win1290 From Thailand, joined Jan 2012, 249 posts, RR: 2 Posted (7 months 3 weeks 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 7975 times:
Hello and welcome to the second part of my trip report to France with Turkish Airlines. If you have missed the first part, it can be found here: Turkish Airlines A333, B738: BKK-IST-NCE, Sep 2012 (by win1290 Sep 20 2012 in Trip Reports). The first part finishes off arriving in Nice. Before getting to the return flights, I will include some of the pictures taken during our holiday:
Cannes
St. Tropez
Nice Old Town
On the way to Monaco
Monaco
Monte Carlo
Here are the details of the first leg on the return flight
Date: 12 September 2012
Airline: Turkish Airlines
Flight: TK1816
Route: NCE-IST
Class: Economy
Aircraft: Airbus A320-200
Registration: TC-JPS
We headed to Turkish Airlines check-in area where there were one counter for Business Class and two for Economy Class. My family and some other people in our group who either have the status with *A or flying Business Class, went to join the queue at the Business Class counter. After a few minutes of waiting, one of the agents in Economy Class counters shouted to us: ‘that line is for Business Class only, can you all wait in the other line?’ The agent was also serving another passenger, so we didn’t want to say anything back. We then moved to the other line. It was not a problem for us at all as we had plenty of time prior to the flight and the waiting wasn’t very long.
When it was our turn to check-in, it was completed in around 5 minutes, and our bags were sent to Bangkok, and our boarding passes given to Bangkok too. We also got given lounge invitations, but no information was said about it. Then we headed to Security screening which took around 5 minutes of waiting until we were done.
Before proceeding to our gate, we had to have our passport checked. There were two counters at passport control, and there were no people at all, so we got through within minutes.
Waiting area
The lounge is on the upper floor
We went to use the lounge briefly. The lounge was very busy indeed, sorry, I didn’t take any pictures inside. To be honest, I found this lounge quite disappointing. The snack offering was ok, with some sweet selections and some packet of crisps. But the drink was not good, various empty bottles on the bar, and the cleanliness was poor too, with drink spilled on various spots on the food bar.
Boarding was called by seat row numbers. Our seats were more towards the front of the Economy sector, so we were one of the last to board the plane.
At the aircraft door, a flight attendant welcomed us on board.
The first 6 row are for Business Class. The seats are the same with the Economy Class seats but with the middle one blocked.
Safety demonstration video was played on the screen, then pushed back
Cabin view before take off
Took off!
Once the seat belt sign was switched off, the crew came to distribute menu and headphones.
Options for today: Chicken with Satay sauce or Prime Beef Burger
I chose the Chicken with rice
With Red wine and water
Kidney beans marinated in olive oil
Main dish, in my opinion was very salty.
Almond cake: very sweet
Leg room
Safety card
I slept for the remaining of the flight, and woke up when the plane started descending to Istanbul. Landing was more-or-less on schedule, then taxied to remote stand.
My seat
The cabin
A very empty terminal
For transit, all we had to do was passing through another security screening. After that, we bought a few duty free goods and headed straight to Turkish Airlines lounge.
The lounge was once again, quite busy. We managed to find a dining table with five seats.
Some pictures of the lounge
Some very nice freshly cooked grills
I went to a counter to ask to use the shower facility at the lounge. The lady who was at the service counter noted my name and asked me to come back in 20 – 30 minutes. So after around 20 minutes, I came back , and the shower room was ready for me
At the scheduled boarding time, we left the lounge for our gate
win1290 From Thailand, joined Jan 2012, 249 posts, RR: 2 Reply 1, posted (7 months 3 weeks 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 7950 times:
Here are the details of the flight:
Date: 13 September 2012
Airline: Turkish Airlines
Flight: TK68
Route: IST-BKK
Class: Economy
Aircraft: Airbus A340-300
Registration: TC-JDM
The flight was going to Ho Chi Minh via Bangkok
As soon as we arrived at the boarding gate, boarding was already started and so we joined the queue. Once our travel documents were checked, we got on a bus for a quick ride to our plane
Pictures taken while on the bus to our plane:
Our plane
At the aircraft door, a crew member and a chef on board warmly welcomed passengers on board. I was directed to the correct aisle for my seat.
