Trip Reports - Turkish Airlines Business Class - A review of the newest *A member! (with pics)

Some of my previous trip reports:
ARN-SIN and back in three day on LH/SK/TG in C + Shangri-La Singapore + lots of pics! ( http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=761237)
European Business class can be pretty nice!! LH/TP/LX/LO/VO/OS in C with 100+ pics! ( http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=676816)
The trip of trips!! FRWSTAR2 around the world! 57 days, 34 flights, and a few trains… ( http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=626793)

Introduction

Summertime and holiday time again and as usual I decided to dedicate a few days for some air travels and point earnings, in fact I needed a few last points to re-qualify for gold.
I had a visit to London planned and decided to combine it with a separate leisure trip, preferably to a new destination or with a new airline. London is also quite good as origin as there are usually lots of good tickets available ex-LON in terms of conditions and routing.
After looking around on the internet and considering the options the choice fell on the newest Star Alliance member which joined just three months ago in April 2008 – Turkish Airlines.

I had a look at the destinations they fly to, tickets available on short notice and generally what could be done in a relatively short time and finally the booking was made on the Expedia website. I managed to get a business class ticket with several segments and it was surprisingly affordable, more like the price of a medium-priced economy class ticket.

A few days later it was time for departure and I have to say I was pretty excited, I very rarely get to try any new airlines nowadays as there are around 3-4 airlines I mainly fly.
Also I really had no idea what to expect of Turkish Airlines, I haven’t seen any trip reports or lounge reviews on Flyertalk as far as I can remember and the other air travel sites didn’t reveal much about the airline either.
As a comment I can say already now that flying Turkish Airlines was a thoroughly positive experience, if you think of TK as a third world airline, forget it! Everything from ground services and lounges to meals and inflight service was superb and exceeded most experiences I have had so far this year. ^

With not much written on Flyertalk about Turkish Airlines I hope this report should be interesting to read for anybody considering TK. Both domestic and international business class flights will be covered as well as ground services, lounges and inflight service, of course with plenty of pics. :)

Departure time and check-in at Stockholm Arlanda airport

I had a separate ticket Stockholm-London on SAS and then another ticket with Turkish Airlines onwards from London with three hours between flights at Heathrow.
I checked in online on the SAS and the Turkish Airlines websites to secure good seats and hoped the check-in agent at Arlanda would be nice enough to interline my luggage (I had a bag to check) so I wouldn’t have to pick it up in London.

I arrived at the airport around 9.15 am, two hours before departure.
Most morning flights had already departed so the departure hall was quite empty, there were two SAS/*A business class desks and one Star Gold check-in desk open in the priority area with nobody in line for any of them so I approached the Star Gold desk where a young and friendly girl greeted me.
After confirming I was flying to London I showed her my Turkish Airlines booking confirmation and asked nicely if she could interline my luggage. SAS, like many other airlines, has become a lot stricter about interlining and the SAS webpage even clearly states that passengers with two tickets have to pick up and recheck their luggage. However the girl made no fuss about it and after a lot of typing the baggage tag was printed where it said ADB at the top, which is the code for Izmir, the city where I’m off to now.
I suppose having a gold card and a decent connection time at LHR made the trick and the girl also noticed I had a business class ticket on TK. Of course I still had to pick up a boarding pass and register my checked bag at the transfer desk at Heathrow.

I used the fast track security, exchanged some money and headed for the SAS lounge in terminal 5.

Pics
Beautiful summer day at Arlanda airport ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4296.jpg)

SAS Scandinavian lounge, Stockholm/Arlanda

The lounge was relatively empty this morning with only a few people inside.
I quite like this lounge, it has this homely feeling to it with comfortable sofas, a large bookcase (with books you can borrow and read) and a real fireplace. It feels more like being in your living room at home than at a large international airport with 20 million passengers a year.

Still only breakfast served when I arrived with bread, cold cuts, marmalade and toast, they also had cookies, crisps and Swedish pastries available. Quite allright!
The usual drink selection was there with soft drinks and a nice coffee machine. They have beer and wine for self-service already in the morning but they don’t bring out the spirits until lunchtime (which is actually a pretty good selection of premium spirits).
I had some breakfast in the lounge, a large cup of coffee and browsed through some newspapers.

The entrance to the SAS lounges ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4297.jpg)
Inside the rather empty SAS Scandinavian lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4299.jpg)
Nice interior with a bookcase ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4300.jpg)
Breakfast buffet ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4301.jpg)
Drinks in the lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4304.jpg)
Cookies, pastries and snacks ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4305.jpg)

Scoring an operational upgrade!!

They have four computers in the lounge with free internet access which I used to check my e-mails and also the status of my flight.
SAS offers online check-in for most international flights and actually even after you have checked-in you can still view the seat map for the flight in real time, basically until check-in cut-off time (30 mins before departure in Stockholm). It’s a good way to get an idea if the flight is packed of if you'll get a free middle seat, I find it quite handy.
Expertflyer had shown the flight was almost zeroed-out and when I checked in online I picked 04F, the first row of economy class. It is quite uncommon that regular economy stretches all the way to row 4 unless there is a very big demand for economy class tickets.

When I logged onto the SAS website in the lounge 40 minutes before departure I got the nice surprise I had secretly hoped for, the online check-in page did no longer say I was in 04F, it said I was in 01F!! Fantastic, what a start of the trip!! :)
SAS has three classes intra-Europe: Regular Economy class (no frills), Economy extra (economy but with light/cold meal and drinks) and Business class.
Seat 01F thus meant I had scored a double upgrade from regular economy class to business class.

Shortly afterwards the monitors indicated it was time to proceed to the gate which was a gate in the new F-pier, the standard gates for UK-flights.
No announcements were made at the gate but when it was my time to board the machine made that lovely beep and I was given a new boarding pass with my new seat number 01F on it, nothing was ever said, it was handled very discreetly.

Stockholm/Arlanda-London/Heathrow, flight SK 531 operated by SAS
Departure: 11:10
Arrival: 12:50
Aircraft: MD-80
Class: Business Class
Seat: 01F (Seat change from 04F)

The flight was indeed packed and boarding took a bit of time.
When all passengers were finally onboard the captain made an announcement telling us we had to wait on the ground for nearly half an hour due to air traffic restrictions. Apparently the Danish military had an exercise in northern Jutland which meant only a limited number of aircrafts could pass at the time for safety reasons.
I have flown this route so many times by now that I know the standard and most direct routing passes northern Denmark/Jutland, so it was probably hard to avoid the restriction.
While waiting on the ground the weather outside the plane was the best possible, sunny and not a cloud to be seen, but the cabin became almost unbearably hot. In business class the FAs offered orange juice and water while waiting, I don’t know if they got anything at the back.
Eventually we were allowed to push back and with little traffic at Arlanda at this time of the day we took off just 25 minutes late from runway 01L.

Pics
Lining up for departure on runway 01L ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4308.jpg)
Shortly after take-off, a beautiful Swedish summer day ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4309.jpg)

Meal service

Once in the air the inflight service started with a hot towel followed by a drink service. Since I was sitting on the first row I was the first one to order and I asked for a gin and tonic.
The FA said “sure” and then asked my seat mate what he wanted to drink followed by the passengers on the other side of the aisle. I was pretty sure she had to fetch a bottle of gin from the galley or ask her colleague to assist with the drink, but I waited and waited…
After she had served all eight passengers in business class and even the few passengers in economy extra (one row) and was on her way back to the galley I stopped her and asked what happened to my drink.
Well at least she was honest and told me she forgot about it, but how someone can forget a drink order during the regular drink round with only eight passengers to look after is beyond me.

Eventually I got my gin and tonic (and an apology) but three minutes later the other flight attendant was back at my seat with the meal tray, I had hardly even tasted my drink yet and had not had time to open my packaged snacks.
After she had handed over the tray she realised herself that the situation was a bit awkward and actually offered to take it back and keep it heated in the oven for a few more minutes. Although a nice suggestion I thought it would probably cause more problems and confusion for them than benefit for me so I decided to keep the tray. I also asked for a bottle of Nicolas Feuillate champagne, the standard brand on SAS, quite a good one.

The meal was salmon with potatoes and dill in white sauce, not extraordinary but still quite tasty. The meal service has actually improved on SAS recently from the “cold meal with a hot item”-concept which was used until last year to “a hot meal”, which is very positive!
Breads were offered and I was also asked if I wanted anything more to drink, I asked for some water. “sure” she said and disappeared back in the galley, but no glass of water was delivered to my seat, the second time they forgot my drink order!

