Flight TK60 Istanbul – Kuala Lumpur
Departure: 01.15
Arrival: 16.50
Duration: 10h 35m
Seat & Class: 4A, Business Class
Aircraft & Reg: Airbus A340-311, TC-JDL (Star Alliance livery)
As dreaded and feared our A340 was boarding from a bus gate this evening. The gate area was packed, indicating a healthy load on tonight’s flight to the Malaysian capital. Boarding was delayed by 30 minutes, and once the call was made no priority was given. Not that it mattered anyway… Once inside the bus we were forced to wait another 30 minutes until the last person had boarded the second bus, despite the first one being packed to the brim and ready to leave for the aircraft.
Eventually we pull up beside the maintenance hangar where our A340 stood parked. Boarding was made through door 2L only and people were flooding the airstairs. At the door I got a cold greeting from the crew before making the famous left turn. How I love turning left at boarding…
View of the Business Class cabin on this A340.
With the aircraft being fresh from maintenance, the seats and cabin were in immaculate condition. I stowed my trolley in the overhead before settling down in the comfortable seat.
Great legroom!
The A340s are fitted with the older generation of Business Class seats that don’t go fully flat. I did however find them to be comfier than the newer seats in the upright and lounge position.
Cabin during boarding.
Shortly after settling down I receive a warm welcome from the onboard chef, before being offered a welcome drink and a chocolate praline. A flight attendant soon came by to offer newspapers and amenity kits. I was surprised to find the print issue of Newsweek onboard, so I grabbed the last copy.
Welcome drink consisting of strawberry soda.
The hand-made Belgian chocolate praline from Godiva was a nice touch.
Amenity kit by CrabTree & Evelyn. Since I have no interest in owning an iPad I left it onboard.
The boarding eventually finished, leaving a 50% load in the Business Class cabin hence me being fortunate enough to have the aisle seat free. Our departure was delayed by a slight technical issue, so meanwhile the menu and wine list was handed out. The issue is eventually sorted, and we are ready for departure.
Cabin before departure.
As always on the -300 the takeoff was heavy and slow. Our ascent over the city of Istanbul was low and slow, but we eventually made it to cruise around 40 minutes into the flight. Despite the ungodly hour of 03.00 local time, a full five course dinner was to be served. Table linens were laid out, quickly followed by hot canapés.
The hot canapés consisting of deep fried prawn, goat’s cheese on a slice of watermelon, and a breaded turkey meatball.
Not many airlines offer proper canapés in Business Class, and they were certainly a nice touch. I didn’t quite understand why I was later served a ramekin of nuts. It felt pretty overkill to me. Next up was the starter course.
Starter consisting of a seafood platter. King prawns, smoked salmon, lettuce and cherry tomatoes.
The starter dish tasted nice and fresh and I particularly enjoyed the king prawns. Small side dishes consisting of okra and aborigine salad, hummus and green salad were also found on the tray. All of them tasted great, with the exception of the okra which was a bit too fatty for my taste. To drink I order a glass of Champagne. Next up was soup!
The soup on offer was a lentil soup, served with a tapernade toast on the side.
I’ve eaten my fair share of lentil soups over the years, but I must say that the one served on Turkish tasted almost identical to the one my mother makes. The soup had a nice and smooth texture, with the right amount of seasoning. The tapernade toast tasted great too. Next up was the main course.
I settled for the signature Shish Kebab, served with a grilled tomato and red pepper.
”-Don’t order meat on planes” has been a common mantra over the years which to a large extent has been true since the various steak dishes I’ve been serve have mostly resembled shoe rubbers. On Turkish however, the lamb was succulent and flavourful, pairing perfectly with the rice that has been cooked in its drippings. The presentation was great too, as Turkish are one of the few airlines that plate the food in Business Class.
By the time the dessert cart rolled in, I was too stuffed to even consider savouring the goodies on offer, but the cook insisted that I’d at least round it off with some fruit and ice cream.
Dessert.
By the time the meal service had finished, the sun was already making its appearance in the horizon. The crew instructed all passengers to close their blinds, to which I complied. I put the seat in its fully reclined mode and slept comfortably for around five hours. Four hours of the flight remained by the time I woke up, two of them on watching the latest Mission Impossible movie starring Tom Cruise. Roughly two hours before landing breakfast was served.
The service started off with some hot towels, followed by a glass of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice served from a tray.
Hot towel served on a small plate.
With the towels cleared, the breakfast trays were brought out. First out was a starter plate consisting of various types of cheese, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and olives. A small fruit bowl and muesli is served on the side, as well as fresh breads and pastries from the basket.
Breakfast starter.
Following the starter came the hot main course which consisted of a turkey toast with scrambled eggs and a roast green pepper.
Breakfast main.
The toast was rather unspectacular and lacking cheese, I found the scrambled eggs to be very nice and flavourful. Eggs served on planes are normally pretty bland and soggy, but I was surprised to find this scramble creamy and smooth.
With roughly one hour to go before landing, I put the seat in a comfy lounge position and watch a few sitcoms for the short remainder of the flight.
I guess it’s not too hard to figure out what show I’m watching.
Descent commencing at T-40 minutes.
Very soon our A340 began its approach into Kuala Lumpur International Airport, before making a smooth landing and arriving at the gate 40 minutes behind schedule.