A few weeks ago I traveled from Amsterdam to Muscat via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines in Business Class. From Amsterdam to Istanbul, Turkish Airlines used a B777-300 and from Istanbul to Muscat, a new A321Neo was used. Please read below my experience with Turkish Airlines in Business Class, including my visit to the Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge in Istanbul.
Amsterdam – Istanbul
My trip started in Amsterdam with a visit to the newly renovated Aspire Lounge. This lounge is open for all business class travelers from the Star Alliance. However, there is a special section for business class travelers from Singapore Airlines. Not sure why Singapore Airlines has a special section within this lounge and what distinguishes this area from the generic area – maybe I should try it out one time!
Lounge itself is nothing special – in fact, it’s probably the least attractive lounge in Schiphol in my opinion; there is no barista, there is a mediocre food selection, and it’s overcrowded. Views to the tarmac are nice though!
Inside the B777-300
The trip from Amsterdam to Istanbul takes 3-and-a-half hours and Turkish Airlines used a B777-300 for this trip. A very comfortable plane for a relatively short trip. Especially comfortable if you travel in business class because the seats are comfortable, also in lie-flat position, and the legroom is very generous. The seat configuration is 2-3-2 and it’s clearly not the newest business class product. With this 2-3-2 seat configuration, there could be privacy issues and there could be issues passing your neighbor when you don’t have an aisle seat. But during this flight I don’t have any of these issues since I’m the only one in the business class cabin from row 5 till 7. Three rows of business class, 21 seats, and I’m the only one. That’s weird!
The entertainment screens show the age of the business class cabin. In fact, the remote to control the screen seems much more modern than the screen itself. Maybe because of that, my screen doesn’t work. Luckily, I’ve 20 other screens I can try out and the screen of the seat next to me does work. Problem solved!
Business Class comes with free wireless internet, and I was impressed by how easy it was to set up as well as the speed and stability of the internet. I was actually able to get some work done in my ‘private office’ high in the sky!
Amenity Kit & Meals
No amenity kit is handed out, but I would get one on the flight to Muscat. It contained everything you expect and need.
A menu is handed out and I decided to go for the Lamb Shank. I wasn’t too impressed by the appetizer, but the main course was OK. All in all, nothing special but also not too bad.
With some work done, and having received a decent meal, conclusion is that this was actually a very enjoyable flight. Comfortable seats, lots of privacy thanks to a completely empty business class cabin, fast and reliable internet , and I could watch some entertainment on the screen next to me. Unfortunately, the plane arrived with more than one hour delay because of a late departure. I expected to still have enough time to check out the Turkish Airlines Business Class lounge in Istanbul. However, that proved to be quite a challenge!
The Istanbul Airport
Let me start with the positive about the Istanbul Airport. When transferring, you don’t need to pass through customs, nor do you need to get your hand luggage checked again. Instead, you just scan your boarding pass for your next flight and you are on your way. Brilliant! So after checking where my next flight to Muscat would depart from, I decided to check out the Business Class lounge. And that was quite a walk! You need to pass an endless row of shops before you reach the lounge and since my plane left from the A Gates, I had to walk that same distance back again – and more! The amount of walking you need to do is substantial and I believe this is due to two major flaws.
Shops, shops & shops…
First of all the design of the airport which is supposed to host 200 million passengers in the future. I can only guess that that’s the reason why the piers are so long and why now only one side of the piers contain gates – at least on the A pier. Maybe it’s the intention to open up the other side of the pier in the future to double the capacity. Otherwise I have no logical explanation why these piers are so long and only one side contains gates.
The second reason why this airport suffers from inefficient use of space, is the priority which is given to the shopping experience. It seems all modern airports now feel the urge to install the same Dior, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Hermes, and Louis Vuitton shops. As if having these shops, really sets you apart and classifies you as a top tier airport. It’s not! But if airports truly believe it’s an essential element to have, as part of their passenger experience, then at least try to install them in such a way that you can easily pass through them. For example, build the shops in a circular fashion with the option to pass straight through the middle.
The Istanbul Airport didn’t go for that option though; all shops are located along a straight line, and you have no other option than to pass each and every shop on your way to the lounge. Very annoying.
The other complaint I have is about the access to the free wireless internet. Instead of just being able to access the internet on your phone, you first need to find a booth where you can get a code. Why? Why make this so difficult and cumbersome?
The Turkish Airlines Lounge
After finally arriving at the lounge, I realized that with the delay of the plane and the absurd walking distances in the airport, I hardly had enough time in the lounge to take a bite to eat. Let alone hit some balls on the little golf practicing area they have set up in the lounge.
The lounge does have a lot of different cooking stations so it shouldn’t be too difficult finding something good to eat there. It was difficult to find a spot to sit though since also here the lounge was quite crowded. But all in all, this wasn’t a bad place to be in. No view of the planes though. Instead you could look at the shops in the terminal so you could figure out which shopping opportunity you missed…
Istanbul – Muscat
The flight from Istanbul to Muscat is almost 5 hours and Turkish Airlines used an almost new A321 Neo for this flight. There are 5 rows of business class in a 2-2 configuration and these seats are very familiar! In fact, these seats are the same seats KLM, and Delta are using in their Premium Economy Cabins. To see them as business class seats on a A321Neo plane is not that bad considering this is a single aisle plane. And they do feel a bit more luxurious with a leather-like fabric and more than generous legroom. These seats are not lie-flat so I wouldn’t like to have this configuration on a night flight, but again, for an evening flight of around 5 hours this is certainly not too bad and it beats a lot of other A321Neo business class configurations.
The meal service is very similar to that of the flight to Istanbul and dishes appear almost the same. But the meals on this leg taste a lot better. The appetizer features mozzarella, tomato, and basil. Except for the the balsamic vinegar, a nice caprese salad! The main dish with the lamb shank is perfect.
Conclusion
Both legs with Turkish Airlines didn’t disappoint! The food was OK and especially on the second leg, it was above par. In business class there is fast and reliable internet and the business class cabin on the new A321Neo is a very comfortable place to be in during a day/evening flight of maximum 6 hours.
Best of all, I was able to book this flight using Avianca points which meant I paid the same for this flight as the cheapest economy class ticket. Check out my blog on how you can do the same!
Also check out my Youtube reviews of both of these legs and don’t forget to like and subscribe to the channel if you like the content!
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