I’ve long been a huge fan of Turkish Airlines’ incredible business class soft product. Previously their flagship aircraft was the 777, which featured fully flat business class seats in a 2-3-2 configuration.
Continue reading: Review: Turkish Airlines 787 Business Class
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Style over substance. The new seats are way too tight for standard-tall-European people.
A brand-new airport that already has longer taxiing times than a maxxed out congested airport such as Heathrow is laughable. Even more so that such a flight gets a remote stand. An utter joke of new airport.
But the crown of this are the 'fake'-Versace kits. Probably straight from some shady backyard bazar in Istanbul.
@ Max -- I share your feelings about the airport and agree these aren't the best seats in the world. However, I'd say free wifi for business class, individual air nozzles, amazing food, and genuinely friendly service is substance, and not style.
Great review Ben. That seat and the finishes are stunning. With all the cost cutting that is going on amongst many major carriers, EY, CX, QR to name a few, in terms of soft-product (all of them serving Piper, for example) it is great to see TK investing heavily in both their hard and soft product as well as maintaining a strong staff morale.
Looking forward to your upcoming posts on the ground!
Regarding the meal service to Instanbul...is this a new policy? I flew DFW to IST several years ago and the meal was served from the trolleys.
(And totally agree with the seat width. Also found that true window seats don't really have views, since the seat shell block pretty much most of the window)
@ Quinten -- You know me well. 😉 Will try the new business products of ANA, British Airways, and Virgin Atlantic soon, and then hope to have a post with my all around favorite business class experiences.
@ Luis -- Hmmm, maybe they have the trolley service on longer redeye flights to Istanbul? Also, are you sure you flew them out of DFW? Could be wrong, but I don't think they operate that route currently, and don't recall it in the past either.
Lucky, 2 questions:
1) Is the footwell in the bulkhead seat slight larger?
2) When you say dine on demand, does that mean you can order what you want, when you want? It seems both meal services are fixed, therefore not quite dine on demand (in the way it is on Qatar Airways)...
@ Aaron -- The bulkheads do have slightly bigger footwells, though are also closer to the aisle, so that's a downside.
The dinner service is dine on demand (perhaps not the breakfast). While there is a set menu, realistically you don't have to have the whole thing, and I'm sure they'd let you order a couple of appetizers if you wanted, etc., assuming they have enough. But no, I guess it's not quite like Qatar Airways in terms of there being a huge menu you can order off of at any time.
@Lucky I have been fortunate enough to fly 8 TK long haul business class segments on the 777 this year and I have to say that I have never had better sleep on a plane. Yes, I get that my window seat means that I have to go around another passenger to get out to the aisle, but the room and privacy on these seats is really good. I can't say I am looking forward to more 787-9's getting rolled out.
Also, what is with the window seats having the view blocked by the seat?
I’ve done quite a few TK biz flights to and from the Us this and last year and some redeye flights to Istanbul (eg from SFO and LAX) have full cart service, though not ATL, BOS and other flights that leave later in the evening. I have used dine on demand for both breakfast and dinner and appreciate it very much.
@Lucky - May have been Houston then. Maybe on the 777, they always use trolleys for meal service?
I was on your flight too, back in cattle class though (which is obviously a joke considering TK has Do&Co catering)! See my comment on the intro post 🙂
@lucky - Weird request, but can you enable your site to recognize emojis by any chance? I've seen others post them on here but every time I include one, it doesn't show.
Great Review. I have only flown British First and Air Serbia Business in a premium cabin and am normally flying in the back of the plane. However, Turkish has always been the top of my (realistic) bucket list flights. The food always looks fantastic and you rarely hear anything bad about them
I've flown all, but most recently on the non-stop 787-9 IST-MEX (15+ hours). Loved it! Excellent crew, service and food. I am a side sleeper too. @ Lucky, Perhaps you didn't know but you can fully lower both armrests in a window seat which gives you added inches needed, more than enough room to cozy in. I got 9.5 hours of solid sleep which was wonderful, still giving me ample time to enjoy both meal services, as well as watch a movie -- I was amazed! The only problem I encountered was the cabin lights did not seem they were dimmed enough for my liking, so in my "cocoon" seat I put a blanket over the wings since the seat behind me was unoccupied, so in essence It felt like I was in my own private pup tent. Probably one reason I was able to get so much sleep... Wouldn't hesitate flying TK's 787-9 again.
I find it odd that airlines don't customize the seats for windows. In this case, the privacy shield blocking the window makes no sense. They're simply reusing the aisle seat from the left side of the plane
This isn't the only seat or airline with that issue
“Seriously, can we just appreciate for a second how beautiful these seats are?”. That’s hysterical because the first thing I thought was “Ew...looks like something out of the Flintsones”
Great write up..Always hear great thing about TA just have not had the chance to fly them...yet.
