tk747 From Australia, joined Sep 2009, 339 posts, RR: 1 Posted (1 year 11 months 3 days 18 hours ago) and read 15063 times:
Welcome to my fourth trip report featuring Turkish Airlines and Singapore Airlines. Basically this trip was a good excuse to see some of Singapore, Europe and the Middle East. I was to accompany some visitors back to Macedonia, lucky me! . As I have many more interesting trip reports to write this one will mainly consist of photos.
As usual, we arrived way too early to Sydney airport after a 2 hour drive from Newcastle. The check in agent was strictly enforcing the 8 kilo hand luggage allowance, even though each of our bags were just a little over 9 kilos. Consequently we had to rearrange all of our suit cases on the floor of Sydney Airport, not pleasant.
After some overpriced but delicious Turkish pide and couscous salad, we proceeded quickly through security to the gate without any problem. The flight was maybe 40-50% full, so boarding took no time at all.
The foot rest, lack of IFE box under the seat and spacious leg room made the seat very comfortable.
Pictures taken from the window.
It was windy day in Sydney so take off and climb were a little rough. The seat belt sign remained on for the first 30 minutes of the flight.
Once the seat belt sign was switched off the very friendly and cheerful crew came and distributed menus and amenity kits.
A drink service was then carried out and flying on Singapore Airlines of course I ordered a Singapore Sling which was mmmmm so good!
As I mentioned earlier each of the crew were great, particular the SQ girl serving my section of the plane. She approached us and asked us where we were travelling, where are we from, where is Macedonia lol, what language do you speak there etc and recomended many things to see and do in Sinagpore. All in all she was very open, friendly and relaxed, I wasn't really expecting that on SQ.
Dinner service was then carried out with a choice of roast chicken or fish fillet
Promote her!! lol
I chose the chicken and ordered a Coca Cola which was met with a demand for $5 haha, this humour unfortunately did not go down too well with my travel companions who coming from Europe are use to paying $5 for Coca Cola on a plane .
Prawn salad which I could not eat as the prawns had not been deveined.
The chicken looked very tasty and was a good size however it tasted terrible and I couldn't eat any of it. For me to leave food behind especially on an airplane it has to be bad. The potatoes were also a little underdone but the beans and carrots were cooked perfectly.
The fish curry which also wasn't that great.
Following the dinner I spent most of the time occupied with SQ's fantastic IFE, gazing outside the window and strolling around the A380.
Prior to arrival in Singapore, at this stage of the flight, a refreshment service was conducted with a choice of fettuccine or fried rice.
I ordered the fettuccine and was not disappointed, it was delicious.
The other option was fried rice with chicken shrimps and vegetables
Shortly after the final meal service, descent was commenced into Singapore Changi International Airport and we landed on schedule. Immigration was a breeze and we were in the taxi 20 minutes after landing. We had an amazing few days in Singapore anyone who hasn't been should plan a holiday there immediately .
Turkish Airlines uses terminal 1 at Changi, which was under renovation at the time of the flight. The flight left at a pretty uncomfortable time as if you cannot obtain a late check out you have to wait at the airport. The Turkish airlines desks finally opened at 21:00 and we were checked in a by a friendly agent who seated us together and ignored the fact that we were 7 kilos each over the luggage limit. He stated that the flight was full in all classes.
Singapore was celebrating the year of the rabbit so the terminal was specially decorated and looked very appealing
The plane was absolutely full so once the boarding gate filled up there were no seats available. I boarded the aircraft, was not really greeted by the crew and proceeded to my seat. Overall impression was how claustrophobic the cabin felt and how narrow the aisles were. The crew stood around looking aloof.
Leg room was very very tight, this picture was taken prior to the person in the seat in front of me reclining.
The foot rest and IFE box just got in the way, overall it was a very uncomfortable experience. For the first time in my life I could not wait to get off an aircraft. The plane was also very warm which did not help.
Amenity kits and menus were then handed out. Well done to TK on the amenity kits.
Drink service was then carried out. The guy who served me seemed angry, i'm glad he didn't hit me lol.
Following the drink service the crew came around with dinner. The choice was either Salmon or beef. I chose the beef, It was sinewy and tasted horrible
Chicken breast salad which was ok
Chocolate and raspberry cake was delicious.
Cacik (yogurt with cucumber) was watery and lacked any taste.
Folliwng the meal service my task was to endure the following 9 or so hours of the flight, this would prove difficult. The flight was a little bumpy and the seat belt sign was left on pretty much from after the meal service until we parked at the gate. I think the crew may have done one drink run and that was it. Prior to landing in Istanbul a breakfast was served, however I passed on this as it did not smell appetising at all. The crew during the service were not really professional, they seemed to be bickering with eachother and generally seemed as if they did not want to be doing what they were doing. Maybe it was because I had just flown on Singapore Airlines a few days early but TK did not impress me and I would hesitate before flying them again. The differneces between the 2 airlines are stark and SQ pretty much trumps TK in every department based on this flight.
