At the Airport

Check-in

Turkish Airlines check-in counters at Catania Airport are located together in a single file on the right of the terminal building. These counters occupy the last four counters of the row in counters 42 to 45, at the furthest right of the row of check-in counters at Catania Airport. Three counters are dedicated to Economy Class passengers, while only one services Business Class Passengers. There was no queue for both Economy or Business Class at the time we were at the airport. The ground staff came across as being impatient and demanding initially. Check-in was a tad slow as the ground staff processed our check-in one by one. After getting ready the record requirements, such as vaccine records and Singapore arrival registrations, one by one before she asked for them, the ground staff suddenly became very friendly. She diligently checked all our documents tag all our luggage, including our carry-on bags. After processing our check-in, the ground staff provided us with information on the time and gate of our flight. She even reminded us to use the fast track lane for Business Class passengers and gave us directions on where the lounge is located.

Bellini VIP Lounge

As Business Class passengers, we were entitled to lounge access. The Bellini VIP Lounge is the only lounge at Catania Airport. The lounge is on the far left, one floor above the boarding gate level, of the airport terminal, after passing through security checks. Bellini VIP Lounge is a very small lounge that can only admit 35 passengers. The catering in the lounge is limited to pre-packaged pastries and some drinks. We did not stay at the lounge for too long due to its size and limited food available.

The Aircraft

Turkish Airlines operates B737-900ER between Catania and Istanbul.

The Cabin

Turkish Airlines B737-900ER has 151 seats in two cabins, with 16 seats in Business Class and 135 in Economy Class. The Business Class cabin on Turkish Airlines B737-900ER mainly uses white on its bulkheads to contrast the black-coloured seats, giving the cabin a refined and airy look. The choice of white colour also makes the narrow-body aircraft appear larger. Matched with the use of sky blue mood lighting during boarding and yellow colour during flight, the Business Class cabin feels very refreshing. Furthermore, a distinctive red Turkish Airlines logo mounted on the bulkhead separating Business and Economy Class not only reinforces the brand identity of the aircraft but also exudes a premium feel in the Business Class cabin. Seats in the Business Class are arranged in a 2-2 configuration.

The only lavatory serving the 16 passengers in Business Class is in front of Turkish Airlines B737-900ER, behind the doors to the cockpit. Due to the aircraft’s size, there is little room in the Business Class lavatory on Turkish Airlines B737-900ER. In addition, the use of bright white lights and mirrors made the lavatory appears larger. Besides the Molton Brown hand soap and lotion, the lavatory did not appear to be different from that in the Economy Class cabin. Unlike some other airlines, which would display flowers or use cloth napkins. Additional amenities such as toothbrushes or paper cups are also not in the lavatory. Despite its simple and non-premium feel, the lavatory was kept clean and functional.

The Seat

The Turkish Airlines B737-900ER Business Class seats have a generous pitch of 43″ and measure 20″ wide. These Business Class seats are padded with thick cushioning, making sitting on them very comfortable. In addition, the use of leather, plus the individual air nozzles overhead, makes the seat feels cooler. The Turkish Airlines B737-900ER serves short to medium-haul routes; despite only being capable of reclining a further 5″, these Business Class seats still provide its passengers great comfort. The calf and footrest feature, both parts of the Business Class seats, is a mixed bag. While I find the calf rest provides greater comfort, the footrest is more of a hindrance than providing comfort. as such, I did not use the footrest.

Buttons to control the seat recline and deploy calfrest are found on the seat’s armrest, like any other seats on other airlines. These buttons are still very responsive to use without the need to use Hulk strength despite the age of the aircraft. The table is stowed inside the outer armrests of each seat. The sturdy table is large enough to cover the entire 20″ width of the seat, providing ample space for dining and work. I like the installation of a small cocktail table between the seats that can be put away when not in use, providing Business Class passengers additional space to place their drinks without deploying the table or balancing on the armrests and hoping it will not slide. Storage is a tad limited on this Business Class configuration. The only form of storage we had were the overhead lockers and the seat pocket in front of us. Turkish Airlines B737-900ER Business Class seats only have one overhead reading light fitted on the ceiling above the seats.