After I had finished the meal Belgian chocolates were handed out as dessert (separate from the tray in a small bowl, nice move!) and coffee and tea were also offered.
When the FA came to my seat to offer coffee she suddenly remembered I had asked for a glass of water earlier and brought it to me a few seconds later. I had planned to drink the water as a compliment to the champagne (with the main meal), not as a compliment to the coffee. Oh well…
Spirits were also offered but I declined.

I spent the rest of the flight reading a book until it was time for descent to Heathrow.
Surprisingly no holding at all in north-eastern London, we were directed to final approach straight away and despite the ATC restrictions we landed just five minutes late on runway 27R and made a quick taxi to terminal 3.

Pics
Lunch in business class ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4310.jpg)
Drinks, champagne and chocolates ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4311.jpg)

Conclusion

To summarise I was obviously very happy to score an upgrade, and even a double upgrade. I got a hot meal, champagne, unlimited drinks, chocolates, a free middle seat and I was the first passenger off the plane, things I had actually not paid for. A nice and appreciated reward to a loyal gold card holder. Thank you very much SAS!
But the experience, from the eyes of a paying C-class passenger, was not fine and not really worth the money. They forgot my drink order twice, even though they only had eight business class passengers to look after. Although the two FAs serving C-class were friendly the service was not overly attentive, it was not personalised and everything was done by the book, no more, no less.
The meal service also felt quite rushed, standard (actual) flight time Stockholm-London is about 2 hours and 15 minutes and there just isn’t any need to rush through the meal service.
Oh well, at least I got (unexpectedly) another business class flight and airline to review in this report….

Transfer at London Heathrow

I was the first passenger to leave the plane and followed the black and yellow signs marked “flight connections”. I was quite happy my suitcase had been checked through so I did not have to reclaim and recheck it again.
There were quite a lot of people in the flight connections centre in terminal 3 where they check boarding passes (or travel documents if you don’t have a BP yet) and then you have to pass through a security control, but fortunately we were processed very efficiently.

Straight after the security control there is a large concourse where all airlines operating at terminal 3 have transfer desks where you can get a boarding pass or sort out baggage issues, rebookings etc.
Turkish Airlines is handled by SAS at Heathrow so I joined that line which was incredibly slow. There were two SAS agents working and both were occupied with difficult customers, the woman in front of me mentioned they had already waited for 15 minutes without the line moving.
As a nice coincidence there was a passenger in front of me who was also flying Turkish Airlines and he asked the staff at the counter if he was in the right line. It turned out he was but they used a different computer for TK (probably to get the right boarding passes printed) so they called for a third agent who could operate that computer and we got to pass the entire line and got served straight away.

I was quickly issued a boarding pass to Istanbul but was unfortunately not given one for my third flight that day. I was also invited to use the business class lounge, unfortunately no surprises there, no new lounge to visit this time. Since the ground services are handled by SAS they obviously used the SAS lounge.

Pics
SAS (and Turkish Airlines) transfer desk in terminal 3 ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4314.jpg)

Singapore Airlines Silverkris lounge, London/Heathrow

With still over two hours to spare and a Star Alliance gold card in my wallet I headed to the Singapore Airlines lounge instead which is open the whole day from early morning until 10 pm, even though there are only three daily SQ flights and none of them depart in the afternoon.
I was the only guest in the Silverkris/business lounge where the staff had a brief break before the passengers for the two evening flights to Singapore started to arrive.

The SQ lounge at Heathrow is overall still one of my favourite Star gold lounges in the world.
The food and drinks selection is really good, especially the selection of sandwiches is most impressive, and they do have free champagne available, even in the business class lounge.
In the evenings they also have hot food like rice and chicken tikka.
Free internet, nice apron view, plenty of magazines, TVs and really nice and helpful staff are also some of the benefits.

I had a sandwich from the buffet and went to the bar counter to order a glass of champagne.
The young girl at the bar prepared my drink and then looked at me strangely and eventually asked “Haven’t I seen you here before?”
I told her I had been in the lounge several times and she replied “Yes, you are here all the time!”. Yikes! Well she said everything with a smile...
Indeed I have been to the SQ lounge several times this spring, and I do recognise the staff at the reception and in the lounge, I think I have spoken to most of them, but the fact that they recognise me out of all the passengers who use the lounge is quite impressive.
I don’t know if I’m a very memorable person or something… :D

Pics
Inside the very empty Singapore Airlines lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4315.jpg)
Very good selection of sandwiches ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4318.jpg)
Soft drinks ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4317.jpg)
The bar counter ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4320.jpg)
Afternoon snack: Champagne, sandwich, yoghurt and a cup of coffee ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4323.jpg)
Do people really view “adult material” in airline lounges? ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4321.jpg)

SAS/Air Canada “London lounge”, London/Heathrow

After the visit to the Singapore Airlines lounge I made the short walk over to the combined SAS and Air Canada lounge simply called "The London Lounge”, the one also used by Turkish Airlines.
It’s always a good idea to finish in the “right” lounge in case they make any important announcements, and there is a service desk in the lounge which could come handy in that case.

Nice and spacious lounge with two floors, the ground floor mostly used for business purposes with work stations for example and the first floor mostly used for leisure/relaxation purposes.
There are also two self-service buffet areas, one on each floor, but with basically the same selection of drinks and food.
The food is limited to vegetables, bread, cheese and some cold cuts, nothing really substantial. There are instant noodles available as well and also a very good selection of cookies.
Drinks selection is OK but quite basic, and also it never changes. I have been to that lounge for several years and they still have the same Merlot red wine on offer as they had on my first visit.

Anyway, I made myself a drink, brought some snacks and had a seat in the cinema room which is my favourite place in the lounge where you can watch TV on a large screen.
Two years ago I watched a game of the world football championship in that room which was a very nice experience.

The time passed all too quickly and soon the monitors indicated it was time to go to gate 29 for my flight to Istanbul.
My first ever flight with Turkish Airlines and even Turkish Airlines business class was about to begin, I was quite excited…

Pics
The entrance to the London lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4324.jpg)
The self-service buffet on the ground floor ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4325.jpg)
Food offerings in the self-service buffet ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4326.jpg)
The self-service buffet on the first floor ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4328.jpg)
Some of the drinks available ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4329.jpg)
The business centre with free internet ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4330.jpg)
Inside the cinema room, my favourite place in the lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4332.jpg)

G-day jacob_m,
Enjoyed the TR so far but really looking forward to the TK experience.

Ray

When checking in online the day before departure I realised there had unfortunately been an aircraft change for my flight to Istanbul.
My flight was supposed to be operated by an Airbus A330 with the longhaul configuration, which would mean lie-flat in business class, AVOD and so on. My booking confirmation said A330 and all internet booking sites also indicated an Airbus A330 was operating, but on the day on the departure there was an Airbus A321 waiting at Heathrow.
Too bad! Well sure I got to experience exactly the same inflight service, but it’s a shame I didn’t get to try the longhaul seat.

A chaotic boarding process

I arrived at a packed gate 29 half an hour before departure, seemed like the flight was fully-booked this evening and many passengers also had a massive amount of hand luggage taking up most of the waiting lounge. Absolutely unbelievable how much stuff some passengers were going to bring onboard!!

Finally it was time for boarding which was done by sections from the back to make the boarding of a full A321 as smooth and efficient as possible.
As soon as the first gate agent appeared at the door basically the entire room stood up and rushed towards the door like small children, a moment later the first boarding announcement was made in the lounge.
You could really hear the gate agent taking a deep breath before he, as politely as possible, not asked but demanded the passengers not allowed to board to remain seated. He mentioned the phrase “please remain seated” at least ten times during the boarding process, still they needed two bouncers at the door to check boarding passes and stop people who tried to board anyway.
I was quite amazed how much effort some people made to get onboard early, but with all the hand luggage and shopping bags I saw in the gate lounge sufficient overhead storage in the cabin would be a problem.
Business class passengers were not mentioned in the announcements but were basically allowed to board at their leisure (but the gate staff preferred to have us waiting at the gate until the end as we were sitting in the front and would occupy the aisle).

