Go Turkey on Jetstar, Turkish J/Y, Pegasus and Singapore J

[ycp81]

And the really grand ruins of Ephesus!


















And some of the food we had in Izmir.

[ycp81]

After 4 days of stay in Izmir, we packed up and readied to proceed to our next stop, Cappadocia. Having seen all the amazing pictures of Cappadocia's landscape, we were naturally excited to finally go there!

On the eve of departure and after checking out of our nice hotel in Izmir, we proceeded to Izmir's airport hotel for the night as our flight the next day was at an early 0715am! Also, as there were very limited non-stop flights between Izmir and Kayseri, there were no other flight timings available, unless we want to go through the hassle of transiting at Istanbul. For this sector, I booked us on Pegasus Airlines, one of the only 2 airlines flying between Izmir and Kayseri (the other being SunExpress) and with less than daily flights for each airline. Pegasus Airlines is currently Turkey's largest budget airline, and though of a smaller fleet and traffic than TK, is also expanding rather fast and has big ambitions as well for the future. Ticket was only a low 41euros "Advantage" fare inclusive of 20kg luggage, sandwich with drink and seat selection, all for just 6 euros over the standard package inclusive of just 15kg luggage. Well worth it I think since our luggage would have busted the 15kg allowance each.

ADB's Orty Airport Hotel, offering small but comfortable rooms at very reasonable prices for a night's sleep. They also offer free shuttle to the airport terminal in the morning, saving us 10min walk with luggage.




Checking in early the next morning 1hr prior to the flight at 615am at the new Domestic Terminal. Common check-in queue for Pegasus flights was pretty long but moved rather fast due to the many counters opened. We only waited less than 10min even though we were in a winding queue.




Beautiful architecture within the new Domestic Terminal.




Departures board and queue for security screening. Queue was long but moved fast.




My Pegasus boarding pass, which was printed on a proper boarding card.




The sparkling new departure lounge after security.




FIDS. Look at the number of flights to Istanbul Ataturk and Sabiha airports! I counted 15 flights between 0625am and 10am!




Our boarding gate today. Aircraft had not arrived yet.




Turkish, SunExpress and Pegasus B738s together in one shot.




Our aircraft arriving and taxiing in.






After a short turnaround, boarding started and we proceeded down the gangway.

[ycp81]

19 August 2014
Pegasus Airlines
PC 2418
Izmir (ADB) - Kayseri (ASR)
B737-800
TC-IZG
Economy Class

Our aircraft was going to be TC-IZG, which was delivered just a year ago to Pegasus Airlines, and based in Izmir to be operated by IzAir but in Pegasus colours and code. Initially I was expecting a brand new BSI cabin in this aircraft.

Entering the aircraft.




However, upon stepping into the aircraft, it was evident that this aircraft was a "hand-me-down" Ex-Ryanair aircraft with its "signature" unreclinable seats and, yellow seatbacks and pasted seatback safety instructions stickers. Kinda disappointed of not getting a "normal" Pegasus aircraft but no worries, it was gonna be only a short flight.






Seat pitch was the usual LCC standards and safety instructios were staring in your face. No inflight magazines, trash bags or BOB menu cards since there were no seat pockets at all!




At the gate. Boarding was completed slightly after STD but as our flight time was well padded, the slight delay in departure still allowed us to arrive early. Flight time was a short 1hr15m. Luckily, we again had an empty seat between us even though the aircraft was rather full.




Pushback with safety demo shown manually. On normal Pegasus aircraft, drop-down video screens would be showing "children-presented" Pegasus safety video, but nope on our flight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60BHH...rW0dYXoZc9I2ZA


Taxiing to runway.




A look at Izmir Airport. Quite a number of international flights at this time parked at the International Terminal, alike during my arrival when it was almost totally empty.




Taxied to Rwy34R.






And takeoff, bound for Kayseri.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhX6E...rW0dYXoZc9I2ZA


See our shadow!




Climbing out of ADB towards Izmir city.

[ycp81]

Overflying the city centre and coastal area.




Making a right turn inland, heading towards Kayseri.






View of the climb and cabin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYqv8...rW0dYXoZc9I2ZA


Our fare bundle included a sandwich and a drink. Our pre-ordered sandwiches were delivered to us shortly after the seatbelt signs were turned off.

I had ordered a cheese and vegetables wrap. It, again, had an acquired taste. Probably more suited to the Turkish taste buds. However, it was filling.