In-Flight Entertainment

Turkish Airlines has an extensive IFE option for their passengers. There are tons of options for entertainment on their IFE, ranging from the latest Hollywood blockbuster to selected TV serials, games and music channels. The IFE hardware, however, feels a little dated. The 10.6″ IFE screen on Turkish Airlines B737-900ER Business Class cabin is fitted in the centre armrests. The design of the IFE arm provides more of a hindrance during mealtime as it will inevitably get in the way of the meal tray. The IFE controller on the Turkish Airlines B737-900ER Business Class product is also rather old school. Unlike its B777 and A321 counterparts, the IFE controller is mechanical and does not have the initiative touchscreen menu. Turkish Airlines provides its Business Class passengers with comfortable noise-cancelling headphones.

Meal

There is only one meal service on this 3hr flight from CTA to IST. As this is a morning flight, the meal served onboard this CTA-IST leg consists of breakfast options. As soon as the seat belt signs were turned off, the cabin crew sprung into action and served us the fruit salad starter with an assortment of sides to complement our breakfast. The fruits are fresh and sweet, and the butter is tasty. I did not eat the rest of the sides that came together with the tray of food. After finishing our starter, the cabin crew followed up with our mains, from which we could choose from Cheese Bagel or Veggie Omelette. The Cheese bagel was tasty and not too hard. The savoury bagel complemented the sweets from the fruit starter. The cabin crews continually topped up our drinks from the limited drink menu throughout the flight.

Service

Service was excellent in the Business Class on this Turkish Airlines CTA-IST flight. The superb service began when we were warmly greeted by the two cabin crews working on the Business Class cabin. The two cabin crews were very friendly and took great care of us during the flight. After the passengers were settled in, the two cabin crew went around like clockwork, one serving us pre-departure drinks and the other taking orders for breakfast. They constantly checked with us to see if we required our drinks to be topped up or additional bread during meal time. They ran the Business Class service like clockwork with a tacit understanding of what the other attendant will be doing and not get into each other’s way. The flight attendants were seen wearing a smile tirelessly throughout the flight.

The flight attendants were also seen helping us and the Economy Class passengers near our seats to find storage space with our carry-ons. My friend requested a drink, but it was delivered wrongly to me (I drank the beverage). The flight attendant realised his mistake and followed up immediately with my friend with a glass of drink and apologised. The same flight attendant was also seen heading into the Economy Class cabin to help his colleague after our meal service. Such action shows how much the flight attendant took pride in his job and his service level.

Afterthought

Despite the age of the Business Class product on Turkish Airlines B737-900ER, the seats on this flight from CTA to IST were very comfortable. Our time passed thanks to the plentiful entertainment options on the IFE quickly. What made this flight enjoyable was the impeccable service by the flight attendants. We enjoyed the service and the care they rendered on this flight. This was the most enjoyable flight we had with Turkish Airlines.

At the Airport

As this is our transit flight, we did a check-through for this leg of our flight at our place of origin. We headed straight to the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge the moment we deplaned. The Turkish Airlines Business Lounge was quite a fair walk from the aircraft gate, and it took us about 15 mins to reach the lounge. One thing good about Istanbul airport is we did not have to go through security checks to get to the lounge. We spent our six-hour layover between flights in the Business lounge at Istanbul airport. The Turkish Airlines Business Lounge was packed with transiting passengers in the morning, we had a hard time looking for seats in the dining section of the lounge.

Turkish Airlines Business Lounge

The Turkish Airlines Business Lounge in Istanbul is huge and uses a mix of light brown wooden colours and dark brown earthy tones (depending on which part of the lounge one is at) for its decor. The design of the lounge layout is very practical, where the main dining area, the heart of the action in the lounge, is located in the centre. Food is found throughout the lounge’s main dining area in an attempt to spread out the crowd during its peak period. Turkish Airlines Business Lounge prepared their ala minute food in the three hut-like booths in the centre of the lounge. Turkish Airlines Business Lounge has a huge selection of greens in its salad bar with numerous sauces for its passengers to customise their salad. More cooked food, in the form of carts or open kitchens, is tucked away further into the lounge. There is a small table serving coffee and tea, and even two chilled sections with desserts found in the innermost area of the lounge. Chill drinks are populated throughout the lounge for passengers to help themselves.