Pics
A Turkish Airlines A321 seen from the Singapore Airlines lounge at Heathrow ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4546.jpg)
Boarding to Istanbul at gate 29 ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4334.jpg)

London/Heathrow-Istanbul, flight TK 1992 operated by Turkish Airlines
Departure: 16:30
Arrival: 22:25
Aircraft: Airbus A321
Class: Business Class
Seat: 04F

Once onboard I found my seat 04F. There were four rows of business class onboard, the aircraft usually has a 3-3 configuration but in business class the middle seats are replaced by a table and the seats have been widened a bit. With a full business class cabin it thus meant we were 16 passengers onboard. Also the legroom is much better in business than at the back so although this was not a widebody aircraft, personal space wasn’t that much of a problem.
A blanket, a pillow and headphones were already available at the seat.

When all passengers had boarded newspapers, magazines and pre-departure drinks were offered in the business class cabin including champagne, water and orange juice.
I realised there were quite a few flight attendants onboard, more than I’m used to on an Airbus A321, and there were as many as three FAs serving the four rows of business class cabin at times.

A safety demo video was shown on the screens before we finally pushed back, almost 30 minutes after scheduled departure time. With another connecting flight in Istanbul I did feel a bit concerned about the delay, but fortunately we were given priority at the runway and took off just a few minutes later at 5.10 pm from runway 27R.

Pics
The business class cabin onboard ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4336.jpg)
The business class seat on the Airbus A321 ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4337.jpg)
Waiting for take-off at runway 27R ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4338.jpg)

Meal service

After the seat belt signs had been switched off the inflight service started.
Hot towels were handed out and afterwards one of the flight attendants came to take drink orders which were elegantly delivered on a tray from the galley. I asked for a glass of champagne, they serve the Heidsieck Monopole onboard (I never saw the bottle but asked about it), Turkish hazelnuts were also served with the drinks.
Next the menus were handed out (yes they do offer proper menus onboard) and I was very impressed by what I saw. A three courses meal would be served with three choices of main course and it all sounded very delicious.

Here is what was on offer on the flight to Istanbul:


Menu London-Istanbul

Chicken Caesar’s salad / Caesar’s dressing

Traditional yoghurt cucumber salad

****

Chicken “kebab”, sautéed vegetables, pan-fried potatoes

Or

Stuffed vine leaves, zucchini and eggplant
Very traditional Turkish dish stuffed with minced beef
Home made yoghurt

Or

Penne with parmesan cheese
Black olive, tomato sauce

****

Selection of cheese

“Tulumba” with clotted cream

Ovenfresh bread selection

Coffee or tea

Beverages

Champagne

Blended Whisky, Bourbon Whisky, Gin, Vodka, Raki

Selected Turkish and international wines

Beers

Liqueur and cognacs

Orange, tomato, sourcherry juices

Ice Tea lemon, Mineral water

Tea, Coffee


White tablecloths were laid on the tables and then the meal trays were handed out with the appetizer on it. The appetizer was a caesar’s salad which was served with a yoghurt cucumber salad, both were delicious. Warm breads were also offered.
The appetizer plates were collected and next it was time for the main course.
The main course was served from a cart by one of the FAs and the second FA actually delivered more meals directly from the oven to the cart depending on demand.
There were three choices on offer and they seemed to have far more meals than there were passengers in business class, all passengers got their first choice as far as I could see and there were still six or seven meals on the cart when the FA returned to the galley after having served all passengers. I had the chicken kebab to eat which was very tasty and was also offered more to drink.
I wanted some red wine with the meal so I asked the FA which red wines they had, her answer was a rather interesting "what would you like?", with a big smile. They only have small bottles of wine onbord but on the other hand they seemed to have several ones to choose between including both local Turkish and international wines.

On the tray there was also a bowl with three types of cheeses and a traditional Turkish dessert callled tulumba which was some kind of crispy pastry, actually not bad!
The meal trays were collected and afterwards they offered coffee, tea and liqueurs, again very elegantly from a nicely decorated cart with full size bottles of spirits on display (and quite good brands as well).
I had a cup of coffee and a glass of whisky. They had two types of whisky on offer and the blended one which I had was the nice Chivas Regal.
Overall the whole meal service was very good and the food was really tasty, prepared by Do&Co. ^

When the meal service was over we were already cruising over the Swiss Alps. Most passengers had some rest or watched the movie on the main screen which was “Flawless” if I remember correctly.
Duty free items were sold in the cabin, more drinks were offered, and all too soon we started our descent.

Pics
Menu, cocktail snacks and a glass of champagne ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4340.jpg)
Appetizer ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4342.jpg)
Main course ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4343.jpg)
Lovely TK flight attendants serving drinks ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4345.jpg)
Coffee and a glass of Chivas Regal whisky ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4346.jpg)

Arrival and transfer at Istanbul Atatürk airport

A video was shown on the main screen about arriving and transferring at Istanbul Atatürk airport. One of my main questions was if I had to reclaim and recheck my luggage in Istanbul since I was connecting to a domestic flight, it varies a bit from country to country, at the Turkish Airlines transfer counter at Heathrow they didn’t have a clue.
The video didn’t give that information so I asked one of the flight attendants who was very helpful and could answer my question straight away. Apparently the luggage is transferred automatically if the final domestic airport has customs facilities. She told me Izmir is one of those airports so I would not have to bother about the luggage in Istanbul. Great!!

Shortly before landing hot towels were offered in business class and we finally touched down in Istanbul at 10.30 pm on runway 6. The final approach was quite spectacular offering a great view of the Sea of Marmara and the huge number of vessels anchored outside Istanbul.

Passport control was very quick and with no checked luggage to take care of I followed the signs for the domestic terminal.

Pics
Just landed at Istanbul Atatürk airport ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4347.jpg)
The international arrivals hall, following the signs for the domestic terminal ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4348.jpg)

Turkish Airlines Domestic CIP lounge, Istanbul - A great experience!

Turkish Airlines offers a really great service for domestic business class passenger through their CIP lounge. ^
Halfway to the domestic lounge the first signs for the CIP lounge appeared, after a quick elevator ride I was standing outside the entrance to the CIP lounge which is basically located on the ground floor of one of the international piers.

After passing through security control (which you almost always have to do when entering airport terminals in Turkey) I was standing in the check-in lobby.
This was a beautiful lobby with neon lights, marble, red carpets and four check-in desks dedicated to business class passengers and gold card holders on domestic flights.
If you have luggage to check you can of course have it taken care of here, but I only needed a boarding pass and to have my luggage registered in the reservation which was quickly done of by a very friendly woman.

After the formalities were completed only a few steps were needed to enter the lounge, a vast lounge with a nice modern interior, very comfortable seating, and panorama windows overlooking the apron.
There were plenty of armchairs and sofas, I think as many as eight widescreen TVs, four computers with free internet, and a good amount of reading material.
The food and drinks selection was certainly not bad either. To eat they had several types of bread, Turkish breads, scones, pastries, vegetables, packaged sandwiches, fresh fruit, many types of desserts and even some hot food (but when I arrived at 11 pm only hot soup was available).
A really decent selection for a domestic business class lounge! The drinks selection was also quite OK, the only drawback being that it’s a dry lounge.

The next really nice feature of the lounge is that they offer a bus transfer service from the lounge directly to the aircraft, so no need to pass the main terminal and wait with the others at the gate. :)
You can relax in the lounge and when the bus for your flight has arrived at the lounge they make an announcement and you only have to walk a few steps to have a seat in the bus (which is obviously not very crowded).
Unfortunately most “boarding announcements” were only made in Turkish, but it wasn’t too hard to hear the destination being called. When they knew there were non-Turkish passengers on the flight English announcements were made and they also made an effort to look for missing passengers in the lounge so nobody would miss the flight.
If a passenger had arrived very late at the lounge they also brought the checked luggage on the bus to make sure it would make the flight.

Around 11.30 pm, 25 minutes before scheduled departure, the Izmir flight was called and I collected my belongings, handed over my boarding pass to a TK agent standing by the single exit, and boarded the bus. There were five more people in the lounge flying to Izmir this late evening who also boarded the bus.
We were then taken across the tarmac to the aircraft parked at a remote stand opposite the international terminal, with only our small bus arriving there was of course no wait to get onboard.