Already on my seat were headphones, a blanket and a pillow. In flight entertainment system was on: people were able to start watching films or listening to music.
The cabin
There was another group of passengers coming in from another bus. It looked like the flight was completely full in Economy class.
View of the outside
Leg room
After took off, and the seatbelt sign turned off. Menu card and amenity box were distributed.
I really like this amenity box
Feeling very tired after a very long day, I decided to pass the dinner service and slept straight away. In the first hour or so of the flight, the cabin temperature was uncomfortably high, and a few hours later, it was uncomfortably cold. I woke up a few moments before dinner service started. Visited the lavatory and was quite surprised at how poorly it was looked after.
Shortly after, the breakfast cart came around
And breakfast served with orange juice and coffee
The main dish was exactly the same as I had in my previous flights with TK a week earlier: Scrambled eggs, turkey ham and cheese toast, grilled tomato and green pepper.
Safety card
Cabin view from my seat
Descending to Bangkok
View from the forward camera
As soon as I took this picture, the battery on my camera ran out.
After landing, the crew made a welcome announcement to Bangkok. Then it was said that passengers who were continuing to Ho Chi Minh were asked to stay on board. As we disembarked and about to enter the terminal, each of us has to show our boarding passes to ensure that our final destination is Bangkok. I noticed another team of TK crew was already at the gate.
After quite a walk, we reached the passport control where the waiting line for Thai passport holder was quite short, and we were done within a couple of minutes. After waiting around 15 minutes, we got all of our bags and walked to the car park and drove home.
In conclusion, I find that Turkish Airlines do offer some very good in-flight services, with very nice amenity kit in Economy class as well as some very good in-flight entertainment system. I am particularly impressed by the level of inflight offering TK has on the Intra European flights (IST-NCE-IST) which includes a menu and hot meal service with alcoholic beverages. As for catering, the quality of meal was good, but perhaps the lack of variety on the breakfast choice may be a little boring. Cabin crew was kind of mixed. Some of the crew members I found very genuinely friendly and nice, but there were some crew members who seem unhappy throughout the flight. Transiting through Istanbul was with ease, there were some very nice duty free shops too. The Turkish Airlines lounge at IST was also very nice with a variety of snack and refreshments. Shower facility was very nice too. This would be the end of the trip report. I hope you enjoyed reading it. All comments/questions/suggestions are very appreciated.
adamspotter From Netherlands, joined Feb 2011, 775 posts, RR: 2 Reply 2, posted (7 months 3 weeks 2 days 3 hours ago) and read 7633 times:
Hi Win!
Was looking forward to seeing part 2, nice to see it online!
Many thanks for another insight on TK economy class, the A343 is actually the plane that is on schedule for my IST-IAD-IST flights.
Anyway TK looks quite nice in general, food looks tasty, amenity kit looks nice too bad about the bathroom though.
That Turkish Airlines lounge in IST looks very nice IMHO!
Love your destination pictures too of Southern France!
Quoting win1290 (Thread starter): After a few minutes of waiting, one of the agents in Economy Class counters shouted to us: ‘that line is for Business Class only, can you all wait in the other line?
hmm what was that about? No *G counter? TK also seem not to be using priority boarding?
Quoting win1290 (Thread starter): To be honest, I found this lounge quite disappointing. The snack offering was ok, with some sweet selections and some packet of crisps. But the drink was not good, various empty bottles on the bar, and the cleanliness was poor too, with drink spilled on various spots on the food bar.
hmm that sounds very poor indeed
Quoting win1290 (Thread starter): The main dish was exactly the same as I had in my previous flights with TK a week earlier
MSS658 From Belgium, joined Oct 2010, 2205 posts, RR: 14 Reply 4, posted (7 months 3 weeks 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 6915 times:
Hey Win
Nice too see your return report as well online!
