bigbanana14

Based out of Singapore and have a few flights to Europe in the coming months. Have flown exclusively on SQ since start of the year (on both the A350 and 777). But looking at TK as flight times are slightly better for my needs even with transit, and prices are ~40% lower on average.

Haven’t taken TK since pre pandemic, and that was also on the older 773 with no aisle access. Any comparisons on the new 787 business class vs SQ’s offering?

Much appreciated.

TPJ

I have never flown with SQ, but work colleague recently flew SIN-CPH with them and was not impressed with hard product. The seat was theoretically wide but the footrest was narrow plus she had to ask F/A to convert seat to bed and then back bed to seat.

If your priority is sleep the best seat is this on B777/A330 - the footrest is wide and you can sleep in any position you like. Yes - there is limited privacy and no direct aisle access - but the older I get the more I prioritize sleep. You may have other priorities, though

The B787 seats offer fantastic privacy and guaranteed aisle access, but suffer from the same issue most other modern C-class seats suffer from (apparently including SQ) - narrow footrest. I, however, managed to sleep on these seats.

If TK fares are 40% lower - why not to give them a try (especially when your employer or client is paying). I recently had the same situation with LO to NYC. Their fares were almost 40% lower. I gave them a try and discovered that they offer the same seats as TK on B777/A330 (so great for sleep) and quite good soft product (apart from IFE that is basic). I thought it was is unethical to charge a client 40% extra and since then flew with them 4 times.

flyerby

Is it 40% extra or 40% lower? It’s not the same thing (40% lower is actually two thirds extra).

TPJ

I am not sure I follow: maybe I am too old and do net remember math lessons correctly, but for me if airline A offers fare for 100 units and the other airline's fare is 40% lower, I am paying 60 units with the other airlines. Has something changed?

flyerby

Math hasn’t changed and you are correct about “lower” in your example but:
For 100 units, 40% extra equals 140 units and for 60 units, 40% extra equals 84 units.
If ticket A costs 100 units and ticket B cost 60 units then B costs 40% (paid lower) less than A but A costs 66.667% (pay extra) more than B.

IAN-UK

I doubt that the OP's 40% was a precise measure of the fare difference. Your argument certainly has the force of mathematical correctness, and it highlights a fallacy applied far more egregiously in situations outside the type of casual reference we have here. Three decimal places derived from a casual reference pushes the expository analysis into an unhelpful doctrinaire zone.

Maybe you could find comfort in simply reading TPJ's comment as an unwillingness to incur significantly higher costs than necessary.

flyerby

Thanks but not thanks. No need to patronize and explain how and what I should do. I suggest you go over and reread the posts in the eyes of someone who value accuracy. I wrote a single question and the mathematical follow up was due to a request from a fellow member of this forum. You say the forum shouldn’t be bored with math witchcraft, I say the forum shouldn’t be bored with your off topic reply. So let’s agree to disagree and stop boring this forum.

bigbanana14

Thanks folks - will give TK a go and report back. Looks like the B777 is a better option (sleep is critical), so fingers crossed that’s the plane I get!

IAN-UK

It's surely a suck-it-and-see situation: the bonus is the 40% fare difference which will comfort any disappointment. TK shares an alliance with SQ, so you are unlikely to suffer mileage-wise from your unfaithfulness

As to specifics I'm not much help: I'm one on the minority preferring TK's 2-3-2 business-class arrangement to the awkward confinement in the newer cabins. Maybe I've generally been lucky enough to get a seat with no neighbour, and that's coloured my judgement. And here I'll follow the pedantic tone raised earlier - there is direct aisle access on all aircraft, the caveat being you don't go for a window seat or a middle central block position.

Service on board is undeniably better on SQ, at least in terms of interaction with the cabin crew. Some TK cc are not confident in their language skills, and so can appear stand-offish.

B7474U3

I’m with you. The best nights sleep I can recall on aircraft are long overnight flights to and from Hanoi on a Turkish A330 and from São Paulo on a LATAM B777…coincidentally both have practically the same seat. Long, wide and great for people who sleep on their side. They may not be as private as other seats but when you are asleep are you going to notice?

The one advantage I find of Turkish’s new seats is you can reach the TV which makes choosing what to watch easier.

I flew SQ before Covid and quite liked their hard-product for lounging, however for sleeping it has the same issues as most modern business class products.

I think SQ crew are more consistently excellent. I have flown Turkish quite a bit this year in particular and the crews seem to be exceptional or not so good (i.e. they do their job but are not so good with interacting with non-Turkish passengers). I’ve had a couple of LHR-IST sectors where the crew were really really good, but then unmemorable on the subsequent connecting flights.

sfvoyage

I flew TK a few times in J pre-Covid, and while their crew wasn't up to SQ standards and I didn't care for the 2-3-2 configuration, I was very impressed by their catering. The food was the best I ever had in J, and I also love their lounge at IST (no experience with the new IST airport though). I look forward to flying TK in J again soon (but my next booking isn't until next spring).

Stil

Hear Hear!!!
I sleep on my side aswell and I am tall.
The best sleep I have had in J, is that of TK's A330 (with a vacant seat). I want space for my legs to be on top of each other, not fiddling with the TV screen.
Edit: YUL-IST

Stil

Could you please elaborate on the bold text.

IAN-UK

Don't worry - i think you'll enjoy the new lounge

The old one was getting pretty jam packed towards the end of its days. When the two new-IST lounges are up and running, with the promise of a third coming online (sometime…), overcrowding shouldn't be a problem.

The only difficulty with the new airport are the extraordinary distances you might have to walk to or between gates.

Stil

Do you have any insight on the exclusive lounge? and please answer my question.