[Kopite]

I am thinking of booking a business class ticket on Turkish Airlines Singapore to UK and vv.

They have a good fare at the moment exact routing will be SIN-IST-BHX and vv.

The first sector is on a 777 with lie flat beds in J class. However I’m bothered by the 2nd sector on a single aisle 737-800 where for 4 hours I’ll be in a “cradle recliner 114cm” [sic]

Will this be a proper business class seat or will it be “intra-Europe” business class on a single aisle plane which usually means 3 standard economy seats with the middle seat blocked?

I’m also bothered by the description “cradle recliner” as a few times I flew Air France Premium Economy long haul in a recliner seat inside a shell and it was the worst airline seat I’ve ever been in for comfort. Impossible to sleep in it and frankly economy is more comfortable than the infamous Air France shell recliner.

[MatthewBarrow]

We’ve travelled on this service a few times from Manchester and London to Istanbul when connecting to somewhere else. It’s not brilliant, but it’s comfortable enough for 3-4 hours and a lot better than the the standard EuroBusiness concept of an economy product with an empty middle seat (which is likely to be how the whole plane will be configured for the coming months). I once flew this route at about 2am and whilst I found it ok for dozing/light sleep, it wasn’t as restful as a proper bed. The flat bed on the 777 is great, especially if you’re travelling with a partner, so just get some sleep on that leg and then use the short hop to read, catch up on work, eat etc.

[agsteele]

TK uses business class seats on all its aircraft. On the single aisle equipment the seats are wide seats with plenty of space in front BUT they do not fully recline. So no flat bed. The in flight service is properly business class.

[AlanOrton1]

Hi Andrew,

I flew IST-LGW a few years back in J on a 737.
The service was very good, with a full meal served and multiple drink servings.
They are decent recliner seats, very easy to get comfortable in for working / eating and relaxing watching a movie etc. Not ideal for sleeping, but I don’t think they are really designed for this as they tend to operate on their shorter / mid haul routes of a few hours. Pretty decent AVOD selection as well.
I was happy with the product and wouldn’t hesitate in using them again.
It is a ‘proper’ seat, certainly not an intra-europe J seat that you get on the likes of AF, LH, BA etc. I’d describe it as a notch or two above the F seats you get in domestic F with the US carriers.

[esselle]

I agree with the above comments regarding the TK C class product. Better than the offerings in C from other carriers in Europe, in both seating and cabin service.

I haven’t tried their 777 J class so cant comment on that.

Safe travels.

[Roa1]

Last September I flew “J” class on TK’s 777 Istanbul to Seoul, and had the best inflight service ever. I also flew “economy” LGW/IST/FRU (Bishkek) on their new 737-900 and 737-800. The Istanbul/Bishkek (Kyrgzstan) sector was just under 6 hours on 737-800 and once again, I had one of the best inflight “Y” meals ever.
They have a proper “Chef” on board, serving meals and walking up and down the aisle chatting with passengers. I also saw the female flight attendants lifting really heavy items and assisting passengers – sadly, I haven’t seen that type of service on legacy airlines.

[SimonS1]

[quote quote=999965]I also saw the female flight attendants lifting really heavy items and assisting passengers – sadly, I haven’t seen that type of service on legacy airlines.[/quote]

I presume because legacy airlines have more respect for health & safety, and don’t expect their staff to lift heavy items?

1 user thanked author for this post.

Flyboy18

[maxgeorge]

Generally excellent in-flight service, far superior to BA for UK-IST. 777’s, however, are 2-2-2 seating in J – but competitive fares compensate.

[MartynSinclair]

I have always been put off by Turkish Airlines because of the unfavourable threads about how the airline deals with problems that may arise from time to time, including changes to schedules.

2 users thanked author for this post.

FaroFlyer, cwoodward

[cwoodward]

Turkish are notorious for having zero customer service. Should anything at all go wrong on your journey the will not be there, never reply to you and never pay any compensation due. There are long threads on every airline forum regarding the terrible attitude Turkish display. All care – zero responsibility.
A look at their very poor safety record would also be enlightening perhaps

If flying Turkish is a risk that you are prepared to take then roll the dice and fly Turkish – if not KLM via Amsterdam is a decent alternative.

[Ajd1972]

I have seen recently that the business class meal service has been MASSIVELY reduced, to a boxed meal or 2 down to a bottle of water only depending on the length of time on the plane.. If you are not bothered about that then I’d go for it, but if the whole business class experience is what you are looking for, I’d look elsewhere

[capetonianm]

The usual story, if you buying cheap it might well be fine until something goes wrong, and that is when you found out that goedkoop is duurkoop.

If you had 10 good cheap trips and the 11th. goes wrong, you’ve come out in profit. If it’s the first that goes wrong, then you won’t be smiling. Risk assessment.

[esselle]

Bit of thread creep here guys. The OP was asking what the seats were like.

1 user thanked author for this post.

cwoodward

[GivingupBA]

[postquote quote=999970][/postquote]

Yes, I believe so. Twice on a BA A380 upper deck in the last few years, I’ve boarded with a slipped disc and asked flight attendants to put my wheelie bag in the overhead bin for me (after mentioning my slipped disc). Both times, they refused and apologised, saying they were not supposed to do that – which is really fine with me, of course, and it’s my fault for travelling with a wheelie bag in my condition. Other passengers saw what was happening, and very kindly helped me with my bag.

[capetonianm]

I boarded a BA 747 in business class, with my forearm in plaster from fingertips to elbow, meaning I could not raise it above my head nor lift anything. The flight attendants not only refused to help me up the stairs meaning I was unable to hold on for support as my cabin bag was in my ‘good’ hand, but also refused to help me with the small light bag, which must have weighed all of 3 kg.

After watching me struggling up the stairs and to my seat and then getting help to stow the bag from another passenger, a male FA came over with a facetious smirk and asked me if I needed any help, by which time I was installed in my seat. Fortunately the rest of the crew in that cabin were charming and helpful, but my tray table was dirty so I made a point of asking him to clean it.

[Author]

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