My partner had the chicken sandwich. The sandwich was huge, but a tad dry.






Drink orders were also taken. We were offered either a hot or cold drink each. I had an orange juice while my partner chose the coffee. Both were promptly delivered from the galley. A few passengers had also pre-ordered main meals but unfortunately, my fare package only allowed sandwiches with no options for choosing main meals. However, one is able to pre-order main meals if booking only the basic fare. Service by the crew was the standard LCC style. Deliver the pre-ordered food, sales of food/drinks, and disappearing for the rest of the flight till pre-landing preparations.






Cruising over Turkey.




View of the Ryanair-styled cabin.




Soon we were standing our descent into Kayseri.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR60u...rW0dYXoZc9I2ZA

[ycp81]

Flying pass a lake.




Making turns during the descent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsFsv...rW0dYXoZc9I2ZA


On finals.




Buildings suddenly appeared while descending over what I though was barren land.




Starting to see more greenery nearing touchdown.






And touchdown on Rwy25, more than 10min ahead of schedule.




Video of our landing into Kayseri.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PWy-...rW0dYXoZc9I2ZA


Just a short taxi to our parking stand before we were parked.






Disembarking from the front and the rear.




Hmm, tailfin looked in need of some tender loving care.




We disembarked from the rear. Time for photo snapping again.

[ycp81]

Walking along the tarmac and under the wing! Again nobody cared about passengers on the tarmac posing with the aircraft and taking pictures.






So our plane is named "Karya Damla". Paint is peeling off from the nose too.






We had a long walk along the tarmac to the domestic arrival hall. Another Pegasus flight, which was delayed, had just arrived from Istanbul (and this resulted in a crazy crowd at baggage claim later).




Anadolujet, the low-cost arm of Turkish Airlines. Also operating B738s.




And finally a TK A320. It was a busy morning at Kayseri!




Arrival monitor. Not sure why our flight's originating port was not displayed when on the FIDS.




Waiting for our luggage, which turned into a crazy mess later on when the Istanbul pax arrived. 2 flights' baggage were coming out from this one belt, with the other belt not operational. We also ad a rather long wait for bags as apparently the Istanbul bags came out first.



Impression of Pegasus Airlines, a standard budget airline offering value-for-money products for fares paid. However, the low-cost-ness of the airline was amplified on this flight with the use of this ex-Ryanair plane, which might not be an accurate reflection of Pegasus Airlines in general.


After collecting our bags, we took the pre-arranged shuttle to our cave hotel in Goreme, which was almost a 1.5hr drive away. We stayed at a family-run Aydinli Cave Hotel, which offered a very unique and homely experience of cave-living. Not the most luxurious room and amenities, but it is definitely a stay to remember for the great service and wonderful views.

[ycp81]

A look at the town of Goreme around our hotel.














The next morning, we went for the famous hot air balloon ride, a must do in Cappadocia! It was amazing beyond words!!












And landed safely and right on target on a moving trailer, with celebratory champagne and medal presentation after.

[ycp81]

Rest of the day was spent doing the Green Tour. Visiting an underground city.




View of a beautiful volcanic lake.




Hiking along the Ihlara Valley.








Selime Cathedral








Pigeon Valley




More Turkish food. Even more pides.




Testi kebab. Meat cooked in clayout, a traditional Anatolian dish commonly found in Cappadocia.




Sweet endings with Baklava!

[ycp81]

Waking up very early during sunrise to catch the magical sight of balloons floating across the town.










After relaxing for another half a day in Goreme, we proceeded to Kayseri Airport for our final stop for this trip, Istanbul.

Arriving at Kayseri Airport after another more than an hour's drive from Goreme.




Checking in for our flight to Istanbul. The flight was totally full on this leg, and our plane was downgraded from an initially scheduled A321 to a B738.




Boarding pass issued and I was allocated my pre-selected seat during online check-in.




The departure hall only has very limited amenities and seating areas. And this was only 2 flights checking in!






FIDS showing the departures for the rest of the day.




To escape the crowd at the waiting hall after security screening, we proceeded to the second level where there is more seating areas which were totally empty, as well as a view of the tarmac.

Our plane arriving on schedule from Istanbul and taxiing in.




"Karaman" would be operating our flight.

[ycp81]

Anadolujet, which was scheduled to depart earlier than us to Istanbul Sabiha, was delayed and arrived late after TK.




