Turkish is one of my favorite airlines. Their service has improved greatly over the years, from the quality of crews to food onboard. The food is especially top-notch and enjoyable.

The top 3 highlights of the flight were:

1) Massive Amount of Space

Although window seats don't have a direct aisle access, there is a massive foot space without any cubicles to block the movement. I do admit I don't want to end up being stuck in the middle of three-block seat, which still exists as their 777 has 2-3-2 seat arrangement.


Business class seats


Spacious!

2) Great Catering!

One excitement about flying Turkish on a long-haul flight is the food. In business class, it comes as a full-course meal by Do&Co catering, starting with an appetizer, soup, salad, main, and then dessert with so many varieties.


Appetizer cart


Delicious seafood salad!


The main steak


Extravagant dessert cart


Still not enough! But given the limited table space...


Breakfast plate


Breakfast main

3) Decent Bed

Turkish provides a seat cover. Surprisingly, not many airlines offer the same which can be uncomfortable for someone who sweats during sleep. I hate to have the seat getting wet because of me, and also sleeping directly on a seat from hygienic perspective can be a bit worrisome. It's not like the "real" mattress the United provides, but still it makes a big difference. The pillow is also large like the ones at home.


Seat in full-flat position

Bonus

I've really enjoyed the views on this sector, especially the Greenlandic ice plateau in morning.


Downtown SF


View of South Greenland


Just before landing at Ataturk Airport

The full report is detailed on KN Aviation:
Flight Review: Turkish Airlines 777-300ER Business Class from San Francisco to Istanbul

Hirofumi

Wow the soft product looks good. The hard product is mediocre though.

Thanks for the report!

Nice TR, unfortunately, TK will end the co-operation with Do&Co Catering very soon with the opening of the new Istanbul International airport:

https://www.theedgesingapore.com/sats-p ... ul-airport
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkis ... ort-121041

Lovely report. It's unfortunate that TK is switching catering as that food looks delicious, even the breakfast which is something that seems like an afterthought.

FlyRow wrote:

Wow the soft product looks good. The hard product is mediocre though.

Thanks for the report!

Thanks for the comment. I agree, just need an aisle-access window seat and that'll make almost a perfect flight! Still, the amount of space compensates for that somehow - I find it much more comfortable than some staggered seats.

debonair wrote:

Nice TR, unfortunately, TK will end the co-operation with Do&Co Catering very soon with the opening of the new Istanbul International airport:

https://www.theedgesingapore.com/sats-p ... ul-airport
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkis ... ort-121041

Thanks for sharing the news! That's indeed quite unfortunate. Hope they can still match the quality even when they transfer to SATS - fingers crossed!

DTWorld wrote:

Lovely report. It's unfortunate that TK is switching catering as that food looks delicious, even the breakfast which is something that seems like an afterthought.

Food is the best part of TK ride. As a Do&Co lover, I would need to fly them as often before the switch!

Thanks for the trip report.
I totally agree with most of your observations. I fly TK a lot, and this year I flew 7 J segments on their 77Ws and can not complain. I have to say, the soft product was even better couple years back, last year they started cutting back. There is a chance that they will raise the standards in the near future when they become more profitable.
Also, I am not sure if the switch from Do&Co to SATS is a done deal. TK wanted Do&Co to pay for the new facilities at the new airport, Do&Co might still do that. Whatever the case, I hope they will keep and raise their service standards.
Thanks again.

hirofumi wrote:

As a Do&Co lover, I would need to fly them as often before the switch!

You know, Austrian still uses the fantastic Do&Co....
...and offers ALL AISLE ACCESS! Well, at least in their 767s. The 777s just offer "Mostly Aisle Access."
I've been quite happy with it!

