Review: Turkish Airlines Inaugural Flight, Izmir-Istanbul New Airport in Business Class

Turkish Airlines inaugural flight from Izmir to Istanbul Airport, business class meal

Flight: TK 2031
Departure Time in Izmir (ADB): 8:35
Arrival time in Istanbul (ISL): 10:05
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 (TC-JZH)
Seat: 2A
Duration: 1h 30m
Date of flight: November 2, 2018
*Revenue ticket, Business Class flight No. 170


Video from my YouTube channel 📺

Booking

From the Turkish Airlines website, I booked the Izmir-Istanbul New Airport flight which was just TRY259 in business class 👍

Izmir Airport

I left the Hilton Izmir where I stayed for a night a little before 6am and arrived at the airport before 7am.

Check-in

I headed to the check-in desks to get my paper boarding pass even if I already had a mobile boarding pass so I could have it as a souvenir.

Turkish Airlines Lounge, Izmir Airport

Then I headed to security and finally to the CIP Lounge which is for Elite Plus members as well as Business Class passengers.

Boarding

Just like in the Domestic Terminal in Istanbul Ataturk, passengers take buses to the aircraft. For the rest, boarding was from gate 242. Boarding started at 8:15am.

Bus to the aircraft

We were also given a flower (not a rose) before taking the bus, and just outside the aircraft door, we were handed the same souvenir we got the other day, a boarding pass with a stand.

Souvenir on this inaugural flight 😍

Aircraft, Boeing 737-800 (TC-JZH)

Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800

This was actually the same aircraft we flew with the day before from Istanbul Airport. They also had the same crew as I recognized them.

As we boarded, we were greeted by smiling faces of a flight attendant and his superior

Cabin

 The cabin has a total of 16 seats in a 2-2 confıguration. On this flight, 5 of the seats were empty.

Among the passengers were 2 guys who I believe was a cameraman and a reporter.

Seat, 2A

 My seat as shown from the Turkish Airlines app

Seat 2A

Coat hook, literature pocket and the flower we got from the lounge 😉

Personal screen

IFE controller

Foldable tray table

Moments after settling in, one of the flight attendants came to offer us some welcome drinks ...

... followed by some Turkish Delights 😋

We were also offered some packaged almonds. Shortly after, the captain came on the PA to welcome us on this first flight from Izmir to Istanbul Airport.

We started push back at 8:32am which was followed by the screening of the safety video (the Lego one).

Ten minutes later, we had our take off.

View

Dining

Business class menu card

Business class breakfast menu

About 3 minutes after take off, one of the flight attendants started taking drinks order, addressing me by my name. I chose a glass of apple juice.

A lovely breakfast on the inaugural flight to Istanbul Airport 😍

Bread was also offered and I chose a simit.

Lavatory

There is one lavatory on the left side behind the cockpit.

Molton Brown hand lotion and hand soap 😍

View

View from my seat

Moments later, the captain was back on the PA to give us updated flight information, and that we would be landing at 9:30am.

Landing at Istanbul Airport (ISL)

Istanbul New Airport ATC tower 😍

It was a bıt cloudy and not much could be seen before landing. We landed at 9:24am and took a long taxi and reached our gate at 9:44am.

TK´s Boeing 737-800 who flew us from Izmir

Departures Level, Istanbul Airport

Since we were the only passengers arriving, all went smoothly.

Arrivals Hall (one level down)

The Arrivals Hall was not ready yet so we had to continue upstairs to the Departures Level.

Although our bus to Kozyatagi was scheduled to depart at 11:25am, the bus left at 11am, as there were no other passengers coming. The bus ride was quick and we were at the Kozyatagi Metro Station at 11:40am.

CONCLUSION

This was actually my third time on an inaugural flight and as expected, it was such an amazing experience. The crew were fantastic, the meal was lovely and the souvenir was perfect. For the price I paid (about 450 SEK), it was definitely worth it and I would do it again 😍