In conclusion the domestic experience in Istanbul was just fantastic. ^
A separate check-in lobby, a very nice lounge with plenty of food and drinks, lots of staff available for any questions or problems, and a private transfer directly from the lounge to the aircraft. A completely relaxed and hassle-free experience! How much better can it get?
Having been to the Lufthansa FCT in Frankfurt, in terms of service I think this was almost an equally good experience, obviously just not quite as luxurious and with transfer to the aircraft in a minibus instead.

Pics
The very nice check-in lobby in the domestic lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4351.jpg)
Inside the domestic lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4363.jpg)
Comfortable seating in the lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4356.jpg)
The restaurant part of the lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4353.jpg)
Plenty of soft drinks, coffee and tea ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4354.jpg)
Plenty of food as well (including hot food) ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4357.jpg)
Many types of bread and pastries to eat ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4358.jpg)
Sandwiches, fresh fruits and desserts ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4360.jpg)
A decent evening snack in the lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4361.jpg)
The departure board with several late domestic flights from Istanbul around midnight ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4355.jpg)

Istanbul-Izmir, flight TK 354 operated by Turkish Airlines
Departure: 23:55
Arrival: 01:00
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Class: Business Class
Seat: 02F

The flight to Izmir was operated by a Boeing 737-800 with a roughly 60% load. Three rows were used for business class and it turned out I was the only business class passenger onboard and had the whole cabin to myself!!
Just like on the previous flight the middle seat was replaced by a table and there was a pillow and a blanket waiting at the seat when I came onboard.
Shortly afterwards a friendly flight attendant came to greet me and offered a pre-departure drink and a refreshing towel, I had a glass of orange juice to drink.

We pushed back a few minutes late at 00.05 and were number 4 for departure at runway 36R. Several Turkish Airlines domestic flights were departing at midnight for the larger Turkish cities including Antalya, Ankara, Izmir, Bodrum and Adana, I suppose mostly to bring international transfer passengers to their final destinations in Turkey.

Pics
Boarding the Turkish Airlines B738 at a remote stand ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4364.jpg)
The business class seat ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4365.jpg)
Several TK domestic flights preparing for departure at midnight ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4367.jpg)
A glass of orange juice and a refreshing towel before departure ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4368.jpg)
Waiting for departure at runway 36R ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4370.jpg)
Inflight map ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4378.jpg)

Meal service

After the seat belt sign had been switched off the curtains were closed between economy and business and the inflight service started.
My booking confirmation said a “snack” would be served on this flight in business class and I expected that to be something like a sandwich, especially considering departure at midnight and a flight time of only around 50 minutes.
But again Turkish Airlines exceeded my expectations! What I got was not a sandwich but a full cold meal prepared by Do&Co. Something even more remarkable was that I was given a small menu! :)

This is what was offered on the flight to Izmir:


Menu Istanbul-Izmir

Eggplant salad, herbed white cheese

Smoked salmon, grilled courgette, crème fraiche

Panna cotta

Ovenfresh bread selection

Coffee and tea


The meal was simply superb and the FA also offered a basket with five types of bread, which had been heated just for me!! ^ I had some red wine to drink with the meal.
The panna cotta as dessert was also really nice, I have never had panna cotta on a flight before as far as I can remember, so this was a very refreshing change.
I was offered more to drink and more bread but declined tea or coffee as it was very late.
When the table was being cleared I took the opportunity to give my compliments to the FA for such a good and tasty meal on such a short flight and the nice girl really seemed to appreciate hearing that.

Pics
Inflight meal in business class to Izmir ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4376.jpg)

Arrival in Izmir

The short flight was quickly coming to an end and after flying over the bay of Izmir we made a sharp left turn and landed just after 1 am on runway 34R at Izmir Adnan Menderes international airport.
We parked at the domestic terminal and being the only passenger in business class I was the first passenger off the plane.

Now the fun thing came, at the end of the jetty there was a man standing asking me if I was an “international passenger”. I didn’t quite understand what he was referring to but he explained he wanted to know if I had transferred from an international flight in Istanbul, which I indeed had.
It turned out that domestic passengers, i.e. passengers starting their trip in Istanbul, should reclaim their luggage in the domestic terminal while “international passengers” (like me) had to take a bus all the way to the international terminal to reclaim the luggage there, the only reason being that “international passengers” had to pass through customs in Izmir.
So I used the stairs and boarded a bus waiting on the apron that would take me to the international terminal.

It was quite a long ride to the international terminal and once inside the modern terminal we were escorted to the passport control as special arrangements had to be made for us since we had already passed immigration in Istanbul. I showed the officer the immigration stamp in my passport and was allowed inside the baggage hall.
Quite strange to have baggage delivery in two different terminals for the same flight, but it was still so much better than having to reclaim and re-check the luggage in Istanbul.
The baggage delivery started fairly quickly but my Star Alliance priority tag didn’t make much of a difference, but in all fairness they probably had enough work anyway to separate “international luggage” from “domestic luggage” to make sure the right bags were delivered to the right terminal.

I had an airport transfer arranged to my hotel as I had no wish to deal with unreliable taxi drivers at 1.30 am. I was quite concerned though that he would be waiting at the domestic terminal since I wrote in the e-mail I was arriving from Istanbul, but he seemed to have been through this before and was indeed waiting outside customs in the international terminal with a sign with my name.
I was soon on my way to the hotel for some well-needed sleep after 16 hours of travelling. Hotel review of a very nice hotel is up next…

Pics
Passing the very modern international terminal in Izmir ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4381.jpg)

Was there a smoking area in the lounge in IST?

(Great report, BTW!)

thanks for the pics and report. never seen a cinema room in a lounge :) after a long flight, then connecting to another one, eatin on the plane in the lounges and again on the plane, i feel fat! thanks again. keep them coming

Another top-flight report, jacob_m! I hope you got to try the A330 on the return.

Thanks for the report jacob_m ^^

I should have known you'd be one of the first to try out TK after they joined *A :D

Thanks for a great report! ^

I flew IST-ADB-IST last month in J and agree that the meals and service were of outstanding quality (for a 1 hour flight!). The domestic lounge wasn't open yet (I was rushing to connect from a delayed arrival, so wouldn't have had much chance to try it anyway) but it looks very nice.

I can say there is a cracking little lounge at ADB domestic too. Very smart and well stocked. And the really good news: the miles posted to my BD account very quickly. :)

Thanks for the comments! Next part coming up tonight...

I can say there is a cracking little lounge at ADB domestic too.
Indeed! :) ;)

Was there a smoking area in the lounge in IST?
Hmmm, I can't remember as I don't smoke myself, but I'm pretty sure there was something as the other TK lounges have smoking areas.

Wonderful report with great pictures. ^ Good to finally see a report of TK, they seem like a good addition to the Star Alliance.

One of the more interesting TRs I've read, on an airline I've been curious about for some time. I'm more inclined to give Turkish a try now. Many thanks!^

Crowne Plaza Hotel Izmir

With the flight ticket booked I obviously had to arrange accommodation in Izmir, the choice fell rather unexpectedly on the Crowne Plaza Hotel, part of the InterContinental group.
I had a look at the Tripadvisor webpage to get some ideas of where to stay and the hotel was ranked #1 in Izmir. Sure one shouldn’t rely all too much on these webpages, but the hotel had received 13 reviews and all 13 reviewers had rated the hotel 5 out of 5 and there were some smashing comments there as well.
It just sounded like a very good choice! :)

I had a look at the Crowne Plaza webpage and realised that the hotel was not even expensive with international standards, there were some very good deals to be had.
Eventually I booked a room with sea view on the executive floor with lots of nice extra benefits included in the rate.

The hotel is located slightly outside Izmir in a place called Balcova, but it is quite easy to get to downtown Izmir by bus or taxi.
The location was actually an advantage, it was not overly touristy which is what I prefer. Just at the doorstep to the hotel there were several Turkish restaurants and bars (in particular a nice outdoor one) and right behind the hotel there was a large shopping centre and supermarket which seemed to be very popular among the locals. You could buy almost anything in there.

The hotel has 20 floors and was newly renovated which you could notice. The 19th floor has a restaurant and the 20th floor a bar with live music some days of the week, both places would be good if you want to enjoy the view. There is also a restaurant and a bar on the ground floor next to the lobby.

Pics
Crown Plaza Hotel, right by the water front ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4397.jpg)
The entrance to the hotel ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4396.jpg)

The room on the executive floor

I arrived at the hotel around 2 am, a bell boy assisted with my luggage while I went inside to check-in.
The friendly receptionist confirmed I had a room booked on the executive floor and handed me an envelope with my name on it which included a personalised welcome letter and a description of the facilities available and the benefits I got staying on the executive floor.

