This summer I flew on LT from MIA connecting in MUC to FRA then Clickair to BCN. I will post trip reports for those flights later so if you like this please look out for them. The second day in Germany we booked our flight to Bodrum, Turkey to visit my grandmother. We called SunExpress since they fly directly from FRA to BJV. The price was about 300 Euro per person and since TK would be more we decided to buy them.

I took these on the autobahn before turning into the airport:







We went to Frankfurt two hours before our departure and got in line at the XQ check in counters in Terminal 1. The line wasn't that long but it took one and a half hours to check in.



When it was our turn to check in my aunt told the woman who was doing to seat me at the window my mom in the middle and her at the aisle and since we all wanted to sit together. Then she said okay and finished the check in.
When we were going through security the asked us to take jewelry off and my mom's pearl bracelet broke and all the pears scattered across the granite floor of the check in area. I hope no one fell later on after we left.
Since the check in and security took so long by the time we passed both our plane was nearly fully boarded.



SunExpress
July 5th, 2007
FRA - BJV
Flight: 421
Reg: TC-SNA
Departure: 19:55
Arrival: 23:50
Aircraft: Boeing 757-200
Seat: 34E then later 30D


The view from the security line.





Once we got into the plane we realized the woman who checked us in put me in the center my aunt in row 24 and my mom and I in row 34. I was really annoyed because the man who was sitting next to me put his arm a good 4 inches into my seat space and it was so hot in the plane and it had no vents and the air conditioning wasn't on yet.
I asked my mom if she would switch with me because I felt like I was going to pass out since I was dressed warmly since it was in the 60's outside in Germany. She said no, so I asked the flight attendant if I could move to an empty seat three rows up and she said it was okay but then my mom said that it was because I didn't like her or want to sit with her and the FA found that to be rude so she wasn't nice to me for the rest of the flight. My mom talking nonsense caused the service on the flight for me to be not as good as it would have been. The seat I moved to was much better except for the fact that the tray table behind it couldn't close so they had to use a seat belt extension to close it so everytime the man behind me needed the tray table I felt the seat belt move against my back.


The family that came to this row of seats were the last on board and the the the lady who was flying with her daughter and husband said to the flight attendant in Turkish "Oh we are sitting all the way in the back!?!"
Then the flight attendant responded sarcastically "The back of the plane is going to Bodrum too don't worry."


Dinner was served an hour into the flight and it consisted of some meat that seemed to be chicken and a dolma and cheese with dessert and bean salad with carrots. The roll was cold and so was the chicken but I made a sandwich out of it and it tasted okay. The tray was very TK but the food was served from LH cart.

The trays are just about a millimeter too short to fit properly into the food carts so when the flight attendant opened the tray to give the first meal four of them collapsed on to the lower rows and some fell on to the floor. Some German tourists next to me were making fun of the flight attendant and calling her a stupid Turk as if it is her fault.

The passengers seemed to be having problems with opening and closing the bathroom door so I decided to check it out myself. The doors were hard to open and the light would only come on once you locked it but it was hard to lock it when you couldn't see the lock in the darkness on the inside.

The drain in the sink wasn't working well either but they had hot water.

The night landing in Bodrum was cool when we left the plane it wasn't too hot at all. Half an hour before landing they sold duty free items. My mom and aunt didn't buy anything on the plane but they spend an hour in the airport buying perfume and alcohol which was annoying to wait for I wanted to go to my Grandmothers and relax.


My first impression of XQ was okay. They need new seats but the plane was in good condition. The air quality on board was awful they need to air it out or something. The service was good to everyone but me thanks to my mother.

SunExpress
August 9th, 2007
BJV - FRA
Flight: 420
Reg: TC-SNA
Departure: 16:20
Arrival: 18:40
Actual: 18:10
Aircraft: Boeing 757-200
Seat: 22E


TC-SNA landing.


BJV International terminal which will become the domestic terminal when the new international terminal is built.



Once we got into the terminal there was another long line but it moved much faster than the one in FRA. The check in personnel were unfriendly and were working for Celebi not SunExpress.

This is the boarding pass we were given:

Strange.


After checking in my cousin, mom, and I got ice cream which cost 8 Euros. They seem to not like to take Turkish Lira's in the airport. The prices are crazy too 8 Euros for three ice creams and one beer is 10.


I watched these planes extinguish a big fire my third day in Bodrum.

Here is a picture of the fire:



Passport control.


We were taken to our plane by bus even though it was walking distance. It was TC-SNA again.






TC-JPD "Isparta"

Take off Video:



Looking back at BJV


City of Izmir and the beautiful winglet.


Turning towards Greece.




The food looked better this time and it tasted better too. The roll was warm and everything was cooked properly.
The FA's were very friendly and talkative. There were male FA's on this flight unlike the other and the men seem to be nicer than the women.



Landing Video:



Back in FRA.


The first bag I saw that came off a flight from BRU was coming from PBI my home airport.


Beautiful spotless baggage claim area in Terminal 1.

Our flight landed half an hour early in FRA which I still don't understand but the return flight was much better than the first flight.

Verdict: This was my first time flying XQ and they were a good airline but they need to update the cabin of TC-SNA. The 738's they operate have a much nicer cabin. The crews were nice and so was the service. They did all announcements in German Turkish and English which was nice. LT did the safety demonstration only in German so people who don't speak German are screwed. XQ is no TK or LH but the experience was similar to my last domestic flights in the U.S.A plus food. They live up to their name we were quickly flown from cold cloudy Germany to Sunny Bodrum.