It was a great relief to resolve my Turkish Airlines ticketing saga, but a great surprise awaited me: Turkish sent an ex-Aeroflot “Turkoflot” for my A350 flight from LAX to IST.
Turkoflot A350: An Unexpected Surprise
Turkish Airlines is notorious for airline swaps and has different configurations for the same aircraft type. In the case of its A350, it has its own seat (which I reviewed here) and a seat that it inherited from Aeroflot Russian Airlines, dubbed the “Turkoflot” configuration.
There are only six ex-Aeroflot jets and in terms of service to the USA, Turkish Airlines regularly places these particular jets on its service to Atlanta (formerly it was a staple of the Chicago route).
Los Angeles has historically had 777-300ER service, but lately has had a mix of 787 and A350 service. On most days, the A350 has the “standard” configuration, but I wound up with the Aeroflot configuration. I don’t know if that made my award ticket saga worthwhile, but it did make me smile and will allow me to review a new product instead of just re-reviewing a product I’ve already flown.
After finally finding a resolution to my ticketing issue, I headed over to the United Polaris Lounge in Terminal 7. The Polaris Lounge is open to passengers departing on a same-day Star Alliance business class flight (passengers on a longhaul United flights in business class are also allowed access on arrival).
It was approaching 5:00 pm and I had not eaten all day. Upstairs, I headed directly for the dining room and ordered a bowl of lemon chicken orzo soup and pan-roasted salmon (served in a tomato ginger broth with a chayote baby spinach salad and garlic rice).
Both the soup and the salmon were excellent and I find this lounge far better than the Star Alliance Lounge in the Bradley Terminal.
I also enjoyed a salad from the salad bar / buffet.
I had a Negroni to drink, then switched to the fresh-pressed beet root juice which was quite refreshing.
After my late lunch, I headed over to the international terminal and found my aircraft…a beauty.
Even more beautiful? The Lufthansa A380-800 at the next gate bound for Munich.
Boarding for our flight was delayed, so I walked over to the Star Alliance Lounge to see if had changed. Nope…same mediocre food as usual.
Finally, we boarded about 20 minutes before scheduled departure. Sure enough, it was the Aeroflot configuration!
Next, I’ll share some details about the flight.
This explains the broken seat before your flight. I hear Etihad calling to have their business class cubbies returned.
It took me a minute to realize you were talking about the ex-Aeroflot configuration, and not making a humorous play on words about your Kafka-esque ordeal getting this ticket rebooked…
@MeanMeosh … His booking drama was “confusion typical of the Levant or Middle East” …
( Not “Kafka-esque” , whose “The Trial” would be more appropriate to what is happening to Trump ).
Kafkaesque definition: a condition in which those subject to bureaucracy as clients typically feel trapped in a vicious circle created by bureaucratic rules that they can neither understand nor escape. In my opinion, this definition is an understatement when describing Turkish airlines’ “feedback form” process and the call center experience Matt and other customers are continuously subjected to.
@Jules … Good on-point explanation . I think the definition applies rather more to Jaroslav Hasek’s short tales , in it’s humourous aspects . For example , Hasek’s passenger on the tram , who was a victim of bureaucratic confusion .
My thought was “The Trial” by Kafka was of a far more serious theme than this , more akin to show trials or the Jimmy Lai matter , rather than a mere airline reservation .
Not even close. Trump’s trials follow a clearly defined process. He sees the evidence against him. He and his supporters just can’t stomach facts. Those stubborn facts…
@Jay … you may be correct . I am not at all interested in politics … I am a student of satirical humour , which is the basis of my comments about Hasek and Kafka . Although this Turkey ticket situation is more light-hearted … more akin to Jacques Tati .
Personally , I could stomach the Polaris Lounge over the Star Alliance Lounge , and I could stomach LH efficiency over the Turkey confusion .
But then , I would not be going to Turkey , nor Bulgaria .
@ Alert, if you’re not interested in politics, why did you bring up Trump? I question this because it seems this is a tactic used by his supporters. Throw out a political comment, then deny it’s politics, and it’s not the correct place to discuss it. When in fact you said it. Just noticing a pattern here.
@Maryland … I brought up Trump because I had just this day read an insightful article by a Canadian writer , who thought Kafka’s “The Trial” was of a parallel with “legal hounding” . I did not think that “Kafka-esque” was an appropriate description of the Turkey airline ticketing confusion . I thought “Kafka-esque” would have been more appropriate to a “legal hounding” ; and who is the most prominent “legal houndee” these days ? Nothing to do with politics , I assure you .
@Matthew … Clearly worth the journey to the United Polaris Lounge
I think there are only 4 Turkoflot planes, not 6
After the effort you expended to get your ticket to IST, Turkish obviously (maybe?) thought you of all people deserved this particular plane. Congratulations.
@matthew How do you travel between between TBIT and Terminal 7, after security?
It’s all connected by tunnels airside.
Not a fan of the piecemealing out the story into 5 separate posts
I’ve stretched out two posts, but not everything occurred at once.
Between Turkoflot and Qatar Pacific, is anyone aware of any more airline portmanteaus?
I was on that flight I was badly chastised by Tk crew for taking photos of the cabin. My seat was also broken.
They didn’t mind me taking photos and I even asked.