TK787 wrote:

Thanks for the trip report.
I totally agree with most of your observations. I fly TK a lot, and this year I flew 7 J segments on their 77Ws and can not complain. I have to say, the soft product was even better couple years back, last year they started cutting back. There is a chance that they will raise the standards in the near future when they become more profitable.
Also, I am not sure if the switch from Do&Co to SATS is a done deal. TK wanted Do&Co to pay for the new facilities at the new airport, Do&Co might still do that. Whatever the case, I hope they will keep and raise their service standards.
Thanks again.

Thanks for the comment. I suppose the cut-back wasn't too major. Even now I still think their soft product is quite superior to many airlines on long-haul flights (however, they still serve a short-haul-style meal on a 6hr IST-DEL flight which I really want them to improve). Can't wait to see what their next generation seat will be - hopefully they'll offer aisle-access from the window!

AA737-823 wrote:

hirofumi wrote:

As a Do&Co lover, I would need to fly them as often before the switch!

You know, Austrian still uses the fantastic Do&Co....
...and offers ALL AISLE ACCESS! Well, at least in their 767s. The 777s just offer "Mostly Aisle Access."
I've been quite happy with it!

I have flown Austrian 777 last year on NRT-VIE, and I must say the food was deliciously fantastic. But, I still find the seats on TK much more comfortable, thanks to massive leg space and free foot movement. I didn't find the staggered seat with limited cubicle space for foot too comfortable. Plus, no mattress pad (or seat cover) and large size pillow were offered on OS. Service was great though.

hirofumi,
I flew TK's 50min DLM-SAW Business Class in August, and IST-PRG Business Class last month and it was on par with ER Business Class servings. Not sure what is going on with DEL, but even my wife was really surprised that we got an incredible full meal on a 50min flight.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1371777&p=19813257&hilit=TK#p19813257
I do not think TK will go to aisle-access from window seat or will get rid of 3 in the middle. Turkish Business pax, in my observations, tend to be mostly couples traveling together and not single men with laptops. That is why I always opt for aisle seat in the middle section and not worry about the views.

I see TK changed the appetizer cart from a buffet style to pre plated. Its a shame they got rid of the elaborate affair that I experienced in 2015. From your picture, it looks like the soup is now served seat side instead.

Great report. I flew TK from JFK to IST in 2014. The flight was on the 777-300ER. Excellent service all around, despite a 90 minute departure delay. Flew coach, in bulk head seats.

TK787 wrote:

hirofumi,
I flew TK's 50min DLM-SAW Business Class in August, and IST-PRG Business Class last month and it was on par with ER Business Class servings. Not sure what is going on with DEL, but even my wife was really surprised that we got an incredible full meal on a 50min flight.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1371777&p=19813257&hilit=TK#p19813257
I do not think TK will go to aisle-access from window seat or will get rid of 3 in the middle. Turkish Business pax, in my observations, tend to be mostly couples traveling together and not single men with laptops. That is why I always opt for aisle seat in the middle section and not worry about the views.

The food on that 50 minute flight looks much better! Here is the meal on IST-DEL. Nothing like the one on long-haul flights.


First course


Second course

The presentation was the same when I flew back the same route in 2014.

Regarding the passenger profile, in my observation I didn't find many couples travelling in TK biz (except for SFO-IST). There were quite many single business travelers and in fact on my recent IST-DEL flight there were hardly any couples in the cabin. May be it depends on the route...

seat38a wrote:

I see TK changed the appetizer cart from a buffet style to pre plated. Its a shame they got rid of the elaborate affair that I experienced in 2015. From your picture, it looks like the soup is now served seat side instead.

Yes, I was expecting the buffet style and unfortunate that I couldn't experience the same. Nevertheless, the food quality was still incredible. I love sweets so at least they still offer a variety of dessert plates, which was impressive. Your photo looks incredible by the way!

Cointrin330 wrote:

Great report. I flew TK from JFK to IST in 2014. The flight was on the 777-300ER. Excellent service all around, despite a 90 minute departure delay. Flew coach, in bulk head seats.

I hear their economy is also great. If my understanding is correct their food in economy is also catered by Do&Co so it must be delicious! Thanks for the comment.