The executive rooms are located on the top floors of the hotel and I got a room on the 15th floor, I had paid extra for a room with sea view.
The view from my room was simply magnificent; I could see the entre city of Izmir, the bay outside, all the vessels anchored and the mountains east of the city.
I could not get enough of the view, and it was certainly not bad at night either with the entire city lit-up!

The room itself was very nice, but perhaps not spectacular, but it had all the facilities you would expect of a good top-end hotel including a comfortable bed, work desk, high-speed internet, bathrobe and slippers, mini bar and coffee-making facilities.
Some extra features I got staying in an executive room included a CD/DVD-player in the room, free daily newspaper, turndown service and a really nice fruit basket upon arrival.

Pics
The absolutely amazing view from my room overlooking the city of Izmir and the bay ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4401.jpg)
The mountains east of Izmir seen from my room ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4403.jpg)
The view at night ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4418.jpg)
The bed in my room ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4386.jpg)
The nice fruit basket included in the room rate ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4388.jpg)

The club lounge

Easily the best part of the stay was access to the club lounge on the 13th floor which was open from early morning to late evening and offered the same great sea view as I got from my room (actually I had a slightly better view).

The lounge was very stylish with comfortable armchairs and couches, a TV, international newspapers and magazines and according to my welcome letter they even had Playstation II and DVD-films.

The restaurant part of the club lounge offered free food and drinks throughout the day.
Breakfast buffet 7-11 am; fruit, cookies and dessert buffet 11 am-7 pm and dinner buffet from 7 pm. Free drinks were available from 5 pm.
The dinner buffet was really impressive, there was so much food available including cold cuts, vegetables, sauces and some Turkish specialities. They also had hot food available such as stuffed sea bass with spinach, beef stew, grilled chicken kebab, rice and spaghetti.
Afterwards there was an impressive dessert buffet which included some Turkish delights.
They also had wine and beer available as well as a decent selection of premium spirits for self-service.
The food was superb, the drinks not bad either and the service was great, nothing was too much trouble and they were constantly looking for ways to serve you. ^
There were not that many people staying on the executive floors during my stay so the service was very personalised, especially in the club lounge.

Opposite the club lounge there was a business centre with internet computers, work stations and free use of printer, photocopy, fax and local phone calls.

Pics
The reception desk and the business centre ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4423.jpg)
The entrance to the club lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4425.jpg)
Very nice modern interior with comfortable sofas, armchairs and a TV ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4392.jpg)
The restaurant part ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4410.jpg)
Great view also from the club lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4409.jpg)
The very extensive dinner buffet ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4404.jpg)
Impressive selection of desserts and a good selection of premium spirits ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4411.jpg)

Swimming pools and spa facilities

There was an outdoor pool in the hotel with a poolside bar serving drinks, snacks and hot food during the day.
The hotel has also specialised in health and fitness. In the basement they have a large indoor pool, sauna, jacuzzi, solarium and a very well-equipped gym. They also offer several spa treatments like massage, skin care, and thermal water and in the spa centre they also had a small café with healthy snacks and drinks.

Pics
The outdoor pool ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4422.jpg)
The indoor pool ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4421.jpg)
The indoor spa centre ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4420.jpg)

Overall I really enjoyed the stay with the great facilities and service, it was definitely very good value for money, a real gem in Izmir.
Staying in an executive room is also highly recommended, especially if you can get a room with sea view. Access to the very nice club lounge is also well worth the premium.
I would not hesitate to stay there again!

Check-in at Izmir airport

I checked out of the hotel at 1 pm and took a taxi to the airport, the ride from Izmir to the airport took around 30 minutes so I arrived at the airport in good time before departure, my flight was leaving at 3 pm.
Since the taxi driver spoke virtually no English the bell boy at the hotel was nice enough to explain I wanted to go to the domestic terminal (which I actually later learnt is called “iç hatlar terminali”).

At the entrance to the domestic terminal there was a security control, standard at most Turkish airports. My luggage was screened and I had to pass through a metal detector before entering the terminal.

The Turkish Airlines check-in area was quite empty, there were two business class/Star gold check-in desks with nice red carpets in front, one of the desks was open.
A friendly young woman assisted me with the check-in process, my suitcase was through-checked and was tagged with the standard Star Alliance priority tag and a Turkish Airlines transfer tag indicating I had an international transfer in Istanbul.
I also received both boarding passes and an invitation to the Turkish Airlines domestic lounge.

I had a look around the domestic terminal and took a few photos. A medium-sized terminal with quite a few shops and cafes in the public area and a nice view of the apron, there was even a Starbucks there.
Otherwise it was not a particularly exciting building and I decided to head for the lounge instead.

Pics
Turkish Airlines business class check-in (notice the flowers on the check-in counter!) ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4427.jpg)
The departure monitors ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4429.jpg)
Shops and cafes in the public area of the domestic terminal ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4430.jpg)

Turkish Airlines domestic CIP lounge, Izmir - Another great TK lounge!

There are two “piers” in the domestic terminal with three gates in each pier and a security control at the entrance to the piers.
The security control for the Turkish Airlines pier was closed and the security people there were just relaxing, but I really wanted to spend some time in the lounge which was located in that pier (after security), well I did not have much else to do anyway.
Apparently the standard procedure is to open the security control one hour before departure, but after I had showed them my lounge invitation they understood what it was about and were kind enough to let me pass quickly before closing again.

I had no idea what to expect of a domestic lounge at one of the smaller Turkish airports, but (by now as usual) Turkish Airlines did not disappoint. :)
The entrance was very elegant with Turkish Airlines written in silver letters on the wall and inside there was a large reception desk with two people working.
I handed over my lounge invitation to the woman at the reception and was allowed to enter.

The lounge was really stylish! Modern, spacious and spotlessly clean with a good view of the apron (well parts of it). There were two widescreen TVs in the main lounge and three internet computers in a separate room and also quite a lot of reading material.
But the biggest surprise was the selection of food, it was immense!!
They had plenty of packaged sandwiches, bread, fresh fruit, muffins, vegetables, pastries, hot soup, miniature desserts, hot snacks, cookies and probably something else I have forgotten.
One of the best selections of food I have ever seen in a lounge that was not a first class lounge. Most impressive! ^
Plenty of soft drinks as well, juices, and sodas, a good selection of tea and an advanced coffee machine. Unfortunately, just like the domestic lounge in Istanbul, there was no alcohol.

I made myself a very decent afternoon snack, watched some TV, and then spent some time checking my e-mails.
Outside the lounge the security control had opened and the other passengers for the flight started to arrive in the pier, we were only about ten people in total in the lounge.

The first boarding announcement was made around 25 minutes before departure but premium passengers could wait in the lounge for a few more minutes. Around 15 minutes before departure a boarding call was made in the lounge and we headed for the gate just opposite the lounge where there was no wait at all, all other passengers had already boarded. ^

Pics
The entrance to the Turkish Airlines domestic CIP lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4432.jpg)
Inside the very nice lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4437.jpg)
Very comfortable sofas and armchairs ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4436.jpg)
A superb selection of food and drinks ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4435.jpg)
Sandwiches, muffins, cakes, miniature tarts and lots of soft drinks ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4441.jpg)
Hot snacks, breads, pastries and lots of fresh fruit ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4440.jpg)
More soft drinks, coffee and tea ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4439.jpg)
A decent afternoon snack ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4442.jpg)
View of the apron from the lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4443.jpg)

Izmir-Istanbul, flight TK 325 operated by Turkish Airlines
Departure: 15:00
Arrival: 16:05
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Class: Business Class
Seat: 02F

I was one of the last passengers to board the flight without any wait at all between the lounge and my seat. It is so nice to fly on an airline having these kind of arrangements for premium passengers, especially when everything really works like it did in Izmir.

The flight to Istanbul was operated by an Airbus A320, three rows were assigned for business class with the same configuration as the Boeing 737 with a table instead of the middle seat and a pillow and a blanket at the seat.
We were only two passengers in business class on this afternoon flight to Istanbul, so there was obviously no lack of space.

