worldtraveller73

Turkish ETour &
Turkish Airlines Arrival Lounge
Istanbul Atatürk Airport, Istanbul

I had arranged our e-visa’s for entry to Turkey on the Turkish government website the day we departed the Seychelles. Turkish Airlines also offers a free semi guided tour of varying lengths from the airport to the airport. Since we had a 10 hour connection, it was the perfect escape and attraction to keep us occupied instead of waiting out the connection solely in the lounge.

We initially went to the Turkish Airlines International Departures lounge for a shower and a snack. Even at this hour (3:30 AM), we had to wait approximately 1 hour for a shower. I had asked about a sleep suite that they have on offer at the lounge but they only offer them for stays of 4 – 7 hours. Since our connection was 10 hours, the shower staff should have directed me to the hotel desk outside of the secure area for a connecting hotel which are eligible to some business class passengers, but they didn’t. Either they weren’t informed or didn’t think of it.

I had printed off our E-Visas’ entry courtesy of the iMac computers in the TK lounge. We left our luggage in two of the free lockers in the lounge which happened to be easily available at 3:40 AM. Heading off on our tour, we exited the lounge, following the hallway all the way to the Millennium Lounge at the opposite end of the main concourse. We took a left and took the stairs down to the departure concourse level where we presented our E-Visa’s and entered Turkey.





On the public side, we located the Turkish Hotel Desk where we signed up for the 8:30 AM tour at about 7:35 AM. Our onward boarding cards were collected, and we were told to be back for 8:30 AM.





We happened to be immediately across from the Turkish Airlines Arrival Lounge and though why not? Let's check it out. With about 40 minutes to spare, we gained access via our old boarding cards which were printed on Air Seychelles stock. The lounge dragon looked up our access on the computer and we were given entry.



The Turkish Airlines arrival lounge is a small space. The lounge only has about 30 chairs and tables. What did surprise me is that the lounge was in much better condition than the general departure lounge upstairs.







There was also an omelette station and many shower suites. There was also a suit pressing station.





At about 8:15 AM, we headed back outside for our tour. Our names were called and we were each given a sticker identifying us as being on the tour. Our boarding cards were also given a sticker with a contact phone number in the event of an emergency. All in all, it was well organized. A nice peaceful environment (laughing):



I was surprised at the amount of people doing the tour. All in, there was a full coach of 48 people, in addition to a small van of 15 passengers. We lucked out and got in the small van, which made the trip go much better.







We started off on the coastal road. We ended up heading to the Galata bridge. It was a beautiful sunny day in Istanbul, which made the sights along the way all that more pleasant.







We parked directly on the Galata bridge where we had a fifteen minute photobreak. One of our younger youthful travelers mistook this bridge for the Bosphorus bridge and set off running end to end so that she could have a foot in Europe and a foot in Asia. She was late getting back to the van but it meant all that much more time for us to breath in some Turkish air.















After the Galata Bridge, we hopped back in the van and headed up the road to Dolmabahçe Palace. It was a nice spot to stop right on the water. The palace served as served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1887 and 1909 to 1922















There was also a nice café on the shores of the Bosphorus although we didn’t indulge today.









Right around the corner from the palace was the Dolmabahçe Mosque. It was commissioned in 1885 and was a beautiful spot. It was free of charge to enter, although MrsWT73 had to wrap. Scarves were provided free of charge.













We hopped back in the van for the last time for the drive back towards the airport. Instead of the coastal drive, it was direct through the city toward the airport area.













We were dropped off at the departures level. Overall, it was a pleasant way to spend 6 hours instead of being cooped up in a room with stale air. We got to leave with more pleasant memories of Istanbul. This was after stepping through the smoke pits at the grotty entrance to the Ataturk Airport (laughing).







We located the business class entrance on the far left side of the airport. This entrance offered direct entry into the lounge. With some bad timing, there were a family of 6 and a family of 4 immediately ahead of us. Both were all over the place.