Turkish Airlines Business Lounge has a section for passengers to stow their baggage securely next to the main entrance to the lounge, monitored 24hrs by several CCTVs. Passengers can find some activities to do in the lounge other than watching TV on the TV wall and relaxing on the many couches scattered throughout the lounge. Passengers who want to have some “fun” in the lounge can use the golf and flight simulators; for younger passengers, there is a play area tucked at the innermost section of the lounge. Passengers who want to do some work can use the many working pods by the lounge entrance or one of the three meeting rooms. Finally, passengers who want to nap while waiting for their next connecting flight can book their suites for resting. These suites are very limited and very popular, we were not able to secure the suits during our stay at the lounge despite Turkish Airlines’ strict rules in the issuance of the suites. Only passengers with connecting flights more than five hours can gain access to the suites.

Shower facilities inside the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge are located in the same space as the suites. However, despite the many showering rooms available (there must be at least 10 shower rooms), we had to wait at least 45 mins for a shower. In addition, the concierge staff (the same staff who we could book the suites) would confiscate our boarding pass and issue us with a beeper, restricting our movement to the lounge area.

The Aircraft

Turkish Airlines deployed the narrow-body A321-200 aircraft for today’s short 3-hour flight to Milan.

The Cabin

The Turkish Airlines A321-200 has 180 seats spread across two classes, with 16 Business class seats and 164 Economy Class seats. Seats in the Turkish Airlines Business Class cabins are arranged in a 2-2 configuration in four rows. The cabin exudes a bright and uplifting feel, thanks to the white and beige colour scheme. Turkish Airlines uses black-coloured leather for their Business Class seats, making them look very classy. A bright red Turkish Airlines logo is mounted on the cabin’s bulkhead, reminding its passengers we are flying on Turkish Airlines.

Lavatory for Business Class is located at the front of the aircraft. The lavatory is a simple set-up and a tad small due to the aircraft’s size. The only amenities in the lavatory are Molton Brown hand soap and hand lotion. No other amenities like toothbrushes or even cups for mouth rinsing are found in the lavatory.

The Seat

Clad in black leather, the Turkish Airlines Business Class cabin recliner seats have a seat pitch of 43″ and a width of 19″. As with most narrow-body aircraft configurations, these seats cannot be converted into a lie-flat bed. Instead, the seats have a recline of 8.5″. Despite being unable to lie flat, each Business Class seat comes with a calf rest, and the choice of soft leather makes the Business Class seat very comfortable. On top of the reading light fitting on the cabin’s ceiling, each seat in the Business Class cabin is equipped with a separate reading light near the headrest. There are no pillows and blankets in this short-haul Business Class product. The seat pocket is located on the back of the seat in front, allowing passengers to stow small items. Due to the pandemic, only an airsick bag and the aircraft safety card are found in the seat pocket.

The tray table is hidden on the armrest of the seat. I find popping mine out a tad difficult due to the age of the aircraft. The large table covers the seat’s width and allows passengers to work on their laptops comfortably. The mechanical seat control buttons are found under the armrest, which can only recline the seat and deploy the calf rest. Other buttons, such as the call attendant and overhead reading light buttons, are found on the IFE controller.

In-Flight Entertainment

Each Turkish Airlines Business Class seat is fitted with a 10.6″ IFE Screen, stowed under the armrest between the seats. The IFE screen can be deployed with a push of a button. The IFE controller is found stowed beside the seat recline buttons. Similar to that found in their long-haul product, the IFE controller mainly uses a touchscreen for passengers to select their entertainment options. The touchscreen on the IFE controller is very responsive. There are tons of entertainment options on the IFE of Turkish Airlines. We could select from various shows, from the latest Hollywood blockbusters to TV shows. There is even a menu for music. However, the headphone is the biggest letdown in the IFE department of this Turkish Airlines Business Class flight. Not only are these headphones uncomfortable to use, but they also are not noise-cancellation headphones.