TK seems to be a very professional airline! Even aminity kits in Y and full meal service on the NCE-IST sector is great!!
I do find the narrowbody cabins on TK to be a bit worn and dated
roberts87 From Netherlands, joined Dec 2011, 660 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (7 months 3 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 6751 times:
Another great report! Nice to read about your return flight too. It looks like TK really has a good products in Economy. Like you said, impressive what they serve on the intra-Europe flights. And the lounge in IST looks very stylish!
jwhite9185 From United Kingdom, joined May 2007, 717 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (7 months 3 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 6719 times:
Hi Win,
Your trip to Nice looked very enjoyable. Good that you got to see Monte Carlo too. I chose the wrong weekend when i went - the Grand Prix was on so pretty much all of it was closed and the parts that were open were sealed off so you couldn't see much! About the only part i got to see were the castle/palace up the top of the hill.
Quoting win1290 (Thread starter): After a few minutes of waiting, one of the agents in Economy Class counters shouted to us: ‘that line is for Business Class only, can you all wait in the other line?’
How did they know you weren't business passengers?
Quoting win1290 (Thread starter): The lounge was very busy indeed, sorry, I didn’t take any pictures inside. To be honest, I found this lounge quite disappointing. The snack offering was ok, with some sweet selections and some packet of crisps.
I didn't find it too great when i was in there - about the only thing it had going for it was that there was a comfortable chair! I guess it was just you're typical 3rd party lounge. No better or worse than the Servisair lounge at T3 LHR (if its even still there??)
TK looked pretty impressive - good that you still get a proper meal in economy on an intra Europe flight. Thought those had long disappeared!
lukeyboy95 From Papua New Guinea, joined Apr 2008, 951 posts, RR: 35 Reply 7, posted (7 months 3 weeks 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 6658 times:
HI Win,
Another excellent and to-the-point report. Many thanks. . .
Quoting win1290 (Reply 1): At the scheduled boarding time, we left the lounge for our gate
The lounge design is still highly attractive for me!
TK, oh TK, when will I get to try you!? It all looked pretty excellent on those flights. Only the moody FA's perturb me somewhat. TK ought to be careful with it's growth, they need to keep it measured and in control. I could see things spiraling into poor standards if they don't.
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6183 posts, RR: 79 Reply 8, posted (7 months 3 weeks 1 day 9 hours ago) and read 6499 times:
Hi Win,
great report about your return flights to IST and BKK! TK's product looks fine in general, hopefully we won't see any service cuts on the European routes anytime soon.
Quoting win1290 (Thread starter): After took off, and the seatbelt sign turned off. Menu card and amenity box were distributed.
I like the menu card's color!
Quoting win1290 (Thread starter): Visited the lavatory and was quite surprised at how poorly it was looked after.
I noticed that on my LHR-IST flight last year.
Quoting win1290 (Thread starter): The main dish was exactly the same as I had in my previous flights with TK a week earlier: Scrambled eggs, turkey ham and cheese toast, grilled tomato and green pepper.
Some variety would be nice - but it looks good.
Quoting MSS658 (Reply 4): I do find the narrowbody cabins on TK to be a bit worn and dated
Which ones are you referring to? The A320 cabin here looks fine.
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 2): Was looking forward to seeing part 2, nice to see it online!
Nice to know,
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 2): Many thanks for another insight on TK economy class, the A343 is actually the plane that is on schedule for my IST-IAD-IST flights.
You are very welcome!
Cool, have a good flight to IAD
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 2): Anyway TK looks quite nice in general, food looks tasty, amenity kit looks nice too bad about the bathroom though.
That Turkish Airlines lounge in IST looks very nice IMHO!
Yes, overall inflight services were great! I particularly like the box, perhaps more than whats inside it though haha.
