The business class Turkish Airlines doesn't talk about.
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I'm back in the air with a business class product Turkish Airlines never talks about. You won't find any mention of these A350 business suites on their website and you have to dig around in the aviation press (or on KZread!) to find out the details of this very unusual and very luxurious closing door suite. It's my first time passing through Istanbul since 2019 when the airport opened so this was a fun trip to do - and boy, is that airport BIG!
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0:00 Intro
1:08 Airside Yotel Istanbul Airport
3:22 Airport overview
4:26 Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge
6:56 Fare details, and Surfshark integrated sponsorship
9:00 to the gate!
9:47 Our secret aircraft...
11:15 Boarding Turkish airlines A350-900
13:10 Taxi and takeoff
14:53 Wifi
15:11 Seat tour
17:00 Business Class meal service
18:41 bed time?
19:02 Entertainment thoughts...
19:51 Loo without a view
20:22 Landing and how to find (or not find!) this unique experience...
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Date of Travel: 9 MAR 2023
Airline: Turkish Airlines
Livery: Turkish standard
Route: IST-AMS
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900
Flight Number: TK 1953
Miles: 1357
Airborne time: 3h16m
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Пікірлер: 227
Get Surfshark VPN at surfshark.deals/winginit - Enter promo code WINGINIT to get 83% off + THREE EXTRA MONTHS for free! I'm back in the air with a business class product Turkish Airlines never talks about. You won't find any mention of these A350 business suites on their website and you have to dig around in the aviation press (or on KZread!) to find out the details of this very unusual and very luxurious closing door suite. It's my first time passing through Istanbul since 2019 when the airport opened so this was a fun trip to do - and boy, is that airport BIG! Follow me on Twitter: @paul_winginit ¦ twitter.com/paul_winginit Follow me on Instagram: paul_winginit ¦ instagram.com/paul_winginit Merch store: wingin-it.teemill.com/collection/all-products/
@C2K777
Жыл бұрын
Playing Devils Advocate for a moment I actually think that them not making a big thing, for now, about the 350's J cabin is sensible & an intelligent customer service approach. One of thee most annoying things about flying Qatar is the total 'QSuites Lottery' that you often face. Nothing ruins the experience like booking a Q Suite aircraft & them changing it out. Which happens with infruiating regularity. However if Turkish don't scream "Look at our amazing business product" then it is a massive uplift & enhanced experience IF you get it. If you don't then most will be non the wiser and will board expecting what they saw on the website when booking. Better to under promise & over deliver than scream 'Q,Q,Q,Q,QQQQQQ!', then get a 2--3-2 dated product on the day.
@danielschwarz6432
Жыл бұрын
😊😊
@Paul_Lucas
Жыл бұрын
Turkish also have the 2-3-2 lottery anyway so I don't think this is the reason. They regularly substitute vastly inferior 777 and 330 aircraft on 350 and 787 routes!
@C2K777
Жыл бұрын
@@Paul_Lucas Ahh okay. I stand corrected in that case.
I thought Ankara was the capital.
@Paul_Lucas
Жыл бұрын
I’m probably going to run a sweepstake for the first people to point out the one deliberate mistake in every video at some point! 😊 (in the last video it was also a popularly misconstrued capital city so keep your ears peeled in the next one!)
@stena_vlogs
Жыл бұрын
Ankara!
@eannamc
Жыл бұрын
It is Ankara
@briansaanich2624
Жыл бұрын
@@Paul_Lucas Saskatoon was the error in the last one.
@OlympicAirwaysAirlines
Жыл бұрын
Konstantinople*
@16:38 It's a safety requirement for premium class (first and business class). Airlines installing doors in their business class are required to design the door in such a way if it gets stuck in an emergency, the occupant can easily escape. Qatar's Qsuite door design is removable (in emergency, if it's stuck, there's a lever you pull and the door comes off completely) each airline and seat maker have a different approach to it.
That was another fun flight, Paul! I was glad to find out there were some entertainment titles with audio description available-- you are so right when you said more airlines need to get onboard with better accessibility.
I really appreciate your videos on planes and trains for our future travels. Thanks for all the hard work.
