TK54 – Istanbul Airport to Singapore Changi Terminal 1 – BUSINESS CLASS
Growing Old with In Style
Can a soft product make up for a classic hard business product? Let’s take a look as I fly aboard Turkish Airlines in one of the 777-300ERs…
In this mammoth trip report (note, headings subject to change)
- Yes. I’m that old. Next.
- Off to Heathrow, Terminal 3 and Cathay Pacific Lounge
- BA768 London Heathrow to Oslo Airport (Club Europe)
- The Best Laid Oslo Plans, and the OSL Lounge
- TK1754 Oslo Airport to Istanbul Airport (Business Class)
- Welcome to Istanbul Airport… Wait, where’s my passport?
- TK054 Istanbul Airport to Singapore Changi (Business Class)
- Welcome back to Changi and the Ibis Budget Ruby, Geylang
- Back to Changi Terminal 4 and AirAsia AK710 Singapore to Kuala Lumpur International.
- Into Kuala Lumpur and the Holiday Inn Express KLCC
- To the Batu Caves
- Exploring Kuala Lumpur
- Back to KLIA, The Golden Circle Lounge
- MH627 Kuala Lumpur to Singapore Changi (Economy Class)
- HOTEL: Intercontinental Singapore, Bugis
- For the love of Nasi Lemak and Hawker Markets
- Exploring Singapore, whilst avoiding Rain
- Glasses in a Rush
- Pokémon Centre Singapore
- Back to Changi, and the Lounge
- TK209 Singapore Changi to Istanbul Airport (Business Class)
- Into Istanbul and the Sheraton Levent, Istanbul
- Back to Istanbul Airport and the Turkish Airlines Lounge
- TK1753 Istanbul Airport to Oslo Airport
- A leisurely Oslo transit
- SK815 Oslo Airport to London Heathrow (Economy Classes)
- Homeward
- Older, Never Wiser
TK54 to Istanbul Airport to Singapore Changi Terminal 1
Boeing 777-300ER
Seat 1J (moved to 1E/1G), Business Class
As I managed to clear the run of Istanbul Airport thanks to my memory and a small burgundy booklet, I headed down the jetbridge to the waiting aircraft.
The waiting 777-300ER
Business Class entrance (there were twin jetbridges at this gate, one for business class, one for economy).
I was welcomed aboard the 777 and headed to my seat in Row 1. And promptly collapsed after running through the Istanbul airport.
Let us just say the perspiration took over, as well as the exhaustion at that point. My seatmate looked on, and I greeted them.
On the Boeing 777-300ERs, it is very much as a “classic” business class configuration, where seating is in a 2-3-2 configuration. These days, this is not premium as we can all agree (in the world of 1-2-1 seats, it is nowhere near premium), so there were two of us together on the right-hand side.
All those empty seats
I took the time to stow my luggage and just cool down. Sadly, this 777-300ER was not fitted with overhead air gaspers – so I am relying on the aircraft’s aircon do its thing.
The term “good luck with that” came to mind.
That was downed too quickly.
Drinks were served, again non-alcoholic ones, as well as a five-mile-long menu.
The Amenity kit was handed out in a large pouch. At the seat was a light blanket and slippers.
Amenity Kit
There is such a thing as a too large a menu.
Dear deity. There are some things I did not need after a run across Istanbul Airport. This menu was one thing that confused the heck out of me – it was to the point where the poor chef had to guide me through the menu so I could order stuff off it.
Yes, I said chef. Turkish Airlines has an in-flight chef on their long-haul services, with the floppy hat to boot. Ah. I am having British Midland flashbacks at this point, when they used to operate Airbus A330-200s on long-haul services…
I digress.
Headphones were being handed out – with Turkish Airlines opting for Denon Headsets for their long-haul routes, which were noise-cancelling.
Yes. My mind was still muddled at this point.
Although branding is everything.
With boarding completed, I checked if the middle bank of seats was free (as 1A/B looked reserved for the pilots) with the cabin crew. Thankfully, they said it was.
As the middle bank confirmed as available, I moved over to the seats to my seatmates’ seats to their happiness (as they were wanting to sleep as much as possible between Istanbul and Singapore, skipping the services).
Home for 10 hours
Those are some classic controls.
Why have one IFE screen when you can have three?
Blankets and Slippers at the seat
Classic.
I still had adrenaline pumping through me, so I was up for a bit, whether I liked it or not.
A hot towel was handed out, too. I wish I had kept the towel, as I was still perspiring from the run across the airport. It helped a bit to mop my face down.
With me in my new seat, and the jet bridge being pulled away, it was time for this Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-300ER depart.
The same safety demo which was played on the A321neo was replayed on this Boeing 777-300ER, again as two separate language sets, with the accessibility notice.
Safety Card
Safety Demonstration
Pushback was completed, and our 777 began its taxi around Istanbul Airport. It was a short taxi from what I could tell (as I was nowhere near the window seat).
Classic cabin glow, along with connectivity adverts.
Eventually, the engines powered up and propelled the Boeing 777-300ER into the sky. Here is a view from where I was.
