While this doesn’t strike me as a game changer, or anything, Turkish Airlines has just announced updates to its business class bedding on long haul flights.
In this post:
New Turkish Airlines business class sleep amenities
Turkish Airlines has updated the bedding that business class passengers are offered on long haul flights, which the airline promises will make for a better night of sleep. The airline claims that the new bedding combines elegant design with comfort, and prioritizes home-like comfort and warmth. The new bedding consists of three items:
- A silk-light duvet with a velvet suede fabric surface
- An ergonomic mattress pad, designed to provide bed-like comfort
- A pillow in a satin case
This looks like a mild improvement
I’m a big fan of Turkish Airlines business class, and consider it to be among the best business class experiences, particularly thanks to the great food. Turkish Airlines’ bedding has long been just okay — it hasn’t been bad, but also hasn’t been a point of differentiation.
On long haul flights, the airline has historically offered a small pillow and light blanket upon boarding, intended for relaxing.
Then with turndown service, the airline has offered a thin mattress pad, a thicker duvet, and the pillow is placed inside a pillowcase.
The new bedding looks like a modest improvement, though I don’t think it will materially impact the passenger experience. All of the elements of the bedding are the same, as it seems we’re just seeing some upgrades to the quality of each item. Unlike some other airlines, Turkish Airlines doesn’t offer pajamas in business class, and that’s not changing.
Ironically enough, the airline with the best business class bedding in the world continues to be United, despite the airline having made cutbacks there since the Polaris product was first introduced. But it’s kind of amazing to me that no airline has ever really matched United on that front.
In the scheme of things, good bedding is a small investment for an airline. While some number of items are stolen, they can be reused, and they can make a big difference in terms of actually being able to get comfortable in the seat.
Bottom line
Turkish Airlines has introduced new bedding in long haul business class, including a new pillow, duvet, and mattress pad. The new bedding certainly looks more attractive and substantial than the old bedding, so I’m looking forward to experiencing it firsthand at some point.
What do you make of Turkish Airlines’ new business class bedding?
I wish TK provided a second pillow, especially one like UA's cooling gel pillow, in BC.
If only every airline would offer those cooling gel pillows that UA has...and I can't stand UA, generally speaking, but they've got the best pillows in the sky.
TK secretly revealed its new CRYSTAL business suites at the Hamburg Air Expo. Some leak photos show that they have chosen SAFRAN UNITY suites for their new long-haul flagship cabins.
It's nice to see airlines trying to improve sleeping experiences for passengers, but I think focusing on bedding has its limitations. Sure, it's great to have a plush pillow and silky smooth blankets, but at the end of the day, it's really the sleeping environment that impacts sleep quality the most. By this, I'm referring to temperature, humidity, lighting, etc. Obviously most seats aren't isolated confined spaces, even in business class seats with doors, but...
It's nice to see airlines trying to improve sleeping experiences for passengers, but I think focusing on bedding has its limitations. Sure, it's great to have a plush pillow and silky smooth blankets, but at the end of the day, it's really the sleeping environment that impacts sleep quality the most. By this, I'm referring to temperature, humidity, lighting, etc. Obviously most seats aren't isolated confined spaces, even in business class seats with doors, but is there really no way to invest to give passengers better control of the temperature and humidity? I always wake up sweating from the heat with super dry mouth / throat from sleeping a few hours on the plane....
The biggest thing I would want is to have ventilation nozzles at each seat. It always amazes me that most large aircraft do away with these. Some new cabins are suppose to have seat heating and cooling (like LH/LX) ...seems to work well from Ben's review.