We reunited with our bags and spent about an hour in the lounge before we headed to the gate. The Turkish Airlines E-Tour was a pleasant way to pass the time. I would easily do it again if I had the opportunity.

worldtraveller73

Turkish Airlines
TK 17 – Business Class (I)
IST – YYZ (Istanbul Atatürk International Airport – Toronto Pearson International Airport)
June 12, 2018
2:15 PM – 6:00 PM
Booked: Boeing 777-300ER
Flown: Boeing 777-300ER

After the tour, we took in a light lunch at the Turkish Airlines lounge. At about 12:50 PM, with the “Go to Gate” sign flashing, we headed down to Gate 227A. This was my last trip through the Atatûrk airport before it relocates to the new facility out of down in late 2018. Frankly, it's not a sad moment for me. I found this place to be overcrowded and not super enjoyable on my trips through.

As usual, it was a very Turkish Airlines haphazard and crowded boarding experience. The gate area was totally packed, with no real room to move around. Our passports and boarding cards were checked and we entered into the holding pen. Turkish doesn’t seem to out much effort into this part of the whole process, as it seems to replicate itself everywhere, whether Toronto, Istanbul, Dubai or elsewhere.











There were two jet bridges hooked up to the plane today but the first one, at door 1L was guarded by an attendant and completely closed. We all boarded through door 2L.

On board, I went to my assigned seat which was 6K. This seat was in the second mini business class cabin. I put my bag in the overhead bin and reached for my camera to take a photo of the seat. I was grabbed by a flight attendant assisting the boarding process who promptly stopped me and scolded me: “No photos of the inside of the aircraft”. There’s nothing like a let down to the start of a flight for a trip report writer to hear those words. I had to be more discreet throughout the flight. Thankfully he ended up serving the other half of the cabin throughout the flight so I was able to continue with the "non commercial personal experience" documentation of my travels.









We had some slippers at our seat which were left on the foot rest.



We had all other passengers streaming through the business class cabin. The boarding seemed to be a bit behind and people were running around not getting settled; asking about wifi operability and things like that. As a result, the pre-departure drinks never arrived until T-5 minutes. I went with the last Lemon and Mint special of the trip, whereas MrsWT73 asked for champagne; which was shortly delivered off the tray.



The menus were presented while we were on the ground by the usual Turkish flying chef with chef whites. As always, this involves a lot of reading on Turkish since everything usually has a description. Dinner orders were eventually taken while we were on the ground.







The wine list was good but not spectacular. The best part of it was the vast selection, although the presentation of said list could likely be a bit better if they went to a Qatar model with pictures of the bottles.









We had an interesting taxi through Istanbul Atarürk Airport. As indicated earlier, it will be the last time that I will be through here; although the interesting aircraft that you can see here will surely carry over to the new location. We passed a Kuwait Airways B777, an Urkaine Airlines International B737 and an Iraqi Airways A320-200 plane on our way out.







There are so many outstation stands that they really have outgrown this particular facility.



We had a clear day as we departed on Runway L35. We had some great views of Istanbul as we climbed to altitude.









Once we got to altitude, a towel service was provided.



A newspaper and magazine service was also provided from the trolley. The amenity kits were handed out. Today, they were attractive Molton Brown amenity kits. I didn’t know the brand name Molton Brown before and was surprised to see that they had a Royal Warrant for toiletry products for Queen Elizabeth the Second. The Canada Border Services Agency Customs and Immigration cards for Canada were also handed out. These would be among the last paper cards I would ever receive as Canada switched to a wholly electronic process in the summer of 2018.





The in flight entertainment was of an upgraded variety that included a flight path, a Mecca direction marker and prayer times.





The dinner service started. In my case, it started with champagne and nuts. The flight attendants dropped off the usual Turkish Airline tray of spices, salt and pepper, DO&CO Olive Oil, along with the “Candlelight Dinner high Above the Clouds” LED light that simulates a nice candle. It’s a bit of a gimmick but I still happen to like it.









The appetizers were presented from the trolley. We were seated in Row 6 and had by the time the trolley had made it to us, there were some shortages and some items that had run out. I had salmon tartare and seafood salad, along with soup with spices.





My main course was steak and arugula. It was not bad but surprisingly bland compared to the usual tasty DO & CO catering.



Dessert was brought around on the trolley after a short break from dinner while the flight attendants put away the dinner. Again, by being in Row 6, some of the desserts were missing. I had a Turkish Dessert and Ice Cream. Truly heavenly.



Dinner concluded with a towel service.

The dinner service was a much more leisurely affair with service concluding at about the 2 ½ hour mark after take off. The shades were drawn at this time as the cabin was turned down.

