[Anonymous]

[hmasurg]

Riyadh to Istanbul Economy 737-800

Reservation and Ticketing: Was made online about 4 months in advance. Prices would change sometimes on daily basis. Final price (flexible ticket) was slightly cheaper than the completion for this route (LH or AF). Website was acceptable but not close to being special. E-ticket issued and emailed separately which at first was a bit confusing. Online check was not available for flights from Riyadh, but it was for my second leg to Toronto.

Check-in: as usual in RUH not organized took about 15 minutes all in all with only two customers ahead of me in line. Online check in was only available for the second leg of my trip (IST-YYZ). As usual 2 bags allowed each no more than 23Kg.

Boarding: About 15 minutes behind schedule. Not organized nor prioritized.

Greetings: Standard smiles.

Cabin, seating and Entertainment: standard 737-800 cabin, dark leather seats (show their age) with standard width and seat pitch. No PTV. Shared TV’s would slide down (not very clear). No programming for the flight except for a loop of Turkish advertisements. Inflight magazine and saftycards in place. I noticed that the cabin temperature was not as cool as I would like it.

Meal: Menus were passed a selection of two main courses available. The meal on this flight was breakfast which for economy class standards is the best I have tasted since my childhood with a harty portion. Standard and alcoholic beverages available.

Timing: Departed about 20minutes late and arrived about 5 minutes behind schedual.

Arrival: Smooth disembarkation. Early morning forced smiles. Our aircraft had parked at a non gated position there was confusion and lack of busses once we were on the tarmac. Ultimately all the passengers were bused in two cramped busses.

Two short videos of this flight is available on my personal YT channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULSXsHX8-6M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vNxHsno-pc

VERDICT: Would recommend TK (as part of a second leg journey) provided one can cope with the suboptimal layover in IST (although not terrible) and the warm cabin in flight. Keep scouting their site for prices (they change frequently).

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