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 2): That Turkish Airlines lounge in IST looks very nice IMHO!
Yep, the lounge was very big and spacious, and there are so many selections of food and sweets
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 2): Love your destination pictures too of Southern France!
Thanks!
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 2): hmm what was that about? No *G counter? TK also seem not to be using priority boarding?
I didn't see the *G sign around, or may be I didn't look closely enough. But I would have thought that *G could use Business class counters. On the sector NCE-IST, Business class pax could board at their leisure, but no mention was made about *A status pax. On the IST-BKK, I wasn't at the gate when the boarding call was made, so don't know if there was a priority boarding.
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 2): hmm coincidence or not many breakfast options?
Well, I had three of this dish on my four flights with TK, so may be TK does lack the breakfast variety. Having said that, the dish doesn't taste bad at all, in fact quite food for breakfast.
Quoting The777Man (Reply 3): Thanks for a nice report with very nice pictures, especially of Southern France and Monaco! That's my favorite part of Europe!
You are very welcome! Thanks a lot for your comment.
We absolutely enjoyed our holiday to French Riviera.
Quoting The777Man (Reply 3): Flights on TK look good as always although I don't like the color of the seats on the 320.
Our flights on TK were good overall. I slightly prefer the darker seat colour which I had on the 738 from IST-NCE.
Quoting The777Man (Reply 3): Meals look good and for breakfast, I don't need much variety.
Always nice to have hot breakfast on board, and it tasted good too
Quoting The777Man (Reply 3): Looking forward to your next report!
Very nice to know.
My next flight will be with Thai Airways from Bangkok to Hong Kong next weekend, and the report will be up shortly after.
Nice too see your return report as well online!
TK seems to be a very professional airline! Even aminity kits in Y and full meal service on the NCE-IST sector is great!!
I do find the narrowbody cabins on TK to be a bit worn and dated
Greetings
Marc
Hey Marc!
Thanks for your comment
TK sure is one good airline, its very nice to be offered a full service on the intra European flight, and the amenity on the IST-BKK is lovely!
For the aircraft, I think the cabin on the narrowbody is clean and well-maintained.
Quoting roberts87 (Reply 5):
Another great report! Nice to read about your return flight too. It looks like TK really has a good products in Economy. Like you said, impressive what they serve on the intra-Europe flights. And the lounge in IST looks very stylish!
Thanks Robert.
The service was fantastic on the NCE-IST sector! Was very surprised with the two hot meal options on it too.
I agree with you on TK IST lounge.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Reply 6): Your trip to Nice looked very enjoyable. Good that you got to see Monte Carlo too. I chose the wrong weekend when i went - the Grand Prix was on so pretty much all of it was closed and the parts that were open were sealed off so you couldn't see much! About the only part i got to see were the castle/palace up the top of the hill.
We absolutely enjoyed your trip to Southern France, our tour operator planned the trip for us very well.
Oh, but at least you got to Fly BMI in Business Class!!!
Quoting jwhite9185 (Reply 6): How did they know you weren't business passengers?
however did he know it, he was right
Quoting jwhite9185 (Reply 6): I didn't find it too great when i was in there - about the only thing it had going for it was that there was a comfortable chair! I guess it was just you're typical 3rd party lounge. No better or worse than the Servisair lounge at T3 LHR (if its even still there??)
Yep, I agree the seating was comfortable. Unfortunately though, my seat was 'stolen' when I briefly went to get some snack.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Reply 6): TK looked pretty impressive - good that you still get a proper meal in economy on an intra Europe flight. Thought those had long disappeared!
Indeed, very nice to have hot meal on the short European flight.
Quoting lukeyboy95 (Reply 7): Another excellent and to-the-point report. Many thanks. . .
Thanks a lot! Really appreciate your comment.
Quoting lukeyboy95 (Reply 7): The lounge design is still highly attractive for me!
For me too, I could spend hours longer at this lounge.
