will follow suit.
“For many North American travelers heading to Europe, Turkish Airlines represented an inconvenient option since flying to western Europe via Istanbul requires so much backtracking. But the in-flight catering made it worthwhile.”
Nah, an extra 4 to 5 hours of travel just for their catering? No thanks, I preferred using that time to dine at a real restaurant once at my destination.
Yeah, this is cost cutting, but at the end of the day, people are going to choose who to fly based on convenience of route (especially these days, multiple stops means more chances to get infected), the seat itself, and how pleasant the FAs are.
The additional 12 hours or so flying US to the EU through IST never seemed worth the catering and lounge to me, so I never took TK, though for business class it was generally significantly cheaper. However, on the larger point, most of my flying was for work, and I did find that the F&B made it much more tolerable to be on a metal tube for 8+ hours, and lounges were a decent place to work, charge electronics, and have a snack. The business class experience was what made long-haul travel doable for me. Not having any of it other than the lie flat seat is not the end of the world, but it will be missed. Or at least will be when I start flying again. I have not flown since February, and don’t expect to before September at the earliest. And there is a decent chance that that meeting might go virtual, so it could be 2021. With the pared back service, and so many closures wherever you might go, that will be fine.
Lol when i see those comments… you all are clueless.
Turkish airlines is CHEAP and they are even cheaper now.
700 $ for a business class from beirut to nice. Sure i wont have the food but the economic ticket with air france was at 2000$….
See the difference.
Even before the pandemic it was pretty cheap . All planes where -20% to -50% from the competition.
And service was great compared to european companies.
Sure qatar airways was miles better. But compared to air france or lufthansa or brotish or whatever… turkish topped them all by miles.
And lets not talk about your american companies. Haha.
But cry some more cause you wont have a steak on board. Go back to delta airlines that is horrible… more place for me on the plane. Less people also.
And a pretty cheap ticket i must say.
Agree totally. I flew TK for the first time last year and loved their food! So I had planned early this year, for 3 trips to Europe from Asia with TK on business class (I was really looking forward to the trips)..but with this catering downgrade, even at $2,000 roundtrip versus $3500 for other carriers, I’d give TK a big no for now… but the deciding factor for me is really not being able to bring the usual handcarry which would be next to impossible if I’ll be travelling to a country in winter.
Sorry but especially in Business i’d like a better meal than a carton box filled with convenience food.
In November the catering is still the same, the worst in ages, for the full price Business class. But they keep doing in, because in many cases we passengers don’t have much of a choice (in my case, TK was pretty much the only option, and the flight is a necessity).
Nothing to do with Covid as well, still 5-6 flight attendants on a 13-hrs flight, and they have nothing to do, because 787 only has 50 passengers. So the crew was talking the whole night, quite loudly!
Sad!
On Turkish Airlines flying from Instanbul Turkey to Atlanta International Airport the cabin crew is having hot meals themselves while the passengers were being served cold meals. If the flight crews is having hot meals, why can’t the the passengers have hot meals. I personally think this is unfair to the passengers flying Turkish Airlines
On Turkish Airlines flying from Instanbul Turkey to Atlanta International Airport the cabin crew is having hot meals themselves while the passengers were being served cold meals. If the flight crews is having hot meals, why can’t the the passengers have hot meals. I personally think this is unfair to the passengers flying Turkish Airlines