Introduction
A family matter requiring me to travel to Germany arose in early 2020. I booked flights on TK from Caracas to Hamburg via Istanbul for April of that year, with a side trip to Spain on LA, but by the time I had all my paperwork in order the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic and by now we all know what that meant.
Once it became clear that the tickets could not be extended any further and after submitting the necessary applications, TK reimbursed the full amount of the paid fare while LA completely brushed me off.
Since my last trip to Europe four years ago, also with TK, the airline has upped service to CCS in multiple ways: the flight is now daily instead of four times a week, several flights now go nonstop from IST to CCS instead of making a stopover in HAV adding at least 4 hours to the trip, and the route is now served with the B789 instead of the A332.
Once travel and gathering restrictions had been eased, I booked again for travel in late May of this year. At that time TK was still the only airline authorized by the Venezuelan civil aviation authority to offer direct service in that direction of the world. Given this, the flights are full every day and the fares reflect their monopoly position.
The trip
At the time of travel, only passengers and staff were allowed inside the terminal building at CCS, so after traversing the walk-through sanitization booth and showing my travel documents I was free to enter. The check-in queue for the TK flight was already immensely long, even 4 hours before the scheduled departure.
Instead of lining up at the back of the queue I walked past all those people up to the document checking desk to enquire if there was a separate line for J passengers. There was not, but after showing my documents I was let through and cleared to line up for check-in proper. Once the three or four parties ahead of me were all set it was my turn and in a matter of minutes I had my suitcase checked and my boarding passes and lounge invite in hand.
FIDS: Just four destinations and ten flights all day
With so few flights and most of the TK passengers still standing in line to check in, security and passport control didn’t take too long and I was airside in a jiffy.
Here, too, the low number of flights was very evident: a yawning void.
Is this the dawning of the age of aquarium?
I don’t remember seeing these fish tanks when I was last here in March, but watching them probably helps anxious passengers and fidgety kids to calm down a notch or two.
I, on the other hand, made my way to the lounge. This used to be the Admirals Club when AA still served CCS and is now, after some remodeling, the recently opened Aerovip Salon.
The breakfast offerings were institutional at best so I stuck to a simple coffee and positioned myself by the window facing the ramp.
Coffee in a plastic cup: not very VIP if you ask me…
Apart from the aircraft being prepared for departure there was also an interesting couple of birds sitting idly on the ramp.
Not long after this picture was taken this B743 became an object of interest in an international affair worthy of a Tom Clancy novel.
YV3531 was built for French carrier UTA, where it served from 1986 until 1992 when they merged with Air France. It remained in the AF fleet until 2006 and then somehow found its way to Iranian carrier Mahan Air, flying with them from 2007 until 2019. After being stored for 3 years it was handed over to Emtrasur earlier this year.
The A346, registration YV3535, started its service life in 2002 with Virgin Atlantic, where it remained until 2012. Via HiFly Malta it flew for Iraqi operator Al-Naser Airlines in 2014 and 2015 (no photos in the A.net database) and then went to Mahan Air until this year. Now it spends most of the time working on a tan under the Caribbean sun. Conviasa’s network may seem very extensive, but many flights are operated only once every one or two weeks and certainly not following economic principles.
Eventually my ride arrived as well, pretty much on time actually.
With the reduced amount of passengers the lounge never felt crowded and there was enough time to check some mails and make a few phone calls before boarding was announced, at which point I made my way to the nearby gate. The boarding process was very orderly; it was actually the most orderly boarding of all the flights I took with TK on this occasion.
May 2022
Airline: Turkish Airlines
Flight: TK224
STD/ATD: 10:35 / 12:00 (push back)
STA/ATA: 05:05 +1 / 05:40 +1 (touch down)
Route: CCS-IST
Registration: TC-LLK
Aircraft: B787-9
After a second hand luggage check before being allowed onto the jetbridge we had to line up in there again for a check by the drug-sniffing K-9 brigade. As soon as the dogs were done without finding anything we were finally allowed to proceed onboard through door 2L.
Interesting floor markings:
Knowing that I had a seat on the starboard side I traversed the galley and – still used to that from my last 10 flight segments – was about to turn right before realizing that on this occasion I got to turn left. Oops.
My seat was quickly found and I settled in.
I am not a fan of the seat elements protruding into the view through the windows, but you can’t have it all I guess.
In short order the purser, the flight attendant in charge of my cabin section and the cook on board came by to introduce themselves and soon thereafter welcome drinks were offered.
Menus, head-phones and the amenity kit were also distributed.
And then we waited… and waited… and waited some more. Mechanics in hi-viz vests and the station manager commuted back and forth between the cockpit and the exterior but no cabin crew member was able to give any information. Fifty minutes after the STD the captain came onto the PA to apologize for the delay, but no explanation as to the cause was given. In the end it transpired that there was a problem with an air conditioning pack.
The doors were eventually closed and we pushed back 1:25 hrs after the scheduled departure time. During the take-off roll I noticed that the international terminal was practically devoid of planes once we had left the gate.
We departed CCS from rwy 10L at 12:10.
A mere two ships moored at the docks in the country’s second most important seaport. What a disgrace!