I had our flight attendant make up the mattress pad and bed. I turned in and slept for about 5 hours. The sleep was much more comfortable on this flight. The longer and wider configuration of the Boeing 777-300 of 2-2-2 configuration suits me more than the Air Canada XM styled seating that we had on the Turkish Airbus 330-200.

I woke up to the clattering of dishes and service of the second meal. We were over Quebec at this time with a little less than 2 hours left in the flight. I don’t usually turn down a meal so I woke up and went for some food.



The meal was offered promptly, and started with mixed salad.



The spicy chicken brochette was okay. It hit the spot but it was not super memorable.



MrsWT73 was asked and offered to complete a comment card on behalf of the service on today’s flight. We had an exceptional Turkish flight attendant who was very pleasant, courteous and a pleasure to interact with.

We descended into Toronto.



We arrived to Gate E71. For some reason, the airport was a bit slow getting the jet bridges linked up. We had about a 7-10 minute wait. Eventually they got the doors opened and we disembarked at L1. We were up onto the upper deck and through towards customs fairly easily.





MrsWT73's red backpack is full of souvenirs.







We found our way through the arrivals areas and the express moving side walk to Canadian Immigration. We managed to pass through the Nexus line at Immigration with no waits. As usual as with entering Canada using Nexus, the first two kiosks that I walked up to were broken (frozen). Within twenty minutes of stepping off the plane, we were in the baggage hall. Also unfortunately, as is typical in Canada, the baggage was very slow to arrive. We were waiting at the carousel for 35 minutes. I think this is because everything is being X-rayed by CBSA prior to being put out on the belt.



Once we had collected the bags, we took the train over to the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in the Toronto International Airport for the night.

Turkish Airlines is a great way to get around when redeeming miles. Turkish Airlines has been traditionally very generous with their reward availability, their DO & CO catering is exceptionally tasty (if not a bit repetitive and similar tasting time after time ) and their Turkish Airlines Business Lounge is exceptionally spacious with something to offer everyone.

worldtraveller73

Sheraton Gateway Hotel in the Toronto International Airport.
Toronto Pearson Terminal 3,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada.


We could have connected to a 5 ½ hour narrow body trans continental flight from Toronto to Vancouver and made it home at around 2 AM. MrsWT73’s brother is living in the Toronto area so we opted for an overnight and a quick family visit. We could have taken a shuttle to a nearby off airport hotel but instead we opted to stay at the on airport hotel in nearby Toronto Terminal 3.

We exited the international airport hall and crossed over to the airport train. The Sheraton Gateway Hotel in the Toronto International Airport is in Terminal 3, whereas our flight arrived to Terminal 1. Airport trivia geeks will remember that Toronto Terminal 3 was originally built by now defunct Canadian Airlines as they sought to control the whole passenger experience, including airport design. It now occupies the non Star Alliance carriers for international and Westjet for domestic flights.

We took the train over one stop, down a level, and followed the well marked signage towards the hotel. The hotel doesn’t have much street appeal from the inside, only a set of silver fire doors that indicated the way in.







We rolled ourselves in to the lobby where there was no line to check in. The lobby, like most Sheraton’s, was the usual browns and beige colors that are starting to look a little dated. A friendly check in host processed our check in. For kicks, I had applied a Suite Night Award to the “Prime Minister’s Suite”. It failed to clear and was returned to my account. I had noted on the SPG.com website that the hotel was full for the evening. Despite this, our check in host indicated that she was able to SPG Platinum upgrade us to a higher floor corner room from the category that we had booked. We exchanged pleaseantries about our recent trip to Tanzania. I got the sense that she really enjoyed hearing about guest’s travel experiences.





We led ourselves up to Room # 792. The room was a large handicapped equipped suite at the rear corner of the building.



Although the room, fittings and fixtures were a little dated, the room was large and spacious. It was a comfortable place to be for 13 hours between flights.











There was an easy chair that was the seating area of the room.





The room featured the usual instant coffeemakers with the take away cups.



The view was so-so and overlooked another portion of the hotel and the parking lot. At least it didn’t look into another building.



The bathroom was of an older variety and not all too exciting.



We freshened up and went downstairs to the hotel bar to meet up for a quick visit with MrsWT73’s brother, wife and sons. We later retired to a pleasant sleep for the evening at around 10 PM.

I had a bit of jet lag and ended up waking up around 4 AM, unable to get back to sleep. Since our flight was departing at 7:30 AM, we ended up leaving early to go back to the airport in favor of a Maple Leaf Lounge visit and a lounge breakfast.