Finally, I had time to watch this and so much content was packed into one video! I like this length.
It's amazing how interiors of one airline are found flying with another. Several years ago I flew on a Sun-Country 737-800 that had a Turkish Airlines interior
Thanks Paul... very informative. Since you asked - both B787 and A350 are excellent and of course the experience depends on the seats the airline chose, plus what you decided to pay for, but when it comes to window shades the A350 wins hands down. I detest the electronic darkening on the B787, particularly because the crew takes over and bans you from looking out the window.
@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb
9 ай бұрын
Being able to dim all lights by the crew is a fantastic feature. Nothing worse than an asshole or two refusing to lower the blinds.
I think the stable door function is so they can give you food without fully sliding back the door: seems like a potentially good idea!
@zephyr_00
Жыл бұрын
No it's not. Airlines installing doors in their business class are required to design the door in such a way if it gets stuck in an emergency, the occupant can easily escape. Qatar's Qsuite door design is removable (in emergency, if it's stuck, there's a lever you pull and the door comes off completely)
@tramcrazy
Жыл бұрын
@@zephyr_00 Ahhh cool
Nice flight. Love the privacy of business class and fine dining. Thanks Paul.😀💚
Great video Paul! First off Ankara I’d the Capital of Turkey 🇹🇷 I believe. Second no transit train or moving walkways of any kind seems like an absolute joke and oversight for sure! Even much smaller airports such as Detroit (DTW) Atlanta (ATL) 🇺🇸 and as mentioned Dubai (DXB) 🇦🇪 or Doha (DOH) 🇶🇦 have transit systems in their airports so very very stupid!Also Wow 🤩 That ex Aeroflot now Turkish A350-900 looks way better than Turkish Airlines normal seat and it reminds me a lot of Delta Airlines Business class suites on their A350’s! Also at 9:29 a Kuwait Airways 🇰🇼 A330-800neo what a find!! Also at 13:20 is that a Russian 🇷🇺 built Sukhoi jet?!? Wow! Also at 13:42 is that an Iran Air 🇮🇷 A310! What great finds! I cannot wait to fly and review Turkish Airlines 🇹🇷especially on one of their newer planes like the B787 or A350! Cheers 🥂 😊
The first business class lounge I have ever seen that offers popcorn! They got me with that! 😁😁😁
Love how you can get a flight through Air Nz from Istanbul to Amsterdam, when we live in NZ and can’t even get Istanbul up as a one way departure point!!
Nice to See Paul flying again. Hope you will get to spend 1 night at Changi and Jewel, looking forward to it. PS: SQ giving free wifi all the way for all of their Premium cabins. (Biz & Abv) hopefully can tempt you to fly here soon.
Absolutely fantastic trip report Paul!
1:45 Wow! What a hotel room 👏🏽
REDO - Thank you for this vlog. I will be flying Turkish Airlines in late July from NYC to Basel via Istanbul. I appreciate you showing me the "lay of the land" at the Istanbul airport as well as on the actual plane. I'll have a scheduled 2 1/2 hr layover so I trust that will allow me enough time to get to the correct terminal and gate for my connecting flt to Basel.
That's funny because the split door you call a "stable door" we in America often call a "dutch door", and guess where you're headed! I also wonder if there's an unusual selection of language options on the IFE system (for Aeroflot instead of for Turkish? But they might cater to a similar range of languages anyway).
Amazing content as always. Keep it up Paul. Cheers.
Great video as always Paul! I was lucky enough to get gate upgraded on the same A350 (ex-Aeroflot) on the same route just after New Year's, it was quite funny actually as I had seen it's going to be one of those aircraft, but Business was sold out, and as luck has it, they decided to give it to me for free.
I got to experience the lounge at IST back in July 2022, but it was very early morning so the food options weren’t the best. I just find it interesting that I’ve been to a lounge before you Paul. You definitely beat me in miles flown though I’m sure.