Meal

Turkish Airlines has a solid meal catering for this short flight to Milan. As with other airlines, passengers only have the option of choosing from three types of main courses. Food is served on a tablecloth-laden tray with the starters and desserts. The starters look miserable, with only a few leaves and two blobs of mozzarella cheese on top of a single slice of tomato. I am not a fan of cheese and skipped the starter. For mains, I chose pasta with mint sauce which was surprisingly flavourful and not too rubbery. The mint sauce with the pasta added a punch to the plain pea pasta. The dessert was good and provided a balance to the savoury main course.

Service

The service rendered by the two cabin crew in Business Class was a mixed bag. The service rendered by the older female cabin crew is nothing worthy of Business Class on this short-haul flight. She greeted passengers with the mandatory welcome in a robotic and scripted manner as if she were forced to do so. She came across as grumpy throughout the flight and was observed to provide better service to Caucasian passengers compared to their Asian counterparts. Having said that, she was seen to be patient and caring to the baby passenger sitting in front of us, constantly checking on the baby and if the mother required any help.

The other male pursuer in the Business Class cabin was seen working very hard. I can see him trying very hard to provide the service befitting a Business Class product. He was seen diligently taking orders and delivering food, patrolling the cabin and clearing the table once passengers had finished their meals. He was also seen attending to the passengers’ various requests, from bringing extra bread to ensuring passengers stayed well hydrated.

Afterthought

For a short-haul flight, the Turkish Airlines A321-200 is a good product. The seats in the Business Class cabin are comfortable and spacious for the short flight to Milan. The use of leather gives the cabin a premium feel, and the IFE was solid, which kept us entertained throughout the 3-hour flight from Istanbul to Milan. The catering on this flight is flavourful and well-balanced despite its simplistic plating. However, the service rendered by the female flight attendant looking disinterested in her job, was terrible. Her attitude towards passengers undermined the good effort put in by her male colleague. Overall, I thought this short flight from Istanbul to Milan was comfortable but not impressionable.

At the Airport

Singapore Changi Airport

Check-in

Turkish Airlines flying out of Singapore has their check-in counters in row 4 of Terminal 1 of Singapore Changi Airport. There are only two lines at the check-in counter one for Business Class and elite status passengers, and the other line services passengers flying in Economy class. The airlines catered to two counters for Business class and status passengers and five for Economy Class passengers. The queue for Business Class was much shorter than the Economy Class, but the line moved slowly. The ground attendant was efficient in processing our check-in bags. We were quickly given our boarding passes and briefed on the boarding time and the directions to the lounge.

Marhaba Lounge

Turkish Airlines has no dedicated business class lounge at Singapore Changi Airport. Instead, the airline uses the Marhaba Lounge on level 3 at the airside. Marhaba Lounge serves Business Class passengers from other airlines such as Air France, Malaysia Airlines, etc. Marhaba Lounge uses a light earthy theme that exudes a sense of relaxation. The lounge is finished with light grey couches in the main lounge area that only come with a small side table, which was not ideal for eating. These seats are perfect for relaxing and eating small snacks and drinks. There are USB charging outlets between couches for passengers to charge their lifestyle devices. There is a small dining section in the Marhaba Lounge, located to the left of the entrance to the lounge. However, these dining seats are in limited quantity. Marhaba Lounge offers a very limited food selection in a buffet style. Food is constantly being topped up whenever they run low. Drinks are self-served and stored in a fridge beside the food station. Also, hot beverages such as Coffee and tea are available next to the refrigerator. I find the cleanliness of the lounge questionable Staff are only seen patrolling the lounge at what seems to be a fixed interval clearing the plates and drinks left behind by previous passengers. Despite its small size, Marhaba Lounge has showering facilities for guests to freshen up before their flights.