Ben, was is narrow even after lowering the hand rest? Had the same issue with Singapore Airlines, but once the hand rests were lowered it was much better.
I do indeed love the finishes on the seats, though I do find the “privacy shield” quite in redundant on the “honeymoon” seats and the “true” window seats. It blocks the person next to you and the view of the window respectively.
Ben - I could have sworn that you flew TO Istanbul in around 2013 from Tokyo Narita (I believe you flew Austrian to NRT, and LOT Polish swapped the 787 you were flying to Chicago to a 767 on the way back due to the battery issues the 787s were having back then), and I'm sure you had a trolley service - you even noted that the service on that flight was charmless? So the question becomes is this dine on demand business new?
Nice review, I agree with most of it. Regarding the seat i find it quite good for sleeping, but the privacy shield should be redesigned, as it prevents using the arm rest, making the sitting position a bit unconfortable.
Overall still an nice improvement over the old 777 TK J seat IMO.
A great review; shifts TK towards the top of my must-try list!
I think I could happily pick my way through that menu, in fact I would choose pretty much what you had. Would include the nice looking cheese platter as well.
It would come as something of a let-down to disembark at a remote stand though. You would think that a national flag carrier, at a brand new airport to boot, would score an airbridge gate. Although it's an unspoken thing and often denied, it is a real thing in other countries!
I believe the meal service from the US to İSTANBUL changed recently. I flew IAD-IST on their A330 in April. The appetizers were served from a trolley and were plentiful. I flew the same route three weeks ago on the 787 and the menu and service were exactly the same as in Lucky’s flight. On my return flight from İSTANBUL to IAH on the b777, the meal service was from the trolley. Compared to a year or two ago, I feel that TK cut down on their business soft product. I think there was even more food options in the past. I still prefer the b777 business seats for sleeping but the new screen on the 787 was better than my laptop screen
Good review. I realise that when you fly business class one of the things you are paying for is personal space but I just don't get this almost obsession with bloggers and privacy when flying. Are they afraid of being recognised or something?
@Ivan, I think it's more an issue about personal space, or not, rather than privacy per se.
Lovely review, as always, and a serious contender to Gulf Air/Oman Air/JAL Apex Suites for your second-placed business product, the Qatar Airways Qsuite being unsurpassable in all respects. The Emirati airlines are increasingly inadequate in front of QR and TK.
I found it interesting that you left out the name of the flight attendant, which you never do. On your two recent QR flights you mentioned their names as Hadeer and Claudine. Who was this one?
Lovely review, as always, and a serious contender to Gulf Air/Oman Air/JAL Apex Suites for your second-placed business product, the Qatar Airways Qsuite being unsurpassable in all respects. The Emirati airlines are increasingly inadequate in front of QR and TK.
I found it interesting that you left out the name of the flight attendant, which you never do.
This looks far superior to the AF F meal served en route to Africa: well-presented, tasty, unpretentious.
I can’t work out the rationale for the privacy shield on he window seat which obstructs the window view?
Also, i can’t understand the stereotyping on the amenity kits? Would it be too much if the blue came with condoms and the pink with tampons?
Five hours sleep is a solid result. The sense I had was a nice flight all around.
Great review, thank you Ben! Regarding the seat, I think I prefer the old one. The massive privacy shield looks a bit ridiculous, and doesn’t make any sense on the window seats. The footwell looks really tight.
Design is both practicalities and aesthetics. The aesthetics of the new seat may be great, but the design is ruined by the privacy screens.
People travelling together in the honeymoon seats (sic) are unlikely to want privacy from each other; and at least a significant proportion of the people who choose window seats are likely to want to look out of the window.
This seat is a big fat fail, just as was the previous seat — without direct aisle access for all.
The food looks good, as it usually does on TK, but I can’t think of a single reason to choose them over QR; and there are other airlines whose design choices add up to a better overall compromise for me. No way is this among the top J classes.
Just a tip: you can lower both armrests and it gives you more space when you sleep. It makes a big difference.
nice looking. And Denon headset is better for high end audio then the B&O one.
I flew TK in business class from ORD to IST in late August and we had the trolley service for the first meal. Shame you didn't get to sample the snack menu. I found the snacks placed out on the 777 back from IST to ORD to be pretty pathetic. I wonder if this was an upgrade.
Stop calling Flagship aircraft, flagship premium cabin, flagship this or that. Flagship is a trademark from American premium products. Flagship first, business, Lounge. Just like delta ONE.
@ Nestor -- No? Flagship is a real word with a definition, and I'm using that word as it's defined in the dictionary. Flagship First, Flagship First Dining, etc., are American specific terms, but using the word "flagship" as defined is very different than your "Delta One" comparison (because "one" otherwise doesn't describe an aircraft type, product, etc.).