Dropped here immediately when I heard Turkish. Makes me happy with my country
Great video, as always Paul. Thanks for sharing this fascinating product review... and good to know that I'll need good running shoes to walk across the behemoth that is IST. One quibble from right at the beginning (0:06) - Istanbul may be the biggest city in Turkey, but it's not been the capital since 1923 ;-)
The transit walk can be even longer, we found out this weekend! We flew from Tokyo to Istanbul to Amsterdam. We had to pass through transit security, which is on the OTHER side of the terminal. We had 1 hour and 20 minutes from arrival to departure, it took us 30 minutes just from gate to transit security. We then took 10 minutes in the lounge for a much needed drink and then walked another 20 minutes to gate F19 (which is the furthest away from the Turkish business lounge). We could board immediately... And we were flying business, so we could fast-track everything...
Delightful as always, Paul!!
Was flying out of KLIA to Perth but the baggage and check in systems had all failed and I was one of the last to be checked in due to the nature of the failures - once I got to the gate it was a full flight and the crew at the gate notified me the flight was oversold and that I was being bumped to business. This was on MAS and back when they still had 747-400's running the route on occasion, so I got a free bump to upstairs - though the seat wasn't much in comparison to a similar situation on an A330 which was a nice seat - it was my last flight on the Queen of the Skies.
Best short haul cabin I’ve experienced was AA flagship first on the 777 300ER from Dallas to Miami. This was October 2020 when AA had their 777 300ER on domestic routes since there was no international demand. Nice way to spend a couple hours
@RobJaskula
Жыл бұрын
Sounds like the polar opposite of their ancient 767s on the DFW-ORD route lol
@Calebs_Aviation
Жыл бұрын
I was lucky enough to get a Delta A350-900 from DTW-ATL a few months ago
I like the dimming windows on the 787s
Your first airline review for a while. Hope youve enjoyed the break.
I like your comment about accessibility. Normally I just preload my iPad as the screens are at the wrong angle. Or, if like many blind I sit with my face close to the screen I risk getting smashed in the face as the person in front slams their seat into the reclined position.
Your way of reviewing any airline is awesome and you don't talk harshly all the time like Josh Cahill. I have recently started watching your videos and subscribed to your channel, I really like your content. I had also started watching Josh's videos at the same time when I started watching yours but he is very harsh and finds faults with every second flight he gets on. I don't know why I'm criticizing him on your channel but the truth needs to be told 😅
Excellent stuff, Paul. I’ve enjoyed flying Turkish airlines in the past; but not been through that new airport yet! Hopefully will get to go back to Tanzania to see the brother in law’s family at some point!
Thank you for this vlog. I will be flying Turkish Airlines in late July from NYC to Basel via Istanbul. I appreciate you showing me the "lay of the
That flip open top of the door could be useful when interacting with the flight crew, like for food service, why open the whole door? That airport would need to invest in multiple trains (think Sea-Tac) or a really long loop, might have cost them too much.
The idea of the stable doors is for the meal and/or beverage service, quick and easy access during those times; yet still maintaining a closed suite. Add to that by evacuation regulations by the IATA and/or ICAO; the suites with doors will eventually require an emergency egress feature.
Love Aeroflot's business class. They got their product spot on from what can be seen like the middle eastern carriers.
The colours are beautiful
Excellent detailed video as always Paul
Great vlog as always! Keep up the good work. Be safe!
Like the Fawlty Towers Reference :)
Pretty amazing how Turkish Airlines has become such a behemoth with all the currency issues they have had in Turkey for many years
Ist has sleeping pods in the terminal that charge by the hour. For connections over 12 hrs Turkish Airlines offers a free hotel room in the old town that is a 45-60 minute complimentary bus ride away. I have used this 4 times and had a good experience.
Your presentations are always highly interesting to watch. Thank you very much and take care.
I've been watching you since 2019! It's been awesome seeing your growth -- love the channel. Safe travels.
@Paul_Lucas
Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for sticking around! 😀
@Paul_Lucas
Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for sticking around! 😀
Great review! What a great "catch" for you. That's my kind of Business Class layout. It's good to see that Turkish has maintained their delicious and nicely presented meal service. Take care and have an enjoyable week. 🫂❤️✈️🙏🌎🕊
I'm flying Turkish Air economy NYC/BASEL in late July and business LONDON/LAX in mid August. So I'm scouring the internet for any info on the service as well as the transfers in Istanbul. Thank you for your valuable information.