The next morning before we departed, I took a quick look upstairs at the Executive Lounge at about 5:20 AM. The lounge was a comfortable and compact space. Timings for the breakfast started at 5:30 AM.







The lounge was a compact space, made larger by the fact that no one was in it.











As we left, our check out was processed efficiently and quickly and we were on our way within minutes. Even MrsWT73 was impressed “that was easy”.

The Sheraton Gateway Hotel in the Toronto International Airport was a pretty standard airport stay. Although the property is quite dated, it’s super convenient for flights departing from the Toronto airport. I’d easily stay here again if an overnight connection presented itself. However, since the Union Express train offers easy access to downtown, I wouldn't make this a place to say longer than an overnight if you were coming through Toronto.

JALlover

Thanks for uploading more! I always find the Turkish airline lounge in Istanbul being one of the best business class lounge in the world, with so many things to do there.

Hopefully the new lounge in the new airport can at least meet this expectation or even improve on it!

nequine

Thanks for the update

That was a good way to spend the time in Istanbul rather than sit in an airport all day.

Molton Brown products are VERY nice but equally VERY expensive too unless they've got a deal going on!

worldtraveller73

Thanks JALlover. I am looking forward to the new Turkish Lounge. Hopefully, they manage to refine the experience a little bit. Although impressive when it first opened, I found the Turkish lounge experience to get a bit tired thanks to the sheer volume of people moving through there.

Good to know nequine!! I managed to see that they have a store on on Regent Street in London the last time I was through; I can't imagine that rents there are that cheap!

worldtraveller73

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge
Toronto Pearson Terminal 1 – Domestic

Thanks to the Africa to North America jet lag, I was up at about 4 AM and unable to get back to sleep. I ended up getting up and we ended up leaving the hotel at 5:30 AM.

We took the train back one stop to the Toronto International Airport Terminal 1. We made our way over to the Air Canada Business Class departure area, which is on the far right of the departures hall in aisle 1. The area has been dressed up recently to appear a little more exclusive. This includes a “dragon” at the entrance ensuring that you are allowed in the confines of the business class / signature class check in area.











Our check in was processed promptly and our bags were tagged to Vancouver. We wandered over to the security screening check point, which is immediately behind the business class check in area. I asked the unhelpful CASTA agent whether the business class or the Nexus line was shorter and she just waved her hand over saying “they’re both busy”. Its’ a blind turn so it’s probably important to get the information before you commit to a line in the event of over zealous line police. We committed ourselves to the Nexus line, but then after several turns in the maze, learned that the business class line was almost non existent. We ended up cutting the line (unchecked!) to the business line and were through in minutes.

We cut left and took the elevator up one floor to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Terminal 1 Domestic. There was a small line to get in, thanks to only one lounge dragon working the front desk at about 5:45 AM. Access was provided thanks to class of service from the ticket. It was refreshing to have lounge access when flying domestically, unlike the United States where you often have to have a lounge membership, a credit card, or a connecting international flight.





The lounge has been refreshed since the last time I have passed through here. The lounge now features some well worn dark leather loungers. The lounge is a much nicer and larger space than the Plaza Premium Priority Pass Lounge that is also available in the Toronto Domestic Terminal 1. The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge occupies a great space on top of the Pearson Airport, featuring lots of natural light and reasonable views that are somewhat obstructed by the contour of the roof line.













There was also a quieter side on the opposite side of reception that seems to get less use. There are office workstations over in this area as well.



At the time of our visit, breakfast was being served. There was an ample supply of scrambled eggs with green onions, potato pancakes, yoghurts and sausages. This was complimented by a cappuccino. It was most certainly enough for a light breakfast replacement.









Overall, the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Domestic is a solid flagship lounge for its domestic operations. The lounge is large, has lots of places to sit and is rarely completely overcrowded. The food offerings are substantial and aside from the sometimes grumpy staff, the lounge is a comfortable place to spend some time. It’s definitely nicer than the Plaza Premium Priority Pass lounge that is also in the Toronto T1 domestic terminal.

worldtraveller73

Air Canada
AC 183 – Business Class (I)
YYZ-YVR (Toronto Pearson International Airport – Vancouver International Airport)
June 13, 2018
07:30 AM – 9:23 AM
Booked: Boeing 787-900
Flown: Boeing 787-900


We left the lounge at about T-50 and wandered down the bright but institutional concourse at Toronto Pearson Terminal 1. It’s got a terrific amount of natural light but appears to be so absent of any soul or inspiration; let alone many interesting places to eat.