Istanbul Airport

Turkish Airlines Business Lounge

Turkish Airlines operates two lounges in Istanbul Airport; the Smiles and Miles Lounge is dedicated to status members, while the Business Lounge is dedicated to Business Class passengers. The Turkish Airlines Business Lounge is large, occupying a good amount of real estate space in the airport terminal. There is plenty to do other than munching on food and relaxing. The first thing we saw as we entered the lounge was the grand piano at the lounge entrance. The grand piano played relaxing music, giving the lounge a classy feel but helped to create a relaxing mood. The lounge flooring is decked in light brown Parque, while the ceilings use white wavy patterns, giving passengers an extraordinarily comfortable feel.

Passing the grand piano, we arrived at the main lounge area. This is where we find food, beverages, and the dining and couches for relaxing. The main dining area is located in the centre of the massive lounge, with plenty of dining tables for passengers to dine in. Even the lounge seating at the side of the main dining area has dining tables that provide additional space for passengers to dine. Food is spread across the main lounge area, serving mainly Turkish cuisines in a booth-like see-through kitchen. A huge salad bar section has an extensive menu of vegetables for passengers to customise their salad. Several more food counters offering Turkish pita and pasta are behind the salad bar. A little further down is where we found Turkish Coffee and tea station.

There is an area in the lounge equipped with pod-designed chairs fitted with computer stations for passengers to do some work. Turkish Airlines Business Lounge has three meeting rooms that can accommodate six passengers. The showers and sleeping suites are located to the left of the entrance to the lounge. Sleeping suites are available for passengers with more than 6 hr of connecting time. However, both times we were there, the suites were fully taken. The shower rooms are located opposite the suites. The white-marbled shower room is vast and has shower amenities but no toothbrushes.

The Aircraft

Turkish Airlines operates both B777-300ER and B787-9 aircraft between Singapore and Istanbul. The aircraft that leaves at night from Singapore uses B777-300ER, fitted with only Business Class and Economy Class.

The Cabin

The Turkish Airlines 2-class B777-300ER has 349 seats onboard, with 49 flatbed seats in Business Class Cabin and 300 reclining seats in Economy Cabin. The Business Class cabin on Turkish Airlines B777-300ER looks bright and spacious due to the open design of the seats. As the Turkish Airlines B777-300ER is fitted with their older Business Class product, it gives its passengers more space but lesser privacy. The Business Class cabin is further split into the larger forward section, fitted with 28 seats and the smaller rear section, equipped with 21 seats. The use of contrasting colours of beige and black with a dash of red gave the Business Class cabin a premium feel. In addition, a huge bright red Turkish Airlines logo hangs on a grey and white patterned bulkhead at the end of each section decorating the otherwise dull bulkhead and adding a touch of premium feel without coming across as tacky.

There are three lavatories in the Business Class cabin onboard Turkish Airlines, one located at the front of the aircraft and two in the middle of the Business Class sections. The lavatories continued the colour scheme of predominantly beige and white with a dash of red, found in the Business Class cabin. Using a red diffuser in the lavatory gives the lavatory a premium feel. Other than the Molton Brown hand soap, lotion and facial spray, the lavatory has no other amenities. I like the use of sensor taps and step lever bin cover to reduce touch points in the lavatory.

The Seats

The Turkish Airlines B777-300ER Business Class cabin seats are arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration. Each Business Class seat is clad in black fabric with leathered headrest, has a very generous pitch of 78″ and measures 22″ wide, providing each excellent passenger legroom. The fabric material for the seat provided us with a comfortable ride and rested on the 12 hr flight. Waiting on the seat is a soft pillow, while the blanket and inflight slippers are placed on the ottoman in front of every seat. Storage space under the ottoman is meant for passengers to stow away their shoes, but it is large enough for us to stow our carry-on backpacks. Due to the pandemic, Turkish Airlines, like other airlines, reduced their In-flight literature, found in the grove between the two ottomans to the safety card and a puke bag. Other than the ottoman, I find the seat storage space to be a tad limited. A slim storage bin is found under the armrest between the seats. This is also where the universal charging outlet is located. A USB outlet and the headphone jack, which is hard to access, are located in an awkward position within the side bin storage area.

