Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class A350, Istanbul to Singapore

 

Turkish Airlines business class A350, Istanbul to Singapore

Trip to Malaysia flying Turkish Airlines Business Class

Introduction

I normally plan and book our flights early, and for this trip I originally booked a return trip with Saudia from Casablanca to Kuala Lumpur in business class using miles. But due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, I decided to cancel that booking and instead book Turkish Airlines business class from Istanbul to Singapore using miles and then fly in economy class on the way back to Sweden. Mike and I will be visiting Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi and Kota Kinabalu for 2 weeks staying mostly at Hilton hotels before spending two weeks in Cebu so we are really looking forward to it. Hopefully, all goes well. 

• Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class A350, Istanbul to Singapore
• Review: Hilton Shah Alam Glenmarie
• Review: Hotel Mercure Langkawi Pantai Cenang
• Review: Hilton Burau Bay Langkawi Resort
• Review: Plaza Premium Lounge, Langkawi Airport (LGK)
• Review: Gaya Island Resort
• Review: Hilton Kota Kinabalu
• Review: Travel Club Lounge, Kota Kinabalu Airport (BKI)
• Review: Plaza Premium Lounge, Kuala Lumpur Airport (KUL)

Flight: TK208

Departure time in Istanbul (IST): 17:45

Arrival time in Singapore (SIN): 9:30 (+1)

Aircraft: Airbus A350-900

Seat: 7A

Duration: 10h 45m

Date of flight: April 28, 2026

*This is an award ticket, Business Class flight #316

Video on YouTube

Turkish Airlines Lounge in Istanbul

I had about 50 minutes before boarding started which gave me enough time to visit both the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge and the Star Alliance Gold Lounge. Both lounges are having some sort of renovations at the moment.

Aircraft, Airbus A350-900 (500th Aircraft)

This A350 is very new as it entered service in January this year, sporting the 500th aircraft livery.

Boarding, Gate B4

I was by the gate at 4:57pm (boarding was scheduled at 4:45pm). At 5:10pm, boarding began with those flying in business class and those with status getting priority boarding.

Business Class Cabin

The cabin is in a 1-2-1 configuration with a total of 32 seats. The cabin was around 90-95 percent full.

Turkish Airlines business class A350

Seat 7A

Turkish Airlines business class seat

I have flown with this type of aircraft in the past (from Cebu to Manila to Istanbul and then from Istanbul to Manila, both in 2022) so I know more or less what the seat features are. It is a nice seat in general although not wide enough for long haul flights in my opinion. There are airlines with much better seats in business class so I hope Turkish Airlines would soon introduce their long awaited Crystal business class.

Turkish Airlines business class A350 legroom

Sadly, behind the slippers and the blanket were something else: a pair of used socks from the previous flight 👎

Turkish Airlines pillow and blanket

Turkish Airlines business class slippers

Turkish Airlines IFE controller, seat and light controls, headphones socket

Turkish Airlines IFE controller

Turkish Airlines reading lamp

Turkish Airlines safety card and air-sickness bag

Turkish Airlines business class headphones from Denon

Turkish Airlines business class headphones

The foldable tray table was of average size.

Turkish Airlines business class amenity kit

The amenity kit was nice and included a toiletry bag from Lanvin containing a hand cream and a lip balm. The usual eye mask, dental kit, ear plugs and socks were also available.

Each seat has individual air nozzles which was perfect for me.

Turkish Airlines business class personal screen on A350

The personal screen was average in size and offered a variety of movies and TV shows. From the movie selection, I ended up watching Bugonia.

Pushback & Take Off

We pushed back at 5:45pm and 15 minutes later, we were airborne.

Wifi

Turkish Airlines free wifi

Wifi was free and unlimited for business class passengers.

Dining

Turkish Airlines offer dine on demand so you can dine whenever you want. 

Below is the menu card for this flight:

Dinner

At 6:17pm, hot towels were offered signalling the start of the meal service.

My drinks order was already taken before take off (I ordered for a glass of champagne) which was served with some mixed nuts. The champagne onboard was Taittinger Brut Reserve.

Then, we had some assorted canapes which included a beef skewer, cheese rolled in zucchini and a samosa. They were delicious.

Then, the table was set up. We were also given the "oldest bread" which actualy was very good.

The oldest bread 😉

For appetizers, I had the salmon and then had the pea soup, both of which were very good.

I also ordered a glass of mango juice. Sadly, it felt like they were using powdered mango juice as the taste was different from the ones I´m used to.

For my main course, I had the sea bass which was flavorful.

To end the meal, I had the apricot crepe with chocolate sauce and some cheese. I also had a cup of chamomile tea.

Chamomile tea

Lavatory

There were only 2 lavatories for the 32 business class passengers which meant having a queue after meals.

This lavatory is located behind the cabin and was also used by economy class passengers.

Time to Sleep

After dinner, the crew offered to do the turn down service.

With more than 7 hours before landing, I decided to sleep. I was not able to sleep at once but I was able to sleep for a few hours in the end.

Breakfast

With 2.5 hours left before landing, the lights were turned on signalling the start of breakfast. I thought it was too early but I guess it was how it was done.

Drinks before breakfast (orange juice, red beet, water and non-alcoholic Turquoise)

I chose the red beet juice. I wish they had offered some hot towels first.

Breakfast was served on a tray. Bread was also offered and I had some Danish.

Mango Juice

For my main course, I had the omelette with mushroom and spinach which was very good.

I ended the meal with a cup of chamomile tea.

We were also given some Turkish Delight 👍

Turkish Delight chocolates

Landing in Singapore

We landed in Singapore at 9:06am which was 9 minutes ahead of schedule.

CONCLUSION

It has been awhile since I last flew with Turkish Airlines in business class. Was it good as I remember it? Well, it was actually better. I see that the crew were getting more and more engaging and pro-active. The dining experience was just perfect, thanks to Do&Co. The seats were okay too although not that wide. I also appreciate the free unlimited wifi. Sadly, the used socks left on the footwell was a big minus. Overall, it was still a very nice flight and worth of the 60K Turkish Airlines miles and 250 USD I paid in taxes.