I headed to the small room at this point for a little cooldown and relief. After that run, I needed a break. The crew had put the branded amenities in the toilet before seatbelts were released, with Molton Brown amenities added to the basic pump soap, as well as Eau de Cologne.
The crew also set about making beds for people at this point. As I had a row of three seats, the crew made up the middle seat in the block of three for me, and I sat on the right-hand side of the middle block.
Honestly, it was like having a large suite to myself, with a middle bed for privacy, end seats for watching content and take off/landing. The best of a bad situation, given there was no window seat available to me.
Whilst this had an older IFE system on it, I managed to find a movie to help me calm a little – 2001 – A Space Odyssey. Those who use the film for their own methods of entertainment (especially for the “Through the Stargate” scene, please enjoy the film too).
Although it feels in flight economy food is like this…
IFE Controller
As for mapping, it again uses FlightPath 3D’s product. A little less interactive than the A321neo version, unless you reach over to the screen, but still workable.
It took a little getting used to the system – I suspect that not having ease of access to the screen (given it was bolted onto the bulkhead) did not help, so I used the remote control.
During this, my table was set for a meal. Whilst Turkish Airlines offers a “dine on demand” concept, the crew were hell-bent on serving everyone after take-off.
To start with, hot nuts turned up with the bubbly.
The main table was then set with the condiments on one side, with the cutest shakers for salt and pepper.
This was with butter, rosemary and Olive Oil. Lit up in the middle was a “candle”.
Candles. I’ve seen them in the air before.
The starter turned up, which was a Prawn and char-grilled octopus salad, a Zucchini, romesco, olive oil, and lemon dressing. This was an interesting dish, with some nice complex flavours in it, and it was good to see octopus in the air, without it being chewy.
During this, bread turned up with what Turkish Airlines calls “The World’s Oldest bread,” which is cultivated from Einkorn and Emmer grains – some of the oldest cultivated grains.
And the airline goes in hard with this, be it in the branding or the in-flight video. It is a dense and rustic bread, so you will need a decent amount of butter with it.
For the main, I chose the grilled lemon and rosemary lamb chops & tabbouleh salad. The lamb chops were well done, and the tabbouleh salad was zesty, with the mint complementing the lamb.
Finally, for dessert, my brain was fried when I ordered it, so I just went for some Apricot Ice Cream.
Sometimes, simple is best.
With the service cleared down, and my exhaustion finally starting to kick in at long last (it has taken long enough), I switched to the middle seat and bedded down for the evening. Without individual air controls, however, it was a little bit of a struggle before I found a reasonable sleeping point, without sweating.
I got a good few hours of sleep, so I was happy as some of the films went on loop. There is nothing more comforting than a film you can dip in and out of and know exactly where you are in it.
Whilst our aircraft was in the air, I reconnected to the TK in-flight service.
Again, I was offered 1Gb of data for the segment, along with free messaging for flying business class and being a member of their frequent flyer club. Perfectly good enough to communicate with people, post the odd picture and read things I wanted to catch up on.
Around a couple of hours from Singapore, the lights went up for the breakfast service. Firstly, there was a starter with cheese, tomatoes, peppers, along with muesli, a pastie and some fruit.
I was given options for the main – I chose the eggs, with spinach. The eggs were poached, and amazingly runny when cutting into them. This went well with the spinach base, wilts it sauce.
And of course, coffee. Because some of us live on it.
At the end of the service, Turkish delight was given to all business class passengers – a nice touch.
With service complete, we were coming into the final hour of the flight, where things started to be cleared down, bedding put away and items collected – including the headphones. People had been after them in the past, even though they are just the usual three-pin configuration you see on an aircraft (Left, right and power).
With the cabin secure, our aircraft began its descent into Singapore Changi – not that I saw much of it from where I was sitting.
Landing in the evening of a Singapore wet season, our aircraft made it on the ground successfully.
Wet. Wonderful. Who forgot it was rainy season….
Thankfully, whilst on the ground, the taxi was a short one as the aircraft closed in on Terminal 1 and the C Gates. Of course, this meant we were coming in at the far end of the C Gates.
Sometimes, you can’t win them all.
With the seatbelts turned off, along with a warning not to move in front of people at risk of a fine by the Turkish Directorate of Aviation, it was time to leave this 777 and head into the hotness of a Singaporean evening.
Fair thee well, old seats
Overall:
Whilst the hard product is dated (and I thought we were fast leaving behind the world of 2-3-2 business class seating), Turkish Airlines brought their best product when it came to food, with an impressive menu. In terms of seating, the mattress and blanket did a good job, although this is where air gaspers would be a wonderful thing (as some European airlines do not like them for some reason on their long-haul aircraft).
Connectivity was fast enough when used, which was good for more than a few social internet feed updates.
As for the crew, pleasant enough, if, however, wanting to ignore the “dine when you want”, switching it to “dine when we want” service. And some elements of the service do feel… a little too overdone. I will have more thoughts on that on the return segment to Istanbul.
But for a first long-haul flight, I can see why some people like the airline.
Next:
Into Singapore, and the Ibis Budget Ruby Geylang. Because sometimes, we need to all go back to earth with a bump.
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