Review: Turkish Airlines B777 Business Class, Bangkok-Istanbul

Turkish Airlines B777 Business Class, Bangkok-Istanbul

Flight: TK69
Departure time in Bangkok (BKK): 23:50
Arrival time in Istanbul (IST): 6:20 (+1)
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER (TC-JJO)
Seat: 4D
Duration: 10h 30m
Date of flight: February 6, 2019
*This is a revenue ticket, Business Class flight #185


Video from my YouTube Channel πŸ“Ί


Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

Arriving from Chiang Mai where we spent 2 wonderful nights, we waited until the Turkish Airlines check-in desks opened at 7pm. We were hoping we would be able to print out our boarding passes from the check-in kiosks as we only had hand luggage but unfortunately, we were directed to regular check-in desks for passport control. To pass the time, we went to the Observation Deck although we didn´t stay that long as there were not enough seats and there was not much air conditioning either.

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport check-in area

View from the observation deck

Check-in, Zone U, Desks 6-7

Around 7pm, the check-in desks opened and we were one of the first passengers to get our boarding passes and fast track card.

Turkish Airlines Business Class check-in

Lounges

The soon to open Turkish Airlines Lounge πŸ‘

EVA Air Lounge candies at the reception πŸ˜‰

Instead of going to the usual THAI lounges, we went straight to the EVA Air Lounge which I think is one of the best options when flying from Bangkok flying in a Star Alliance operated flight, together with Singapore Air SilverKris Lounge.

EVA Air Lounge, Bangkok

We also had time to take a shower with LΓ“ccitane toiletries and of course the washlet which was cool πŸ‘

Then, I visited the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge ...

... to enjoy their "Quench My Thirst" mocktail πŸ‘

Boarding, Gate E5

We headed to the boarding gate more than an hour before departure time, and during boarding was given priority.

Aircraft, Boeing 777-300ER

This 8 year old Boeing 777 is flying us to Istanbul 😍

Business Class Cabin

We have flown a few times on Turkish Airlines B777 (recent trips here and here) so we knew how the seating would be. There´s a bigger business class cabin from rows 1-4 and then a smaller one from rows 5-7, all in a 2-3-2 configuration.

Turkish Airlines B777 business class cabin

Turkish Airlines Business Class cabin

The middle seats in row 4.

Seat 4D

There were no window seats available during online check-in so we chose seats 4D and 4G.

My seat 4D

Personal screen

Personal screen

Seat controls

Privacy divider, reading lamp and IFE controler

There is an ottoman which serves as a personal storage for shoes, amenity kit, etc. Then there´s the magazines in the middle and the business class slippers.

Inflight magazines, safety instruction card and air sickness bag

Blanket

There is also inflight wifi but strangely, I had difficulty connecting unlike the other times I flew with them.

Shortly after settling in, we were offered some predeparture beverage with the usual lemon mint, orange juice, water.

I settled for a glass of water.

Moments later, the inflight chefs came around to distribute the menu cards and a little later took the main course order. The captain also came on the PA to welcome us and to give us some flight information including our flight time of 9 hours and 40 minutes.

Airshow

Airshow enroute to Istanbul

Inflight Entertainment

They had a wide selection of movies and I ended up watching Johnny English πŸ˜‰

As usual, the flight attendants offered DENON headphones and reminded us that they would be collecting them before landing.

DENON headphones and IFE controler

Inflight Safety Video

Around 11:37pm, the inflight safety video was played on the screen, and another 10 minutes later we began our pushback. Take off went smoothly around 12:11am.

Menu Card & Wine List

It´s nice to know that Turkish Airlines has also started to offer Dine on Demand option for it´s business class passengers πŸ‘

Menu card and wine list

Turkish Airlines pen



Turndown Service

Shortly after the seatbelt sign was turned off, hot towels were offered ...

... followed by the turn down service.

A bottle of mineral water

Dinner

To start the meal service, drinks order were taken and I settled for a glass of apple juice.

Nuts, apple juice and canapes πŸ˜‰

Now, the start of candle light dining above the clouds πŸ‘

The Wild Salmon Tartare with Fennel was delicious πŸ˜‹

The other choices was Roast Beef with Truffle Sauce and/or Creamy Cauliflower Soup.

For my main course, I had the Grilled Prawns, Asparagus and Buttered Rice which was very good although a bit dry as a whole.

The other main course choices were:
  • Lamb Chops, Ratatouille, Potato Gratin, Rosemary Jus
  • Penne with Wild Mushrooms and Parmesan
I skipped the cheese and went straight to dessert with my choice, Fresh Fruit Salad. The other choices for dessert were:

  • Potpourri of Traditional Turkish Dessert
  • Mango Cheesecake
  • Chocolate Souffle
  • Raspberry Ice Cream

Then, I had my usual green tea πŸ˜‰

To end the meal service, hot towels were offered.

Amenity Kit

Christian Lacroix amenity kit

There was no amenity kit given so I asked the flight attendant for one. She said it was supposed to be on our seats, but after telling her there was none, she went to get two, one for me and another for Mike. The amenity pouch bag was from Christian Lacroix consisting of the usual socks, aye mask, ear plugs, dental kit plus a lip balm and facial cream πŸ‘

Snack Bar

As usual, there was a snack bar set up between the two business class cabins with Pringles, Mars, energy bar, fruits, etc.

Breakfast

With about 2 hours and 5 minutes left before landing in Istanbul, breakfast service began.

Hot towels

The breakfast was delicious πŸ˜‹

For my main course, I had the Cheddar Cheese Omelette with sauteed asparagus and grilled tomato.

Mike on the other hand chose fried free-range eggs in butter πŸ˜‹

Lavatory

Aside from the usual Molton Brown hand soap and lotion, there´s a new Green Tea cologne in the lavatory πŸ‘

Business class lavatory

Business class lavatory

Landing in Istanbul Airport

Around 5:21am, the captain was back on the PA with updated flight information and that we would be landing in 25 minutes, with the current temperature of 7 degrees.

We landed in Istanbul Ataturk Airport around 5:56am, more than 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

As a business class passenger, we had access to Fast Track, after which we headed to the Turkish Airlines Lounge.

The gorgeous Turkish Airlines Lounge 😍😍

CONCLUSION

This was my 30th flight in business class on Turkish Airlines and I have to say that my experience just keeps getting better each time. The DO&CO catering is definitely one of the best there is in the airline industry making sure that you will never be disappointed with the dining service on Turkish Airlines. The IFE system has lots of movies (both old and new) and the amenity kit was lovely. The bedding was comfortable and with the upgraded bedding they will soon launch, I´m sure the sleep experience will even get better. Of course, the 2-3-2 configuration is not desirable so I´m really looking forward to the arrival of their B787s which will offer direct aisle access with a 1-2-1 configuration. Overall, it was an enjoyable flight matched with great service from the crew and I wouldn´t hesitate flying with them again 😍

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