After a quick turnaround of our plane and seeing some passengers walking across the tarmac, we realised that boarding has started. Thus went down where there was still a long queue for boarding.


21 August 2014
Turkish Airlines
TK 2015
Kayseri (ASR) - Istanbul Ataturk (IST)
B737-800
TC-JGL
Economy Class

Walking out to the tarmac for boarding.




Anadolujet being turned around.




Boarded from the rear stairs.








Welcomed aboard and proceeded to our seats at 22E/F. The cabin still featured the old leather-cladded seats. Business also had similar seats to economy, just with slightly more seat pitch and middle seat left empty.






Boarding in progress. It would be a totally full flight this evening.




Seat pitch felt ok and was more than sufficient for the short flight. Pillows were available in the overhead bins.




Skylife magazine and safety card in seat pocket.




At the parking stand, with some baggage still being loaded.

[ycp81]

Aircraft doors were closed on time and we pushed back. Safety video was show on the dropdown screens. Flight time was slightly more than an hour.




Pushed back and starting taxi.




Had a rather long taxi to the runway.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_ki4...rW0dYXoZc9I2ZA


Took from Kayseri's Rwy25, bound for Istanbul. Note in the video that a kid seated across the aisle actually got off from his seat and stood at the window throughout the entire takeoff roll, and the mum actually did nothing! Speechless!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBMaZ...rW0dYXoZc9I2ZA


Climbing out of Kayseri.










It was mainly barren land below us.






The only entertainment was the flight map that was being played on the overhead screens throughout the entire flight. Well, better than nothing on this short flight I guess.




Meal service started, with the carts starting from the rear and front of the economy cabin. 3 crew were working the economy today. A picnic box as well as hot/cold beverages were offered, which I guess is the standard TK offerings on domestic flights.

[ycp81]

A Do&Co picnic box was handed out.




Contents of the box.




Starter: Kidney beans in olive oil. This was a pretty nice starter.




Chicken sandwich. Even though it looked boring, it was actually very moist and tasty!




Dessert: Homemade almond cake. Delicious! I could have more of this! Turkish Airlines did not disappoint in its catering, even for short-haul flights.




Freshly-squeezed orange juice to wash everything down.




Along the coast.




Soon, we were nearing Istanbul and started our descent.




The Bosphorus can be seen.




Into the sunset.




Coast of Istanbul can be seen here.




Passing Ataturk before making a 180 degrees turn back for landing.

[ycp81]

Making a turn back to the runway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJOdQ...rW0dYXoZc9I2ZA


And landing on Rwy05 of Ataturk 10min ahead of schedule.












Video of the landing into Rwy05.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2Y-M...rW0dYXoZc9I2ZA


Taxiing past the International Terminal, passing countless TK planes parked both at the terminal and remote stands.




Even more TK aircraft at the domestic terminal.




And we actually docked right at the domestic terminal with an aerobridge!




Disembarking.




Final look at our baby Boeing.




I was again a pleasant short flight on TK. TK has certainly set the standards in short-haul catering, offering delicious and substantial meals (albeit cold ones) on very short sectors. Don't think there are man airlines out there with similar catering standards as TK on flights as short as this.


Baggage retrieval was a waiting affair due to the many evening arrivals and limited baggage belts. As can be seen, 4 flights were assigned to our belt. Baggage of the previous flight had just cleared while the other 3 flights flight had also landed after us. Guess it would be chaos soon at our belt.




After exiting the domestic terminal, we took the Havatas airport bus to Taksim, where our hotel was located. Journey to the city took almost an hour due to the rather heavy evening peak traffic.

Our hotel in Istanbul was Nippon Hotel, situated just opposite the airport bus stop and also very near Taksim Square and public transportation. As expected, hotel rooms in Istanbul are very small for the price paid, but our hotel was still rather comfortable and offers a great breakfast.

[ycp81]

Taksim Square




Along Sultanahmet




Visiting the Grand Bazaar






And Spice Bazaar




Hustle and bustle of Istanbul




The most famous landmark of Istanbul, Blue Mosque.












And the equally famous Haagia Sophia, which we did not enter due to winding queues at the ticket counter.

[ycp81]

Along Istiklal Caddesi, the pedestrian-friendly shopping street of Istanbul.








Cat posers






In a quaint backstreet




Bosphorus at sunset








Last burst of Turkish cuisine and desserts