Awesome and very entertaining. Been watching for over a year now and want to say thank you.
@Paul_Lucas
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing mate, I really enjoyed watching as always.
Went through IST in 2022 after a cruise when I was enroute LHR-ATL. With three uncomfortable bone grafts in my right knee as a result of a badly broken leg twenty years ago, I concluded that this airport was the least user friendly one I've ever encountered. There wasn't even a vacant place to sit as all the great unwashed, sick, lame or lazy (mostly under thirty) were sprawled about, either sleeping or feigning sleep.
Nice video once again Thank You
Anything in a dreamliner, is my preference 💕
I just flew on this ex-AFL A350 from IST to SGN in economy - these A350s have also Aeroflots premium economy seats in 2-4-2 config (rows 09-12?) - THY is selling these seats as an extra legroom seat, I paid around 70 EUR and it was worth it. I had 09K and the seat was pretty fine 😊
Now I'm rethinking my next trip to the Philippines. I can take Turkish from Detroit to Manila and if they get that Pod hotel up by the end of the year I may try that route even with a stopover in Istanbul!
Apparently the six A350-900’s scheduled to be delivered for Air India are going to be equipped with the same interiors. And, potentially a new livery (as hinted by AI’s CEO) 👀
Good journey and good mission..
Nice report. Thanks for sharing.
The best business class by far that I’ve experienced short haul was with Swiss. LHR to ZRH. Single seat by the window that you could adjust to a lie flat bed. Incredible. Don’t know if this was a one off as I haven’t used Swiss recently.
@JacobSilberfarb
Жыл бұрын
What aircraft was it on? Swiss has the best seat out of all the LH group! Flown LX but not LH yet.
@TheVaughan5
Жыл бұрын
@@JacobSilberfarb Can’t recall which aircraft it was, however it wasn’t the usual short haul configuration, so not the usual A320 which I think is normal for Swiss.
@spinalcrackerbox
Жыл бұрын
@@TheVaughan5 It sounds like a wide body substitution. Intra-European flights obviously don't come with lie flat seats. In fact, their - and not just their - normal business class product is only *Middle seat vacant* and *a meal*.
Call me old fashioned but I prefer a good old fashioned window blind! I have seen my fair share of videos where flight attendants lock passengers out of their windows, but simply forgetting to switch the system back to normal operation. The windows also do not colour as dark as a blind would.
Great flight. Nice cabin even though the colour scheme come from previous customer.
Looks awesome! My biz class flight from ATL to IST shows it’s on the A350 with 7 rows in Biz class so I hope I’ll have this aircraft.
I recently flew this aircraft IST-CPT in economy, its worth noting for those of us who cannot fly up front that the aircraft has a 3 row PE cabin in a 2-4-2 configuration with good legroom that TK sell as economy...
Awesome video
What a brilliant video
Great video Paul. Love it.
At a guess the stable door idea is likely to be private but still get food and beverage service.
Paul great vlog as always Nice business class 😊
Thanks for this video. Most people say these ex-Aeroflot A350's don't have wifi, but it seems yours actually did?
It's unbelievable how many things changed and happened during the last years... Aeroflot was a nice airline, which I really want to try 😁 But it is like it is.. impossible for now.. otherwise a really great video, as always 👍🥂
@Paul_Lucas
Жыл бұрын
Well if you fly Aeroflot you’ve got to fly to or via Russia which is extremely difficult for most westerners at the moment. The British government advises against all travel to Russia and travel there may raise suspicions when you travel again to other western nations.
@thevacationworld
Жыл бұрын
@@Paul_Lucas Yeah it’s definitely to risky at the moment 😩 But who knows, maybe it’s possible again in the future 👍
Great video on a great bargain (if you can get it), i'll not troll the R lot. But soooooo tempted, Aeroflot will miss that kite but there is still is the IL 14 'crate' seems fitting 😶🌫
Well done
Hello and thanks for the review, I do Love the A350-900 and I am hoping that one day I will get the chance to fly on it, I may know why Turkish doesn't openly advertise those secret privacy suites, Yes it's an Aeroflot suite, because of that if they did, Aeroflot will definitely be accusing Turkish Airlines of stealing their product, even if we all know that it is not Turkish Airlines fault that Aeroflot lost those aircraft's in the first place. I don't think Turkish wants any of that. Though it is quite a nice product.
