BEN SAYS:
Turkish Airlines offers an exceptional short haul business class experience on the 737 MAX, with comfortable seating, endless entertainment, free Wi-Fi, and good food and drinks.
One of the great things about Aeroplan is that you can get a one-way award for 5,000 points. I was able to spend a couple of days in Copenhagen because I added one of those here.
I've reviewed Istanbul Airport and the Turkish Airlines Lounge before. I won't review it again, but I will talk about our time on the ground, since we had a six hour layover.
The arrivals area was busy when we arrived, but there was a separate premium security line which we cleared in no time.
The terminal was busy when we arrived, and it was one of the few times I have been at a foreign airport in the past couple of years. The terminal emptied out within an hour.
The Turkish Airlines Lounge Istanbul has great seating, great food, and great coffee.
It was nice to have a shower during the layover. When you have a layover of between four and nine hours, and one flight is at least eight hours long, a nap room is available.
There are lots of opportunities for terminal walking at Istanbul Airport, given how massive it is.
In addition to all kinds of Turkish Airlines jets, there was also a Mahan Air plane from Iran.
The flight was scheduled to leave at 10:50AM. It was obvious that we were leaving from a remote stand, since boarding was an hour before departure. The part of the terminal dedicated to remote stands has several flights boarding from it.
The boarding started at around 11AM. While business class passengers were invited to board first, there wasn't a dedicated business class bus so we had to stand on the bus for longer.
It wasn't a surprise that our stand was quite far away. I don't like remote stands in general, but I love the ability to take a picture of the plane's exterior. Turkish Airlines joined their fleet in November of last year with a Boeing MAX.
The business class on Turkish Airlines is almost the same as on the other two airlines, but the cabin on the Boeing MAX is a bit smaller. A total of 16 seats are spread across four rows in the business class of the Turkish plane.
Turkish Airlines has a business class cabin.
We were assigned seats in the last row once again. The seats on these airlines have good legroom.
There was a literature pocket on the back of each seat.
There was a tray that could hold drinks on the center console.
The center armrest could be raised to expose a storage compartment, as well as power outlets, headphones, and an entertainment controller.
Underneath the center armrest, there were controls for the seat recline and legrest extension. The seat recline was solid.
The tray table could be folded over in half.
Privacy dividers between seats were similar to what was found on the last flight, but they didn't extend very far in either direction.
Overhead consoles had individual reading lights.
Huge overhead bins and mood lighting were included in the signature Boeing interior of the aircraft.
There was a bathroom at the front of the cabin. Turkish Airlines decided on the tiny lavatories, which you can find on other planes. The sinks are almost unusably tiny and the bathroom is so small.
We had lemonade and orange juice before we left.
Menus and headphones were given out.
The same pillows and blankets were on the last flight.
The passengers arrived on three buses. Only six of the seats in the business class were occupied by us and one family of four. I didn't think I've ever had a female Turkish Airlines captain, so I thought that was pretty cool. She told us that our flight time was 2 hours and 45 minutes.
After the main cabin door closed, we began our taxi and pushback. The apron where we were parked seemed to have jets that were in long term storage, with wheels and engines covered.
We had a quick taxi after the safety video was screened. We were cleared for takeoff at 12PM.
We had a smooth climb out after a short takeoff roll. Within five minutes, the sign was turned off.
Turkish Airlines has a great selection of movies and TV shows.
The map feature is my favorite part of inflight entertainment.
Turkish Airlines has Boeing planes with wi-fi. Depending on how much data you want, the price can be as low as $2.99 and as high as $24.99.
Business class passengers get 1gigabyte of free data. Business class passengers should have free wi-fi.
The meal service began about 20 minutes after takeoff. The menu can be found here.
The drink list is below.
Warm towels were being distributed.
I ordered a glass of sparkling water and a bottle of Turkish sauvignon blanc, which was branded specifically for Turkish Airlines.
Everything except the main course was served on a single tray.
The meal consists of salad with grilled chicken, hummus, cheese, baked rice pudding, and bread. The salad wasn't the most interesting, but it was a good meal.
We were offered our choice of three main courses.
The sea bass was accompanied by julienne vegetables. I understand that the dish was supposed to be served in paper, but it seems odd to serve a fish dish on a plane with a small bowl and limited space. The fish tasted good.
My friend had grilled lamb with polenta and ratatouille.
The flight attendant gave me a refill for my coffee at the conclusion of the meal.
Turkish Airlines is very consistent when it comes to service, and this flight was no exception. The two flight attendants were professional and friendly. The crew on the last flight did a great job, but they may not have been as personable.
The captain informed us of our arrival time about 40 minutes before landing. The cabin was prepared for landing after the seatbelt sign was turned on. The views on the approach were beautiful.
We had a taxi that took us to our arrival gate in about five minutes. I think this was the last day that Aeroflot flew to the airport before it was banned, and we taxied past them.
Turkish Airlines has a great short haul product. Most European airlines would offer economy seats with blocked middles, while Turkish has proper business class seats, free wi-fi, and a great food and beverage selection.
Turkish continues to be one of my favorite airlines in the world, and I'm excited to see how good the carrier's short haul product is on new aircraft.
What was your experience on a Turkish Airlines flight?
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