A pre-departure drink was offered and a refreshing towel by a smiling young flight attendant. On the tray the FA had prepared water, orange juice and something that looked like…well champagne.
I thought to myself that there is no way they offer champagne as pre-departure drink on a short domestic flight, but I decided to ask anyway, and gosh Turkish Airlines did it again!! Of course, champagne it was… ^
Just unbelievable!! I have never ever had champagne as pre-departure drink on any domestic flights I have taken, or any short flights for that matter, on any airline.
I enjoyed my glass of chilled Heidsieck thinking life is sometimes quite nice while the last bags were being loaded outside my window and the aircraft was being prepared for departure.

Pics
The Turkish Airlines A320 at the gate in Izmir ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4444.jpg)
The business class cabin on the Airbus A320 ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4448.jpg)
A glass of champagne before departure ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4450.jpg)
The view from my seat with the international terminal in the background ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4446.jpg)

After the doors were closed a safety demonstration video was shown on all screens in Turkish and English, it’s one of the longer ones I have seen and everything was explained quite thoroughly.
We pushed back right on time and taxied to the end of runway 34L for a departure to the north. A Boeing 737 from some strange charter airline I had never heard of was waiting for departure, but then it was our turn.
The initial climb offered a spectacular view of the city of Izmir, the bay and the mountains. The surroundings are really beautiful!

Pics
Safety demonstration video ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4452.jpg)
The domestic terminal seen from my seat after push back ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4454.jpg)
Lining up runway 34L, best possible weather! ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4456.jpg)
The city of Izmir seen from the plane ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4461.jpg)

Meal service

After the seatbelt sign had been switched off the inflight service started, now I had an idea what to expect and I was not going to be disappointed on this flight either.
Just like the previous domestic flight they served a very decent meal considering the short flight time and just like on my last flight I was given a small menu.

This is what was served on the flight to Istanbul


Menu Izmir-Istanbul

Turkish style kidney beans

Dried beef, eggplant salad, herbed chicken

Tulumba with clotted cream

Ovenfresh bread selection

Coffee and tea


The meal was superb with dried beef and chicken and a Turkish dessert after the meal, very tasty! The meal was prepared by Turkish Do&Co according to the menu and not just tasted good but also looked very appetizing. If you look at the photo below you can also see the miniature pepper and salt shakers they provide on the tray, quite cute!
I asked for a glass of red wine to drink and was also given a package of Turkish hazelnuts with the drink. They only have small bottles of wine onboard but they do use proper wine glasses with the Turkish Airlines logo, it looks quite elegant!

Pics
Inflight meal in business class ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4463.jpg)

Arrival in Istanbul

The flight passed very quickly, the female flight attendant serving business class offered more drinks but all too soon we started our descent to Istanbul and the cabin had to be prepared for landing.
Very nice weather in the Istanbul area offering an excellent view of the Sea of Marmara and all the vessels anchored outside Istanbul, quite a sight!
We finally touched down just before 4 pm on runway 6 at Istanbul Atatürk airport.

It was quite a long taxi to the domestic terminal. The current domestic terminal was once used as international terminal before the new one was built, which is not a very long time ago.
I used it myself in the late 90’s and it just struck me when entering the terminal this time how small and cramped the building actually is, and back then it was the main international terminal in Turkey, how did they manage?
Anyway, sitting in business class I was the first passenger off the plane and after passing the baggage hall I followed the signs for the international terminal.

Pics
Seconds before landing, lots of ships have anchored just a short distance from the airport ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4468.jpg)
Passing the international terminal ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4469.jpg)
The domestic terminal ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4472.jpg)

Next: A review of the business class facilities in Istanbul and the Turkish Airlines lounge in the international terminal, one of the most unusual and spectacular lounges I have ever been to… :)

Thanks, jacob_m,
I have some J segments on TK coming up and I appreciate knowing what to expect. There are some pix of the CIP lounge at IST on airliners.net that show off the incredible furniture there as well. Gotta love that WOW factor.
^

Good report! ^

Facilities for Turkish Airlines international premium passengers in Istanbul

It was quite a walk from the domestic terminal to the international terminal, but fortunately with moving walkways. The signs were easy to follow though and after a few minutes I was standing in the arrivals hall and only had to take an escalator to the departure level.
All passengers normally have to pass a security checkpoint before entering the terminal building, but since the domestic terminal and the walkways were in the secured area I did not have to do that.

Turkish Airlines advertise that business class and premium passengers should you entrance E in the international terminal which is almost to the far left from the taxi and bus drop-off area, but finding the premium check-in area was quite tricky in the huge departure hall and there were not that many signs. Eventually I found it though at the end of one of the check-in islands.
Four check-in desks were open with the same red carpets I have seen at other Turkish airports. There were large red signs saying business class passengers, Turkish Airlines elite card holders, and Star Alliance gold card holders could use it.
I enquired briefly at one of the counters if I needed an invitation to visit the lounge (as has been the case at other airports), but was told my boarding pass was sufficient.

Right next to the check-in area where was a fast track passport control with large red signs saying it was available for business class passengers and Star gold/TK elite card holders.
Great service! I was through within 30 seconds! ^
There was a man standing in front of the passport control checking boarding passes to make sure only eligible passengers use it. This afternoon there were not many passengers in regular lines either, but at other much busier days I know the fast track would come to very good use.

Pics
The international departure hall ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4478.jpg)
Turkish Airlines Business class/Star Gold check-in area ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4479.jpg)
The premium check-in area and the fast track passport control in the background to the very right (with the same red signs) ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4481.jpg)

Just opposite the premium check-in area there was also a small exhibition with photos of “moments at Istanbul airport”. The arrival of the A380 in IST, the new president taking his first flight, a Nobel Prize laureate receiving the great news, and a photo of people waiting outside the old domestic terminal a late evening.
Really fun to look at!

Pics
From the exhibition: This is what the domestic terminal looked like just a very few years ago. I’m glad things have changed! ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4480.jpg)

Turkish Airlines international CIP lounge, Istanbul - The most unusual and spectacular lounge I have ever been to!!

I headed to the Turkish Airlines international CIP lounge located at the very end of the terminal, a short walk from the fast track passport control.
I had heard that the lounge was going to be something very different, and I was not to be disappointed. :)

The lounge is without any doubt the most unusual and the most spectacular lounge I have ever visited.
It has an incredible cool mix of an oriental palace design with grandiose furniture, chandeliers and gold mirrors while other parts of the lounge have a 21st century supermodern minimalistic design with low tables, contemporary armchairs and couches, and widescreen TVs.

I presented my boarding pass at the reception desk and after being registered in the computer I was allowed to enter. The entrance to the lounge is to the left of the reception desk and the exit is to the right, never seen that before in a lounge.
At the reception desk they also had a printed map of the lounge explaining the facilities and where they are located. The lounge is vast and the facilities are plentiful, so it ended up being quite useful (I have taken a photo of the map below).
The lounge covers 1470 square meters according to the TK website and has a total seating capacity of 385.

First thing after the reception are “the palace rooms” with chandeliers, 19th century gold furniture, Turkish art and oriental antiquities.
Honestly I am not a very big fan of this kind of design, I find it a bit too much. But after having been to probably nearly 100 lounges this just differed completely from everything I have ever seen before, it was really refreshing and that did impress me a lot. Wow!
In the “palace part” there was a large sitting lounge, an adjacent smaller room with more seats and four internet computers, and a third room where you could have some rest.

After passing through the palace rooms you enter the main lounge which is very airy and spacious, high ceiling and with a modern interior.
There are plenty of lounge chairs and also a restaurant part with proper tables and seats.
At the end of the room there are four widescreen TVs mounted on the wall, very nicely they had left the remote controls on the tables in front, so you could choose yourself what to watch among the 40 TV-channels available (on the tables there was also a list of all TV-channels).

At the other end of the main lounge the self-service buffet offered a very good selection of breads, cold cuts, vegetables, packaged sandwiches, pastries, fruits, desserts and hot soup. Similar selection to the other TK lounges I have reviewed.
Opposite the buffet the self-service bar area offered a good selection of beer, spirits and cocktail snacks. In front of it they had placed a table with I think three types of red wine and appropriate wine glasses. Really elegant, very classy!! ^
I actually felt tempted to do some wine tasting…

The other facilities in the lounge included a playroom for children, a meeting room, a nursery room, a praying room, a cloakroom and a proper resting area with four reclining chairs separated from each other by large black curtains (cool oriental design again).

