Update: Turkish Airlines is restoring inflight service as of April 2021.
Airlines around the world are adjusting onboard service to reflect the new reality. It’s in everyone’s interest for interaction between people to be limited in tight spaces, and that includes interaction between flight attendants and passengers.
While I think there’s merit to reducing service, I think long term it’s also likely that we’ll see significant cost cutting on the part of airlines, as they prepare for a new reality.
Well, Turkish Airlines has revealed an updated service protocol, and the extent to which they’re cutting back service is… kind of surprising?
Let me of course say upfront that there are much more important things going on in the world right now. However, this blog is all about the passenger experience, and I’ll keep covering that (with a reminder that all of this doesn’t actually matter right now in the grand scheme of things).
Turkish Airlines’ reduced business class service
Turkish Airlines is expected to resume scheduled flights as of early June, with domestic flights resuming as of June 5, and international flights resuming as of June 11 (though that could be pushed back).
While it’s possible the timeline will stick, we now have a sense of what Turkish Airlines’ updated catering will look like when flights resume, per ISTFlyer on FlyerTalk.
This is noteworthy because I’d argue that historically Turkish Airlines has the best business class catering of any airline in the world, from the quality of their Do & Co catering, to the onboard chef concept that they have.
Let’s take a look at what’s changing…
Turkish business class catering on flights under two hours
On flights of under two hours, business class passengers will just receive a bottle of water, and nothing else.
As a point of comparison, below is what a meal previously looked like on a flight of this length.
Turkish business class catering on flights of two to eight hours
On flights of two to eight hours, business class passengers will be served a box containing a sandwich, a cold mezze, a salad, a dessert, and water. On flights of over five hours crackers will be served as well, but there will be no second meal.
Across the board in business class:
- No coffee or tea will be served
- There will be no welcome drinks and no hot towels
- There will be no glassware, but rather drinks will be served in bottles or cans
- There will be no menus
As a point of comparison, below is what a meal previously looked like on a flight of this length.
Turkish business class catering on flights of over eight hours
On flights of over eight hours, business class passengers will be served two cold, boxed meals.
The first box will contain a sandwich or wrap, a salad, two cold mezzes, one dessert, chips, and pide.
The second box will contain a sandwich, a cold mezze, a salad, and a dessert.
As a point of comparison, below is what a meal previously looked like on a flight of this length.
What happens to Turkish Airlines’ onboard chefs?
Duvar English has a story about Turkish Airlines’ new approach to service, and it quotes Turkish Airlines’ CEO as saying:
“The time of the flying cook is over. It’s the time of flying hygiene.”
While the above measures are temporary:
- There’s understandably no end date for the service reductions, since we don’t know how the current pandemic will progress
- Airlines will also be in a rough financial situation for quite a while, which will impact the extent to which they invest in the onboard experience
We’ll have to see if “the time of the flying cook is over” refers to a temporary measure, or if this could be permanent. The reality is that Turkish Airlines’ onboard chef has long set the experience apart, but that’s also based on the display trolleys on which they served food.
I would imagine that as long as COVID-19 is a thing, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll see airlines rolling around trolleys with exposed food, as Turkish has done for so long.
Service reductions: safety or cost cutting?
As I’ve said all along, I totally support airlines trying to minimize interaction between crews and employees for the time being, for everyone’s sake.
Turkish Airlines is no doubt taking that to an extreme as far as full service airlines go, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As a point of comparison, Emirates and Qatar are adjusting how they serve and present food in business class, but aren’t changing the quality or quantity.
Personally I don’t think it’s fair to accuse an airline of full-on cost cutting yet, because on the one hand there’s merit to Turkish’s very limited service. The flight attendants won’t interact with your food at all, since it will be catered in a closed box, and that’s how it will be served to you.
The question is how this evolves long-term:
- I support the airline eliminating the service trolleys and reducing service
- Is serving a cold boxed lunch in business class on a 14 hour flight the other extreme, though?
Bottom line
Turkish Airlines will resume regularly scheduled flights in early June, and the airline is planning some service downgrades that are frankly surprising.
Turkish will go from offering the world’s best business class catering, to offering cold boxed lunches in business class. Obviously we live in a new era for now, and I support most precautions that are taken. Being able to travel again at some point makes me excited, even if we should expect cold boxed lunches in business class.
The big question is how this will evolve long term…
What do you make of Turkish Airlines’ service downgrades?
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