Well done again nice review 😊
The Business Class Cabin Most Be The Best In Europe.Great Work
I was wondering where you were - looking forward to viewing many videos.
Nice Paul
Nice video 😊
Nice and good video
What did you expect to see from a Torquay hotel window Paul.? Love the vlog
I stayed at the landside Yotel IST last May and was *very pleasantly* surprised by how firm the bed is. I was so surprised that I made a note in my travel notes as I typically do not stay in such hotels. 😆
Love seeing back in the air. How is Aer Lingus? Is it a good airline to fly?
Love ur content! keep it up! Pls review starlux soon!
My best cabin on a short flight will be in September. Lhr Tlv club suites on ‘BA.
When you opening your own airline Paul? Legend 😏
3:53 Clearly not meant for people with joint pain and or non-athletes.
another great video
Good review, with many points of interest. A pod hotel? Enough for me. My record to date is 49 square feet, at KLIA2.
@Paul_Lucas
Жыл бұрын
Is that the capsule hotel? I’ve stayed there!
@well-blazeredman6187
Жыл бұрын
@@Paul_Lucas The Aerotel, Paul. Had a 12-hour layover.
Both lounges have exactly the same food offerings
Another terrific video. I've been very interested to know what Turkish Business looks like now. But what did you expect to see from an Istanbul airport hotel window...Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically...?
The ‘strange’ door opening is for an emergency escape, so I was told by a F/A.The big minus in my opinion is the lack of arm rests. It’s more inconvenient in the centre seats,and the lack of Wi-Fi and a flight map,due to the slow process of converting those planes to TK standards( that was the case on my flight from Istanbul to Dushanbe) I also found the privacy too much, I felt like in a small prison cell…however any J seat is better than Y class.Cheers.
@Paul_Lucas
Жыл бұрын
Thanks, that’s interesting!
Great trip report. I can’t eat tomato so I can understand.
This door half open is something like a service window
Emirates used to do stickers in economy, to say whether you want to be woken up for food. But I didnt see them on my latest emirates long haul flight?
We’ve always liked the Turkish airlines pre departure fruit drinks! Our son must drinks about 10 litres every time!
I'd love to know what other routes the A350 flies with Turkish. Is it mostly shorter haul flights? I know the IST-JFK route is limited to the older (but still nice) 777-300 with 2-3-2 configuration.
Nice video
Air New Zealand seems to provide better service for those outside of NZ,than those within NZ.,but then again the same could be said for those U.S airline carriers too!.
Luck of the draw equipment changes or are these ex-Aeroflot A359s on specific routes? As for me, best pointy end flight was Doha to Muscat on an A35K/A35J with Qatar Airways QSuite for a 50 minute flight... was meant to have been a A330, so wasn't missed that it got switched out!
Awesome vlog 👌👌👌👌
I had some friends go to London and Paris. I noticed no equipment at either city for those with mobility issues. That came to my mind about the long walks at the airport.
I just recently came back from Istanbul. I didn’t particularly like this airport though. Inside the terminal, as you pointed out it’s big but lack the transit train/moving walkway. To go to the city centre, if you want to take the metro the station is not integrated within the terminal building, but you have to walk outside for about 300 metres away. Other “hub” airports wouldn’t have missed these basics.
@thomascook578
Жыл бұрын
Try Glasgow Airport, no metro system, the railway station/line was cancelled, only regular service buses or taxis. Parking costs a fortune
@carolinelane9599
Жыл бұрын
Your not wrong it's big. Was there last October. We walked and walked and walked some more. Was like a 30 minute walk from getting off the plane to outside excluding time to get bags. My back was screaming by the time we got outside. Didn't know there was a train. We arrived at 4 30pm and it took 2.5 hours to get into town.