The seat controls are located on the armrest between the two seats. Despite having several modes, the only buttons that work are the ones that recline the seat into bed mode and return to an upright position. The other buttons are defective, and the massage function is also not working. A little further up the centre armrests is a small cocktail table with dedicated space for us to place our cups. The cocktail table has sufficient space to place the small plate of warm nuts served shortly after take-off. I mainly used the armrest to put my phone on, charging it while sleeping during the flight. Each Business Class seat has a large dining table, allowing passengers to do work other than dining. The table is neatly stowed under the cocktail table when not in use.

Each Turkish Airlines Business Class seat technically has only two modes, the upright take-off/landing mode and a 180° flatbed mode. As the seat has aged a lot, whatever is in between, like lounge mode, is only achievable by trial and error by playing around between the bed mode and upright mode buttons. The cabin crew will come around to make the bed for Business Class passengers by fitting a mattress topper and laying a thicker blanket. Adding the mattress topper enhanced the sleep quality onboard, as I could not feel the creases on the seat in flatbed mode. Privacy also increases tremendously when the seat is converted to bed mode. A personal reading light is also found in the seat on top of the one on the ceiling of the aircraft.

In-Flight Entertainment

Business Class seats onboard Turkish Airlines B777-300ER are fitted with an 18″ IFE touchscreen TV. Despite the distance from the seat to the TV screen, the TV screen does not come across as small. However, this also meant we could not use the touchscreen function as the distance was a tad too far. The IFE controller has a 4″ touchscreen interface that works like a mobile phone and is sensitive and responsive. The IFE controller’s menu design is intuitive, organised in large rows of three options across the screen. Besides controlling the TV screen, the IFE controller is also fitted with buttons for calling cabin crews and the overhead reading light.

All Business Class passengers are presented with noise-cancelling headphones upon boarding. The headphones’ quality is excellent and very effective in blocking out noise. However, when preparing for landing, the cabin crew will collect these headphones and replace them with a cheaper set. There are numerous entertainment options on the IFE on Turkish Airlines, ranging from the latest Hollywood blockbusters to TV shows and all genres of music. My friends and I spent hours onboard watching the many entertainment options when we were not sleeping. Business Class passengers onboard Turkish Airlines are given 1GB of free internet access. However, internet access is a tad slow and can only be used to text messages and post photos on Instagram, streaming youtube videos will take forever.

Meal

The food served onboard Turkish Airlines Business Class was excellent. The food tasted flavourful and fresh, hardly like airline food. Meal service on both legs begins with warm nuts and drinks while the crew prepares our choices of dishes. I was surprised that Turkish Airlines gave us options for all three courses of the main meal, which is quite rare. On board other airlines, passengers were given choices only for the main course. The cabin crew started by laying out our table with silverware and Turkish Airlines’ signature LED candlelight for their candlelight dinner in the sky.

SIN-IST

Dinner

For this flight, I chose Mozzarella & Grilled Vegetables for starters. The vegetables were juicy and lightly seasoned. As we thought that was the only appetiser, we were served Sichuan Chicken Soup next, and this was just for the starters. The chicken soup is flavourful and not overpowering. For the main course, I opted for the Rosemary Chicken Breast. The chicken breast is tender and juicy, and I can taste a hint of rosemary used to cook the chicken. The sides that come with the main did not disappoint. They are moist and crunchy. My friend opted for the Grilled Salmon, which is moist and flavourful. For dessert, I opted for Brownie with Chocolate Sauce. The brownie was warm and delicious. My friend opted for the Traditional Turkish Dessert, which we thought was a tad too sweet. After dinner, the cabin crew turned down the lights for passengers to rest. Passengers who are not sleepy can help themselves to the snacks and drinks in the pantry between the Business Class cabins.