Overall it’s a great lounge, a very decent place to kill some time and a good compliment (or dare I even say an improvement?) to the existing Star Alliance lounges worldwide! :)

Pics
The entrance to the lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4484.jpg)
Reception desk ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4505.jpg)
First sight after having entered the lounge. Wow!! ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4486.jpg)
The corridor leading to the main lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4485.jpg)
A sitting area in the old sultan’s palace? No it’s still the TK lounge. ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4487.jpg)
Work stations with free internet, at least the computers are not in gold ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4503.jpg)
Entering the main lounge with a very modern design ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4489.jpg)
Overview of the main lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4500.jpg)
Several widescreen TVs, you can choose yourself what to watch among 40 channels ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4501.jpg)
The restaurant part with the self-service buffet in the background ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4488.jpg)
The self-service buffet with a good selection of food ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4490.jpg)
Selection of red wines, very elegantly displayed! ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4491.jpg)
The bar area with beer, spirits and snacks ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4502.jpg)
The corridor leading to the restrooms and resting areas ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4493.jpg)
Praying room in the lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4494.jpg)
Even the restrooms are some of the most unusual I have ever seen ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4495.jpg)
The resting area with four reclining chairs separated by large curtains ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4496.jpg)
A map of the lounge explaining all the facilities ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IstanbulCIPloungemap.jpg)
Exit from the lounge ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4498.jpg)

The transit area

I spent nearly two hours in the lounge and then had a look around in the transit area before heading for the gate.
The international transit hall is vast, very airy and spacious and overall quite a pleasant place.
There are plenty of shops, pretty good duty free shopping, but other than that mostly shops of the major international designers (Bvlgari, Gucci, Burberry etc) with prices to follow. I ended up purchasing a bottle of whisky and a perfume at reasonable prices.
Around 30 minutes before departure the monitors indicated in was time to head for the gate.

Pics
The huge airy transit hall ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4482.jpg)
The main duty free shop ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4507.jpg)
I am still pondering over what this sign “Free shops” actually means… ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4506.jpg)

OMG!!! That is some lounge! "Most unusual and most spectacular" as you say. It's so OTT I want to see it!

Thanks again for this wonderful trip report. ^

PS Didn't you love the flower arrangement under the floor :cool: at the ADB lounge entrance?!

Very nice Jacob_m, I always enjoy reading your TRs! TK sounds like a fabulous airlines. I only hope they stay that way.

After a very nice afternoon in that fabulous Turkish Airlines lounge it was time to head for the gate, final leg of this trip report is Istanbul-London/Heathrow.

In Istanbul security takes place at the gate. At the entrance to the gate area a security officer was checking passports before allowing passengers to the security check and to the gate area. He asked quite a few questions, the purpose of my trip, my occupation, where I had been in Turkey, and so on. He also looked through the stamps in my passport.
Not much to comment about though in my case…

The gate area was quite full, but it was not as bad as the outbound flight, I’d reckon a flight load of 70-80%.
Just like in London boarding was done by sections starting from the back while the other passengers were asked to wait in the gate lounge. This worked slightly better than in London, but there were still passengers who tried to board early only to be stopped by the gate staff.
I asked one of the gate agents if I could board early as a business class passenger, she double-checked with a colleague who confirmed it was certainly not a problem for me to board.

The aircraft used for this evening flight to London was an Airbus A321, unfortunately I never got to try the Airbus A330 on this trip which is a real shame as it was something I had been looking forward to.
Five rows were assigned for business class but the load was very light at the front so we all got our own row.
Pillow, blankets and headphones were available at the seat and once seated a flight attendant offered a pre-departure drink; orange juice, water or champagne.
She also handed out landing cards for the UK and all business class passengers also got a fast track pass for the immigration at Heathrow. ^
I do have an EU passport so I didn’t need the landing card, but a fast track pass could always come handy even though the EU-line at Heathrow terminal 3 normally is moving quite fast.

Pics
The Airbus A321 at the gate in Istanbul ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4508.jpg)

Istanbul-London/Heathrow, flight TK 1981 operated by Turkish Airlines
Departure: 19:10
Arrival: 21:15
Aircraft: Airbus A321
Class: Business Class
Seat: 02F

We pushed back a few minutes late a 7.25 pm and taxied to runway 36R for a departure to the north. I enjoyed a great view of Istanbul and the Bosporus during the initial climb, it is really a massive city as you can see on the photo.
The routing to London would take us over Bulgaria, Serbia, Austria, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands and then across the North Sea to the United Kingdom.

Pics
The massive city of Istanbul seen right after take-off ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4513.jpg)

Meal service

Shortly after the seatbelt sign had been switched off the meal service started.
We were given a hot towel and afterwards drinks were offered. I asked for a glass of champagne which was served with cocktail snacks.
At the same time the business class menus were handed out with the following choices:


Menu Istanbul-London

Chicken Caesar’s salad / Caesar’s dressing

Traditional yoghurt cucumber salad

***

Chicken “kebab”, sautéed vegetables, pan-fried potatoes

Or

Stuffed vine leaves, zucchini and eggplant
Very traditional Turkish dish stuffed with minced beef
Home made yoghurt

Or

Penne with parmesan cheese
Black olive, tomato sauce

***

Selection of cheese

“Tulumba” with clotted cream

Ovenfresh bread selection

Coffee or tea

Beverages

Champagne

Blended Whisky, Bourbon Whisky, Gin, Vodka, Raki

Selected Turkish and international wines

Beers

Liqueur and cognacs

Orange, tomato, sourcherry juices

Ice Tea lemon, Mineral water

Tea, Coffee


Some of you may recognise the menu... I guess I was just being unlucky, but on the other hand I really enjoyed the food and with three choices of main course it wasn’t a big deal.
White tablecloths were laid on the tables and then the meal trays were distributed. Warm bread was offered as well as more drinks, I asked for some red to drink with the meal and had three different wines to choose between.
As main course I chose the traditional Turkish dish with vegetables, minced beef and yoghurt. Quite a different dish, far from the ordinary stuff, but actually quite tasty.
More drinks were offered followed by coffee and tea.

With only a few passengers in business class the meal service was slightly quicker and they didn’t use a cart this time, instead everything was served directly from the galley.
Just like previous flights the service was very attentive and the FAs very friendly and helpful. They were always smiling and made a great effort to look after the passengers, nothing was too much trouble.

I was quite tired after the meal service and after lots of travelling so I tried to get some rest just like some of the other passengers, others chose to watch the movie on the main screen, I can’t remember which one they showed. There was also music to listen to through the inflight entertainment system.
One hour into the flight we encountered bad turbulence, actually very bad turbulence, which lasted for almost an hour. Very trying, especially as we couldn’t even visit the lavatory because the aircraft was shaking so much (I actually did and it was not very pleasant).

I woke up after a bit of well-needed rest and went to the galley to ask if I could get a cup of coffee, which was certainly not a problem even though the female flight attendant was eating her dinner. A cup of freshly brewed coffee was delivered to my seat a few minutes later.
Duty free items were also offered in the cabin in the middle of the flight.

Pics
Champagne, hazelnuts and the business class menu ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4514.jpg)
Appetizer ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4515.jpg)
Main course and red wine to drink ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4516.jpg)

Arrival at London Heathrow

We started our descent to Heathrow somewhere over the North Sea, hot towels were offered in the business class cabin before the cabin was prepared for landing.
Fortunately no wait at all at Lambourne (the holding pattern in north-eastern London), we were directed to final approach straight away and got that nice approach providing a fantastic view of London flying over Docklands/Canary Wharf and then along the South bank and central London.
We actually landed ten minutes early at 9.05 pm on runway 27L.

For some reason the jet bridge at gate 11 was malfunctioning, the FA waited patiently in the galley for it to be positioned, but for some reason they just couldn’t manage.
Eventually she received a message from the ground staff that the rear door was to be used for disembarkation which she informed us about.
Not particularly nice for us in business class, we had to wait until nearly 150 passengers had got off before it was our turn. The FA was very apologetic, but there was not much she could do about it.
There was also a young man travelling in economy class waiting with us, he was quite nasty and rushed to the forward galley before the plane had even stopped and the seatbelt sign had even been switched off, just to be the first one off the plane, not very polite. Now he had to wait until the very end instead and was not happy about it.

At last the economy cabin was empty and we could get off using stairs attached to the rear door, we then had to walk over the apron to reach the terminal building.
Immigration was packed, even the EU-line was really long and stretched all the way to the stairs from the gates (for those who know Heathrow terminal 3). I suddenly remembered I had a fast track pass to use, I handed it over to the woman at the entrance to the fast track lane and was actually standing in the baggage hall a minute later. Great!!

