A Stamp Collecting Journey with TG, OZ and TK

[SilverChris]

The spread was somewhat limited, making me glad that I had fill at the SKL.


An hour before departure, I left the lounge and headed to gate 109.


Surprisingly, boarding was already well underway. In fact, the gate agents remarked that I was the last J passenger to board, 45 minutes before STD and were getting jittery that I was a no show. Seriously?

If Flightradar is to be trusted, there were a considerable number of equipment swaps, mostly to the 332. But not to worry, it was a four holer alright.


Turkish Airlines TK91
Depart: Seoul Incheon - ICN 2355
Arrive: Istanbul Ataturk - IST 0500+1
Aircraft: Airbus A340-300
Registration: TC-JDJ

Now how do I describe the boarding process... I'll be charitable and call it unique. I can understand that being the last passenger to board, it would be a bit unfair to expect two smiling FAs waiting for me at the door. But tonight, nobody really gave a damn. The crew and chef were engrossed in some seemingly hilarious conversation. They weren't exactly leaving a good first impression, and really left me wondering if they were "just there for your safety", to quote the Americas. The fact that I had to squeeze past them with an "excuse me" wasn't doing TK any favors either.

I quickly found my seat, 4A, with a pillow and thick blanket waiting at the seat.


Slippers and headphones were placed in the storage compartment infront.


Pre-takeoff drinks were offered, and by that I mean a cold and emotionless FA coming around with a tray of drinks without uttering a single word.


The A340s are equipped with the old angled flat seats, almost identical to those found on TG's A330s and 773s. Not the best, but still a step up from OZ's old seats.

I played around with the seat controls, and found a rather useless massage feature.


The inflight magazine and a piece of paper showing off TK's (meaningless) "Best Airline in Europe" award by the ever reliable Skytrax were packed in a plastic container, alongside the safety card with a rather interesting cover,


The chef came around offering each passenger a Godiva chocolate - a very nice touch.

[SilverChris]

Newspapers and Lanvin branded amenity kits were distributed from a trolley.


The safety video was played as we pushed back, ending with a scene featuring the Man Utd team.


Hurrah! An IFE system with real AVOD!


Personalised menus were handed out, which was pretty impressive for Business class. Never mind they got my last and first name mixed up, it's the thought that counts. In all fairness, Asian names can be confusing at times.


A very generous supper was on offer, which surprised me as many airlines don't usually pay too much attention to supper services. A breakfast sheet was available for you to tick your selections and hand it over to the crew so they'd know precisely what to prepare. A great system, in my opinion.

Here's the supper menu


The captain who had a slight British accent welcomed us onboard and informed us of our flying of 11hrs and 30mins across Northern China (without crossing over into Russian airspace), anticipating an early arrival into Ataturk.


The chef sprung into action soon after takeoff, beginning with warmed nuts. I had a glass of sparkling water to go with it.


Meanwhile, the crew were busy setting up the bar at the front of the cabin.


The canapés were served, and were beyond delicious.


Next came the salmon appetizer. I'm a huge fan of salmon, so I was like a kid gone wild in a candy store. Presentation was great too.


The side dishes included kimchi and some kind of mozzarella and tomato. As far as I'm concerned, kimchi smells like what durians do to Europeans. 'Nuff said.

[SilverChris]

Next up, the soup, which was a bit on the salty side but still great.


I know this'll disappoint some of you, but I was so full that I skipped the main course and looked forward to getting some shut eye. If it's any consolation, here's a picture of the dessert offering, which I also skipped.


I brushed my teeth in one of the filthy lavatories, and fell asleep before I even caught my next breath.

I managed about 5 hours of sleep, not bad for an angled flat seat in my books.


Overflying Kazakhstan.


The crew came around with hot towels, nicely presented in a dish.


I had a glass of orange juice to begin the long and exciting day.


The IFE system, Planet, featured a fairly wide array of movies and TV programs. It included a few movies I'd been wanting to watch, so I was quite excited finally get started.


As luck would have it...


Oh well, at least they had This Means War, which I also looked forward to watching.


The IFE gods were angry at me. I spent the first few minutes watching some program about global warming before realizing that the system had linked my selection to the wrong program!


Confused, I tried watching a sitcom.

[SilverChris]

But no, even that was too much to ask for. Does this look like some American comedy to you?


I resigned to the fact that I wouldn't be able to watch anything I wanted to, so I t checked out the audio selection.


Dream on, mister. You need to learn more about the effects of rising sea levels, so here's a nature program you didn't ask for. Enjoy!


I tried "countering" the system by choosing that nature program, hoping that it'll lead me to one of those movies or dramas, but no.

At the very least, this game seemed to be functional.


Annoyingly, the same movies, TV programs and audio selections were listed under several categories, making the selection seem wide but in actual fact they were just repititions. Notice anything wrong with this following picture?




I tried telling the purser, but he said something along the lines of "I can't reset it because other people will be bothered. I'm busy now, so just wait for your breakfast".

Speechless, there wasn't very much I could do but turn to my iPad to keep me occupied. Breakfast was served soon enough, beginning with fruits, cheese and muesli on one tray.


An FA came over with the bread basket and said "Bread.", with a full stop at the end of what was I assumed was a question.

The main course was scrambled eggs and rosti potatoes, both of which were excellent.

[SilverChris]

The breakfast service concluded with quite a bit of time to go before landing in IST, leaving many of us bored and barely able to get back to sleep.


Finally, we began our bumpy descent into IST.




Goodbye Asia, hello Europe!


There was an underbelly camera, and I stumbled upon its existence just in time.


We made a rough landing at 0445 at the still dark and rainy IST, and made a looong taxi to a remote gate. Not a good start to the day, that's for sure :td:


Now to summarise my experience with TK in one word: Disappointing. My expectations were definitely turned down a notch before boarding, but even then, I was left unimpressed. The only thing that saved the flight from becoming a horrible experience would be the food. The crew were the biggest letdown, as there were absolutely no smiles or any sense of service in them. In fact, I've had better crews on LCCs for crying out loud. They got the job done, then had the you-leave-me-alone-and-I'll-do-the-same-to-you attitude. It really bewilders me how Skytrax could even think of awarding them the "Best airline in Europe" award, which shows how baseless their organization really is.

Will I fly TK again? Not for long haul as far as I can avoid them, though I think I can bear shorter hops with them, especially ex-IST with a fabulous lounge.

And so, with a disappointing finish, this TR draws to an end.

Look out for my next TR, an SQ sector with some sentimental value

[B727]

Nothing better than stamp collecting while clocking some serious airmiles at the same time

[MAN Flyer]

Nothing better than stamp collecting while clocking some serious airmiles at the same time

Do you still deliberately collect them ?. I would have thought you had gone well past that novelty.

I used to love collecting them myself in my early travel days, I now look forward to the day when they do away with them.

[DinkumDave]

SilverChris, thanks for posting.

First of all - WOW! What an itinerary!

Were you glad when it was all over? Or would you be happy to do it all again?

After an underwhelming dinner I entered one of the lavatories to change into my PJs

As my bed was being made I took a stroll around the aircraft

You know, I've always admired intrepid SQ Talkers who go and explore the aircraft. I have wanted to do the same myself many times in the past, but I always lose my nerve when I reach that magical curtain. It's there for a reason and, as such, I've never had the courage to push it to one side and step through.

Maybe one day I will be brave enough, but one thing is for certain - I won't be caught wandering through a plane dressed only in a pair of PJs. Yikes!