I'm all for people correcting me when I'm wrong (and I appreciate it), but my gosh...
Cabin looks gorgeous- an upgrade over the 777s and A330s- but i also don't get the immovable shell- it blocks the view for window seats, and if you're in the center 'honeymoon' seats then you can't really talk to your neighbor without craning your neck. A retractable shell would be more functional.
Also, is this the same type of seat that Singapore Airlines has on their 787s?
Finally, Ben- I was wondering if you might also test out Economy on the Turkish 787s? I'm curious as to how tight/comfortable it is versus the other aircraft . (of topic, is Japan Airlines the only airline with a 2 x 4 x 2 on their 787s?)
Seat finishes (and slippers!) seem like they're copied from WY's new 787 F, but that isn't a criticism as that is a truly gorgeous cabin. Food looks very good for a flight from the US, frankly my experience on European carriers is the food is always poor compared to the catering from their home base (looking at you BA outside of JFK in particular).
This looks good enough that I'm tempted to try TK for the first time.
(Referring to the grey seat padding with the WY comment, looks to me exactly like they inserted a Delta One seat into the WY F shell design).
This looks good and a great review.
Living in London and traveling east I often do use TK and they are almost always better than many. I'm not sure about the new seats. There's a part of me that still prefers the old ones even if they are not so private. The space, comfort and most of all no footwell do make them a great alternative. I'll continue to fly TK but won't go out of my way to seek out the A350 and 787.
@lucky
If the have 30 seats in 8 rows and you were sitting on a window seat I can assume:
A- the middle seats on the last row are missing
B- or the bulkhead
C- or your have some math homework to do?
Please Confirm which is the correct answer?
Thanks
Andres
Many airlines do gender specific amenity kits. Besides do you find it stereotypical to wear men's perfume?
Great review as always. I love the way the seats look as well.
@JL
The emojis have to be put in the old fashioned way, with actual text.
🙂 😉 :/ 🙁
"The food looks good, as it usually does on TK, but I can’t think of a single reason to choose them over QR"
If you're a Star Alliance member? That's all I have...
I did not realize that TK flies from ATL to IST! Great to know. I love the look of the interior of their 787's.
I still have not flown TK, and need too. The food and presentation always looks impressive, and great to hear it was a good flight with them!
Looking forward to your next flight.
Nice review about this new BC, thanks a lot.
But, need to say "bye-bye" real window seats. No doubt that all updated Business Classes all over the wolrd provide more and more privacy, thats excellent. But we will probably not have anymore real nice window seats - even if you chose a.......window seat.
I still love the configuration of the old Turkish BC, as well as old China Southern, Xiamen, LOT, etc.. That is (or better was) just an amazing feeling of space.......three windows just for yourself!!
No doubt about privacy - but doubt about space - especially when sleeping. Not to mention the (very often) narrow footwells nowadays!
I was flying very often China Southern BC and sleeping was just as in your own bed - on back, on stomach, side-sleeping, what ever came to your mind, no bumping! But that old BC's are of course disappearing.
Any major airport is asia is better than junks in the US. Don't understand why they can't build and staff large immigration halls with high ceilings. Airports are the first impression of a country and the US fails this miserably. Just copy what Changi, HK, Taipei and HND has.
Anyway, great review Ben. TK still is one of the better carriers out there.
Awesome review - I love the way Turkish showcases Turkish wines and cuisine on their aircraft
@Chad - did you read the report? - Ben mentions the fact that these ARE the same seats that SQ chose - great review Ben as always
I just booked IST/ATL for NEXT October - Advance planning - LOL!
Looking forward to it. Have flown A330-300 and B777-300 in past and loved both. I agree with many of the comments here in that I prefer the "old" wide open seats that so many people disliked. I'm almost always traveling with partner - love the window and aisle seats and don't mind "climbing over" if necessary. I'm sure these new seats won't be a burden to experience - LOL!
Thanks for a great review.
We fly as family of four with two kids. These seats are way to small and separated, they are family unfriendly IMO. I am concerned about our upcoming business class flight to Istanbul. 777s had more open seating, and less claustrophobic business cabin. With this huge negative, I am not certain if we would not be better off in the economy class considering the price difference between two options.
I just had my flight in the new TK biz on the B787
But i must say, i am not impressed at all. Basically the new biz is simply cutting space and reducing the openness in the cabin. I had the window seat, and the privacy shield just at the window is a joke. The whole seat feels claustrophobic and not very welcoming, though from distance the look is nice, but that's about it.
If i compare it to the "old" biz seats, this one is a step back. I'd liked the ottoman, particularly if you put your seat in full bed position, you have all the width from top to toe. Now? You only have this shitty narrow foot box!!
