Special Thanks:
- Alex (Abrelosojos) writes the best trip reports on a.net and allowed me to use his reports format to write my TRs.
I > Background:
For the Persian New Year, I decided to pay a quick visit to my friends and family in my hometown Shiraz, Iran (SYZ). Fortunately, TK just launched non-stop LAX-IST flight as well as IST-SYZ in March 2011 which gave me the best routing to visit Shiraz. Of course, I still had to get myself from SFO to LAX since I live in the San Fran Bay Area. But based on my previous experience that TK offers the best inflight service compare to EK, LH, BA, KL and AF, choosing TK was a no-brainer.
In this trip report I will cover IST-LAX segment. I will cover IST-SYZ segment in a separate trip report.
II > Booking:
I made my reservation on Turkish Airlines website. Not the best booking experience though!
The "assign seat" function didn't work. Also, I noticed the e-ticket that I received via email shows wrong arrival date for my LAX-IST segment while it's departure date is correct!! (How can it be? LAX-IST flight is supposed to arrive next day, but the e-ticket shows arrival date is the same as departure date)
I called TK's reservation call center to make sure my reservation is correctly in place. The lady I spoke with, assured me the wrong arrival date on my e-ticket was just a system typo(!) and confirmed that my the reservation was correctly in place, however she wasn't able to help me with assigning seats. She asked me to call back at least 28 days before the flight to assign seats. I called back again about 3 weeks before flight and this time was able to assign my preferred seats.
III > Pre-flight:
a) Airport:
International terminal at Istanbul Ataturk Airport is one of the best in Europe. Modern, stylish and convenient. IST also has a nice hotel inside transit area with reasonable hourly rates. I used the hotel for three hours since I didn’t have sleep the night before.
b) Lounge:
TK’s lounge at IST international terminal is my favorite lounge. Spacious with comfortable seats and working area. You get some warm and reasonably nice meal as well as free fast internet while you usually won’t get them at UA, LH, BA & KL lounges.
I am not Turkish, but I have great respect for this man (Kemal Ataturk). I wish we could have one of these great leaders in Iran:
c) Gate and Boarding:
Mahan’s A300 at IST. I flew on the same airplane (EP-MNK) last year from Shiraz to Tehran.
The rain was so heavy that I couldn't see outside clearly. However, despite the heavy rain, boarding was conducted exactly on time and efficient.
IV > In-flight:
a) The Aircraft and First Impression:
Today’s flight was operated on TK’s newest B77W: TC-JJK (Delivery date: Feb, 7th 2011):
TK’s inflight service is impressive from the moment you board. I was welcomed by a very nice stewardess who walked me to my seat and took my blazer. I was immediately offered a nice champagne while the rest of passengers were still boarding.
Yes. It’s true flat. More comfortable than TK’s A340 and A330.
d) Meals:
Ok! I need to warn you here! Before you board TK’s J class, make sure your stomach is empty! Because, the food is so good here and TK’s hospitality is so great that you’ll be absolutely stuffed up!
Turkish traditional Wedding Soup (Why it’s called wedding soup? I don’t know, but I know it’s just amazing!)
Beef steak was today’s lunch main dish. However, I was hoping to get TK’s famous shish kabab that I had last week on my LAX-IST flight. Obviously they don’t offer it on IST-LAX leg. I liked the shish kabab that I had last week, better.
This is the shish kabab that I was talking about!
The chef is watching!
And few hours later… Here comes the dinner:
I think I consumed about 6,000 calories of food and wine in this flight! That translates to many hours running on the treadmill!!! But, believe me! It does worth!
e) Cabin:
TK’s J cabin on 77W has 28 seats. Thanks to Boeing’s wonderful engineering, the cabin seems pretty nice and spacious.
However, the good old stylish drink bar on TK’s A340s have been replaced with a simple and boring wine shelf on the 77W!!!
I also, tried to sneak in the Comfort class cabin and check out the seats. The load in Comfort Class cabin was about 30%. I sat on one of the empty seats and found it comfortable to sit on. However, it’s pitch is just not enough to help you have a nice sleep. I would say the maximum pitch was about 40 degrees. The following is comfort class’s seat with maximum pitch:
Bathrooms were cleaned by the cabin crew frequently during the flight. I used the bathrooms few times during the flight and found them very clean every time.
f) In-Flight Entertainment:
TK’s 77W has pretty advanced inflight entertainment system. Large monitors with many options of movies, music and video games. However, the problem that I found with 77W’s entertainment system was that it crashed 6 times during the flight and I had to ask the stewardess to reboot the system every time. I experienced the same problem last year on TK’s A340 as well.