Unlike other airlines bound for Europe, which usually use a standard instrument departure that takes them on a left turn right after take-off and then join airway UA550 in a northwesterly direction, TK crews seem to prefer flying a more easterly course initially and make that left turn half an hour later abeam Margarita Island, even though the flights end up entering continental Europe above Portugal or France anyway, suggesting that they all use the same transoceanic airway. So we initially flew along the coastal range towards Margarita.
By the time we reached the island I had made myself comfortable in the provided slippers. The service began with the distribution of piping hot towels.
Margarita Island’s smaller western section and the La Restinga Lagoon with Coche Island in the distance and Araya Peninsula near the horizon.
The island’s larger eastern section with PMV airport and the urban centers were hidden beneath a cloud layer.
At about this time the pre-meal drinks were served. I opted for a glass of champagne to celebrate the start of this trip. This was poured in the galley, so I can’t vouch for it actually being the Taittinger Brut Reserve mentioned on the wine and spirits list. Actually on this trip all wines were poured in the galley and brought to the passengers in the glass.
For the starter I chose the assorted mezze.
Upon taking note of my selection of grilled salmon for the main course, the F/A immediately replaced the normal knife and fork with proper fish cutlery. Very attentive!
As the portion of the entrée wasn’t overly abundant, I had both the cheese plate and the potpourri of traditional Turkish desserts followed by a Turkish coffee.
Once the meal service concluded I watched Heart of Champions from the movie selection and a couple of short films with the occasional glance at the flight information. For some time the ground speed indicator scratched on the 1000 km/h mark, eventually surpassing that figure.
Can the pilots or physicists among the readers please explain why the ground speed is shown as being higher than the true airspeed in spite of a 100 km/h headwind? Something doesn’t add up here. I always thought it was the other way round. Or perhaps it was actually a tailwind?
This math exercise fortunately did not rob me of any sleep and I managed nearly 6 hours of shuteye. The foot well in these seats is not particularly spacious and turning around sometimes requires some leg retracting, but overall it was a very comfortable rest. I woke up while we were overflying Spain. Eventually it was also time for the cabin to get into wake-up mode as the lights came on and breakfast was served.
I started off with a cold plate of fresh fruit, yogurt, cheese, honey and butter with a strawberry smoothie followed by a hot main of mozzarella omelet with sautéed tomato, baked potatoes and leaf spinach.
Not long after the breakfast service concluded we were already on approach to IST.
Shortly before landing the sun was beginning to rise over Istanbul, the city still partly covered by a veil of fog.
With a landing at 5:40 on rwy 35R this segment of the trip came to an end. In spite of the headwind (if it was that) we regained 50 minutes of the 1hr 25m delay with which we left CCS. Unfortunately due to the humidity the windows steamed up right after landing, preventing an anticipated sightseeing tour of IST while taxiing to the ramp.
The deplaning process was again very orderly and the crew made sure that J passengers got off first. Due to the delayed arrival my connecting time was reduced from 2:30 h to 1:55 h. Not a tragedy but with the cabin baggage control for connecting pax and the huge extension of the new airport’s terminal I felt there was little time to enjoy the lounge, so I just went into the TK Business Class Lounge to have a quick look and then I was off to navigate the bustling concourses in search for the gate to my connecting flight. Actually both the incoming and the connecting flight were parked at Pier D, both planes standing only a few gates apart.
Compare the number of flights scheduled here within a timeframe of 25 minutes to those at CCS in a day and a half…
My plane was already at the gate and judging from the crowd today there appeared to be a healthy passenger load. Long before the indicated boarding time a line formed in front of the gate desks and I wondered what it was for, since no announcements were made. Well, they say that there’s no harm in asking so I enquired and found out that the staff were checking all passengers’ proof of Covid vaccination.
June 2022
Airline: Turkish Airlines
Flight: TK1661
STD/ATD: 07:35 / 07:40 (push back)
STA/ATA: 09:45 / 09:40 (touch down)
Route: IST-HAM
Registration: TC-JNA, Gaziantep
Aircraft: A330-203
Boarding at TK’s home base was not particularly orderly, actually resembling more an ILBST, but the J cabin ended up being only half full. When I arrived at my seat somebody else was sitting there, but the person quickly moved elsewhere.
The flight attendant passed through the cabin distributing the menus and offering PDB’s. Only G rated drinks this morning: water, orange juice or lemon mint.
Push-back was at 7:40, five minutes behind schedule, and 15 minutes later we were taking off from rwy 36.
After crossing a section of the Black Sea and upon reaching the Bulgarian coastline the meal service commenced. For my second breakfast of the day I had the turkey breast with a small cheese selection as a first plate and the traditional baked cheese pastry for the main. And a much needed caffeine fix to go with it.
There was not much to see outside so I spent the time watching a few comedy episodes from the IFE selection. Our arrival into HAM was a little over 2:30 hours after take-off with a landing on rwy 15 at 09:40.
True to character, the city was welcoming me with its proverbial Schmuddelwetter, or drizzerable weather – because… Hamburg.
Fortunately, this turned out to be one of only two days with bad weather during my whole stay in Europe. Who would’ve guessed that day that we would be complaining about extraordinary heat all summer long?