Luggage delivery took absolutely forever, mostly because so many people were stuck at immigration. There was simply no more space on the baggage belt to load more bags, so they waited until enough people had reclaimed their luggage before they loaded more bags on the belt.
Very inefficient, I think saw some bags passing ten times on the belt! The priority tag didn’t make much difference either, this was the kind of moment when loading priority luggage first would have helped a lot, especially since business class passengers used the fast track and were among the first in the baggage hall.
Around an hour after landing I was on my way from Heathrow, certainly not my smoothest arrival.

Pics
Docklands and Canary Wharf seen during the approach to Heathrow ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4521.jpg)
Docklands and historic Greenwich (where I used to live, my house is actually in the photo) ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4523.jpg)
Central London and the Thames ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4525.jpg)
Just landed at London Heathrow, there is another aircraft on approach after us (you can see the landing lights as a small white spot) ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4528.jpg)
The Turkish Airlines A321 at the gate, we are using the rear exit to leave the plane ( http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/jacob_m/Izmir 2008/IMG_4529.jpg)

Conclusion

As I wrote in the beginning I really had no idea what to expect of Turkish Airlines. I haven’t seen many reviews and it’s not an airline people generally talk about.
Booking a business class ticket with TK was a bit like buying a pig in a poke, but on the other hand I love to try new airlines (especially more unusual ones) and fly to new places, it gives some excitement to the otherwise all too boring air travels of today.

Well in retrorespect Turkish Airlines exceeded my expectations in pretty much every aspect. They have a very good (and underrated) product and will make a good compliment to the Star Alliance network. Everything from ground services to lounges and inflight service was excellent, in many ways better than many other European carriers.
Unfortunately the aircraft change in the beginning meant I never got to experience the Airbus A330 with proper business class seats and avod, so I'll leave that to someone else to review
Still choosing Turkish Airlines was a wise choice, I would certainly not hesitate to fly with them again and will happily recommend TK to anybody.

Some general comments about the experience:

Ground services: Overall very good. Proper business class check-in at all airports I visited, always with red carpets in front of the check-in desks and with proper signage.
The domestic service in Istanbul with the private bus service to the aircraft was excellent. Fast track passport control/immigration in both London and Istanbul certainly also helped and saved a lot of time.

Lounges: Turkish Airlines impressed A LOT here!! All three TK lounges I visited were great and the international TK lounge in Istanbul was simply spectacular, wow what a lounge!! That lounge is definitely on my list of the best Star Alliance lounges worldwide now.

Boarding: Well generally quite chaotic with all passengers trying to rush onboard without listening to announcements.
Great arrangements for domestic flights within Turkey, but I was a bit disappointed they did not offer priority boarding for the international flights (although in practice business class passengers were allowed to board at their leisure)

Inflight service: Always friendly and smiling staff who really seemed to enjoy their work. Many of the flight attendants spoke surprisingly good English and were quite knowledgeable.
On the longer flights the FAs spent a lot of time looking after the passengers and no request was too much trouble, I never felt like I was disturbing them.

Inflight food: They used Do&Co for the inflight meals on all flights I took. The food was not just very tasty but also looked appetizing, I give very high marks for the presentation and I especially liked the small pepper and salt shakers they provide.
On the London-Istanbul flights they provided three choices of main course which is quite good (more than most airlines would offer). They had also loaded far more meals than there were passengers, I never heard of anybody not getting his/her first choice.
Drinks selection was also good with both Turkish and international wines, proper champagne and a good selection of premium spirits.
On the domestic flights the meal service was superb, better than anything I have experienced on any other similar domestic flight, and they did offer champagne as pre-departure drink even on the domestic flights!

Arrivals service: The staff are well aware of the routines for Star Alliance gold passengers, no need to remind them of priority tags.
Unfortunately the tag did not work very well, same problem as at many other airports in Europe (but I admit I don’t have a lot of experience regarding TK in this matter).
Fast track immigration was very useful though and the miles for all the flights I took posted in my account just two days later.

Whenever I see a new TR from you, jacob_m, I always smile because I know I'm in for a treat. A wonderful report. Well done.

Whenever I see a new TR from you, jacob_m, I always smile because I know I'm in for a treat. A wonderful report. Well done.

I couldn't agree more - a great report, as usual :)

And after so many mediocre additions to *A of late, how nice to read such a positive report about what appears to be a fantastic addition to the alliance. I've been meaning to go to Turkey for a long time - maybe this will be the prod that I need... Great to see such good lounges even in small locations, too.

This inspired me to change a C class award booking from Swiss to Turkish for ZRH-IST in August. :D

Too bad about the lack of booze at the domestic lounges. I have a 2 hour wait in IST before flying to ADB in the late evening. I wonder why this is the case? High taxes on alcoholic beverages whereas they don't have to pay the taxes in the international transit area, maybe?

Re the fast track passport/security and lounge at IST: can I use this when flying LH? Does LH have its own check-in or does Turkish do their handling (like SAS in Scandinavia)? My flight IST-FRA is at 6 am so would like to get there as late as possible.

Whenever I see a new TR from you, jacob_m, I always smile because I know I'm in for a treat.
I couldn't agree more - a great report, as usual :)
Thanks for the kind words! :)
Great to hear you enjoy reading them and a good incentive for me to continue writing, I do tend to put a lot of time and effort into my reports.

Too bad about the lack of booze at the domestic lounges. I have a 2 hour wait in IST before flying to ADB in the late evening. I wonder why this is the case? High taxes on alcoholic beverages whereas they don't have to pay the taxes in the international transit area, maybe?
I have no idea, but I don't think taxes and alcohol regulations should be that much of a problem in Turkey.

Unfortunately I think arriving and departing passengers are separated in IST (can't be 100% sure though since I have never had an international transfer there), otherwise you could head for the intl lounge instead since customs clearance will take place in ADB and the luggage will be transfered automatically.

Re the fast track passport/security and lounge at IST: can I use this when flying LH? Does LH have its own check-in or does Turkish do their handling (like SAS in Scandinavia)?
I can say for sure LH takes care of their own handling, or at least they have separate check-in desks.
The fast track passport control I saw only mentioned Turkish Airlines, so I doubt you'll be able to use it.

TK's J class is a very pleasant experience, judging from various trip reports (including yours). And that lounge in IST is just awesome ! OA, take note...

Thanks for the detailed report! You write it just like I to read it; lots of details..

Wow what a great report. Thank you^

TK`s lounges and inflight service looks truly amazing^

Do&Co is probably the best catering firm out there. Flew OS, which also uses Do&Co, VIE-BKK-VIE and I was blown away by the quality of the catering:)

I am considering a trip to IST this fall and if I do it will definitely be on TK!

Cheers

excellent report ^

As someone said , lots of details. I would like to hear more about your impressions on their seat-pitch.

excellent report ^

As someone said , lots of details. I would like to hear more about your impressions on their seat-pitch.
Thanks! Tack så mycket...

Well regarding the seat-pitch on the B737/A320/A321s TK has the same standard as most other European carriers.
Basically the same seats throughout the plane, but the first few rows (i.e. business class) have a bit more legroom, 2-5 inches depending on aircraft type.
Also, as you can see on the photos, the middle seats remain empty and have been replaced by a drink table providing more personal space, better storage and better seat width.

If you fly the A330 you get a proper lie-flat business class seat onboard with a 60" seat pitch and proper business class amenities.
I was supposed to have flown it LHR-IST as they use the A330 quite often on this route, but a last minute aircraft change meant I unfortunately never got to try it, so no review of it in this report.
Still I never found space and legroom any kind of problem on the other planes either (and a consistent great inflight service well make up for any inconvenience).

If you fly the A330 you get a proper lie-flat business class seat onboard with a 60" seat pitch and proper business class amenities.
I was supposed to have flown it LHR-IST as they use the A330 quite often on this route, but a last minute aircraft change meant I unfortunately never got to try it, so no review of it in this report.
Still I never found space and legroom any kind of problem on the other planes either (and a consistent great inflight service well make up for any inconvenience).

FYI. A340's are being upgraded to the new style C/J product of the A330 aircraft. See this post (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10340722&postcount=16) in the TK forum about what I could gather thus far.