Here are some non aviation photos of Macedonia.
Skopje on a hazy day from Kale fortress
Monument to the World War 2 resistance
Church of Sveta Sofia Ohrid
Skopje
Ruins of Heraklea
Prilep
Bay of the Bones (Zaliv na Koskite)
Church of Sveti Pantalemon
Mountains and forests outside of Ohrid
Amphitheatre in Ohrid
Skopje
Museum of Mother Theresa
Church of Sveti Jovan Kaneo Ohrid
Traditional Architecture
Sunset in Ohrid
Thanks everyone for taking the time to read my report. Questions and comments as always appreciated.
gardermoen From Australia, joined Jul 1999, 1518 posts, RR: 1 Reply 2, posted (1 year 11 months 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 14781 times:
Cool report, tk747.
Looks like TK was somewhat dissapointing. Their service can be really hit and miss like they just don't care.
I'm actually flying to IST (from MEL) later on this year, but am taking SQ. Out of curiosity, why did you not take SQ all the way (they also now fly SIN-IST non-stop)?
Love the TK menu cover!
What was the pax make up on the SIN-IST leg? Indonesians, Singaporeans, Turkish, or generally all sorts going via IST?
mal787 From Australia, joined Jul 2007, 687 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (1 year 11 months 3 days 16 hours ago) and read 14550 times:
Nice read Jordan, Turkey looks gr8 , Shame about TK and the food on SQ looks very plain , And your right Singapore is a fantastic city, its easier ( and cheaper)for me to get there for a long weekend than down to Sydney or Melbourne
travelR From Australia, joined Sep 2010, 90 posts, RR: 0 Reply 4, posted (1 year 11 months 3 days 14 hours ago) and read 14193 times:
Nice trip report tk747. Good pics and very interesting.
Quoting tk747 (Thread starter): Leg room was very very tight, this picture was taken prior to the person in the seat in front of me reclining.
TK's economy class legroom looks terrible! I couldn't imagine flying like that for 9 hours! It seemed like you had no knee room and that was before the seat was reclined. It made the SQ seat look heaps better especially since it was A380.
Quoting tk747 (Thread starter): I'm actually flying to IST (from MEL) later on this year, but am taking SQ. Out of curiosity, why did you not take SQ all the way (they also now fly SIN-IST non-stop)?
Also surprised you didn't take SQ all the way to IST unless TK offered a cheaper fare than SQ for the routing you took because I guess of you knew what you were getting and if you got at same fare then I'm pretty sure you would have stuck with SQ.
The food portions seemed generous enough with SQ. It seemed nice that they gave you a decent second meal. Most airlines generally really serve a hot snack for second meal.
globalflyer From United States of America, joined Dec 2005, 800 posts, RR: 2 Reply 5, posted (1 year 11 months 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 14128 times:
Hi Jordan. Great TR. I love the SQ 380. I was lucky to fly it in JCL from MEL-SIN and I think it was the best flight ever having flown over 1,000 times! The service was great. The food in JCL was great too but it looks like it was lacking in YCL. I am shocked to hear about the bad service on TK. I have seen so many TR's that praise them but it was obvious you had a bad experience. I loved your pictures of Macedonia. I have not visited that part of the Balkans but would love to now after seeing the great photos. Thanks for sharing! William
Landing on every Continent almost on an annual basis!
Nimish From India, joined Feb 2005, 3076 posts, RR: 9 Reply 7, posted (1 year 11 months 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 12622 times:
Wow - I had a different expectation of TK - but the pictures and the service levels on board definitely did not match up to the imagery created by their advertising department .
Yeh I agree that TK's service is a bit inconsistent. One year prior I flew them on the exact same route and was very impressed so its a shame about this experience.
SQ all the way was too expensive but even if they were both the same price I still probably would have chosen TK as it is a bit more exotic haha.
There were all sorts of nationalities on board the flight, mostly Asians though and there did not seem to be many Turkish passengers.
Thanks i'm glad that you enjoyed the read . The leg room was indeed horrible, we were also seated in front of the toilets and could not recline the seat at all. The second meal service on SQ was very substantial, I was impressed,was kind of only expecting a sandwhich.
Thanks for the nice comments . I'm glad that I inspired you to visit Macedonia, the Balkans are a very interesting part of the world you should definitely visit.
Hi El-AL, I was kind of surprised by TK as well, they did not meat my expectations of them at all. That cucumber yogurt dish is also popular in Macedonia and other places in the balkans too .