Quoting lukeyboy95 (Reply 7): TK, oh TK, when will I get to try you!? It all looked pretty excellent on those flights. Only the moody FA's perturb me somewhat. TK ought to be careful with it's growth, they need to keep it measured and in control. I could see things spiraling into poor standards if they don't.
One day Luke, one day
yep all the inflight services were very good. Absolutely agree with you that TK should have things in control when they expand very fast, especially with regards to crew members.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 8): great report about your return flights to IST and BKK! TK's product looks fine in general, hopefully we won't see any service cuts on the European routes anytime soon.
Thanks a lot!
I hope so too, these things make flying more comfortable!
sultanils From Belgium, joined Mar 2010, 1173 posts, RR: 29 Reply 10, posted (7 months 2 weeks 3 days 16 hours ago) and read 5401 times:
Hello Win,
Nice report of your return flight home. Just like on the outbound, it seems like Turkish treated you very well. The A340’s cabin seems to become a little outdated though but I guess they are leaving the fleet in the near future. I hope you enjoyed Nice and surroundings, when the weather is good this is certainly a nice - yet posh - area
Quoting win1290 (Thread starter): After a few minutes of waiting, one of the agents in Economy Class counters shouted to us: ‘that line is for Business Class only, can you all wait in the other line?’
Hmm, that’s quite an attitude. Weren’t you rightfully so queuing at the business class counter?
Quoting win1290 (Thread starter): The seats are the same with the Economy Class seats but with the middle one blocked.
I must say I like the black seats with the blue lining better.
A bit of an oddball route but it looks to have a fair load. Were there many people traveling onwards to SGN?
Quoting win1290 (Thread starter): The main dish was exactly the same as I had in my previous flights with TK a week earlier: Scrambled eggs, turkey ham and cheese toast, grilled tomato and green pepper.
deltamartin From Sweden, joined Dec 2010, 1059 posts, RR: 9 Reply 11, posted (7 months 2 weeks 3 days 1 hour ago) and read 5143 times:
Hi Win!
Again a very nice installment from you, and again very nice to see what I can expect on my future TK flights. They sure do seem impressive.
Seems like you had a nice vacation and nice pictures from France and Monaco.
gabrielchew From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2005, 2512 posts, RR: 13 Reply 12, posted (7 months 2 weeks 2 days 9 hours ago) and read 4962 times:
Another nice report Win! Looks like TK carried on well. Shame the woman in NCE should at you for being in the C line...you shoudl have wavd your gold card at her!
Quoting sultanils (Reply 10): Nice report of your return flight home. Just like on the outbound, it seems like Turkish treated you very well. The A340’s cabin seems to become a little outdated though but I guess they are leaving the fleet in the near future. I hope you enjoyed Nice and surroundings, when the weather is good this is certainly a nice - yet posh - area
Thank you very much! The A340 cabin may be old, but I think it was well maintained. I am not sure though as when the aircraft will leave TK fleet.
Yes, I absolutely enjoyed the visit to the Southern France, the weather was perfect too!
Quoting sultanils (Reply 10): Hmm, that’s quite an attitude. Weren’t you rightfully so queuing at the business class counter?
I would have thought that a *G member could have use the Business counter, but there was no sign for it (or I didn't see it). I think I was kind of scared by the agent haha.
Quoting sultanils (Reply 10): I must say I like the black seats with the blue lining better.
Quoting deltamartin (Reply 11): Again a very nice installment from you, and again very nice to see what I can expect on my future TK flights. They sure do seem impressive.
Seems like you had a nice vacation and nice pictures from France and Monaco.
Thanks a lot for reading and the comment! Overall, I am quite happy with the experience on TK! Hope you will also be impressed on your upcoming flights with TK.
I sure had a great holiday, glad you liked the photos.
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 12):
Another nice report Win! Looks like TK carried on well. Shame the woman in NCE should at you for being in the C line...you shoudl have wavd your gold card at her!
Many thanks Gabriel! Absolutely!
haha, may be I was kind of scared after being shouted at.
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