Well here goes for my first trip report. It is also my first work flights since early March, so it felt a bit odd doing what I do again. Because of the quarantine rules in the UK, I combined work in four different countries in Africa to reduce the pain of 14 days of restriction when I get back to just do it once. I booked my (economy) flights just a week before going. There appeared to be plenty of availability judging by the seat map in the app. After the usual battle with vanishing ELPL upgrade vouchers, I had no problem getting into business class. In between sorting this and departure, the UK government decided a lockdown would be a good idea. It would start 2 days after I left, so no problem. My plan was to stop in IST at the landside Yotel for 18 hours and get the COVID test I needed to enter Rwanda.
Come departure day, I drove to LHR T2. Heading into the airport, the roads were deserted. Car handed over to the park & ride man, I headed into the terminal. It was fairly busy in the check in area. I found TK check in in its usual place at the far left hand end. That was normal enough, but one minor hassle was that my luggage could only be checked to IST because I could not show the COVID test at check in. The helpful check in lady told me that only the LH Lounge was available. That is fine as it is my preferred lounge anyway.
No fast track security. However, the regular security had no significant queue so that is fine. And through to T2 airside.
T2 was looking less than 25% of its usual pre-COVID capacity. T3 and T4 are closed and their flights shared between T2 & T5. So really not busy at all.
I headed to the LH Lounge. I think the other lounges (UA is the TK default) have been retasked to the other airlines. I like the 10-15 minute walk from the LH lounge to the B gates where TK usually depart. A bit of exercise before a flight is good. So the LH Lounge. The Senator lounge was closed, which is where I usually go. Having said that, pre-COVID the offering in the main lounge always looked pretty good. I usually end up eating so much in the lounge that the in flight catering is not important and that was definitely the plan here given TK's 'enhanced' offering. Sorry for using BA language over here. I would say there were about 20 people in the lounge, so social distancing was not a problem. However, the food was:
Some people had managed to get a small pasta dish, but this was all that remained for me. I ate most of the sandwich before I thought I should ask what was inside. It was not obvious from the taste - there was none. Apparently it was chicken and coleslaw. At least that is what the people on the next table were told. I can only compare it to one of the £1 sandwiches you get in Cost Cutters. A couple of Becks beers helped a bit, before my walk to the B gates.
The gate area was fairly busy, but was reasonably well managed. There is no priority boarding now, so I waited until the end. I boarded what looked like a full A330. I was pleased to be turning left. My quiet flight had turned into a flee the UK before lockdown special! I did not see lots of big carry one, so there must have been some enforcement of the hand luggage rules. The bins looked pretty full though. I just had my laptop bag as I wanted to be sure to have it with me. I gave up on big carry ons long ago so that works for me.
Sitting on my seat was these:
OK, they were in the bag to begin with. I had left my own Audio Technica headphones in my suitcase in the hope of a set of Denon's on the A330. A mistake, so I watched very little on the IFE and instead went online. The wifi did at least work well.
1GB allowance in theory in J, but the quota never dropped, so it looks unlimited. How anyone could use 1GB of data on a satellite connection is beyond me. The only interruption to browsing and posting on here came with the food box. Enough has been said about that and I have already posted this photo on the requisite thread.
Apart from the nearly notorious cheese sandwich and Cappy juice, the rest was good. However, it would only satisfy the appetite of a small rodent.
This was a warm flight. TK regulars will know what that means and the sense of relief getting onto the cool of the air bridge later. The safety cards are really just there to be improvised fans. Why TK can't get cabin temperatures right I do not know.
Arriving into IST, the aircraft found its gate relatively quickly. I still shudder when I think of how many times we circled the building when new IST opened. Getting through the terminal was no problem. This was the first time I have needed to enter Turkey at new IST. There was no queue for immigration. I don't know if any fast track was open as I just headed for the first empty immigration area. There is a design flaw with the immigration areas though. The zig-zag barriers which are immovable glass things don't allow them to open a direct route to the immigration counters when there is no queue. It's just a bit frustrating.
Another long walk to the baggage reclaim. Bags came through quick enough. Customs showed as much interest in my large pile of bags as your would expect at 2AM. After a slight navigation error I made it to Yotel landside sometime after 1:00AM. Getting tired by now, I had the frustration of being given the room furthest from Yotel reception (2139 just in case you want to avoid it) and a faulty key card. A grumpy return to reception then a visit to the COVID test centre which I have already described in the IST COVID test thread and I was ready for bed by 02:00AM. The Yotel rooms look modern, clean and spacious in the marketing. They are not spacious. That is just a trick with wide angle lenses and Photoshop. However, they are a clean bed at a not too crazy price.
Part 2 follows after my dinner...