It isn't really that difficult to travel around Macedonia, almost everyone speaks English, just a few of the older people struggle. It would be helpful to learn some Cyrillic though as most signs are in the Cyrillic alphabet. I'm pretty sure that Sun D'or has a once weekly flight from Tel Aviv to Ohrid so there is your opportunity to visit . Message me if you need any more advice.
flightsimboy From Canada, joined Sep 2005, 848 posts, RR: 4 Reply 11, posted (1 year 10 months 4 weeks 12 hours ago) and read 10391 times:
Jordan, a great trip report and always good to see pics of Sydney airport!! Was this the first time on the A380? Edit: I just saw your previous reports and you are quite the A380 traveller!!
Quoting tk747 (Thread starter): Basically this trip was a good excuse to see some of Singapore, Europe and the Middle East. I was to accompany some visitors back to Macedonia, lucky me!
I took this very same flight back in Oct, 1988. (Were you even born then lol)
Quoting tk747 (Thread starter): The check in agent was strictly enforcing the 8 kilo hand luggage allowance, even though each of our bags were just a little over 9 kilos. Consequently we had to rearrange all of our suit cases on the floor of Sydney Airport, not pleasant.
Seems like they enforce the excess baggage rule like they do here in Canada/US as well. That is a scene I usually have to endure myself before every trip, rearranging stuff between suitcases!
Quoting tk747 (Thread starter): After some overpriced but delicious Turkish pide and couscous salad,
Looks like Sydney Airport caters to all kinds of food.
Quoting tk747 (Thread starter): As I mentioned earlier each of the crew were great, particular the SQ girl serving my section of the plane. She approached us and asked us where we were travelling, where are we from, where is Macedonia lol, what language do you speak there etc and recomended many things to see and do in Sinagpore. All in all she was very open, friendly and relaxed, I wasn't really expecting that on SQ.
Not at all Robot-esque as most have made SQ to feel, none other than our own Ryanair!! lol. I still get to laugh when I think of his most recent SQ review!! lol
She is so Snooki from Jersey Shore..(Not that I watch that show, have just seen pics and all the hype about this Snooki character)
Quoting tk747 (Thread starter): I chose the chicken and ordered a Coca Cola which was met with a demand for $5 haha, this humour unfortunately did not go down too well with my travel companions who coming from Europe are use to paying $5 for Coca Cola on a plane .
Another US/Canada flight nonsense, of now having to pay for stuff on AC!!
Quoting tk747 (Thread starter): The chicken looked very tasty and was a good size however it tasted terrible and I couldn't eat any of it. For me to leave food behind especially on an airplane it has to be bad. The potatoes were also a little underdone but the beans and carrots were cooked perfectly.
The fish curry which also wasn't that great.
Looks like the catering out of Sydney is not so good.
Quoting tk747 (Thread starter):
The other option was fried rice with chicken shrimps and vegetables
That looks like minced chicken on rice...huh!
Quoting tk747 (Thread starter): The Turkish airlines desks finally opened at 21:00 and we were checked in a by a friendly agent who seated us together and ignored the fact that we were 7 kilos each over the luggage limit.
There wasn't that nice of TK to do that for you!
Quoting tk747 (Thread starter): The plane was absolutely full so once the boarding gate filled up there were no seats available. I boarded the aircraft, was not really greeted by the crew and proceeded to my seat. Overall impression was how claustrophobic the cabin felt and how narrow the aisles were. The crew stood around looking aloof.
Reminded me of the scene when I boarded the EK 773ER in AUH. The same feeling, no smiles and crew standing aloof, except for one who was the star of that flight. I even shook her hand and told her what a marvellous FA she had been, on deplaning.
Quoting tk747 (Thread starter): Amenity kits and menus were then handed out. Well done to TK on the amenity kits.
Nice Amenity kits
Quoting EL-AL (Reply 6): This called Tziziki In greek (hope I wrote it correctly) and it's pretty popular also in Israel. Had no Idea the turks also eat it.
You'll be surprised how many more similarities there are with Greek and Turkish cuisine, bakhlava etc.
Thanks for reading and the nice comments. Yes I seem to regularly get on the A380, I have been on SQ's, QF's and EK's multiple times . SQ is my favourite!
RJtraveller From Indonesia, joined Feb 2011, 50 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (1 year 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 20 hours ago) and read 9753 times:
Hi,
Nice trip report, flight on the SQ looks very nice, i have flown on the SQ route to SYD and back to SIN frequently and the service is always top.
TK doesnt seems to be pleasing you, even though for me it's ok based on my experience but would still pick SQ over TK definetly on the SIN -IST, anyway thanks for sharing your trip .
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