sdix

I've always been intrigued by TK's "inexpensive" Business Class fares from the US West Coast to Europe.

I'm looking at a trip from LAX-IST-AMS then back AMS-IST-SFO for what seems to be a ridiculously low fare of $2600 USD R/T. Looking at a 2 hour connection outbound in IST which is great then taking the opportunity of a 4 day layover to be a tourist in IST on the way home.

Aircraft and seating seem to be good. Lounges are Star Alliance so good, On board food looks to be good.

Am I missing something or is this just a great deal from an airline trying to increase visitors to Turkey???

ISTFlyer

Probably an off season fare matching the joint-venture carriers as they also did have similar fares.

AfterHour

What dates are you looking at? Certainly not in the summer or Christmas peak season.
I believe TK currently operates very old 777 with 2-3-2 seat configuration in business class on this route(will soon phase out). I think that's the main reason it's cheaper now. True business flyers are not going endure the longhaul on the awful seats.
The same rule applies to Philippines airlines to Asia. It's always the cheapest trans-pacific airline because they too fly very old 777 with 2-3-2 seating configuration.

nacho

I just booked award flights to SEA, and I love to have a window seat but with the A350 I can't get one if I want to be close to Mr, so I have to take the middle 2 seats aisle. I was hoping to fly the 777 so that I can have my window without ditching Mr. I tried both - the newer seats look nice but sleep quality is not as good as the 777 and some window seats aren't even next to the window! I love the storage space at the food rest on the 777. I'm on the small side and find the new seats not that wide and I can't imagine anyone with a broad shoulder and 1.9m tall can sleep comfortably in those seats.

B7474U3

I would much rather fly TK’s “very old” and “awful” 777 seats than almost any other Business Class seat on the market. Indeed having flown long haul on TK’s 777s and 787s, I think the 777 seat is far superior.

It may not be all aisle access and have doors, but the seat is long and wide so it is much easier to get good sleep on it - especially for people who sleep on their side. It also feels less claustrophobic.

flyerby

The reason you are able to compare the old 777 J seat with the new 787/A350 seat is because TK made the mistake of choosing that seat. Both seat types are now not up to the standards of today’s quality expected from an airline such as TK (and of course there are other airline with similar or even worse seats).

sdix

Dec 6th - 18th. Aircraft are 787-9 and A330-300

craigthemif

Standards of quality expected?

I think you'll find that airlines:

1. Like to find J seat configurations that allow them to squeeze more seats into the available space
2. Look for J seats that weigh less --> fuel savings

It really isn't about "industry-leading" bla bla bla. If it were, we'd be flying in quasi F seats with loads of space.

If travel blogger fanboys would stop with the "OMG it's got a door", we could actually keep the J seats that give us more space and/or the opportunity to enjoy the flight with our travel companions instead of locked in our individual coffins...

TK 777 forever...

flyerby

Are you saying that TK 777 is your favorite J seat in the whole world? I think there are better such as the Apex suite.

AfterHour

There is a reason why all airlines are moving (or have moved) to all isle seat cocoon style seat configuration. They did their marketing research. Of course you are entitled to your unique personal preference, but it's not in line with the popular trend.

craigthemif

You are, of course, welcome to your own opinion regarding airline operations. But marketing is not even remotely in charge of the decision-making process.

And by simply phrasing the question as "would you rather have direct aisle access or to step over somebody's legs" will result in the desired "marketing research" answer being achieved. (which helps with the objective of squeezing in more J seats)

B7474U3

Looking at the A350:

LATAM had 30 fully flat “TK style” seats
Turkish has 32 of their staggered seats
Air France has 34 of their staggered “Optima” seats

I should note that AF’s newer A350s have 32 1-2-1 herringbone seats in the forward cabin.

Looking at the 787-8, Air India have 18 “TK style” 2-2-2 seats in the forward cabin. United have 20 Polaris and Air Canada have 20 herringbone seats.

Moving away from the TK 777 style seats certainly helps to squeeze in more.

flyerby

GF has 26 suites, while UA has 48 seats, both in J on the same a/c 789. It doesn’t sound right but it is what it is.

nacho

LH's current J seats are terrible compared to TK...

I haven't flown C much so I don't know about the load of it, I have seen empty middle seats on 777. I have also seen big families having to sit apart in A350 - they would have been much better off on a 777 or A350 (a family with 2 adults and 1 kid and 1 baby). It had no idea if they have a bassinet, if not it could be pretty bad. It's a lot more difficult to control screaming children if parents can sit close to them (not that it helps all the time but at least if the parents want to they can). There was a screaming child screaming all the way from NGO to FRA in C once, we were on the other aisle of C and could hear everything - felt sorry for those who were right in front of them.

ISTFlyer

If we return to subject the answer is exactly this about the catch.

Many people in the US celebrate both Thanksgiving and Christmas and travel between those two periods is almost dead to a very low demand as people are already traveling on peak holiday season. That is why TK is dumping fares on that period to fill seats.