I became addicted to Turkish pop music in this flight!
VI > Impressions:
In my opinion, TK is a great airline. Will I fly with them again? Definitely, I will. For sure folks at TK have worked very hard to get TK where it’s standing today as one of the best airlines in the world. However, I think TK is expanding too fast. That makes me wonder is their infrastructure robust enough to keep up with the high paste expansion? I hope it is, but the ground workforce definitely need more training.
Carfield From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 1733 posts, RR: 9 Reply 1, posted (2 years 1 month 2 weeks 5 days 20 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Wow a wonderful trip report! I have been looking forward to reading about the new Istanbul to LAX service and your report answers many questions. The meals look good. The seats look fine... despite I am disappointed with TK not coming up with a solo business class seat, the full flat business seats look good.
I agree with you that the ground service is lacking at IST, and it is quite concerning especially IST is your home base!
oa260 From Ireland, joined Nov 2006, 25118 posts, RR: 60 Reply 2, posted (2 years 1 month 2 weeks 5 days 19 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Nice report and good quality photos which is always appreciated. TK look good as always and I too was waiting for a J class report on TK. Certainly TK have opened up alot more travel options from the West Coast to the Middle East. I like the new J product but agree with you about the ground service. Although I have never had any issues myself I know friends who have.
Nice place Shiraz , I spent 10 days there with Iranian friends some years back and visited some great places.
Thanks for the report.
OA260
OLYMPIC AIR - ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΚΗ "Η ΕΛΛΑΔΑ ΨΗΛΑ" "GREECE FLYING HIGH"
joffie From Australia, joined Mar 2006, 775 posts, RR: 2 Reply 3, posted (2 years 1 month 2 weeks 5 days 18 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Hi
Thank you for this report. We are currently planning our annual trip, and have been looking at the TK JFK-IST fare J class in the 77W. Certainly this gave me an insight on what they have to offer.
nethkt From Thailand, joined Apr 2001, 987 posts, RR: 3 Reply 4, posted (2 years 1 month 2 weeks 5 days 18 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Amazing trip report from you once again!!!
Alway too much to eat on TK longhaul business class service.
They are one airlines that will spoil your eating habit.
The seats on their own 77W look nice. I only had chance to fly their J on Jet's 77W and their own 343/332.
I also had the same experience about seat assignment on TK booking system too.
Guess, they tend to insert the seat-map into the system only 28 days in advance.
Maybe this is because of their various seat-map on their fleet?
Jet 77W vs their own 77W
BMI 332, ex-QR 332s vs their own 332/333
ex-JM 343s vs their own 343s
After all, they are one airlines with frequent last minute ad-hoc a/c change.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful trip report.
Don't be annoyed knowing the passengers around you are non-revs and op-upgraders, be grateful for them. Life is beautifu
767747 From United States of America, joined Jan 2005, 1759 posts, RR: 25 Reply 5, posted (2 years 1 month 2 weeks 5 days 12 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Good report!
Turkish Airlines in C looks fantastic each time I read about them. The menu looks like a chapter book it has so many items!
B747forever From United States of America, joined May 2007, 16598 posts, RR: 11 Reply 7, posted (2 years 1 month 2 weeks 5 days 9 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Great TR
Seems you had a fantastic flight. I am very impressed by the level of service provided by TK. Their Y product is equally great compared to other carriers.
akhmad From Netherlands, joined Sep 2005, 2336 posts, RR: 53 Reply 8, posted (2 years 1 month 2 weeks 5 days 7 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Hi amax 1977,
Since Lars (The777Man) posted his experience of flying TK LAX-IST in Y, I was wondering how J would look like. Thanks a lot for this enlightening and beautiful report. What a divine service on board.
Awesome meal presentation from the trolley, deliciously prepared by a dedicated on board chef. Pyjama set and Bvlgari amenity kit. Luxury bathroom interior.
Appealing in flight entertainment system with a nose camera view. Just amazing!