We arrived to Gate D43 at about T-45. Boarding was also set for the same time, but when we arrived, they were already on Group #3. Having the rare “Group #1” on our boarding cards, we were able to use the dedicated priority lane and snuck on quickly and went to go get settled on board.

The Air Canada Boeing 787-900 Business Class is in a 1-2-1 configuration. The seats are the comfortable reverse herringbone configuration. It’s pretty awesome to fly a wide body state of the art aircraft across the country with a lie flat seat. Most of my domestic flights are on Airbus 300 series aircraft which are nowhere near as comfortable in the front or the back.

















There are ample storage compartment and charging station for devices.





On the shelf by the seat was a small amenity kit, and a set of unbranded Air Canada logo noise cancelling headphones. The tiny amenity kit was also unbranded and contained the usual useless stuff. There was also a sleep set available on the seat, which I put into the overhead compartment.



We were offered a choice of water, orange juice, sparkling wine, or mimosas to start the filght. I went with sparkling wine. The Signature Service menus were presented while on the ground. The menu’s feature a new elegant dark cover.







The wines are now featured by sommelier Véronique Rivest. The previous sommelier, Ken Chase, seems to have been completely retired. The wines feature Canadian Niagra region wines, likely in a cost cutting move .



The meal orders were taken on the ground prior to pushback.





We taxied out to the runway, passing Terminal 3 and the Sheraton Hotel where we spent the night last night. It was a rainy day in the Toronto area.



We climbed out on runway 23 and were above the clouds quickly.



I checked out the amenity kit. It’s interesting that they are offering one for a domestic trans continental route. Although it appeared more expensive than the last plastic bag amenity kit I received from Air Canada, the contents were mostly junk as per the course with Air Canada. For whatever reason, this does not appear to be an area where Air Canada spends a lot of money.





The breakfast service started promptly. It started with a tray off fruit, presented first as a tray.



Having had enough eggs to last a while on this trip, I went with the pancakes, maple butter, chicken sausage, cran-apple compote served with fresh fruit and yoghurt.



I entertained myself with the in flight movie selection. The functionality has improved on this model compared to the older Air Canada models which are horrendously slow, clunky and prone to crashing. I settled into watching Dunkirk which I hadn’t seen yet. It was beautifully filmed and I highly recommend it. Movie time was paired with a red wine Domodimonti Il Messuia Rosso 2011 from Marche, Italy.



There was also a simple snack basket put out for munchies. Yep – by this time, I was too lazy to get up to take a standing point of view photograph (laughing).



We arrived into Vancouver on an approach over the city heading for runway 32 R under wet and rainy skies.





We were off in the Vancouver International Airport domestic terminal before we knew it.



Air Canada Business Class “Signature Service” is easily the most comfortable way to get from Toronto to the West Coast. The ability to get a lie flat seat is a great perk. The pods are a much more comfortable way than the usual business class recliner seats. The other bonus is that Air Canada domestic flights usually have little to no fuel surcharges, making them a great award redemption.

nequine

I don't think rent of a shop is why Molton Brow charge the high prices for their products!

AC does look like a decent airline to fly domestically with in Canada.

worldtraveller73

Their few domestic wide body products are pretty good nequine, although their narrow body aircraft aren't all to aspirational.

Thanks for reading.

worldtraveller73

Conclusion:

East Africa was an interesting destination to visit. Reflecting back, it was certainly full of it’s own challenges. Zanzibar was an interesting spot to explore in, although next time I visit, it would probably be at the end of a Killimanjaro or a Tanzanian safari visit. I doubt I would make an independent trip to Zanzibar again on my own.

In contrast, the Seychelles was gorgeous and intriguing. It was full of places to discover and I’d would have appreciated to have spent more time there. I’d easily rate it behind the Maldives as a beach holiday resort, and ahead of Fiji, French Polynesia and Mauritius. I only wish that the weather was a little less turbulent and had more sun with less clouds.

Thanks everyone for following along on this trip report. . .




Coming Up:

Iceland, Spain and Morocco via IcelandAir, Iberia Business Class and British Airways First Class.