Breakfast

Breakfast service started about 2 hours before landing. Even the 2-course breakfast was served course by course. First, the cabin crew came around and laid the tables with tablecloth and silverware and bowls of cheese, yoghurt and chicken breast slices. Soon after, they returned to serve fresh fruit salad as a starter, which the rockmelon and honeydew were sweet and juicy. For the main course during breakfast, I opted for crepe with blueberries. The crepe was delicious when paired with the vanilla sauce and was divine. My friend opted for the Mushroom Omelette and commented it was moist and puffy.

IST-SIN

Late Dinner

For this flight, I opted the Turkish Mezze for starters. Maybe it is my taste bud, I only ate the turkey (or it might be chicken) and what appears to be tuna. I left the other items on the plate almost untouched. Our pumpkin soup came shortly after the Turkish Mezze was served. The pumpkin soup was flavourful and went very well with the bread. I requested extra croissants from the cabin crew, who was very efficient. I chose the fish wrapped in some cooking paper for the main course. The presentation was not the best, but the fish was moist and delicious. I went with the Apple Strudel for dessert. The Apple Strudel has a nicely baked crispy crust, and the vanilla was like icing on a cake. The dinner was delicious.

Breakfast

The 2-course breakfast began with bowls of yoghurt, spread, salad, and a plate of cheese and turkey breast. I only had the turkey breast, which is delicious and moist. I opted for scrambled eggs for the main course, which is still runny and warm. I highly recommend trying the Turkish Coffee with breakfast, as it perked me up after 5 hrs of sleep onboard.

Service

Turkish Airlines Business Class service varies between our outbound and inbound flights. However, despite the difference in service standards, Turkish Airlines always welcomed their Business Class passengers with welcome drinks.

SIN-IST

Service is not the best on this leg of the flight. The cabin crew working in the Business Class cabin came across as cold and robotic. Their service felt scripted, and the crew didn’t portray any warmth or sincerity. They were not seen helping passengers, and requesting items like drinks and wet towels (for me to wipe off the stain on my seat) took forever and felt like a chore to them. The cabin crew was not seen smiling a lot, and most of the time, other than meal times, they were seen gathering at the galley chit-chatting. The cabin crew will not even nudge if they are in the passengers’ way talking amongst themselves. During meal time, we were not served bread. When we asked for bread, the meal pursuer reluctantly came to our aisle and pointed the basket to us without even bothering to introduce the bread they offered. Drinks are not served unless asked. The cabin crew during this flight felt uninterested in making their Business Class passengers feel welcome.

IST-SIN

Despite the subpar service we received on the outbound flight from Singapore, the crews on this inbound flight were excellent. They were warm and personable, making every passenger feel welcome onboard this flight. The cabin crew were attentive and observant, and most importantly, they poured in their heart to ensure passengers felt comfortable. This set of crews was friendly, always wearing a smile on their faces no matter how tired they were, and seemed to be forever on standby, ready to respond to any requests by the passengers. They were seen plying around the cabin during boarding, preparing and serving pre-departure drinks to passengers when we settled into our seats. The cabin crew worked like clockwork after the seatbelt sign was turned off, busy preparing meal service after take-off, ensuring meal service was done in the shortest amount of time to maximise passengers’ rest time. The male pursuer working at my aisle diligently ensured that our glasses were never empty, and when we requested additional bread, he would always come back with a basket without us having to wait too long. The service we received on board was outstanding, and the crew made us want to fly Turkish Airlines again. This set of crew is the best we met on our four legs with Turkish Airlines.

Afterthought

Despite the ageing Business Class product and some buttons not functioning, the seats on Turkish Airlines B777-300ER are very spacious and comfortable. We had a great sleep during the 12 hr red-eye flight. The food served on both legs was excellent; it tasted more like restaurant food than airline food. The lounge in Istanbul was amazing, except the wait for a shower took quite some time, and the queue for the suites for resting never ended. The service onboard was heaven and earth on both legs of our flight. We had a set of crew who seemed like they were doing their bare minimum for our outbound flight, yet during our inbound flight, we had a crew who ensured that their passengers felt comfortable. Turkish Airlines is a viable option when flying from Singapore to any European destination.