Burj From United States of America, joined Nov 2007, 856 posts, RR: 4 Reply 10, posted (2 years 1 month 2 weeks 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Wow what a great TR and Turkish continues to impress!
The one thing...I'm surprised to see the FA's wearing their IDs and lanyards during the flight, ESPECIALLY during a meal service!
The777Man From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 6115 posts, RR: 56 Reply 11, posted (2 years 1 month 2 weeks 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Very nice report wih very nice pictures! Nice to see that the loads are getting better; I flew LAX-IST on 5Mar11 and it was only about 30 % full in Y.
Meals look really good in J and seat looks very comfortable.
The777Man
Need a Boeing 777 Firing Order....Further to fly....GA, T5, CI and LX 777s
stylo777 From Turkey, joined Feb 2006, 2874 posts, RR: 12 Reply 12, posted (2 years 1 month 2 weeks 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
great TR and thanks for sharing!
TK has definately improved the inflight longhaul service which is good on the one hand and needs to be implemented very fast on the whole fleet on the other. on some routes like IST-DXB or IST-LHR you have aircraft swaps many times even just a couple of hours before departure.
the washbasin in the lavatory looks quite nice, different to other airlines classic design.
JetBlue777 From United States of America, joined Jul 2009, 1429 posts, RR: 1 Reply 13, posted (2 years 1 month 2 weeks 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Quoting amax1977 (Thread starter): Ok! I need to warn you here! Before you board TK’s J class, make sure your stomach is empty! Because, the food is so good here and TK’s hospitality is so great that you’ll be absolutely stuffed up!
It looks really great! Now I'm hungry
Quoting amax1977 (Thread starter): I also, tried to sneak in the Comfort class cabin and check out the seats. The load in Comfort Class cabin was about 30%. I sat on one of the empty seats and found it comfortable to sit on. However, it’s pitch is just not enough to help you have a nice sleep. I would say the maximum pitch was about 40 degrees. The following is comfort class’s seat with maximum pitch:
Reclines looks poor though
Great trip report! The quality of the pictures are amazing. TK Looks like a fantastic airline!
TK787 From United States of America, joined Jan 2006, 4114 posts, RR: 13 Reply 15, posted (2 years 1 month 2 weeks 2 days 3 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
Wow,
It is the only way to travel between these two cities, simply amazing.
Thanks for the great photos and the videos.
My guess that it is a cream base soup, whitish, hence the name.
Quoting nethkt (Reply 4): Jet 77W vs their own 77W
BMI 332, ex-QR 332s vs their own 332/333
ex-JM 343s vs their own 343s
As far as I know,
TK's own 77Ws fly to Peking, Shanghai, Tokyo, LAX and sometimes Toronto, that is it.
BMI 332 has left the fleet,
but you are right, 2 out of 7 332s and 2 out of 9 343s have different interiors than TK's own.
tcm From Turkey, joined Jul 2010, 584 posts, RR: 2 Reply 16, posted (2 years 1 month 2 weeks 2 days 3 hours ago) and read 32767 times:
First of all thanks for the great trip report!
As much as I like TK's new J on the A333, the 2-3-2 configuration on their new 77Ws is a big let down while other carriers are also coming up with new cabin products.
The DO&CO catering is certainly very good. However they have become repetitive lately. A little more variation from time to time wouldn't hurt. But this would be a problem for heavy TK flyers only I guess.
As you have pointed out, TK is usually quite good in the air, however I think that the ground experience has still much to be desired.
phllax From United States of America, joined Jan 2006, 396 posts, RR: 0 Reply 17, posted (2 years 1 month 2 weeks 8 hours ago) and read 32670 times:
I'm actually very surprised that they operate the Westbound flight as a daylight flight. LY operates their TLV-LAX (roughly same time but a little longer) flight as an overnight leaving TLV around midnight and arriving LAX around 7am.
abrelosojos From Venezuela, joined May 2005, 4919 posts, RR: 55 Reply 19, posted (2 years 1 month 2 weeks 1 hour ago) and read 32436 times:
Quoting amax1977 (Thread starter): - Alex (Abrelosojos) writes the best trip reports on a.net and allowed me to use his reports format to write my TRs.
= First of all, a big thank you . You are way too kind!