Sorry, i have more to complain. I hate this new windows, i wasn't able to control them myself, so on approach i had the full sun on my screen and i could see nothing... FA couldn't help as well.
While sleeping, i hit all the available controls, i called a FA, switched on the screen many times etc. all feels so much more cramped, like LH biz class.
Bottom line, the seat looks nice, but the configuration is a complete disaster. The B787 biz toilet in front is a joke too, claustrophobic for biz class. Sorry, but i will avoid B787.
I know in flight is main focus here but I am having ridiculous technical issues with Turkish website that defies logic.
Turkish considers slight flight time changes as little as 5 minute delays as flight changes and requires passengers to either confirm, change or cancel the flight.
Well the problem occurs when passengers had to take action on the changed flight through the Turkish Website and Miles and Smiles interface.
Page prompts passenger to confirm, change or cancel the changes; fine.
However once prompt is OK’ed by passengers, there is no confirm option but only change or cancel which is naturally not an option to be considered for a 5 minute flight delay.
So now passengers are in dilemma, that there is no action they can take such as seat changes, adding flights to their Miles account etc.
Various communications with Turkish resulted in no resolution but template responses.
And this is happening to business class passengers and yours truly experience d just yesterday.
Sorry, wanted to share my business class flight experience. Experience with business class should also be counted with ticketing, website and other services. Unfortunately Turkish fails in most of those.
@Lucky: Turkish Airlines is updating their current Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Business Class seats following complaints they are uncomfortable and narrow based on negative feedback from both the passengers and the airline's technical department.
It is important to note Turkish Airlines will not be retrofitting their current 787's with the new Business Class cabins. The upgraded cabins will be included beginning with future deliveries of the Dreamliners.
Hopefully there will be more information on what kind of seats Turkish Airlines has chosen to replace the uncomfortable seats used by Singapore Airlines in regional flights.
Here is the link (in Turkish): https://www.airporthaber.com/thy-haberleri/thyden-yeni-dreamliner-karari.html
I have translated the article here:
AirportHaber (AirportNews) has learned Turkish Airlines will be updating their Business Class cabin on future Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners they receive going forward. Turkish Airlines decided to change the Business Class seats based on negative feedback from both customers and the Turkish Airlines technical department. This year, Turkish Airlines added 6 Dreamliners to their fleet and will receive an additional 9 next year in 2020.
The new Turkish Airlines Business Class aboard the 787 is a 1-2-1 configuration; Turkish Airlines decided to upgrade the business class seats on future Dreamliners because the customers complained the current seats are uncomfortable and narrow for long-haul flights.
Turkish Airlines is not changing their locally designed economy seats because the seats got positive feedback from their passengers.
Going forward, future Boeing 787’s delivered by Boeing will have the new Business Class configuration.
I forgot to add the first part of the article:
It is reported that Turkish Airlines will be changing the configuration of the Business Class of their Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
Turkish Airlines has a firm order for 25 Boeing 787 Dreamliners with the option to purchase 5 more and has made a decision in regard to their current Business Class configuration.
This is my first time reading your reviews, and I have to say, I am impressed that you pay attention to the air nozzle and the cabin temperature. I can't tell you how many times I couldn't sleep while flying first class on Emirates or business class on other airlines, simply because the cabin was too hot or the air nozzles weren't there to begin with. I am glad someone else is noticing that. Great job Lucky
Just tried Turkish airlines business class from Moscow. Disgusting experience. First of all they didn't provide business lounge, though didn't mention it then I ordered tickets.in the flight in toilet room the recycling bin was full of garbage from the beginning and no paper towels. The lunch was a real mess. Bit they proudly took more then 2000 dollars for this service. Russian call center was rude and useless. Operator Inna answered I do not know what do you want for all questions. Hope never to use this company again. After very good flights with Russian companies and Qatar airways business class this was waste of money and nerves in the New Year Eve.
omg, me toooooo. it can literally suck the entire enjoyment out of the experience. When I did IAH-Taipei ...not terrible (amazing service). But then on Singapore air SIN-ZUR -- i literally couldnt sleep and fell ill bc it was so damn hot.
Why does the date of the review say October 2021? It's not even October 2021 yet.
Can you comment on the air and warmth of the cabin on the 787 vs. 777? I see the 787 has air vents. But the times I'm looking at for a flight work better on the 777...
That's what I'm wondering. I've flown QR quite a bit, especially the last couple years, by many reports the world's No. 1 Airline, and I adore DOH airport and even its little Sapphire Lounge. But I do have *A Gold status, and I'm tempted to give Turkish Airlines the old college try for the first time. I've heard good reports from other trustworthy passengers. Maybe this year 2023 I'll do it.
True in retail. A chain retail store will refer to its best stores that offer the best quality and most selection as flagship stores. So I don't see the issue.