Quoting amax1977 (Thread starter): TK’s lounge at IST international terminal is my favorite lounge.
= Isn't it such a nice and royal lounge? Have you been to TG's facilities at BKK yet?
Quoting amax1977 (Thread starter): Ok! I need to warn you here! Before you board TK’s J class, make sure your stomach is empty! Because, the food is so good here and TK’s hospitality is so great that you’ll be absolutely stuffed up!
= Completely agree. In J class, I think TK has one of the best catering out there.
= Haha - for a minute, I thought it was an older version of a LH inflight kit.
Quoting Carfield (Reply 1):
I agree with you that the ground service is lacking at IST, and it is quite concerning especially IST is your home base!
= Agreed again. Ground does leave much to be desired!
Thanks again for this report. I am flying TK's J on this route later in the year (might even write a report), and this gives a good impression of what to expect.
egyptair269 From Egypt, joined Mar 2007, 198 posts, RR: 0 Reply 20, posted (2 years 1 month 1 week 6 days 21 hours ago) and read 32310 times:
Amazing TR, well done!
Never knew TK did the IST-LAX route. Wow, this airline has skyrocketed in all aspects over the past few years, really a model to follow. Cabin is beautiful, service sounds great and don't get me started on the food!
ba319-131 From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2001, 8276 posts, RR: 56 Reply 21, posted (2 years 1 month 1 week 6 days 16 hours ago) and read 32197 times:
Nice report and pictures, good to seek the TK service on a long sector.
Quoting amax1977 (Thread starter): she wasn't able to help me with assigning seats. She asked me to call back at least 28 days before the flight to assign seats
- That's not particulary good service.
Quoting amax1977 (Thread starter): TK’s lounge at IST international terminal is my favorite lounge. Spacious with comfortable seats and working area. You get some warm and reasonably nice meal as well as free fast internet while you usually won’t get them at UA, LH, BA & KL lounges.
- Perhaps you have not been to BA's T5 lounges, they are excellent.
Quoting amax1977 (Thread starter): TK’s J cabin on 77W has 28 seats. Thanks to Boeing’s wonderful engineering, the cabin seems pretty nice and spacious.
- Looks ok though I though the seat looked a bit dull and square like. Still not a fan of these 3 seat together in J though, not very premium IMO.
sfflyer123 From United States of America, joined May 2010, 250 posts, RR: 0 Reply 22, posted (2 years 1 month 1 week 6 days 9 hours ago) and read 32015 times:
Very nice TR! I really enjoyed this one. The food looked delicious. What did you think about the angled lie-flat? That is sort of like LH's seat. I find it not as nice to sleep on compared to UA's true lie-flat business. What did you think?
stipica From Croatia, joined Feb 2011, 408 posts, RR: 8 Reply 24, posted (2 years 1 month 13 hours ago) and read 30215 times:
TK where is my lunch ? ... hihihihihi ... and amax1977 you are officially guilty because my diet has failed ... great trip report ...thanks Stipica
Open your eyes and think
25 pilotaydin: will someone try to get on my A330 or A340 flight so we can have a nice trip report with some cockpit input too! I'd like to try and set that up
26 Cysafan: Alan... What a nice trip report !! It 's simple and crisp.. Alex 's TR format harmonised well with your excellent photo taking. Your crisp food photos
27 tcm: I will fly IST-SIN on the 15th of June. Currently the a/c is scheduled as a A330-300. My fingers are crossed that it stays this way. Would be great t
28 Ps76: Hi! Just wanted to say many thanks for the report. Turkish airlines is certainly moving up in the aviation world. They have great advertising too and
29 amax1977: Hi all! Thank you very much for your kind notes. Sorry that I didn't have a chance to reply back to you earlier. Cheers! I agree with you. Except LX,
30 amax1977: Thanks for the kind notes, Suryo. I am a big fan of your TRs. Every single of your TRs are just simply amazing. Cheers. I'm glad my TR was helpful. B
31 MSS658: Wow!! Wonderfull report, TK is really becoming a world-class airline.
32 amax1977: I agree with you. Would be great if TK had suites in J cabin. I cannot wait to read your TR on this. Hopefully TK's quality stays consistent. I found
33 SASDC8: TK business class looks nice their catering looks great DL, AY, SQ and new CX. Thanks for a nice and informative report!
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