Turkish A359 Business Class to Italy: Rome, Amalfi Coast and a Glimpse of Istanbul

[yflyer]

When I awoke, it was time for breakfast.

There was a coffee menu...



Apart from the regular coffee selections, there was also thick Turkish coffee...



I decided to give the Turkish coffee a try.



Breakfast was beautifully presented...



For my main, I opted for the pancakes...

[yflyer]

It was bright sunshine as we commenced our descent into Singapore Changi Airport...



Boxes of chocolate were handed out as a parting gift...



Prepped for landing...



Final approach from the west, over Malaysia...



Landing on Runway 20R...



...on a bright and sunny Thursday morning.



It was nice to be back home.



A final look at Turkish Airbus A359, registration TC-LHC, just 3 months old when we flew in June this year.



This was a wonderful flight on TK Business Class from Istanbul to Singapore. The hard product was good, and so was the cabin service and catering. Flying on a brand new plane was a bonus.

Just a few minor quibbles: Compared to other long haul J cabins, one might consider the seat slightly narrower than those on other planes. SQ uses the same seat product on medium haul routes (e.g. 8 hour sectors from Singapore to Australia). Also, I wished the TK cabin crew would engage with pax more warmly (SQ cabin crew are still the best in that regard), and I also wished that they would come round the cabin to offer 2nd helpings of the starters. They just did one round, then headed back to the galley with the trolley still holding a fair amount of food. I also found IST airport much too big -- lots more walking than other major airports.

All that said, I thought TK had a strong offering overall, with the onboard catering among the best I have had on any airline. I thought the offer of a free Istanbul stopover was great, and I would not mind stopping over in Istanbul again on a future trip.

[yflyer]

Final reflections...

This was a wonderful vacation from start to finish. Our flight experience on TK was great, with no delays on any sector, and our lounge experience on the ground was very good as well.

Flying to Europe via Istanbul worked out quite well. It was great to finally visit Istanbul, a city with such a rich history and culture, not to mention interesting food to try.

We had a great time in Italy. The weather was good, and the cities we visited had so much to offer visitors, in terms of history, scenery and cuisine. I thought that everyone we met was warm and friendly towards tourists and visitors, with special mention to the staff and hosts of the hotels we stayed at in Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast, who really made us feel really welcome.



Thanks for reading!

[alian]

I stayed in Conrad a while back - is Gauss the cat still roving in the lobby - its a calico cat who sleeps on the sofas in the lobby - super cute had a lot of time with her

[RedEyeflight]

Great TR yflyer! Looks like you had a busy trip to Italy and a nice stopover in Istanbul. I agree TK crew can be a bit reserved and I wished too they would interact more with passengers. The hard product looks above average for the long-haul competition and price point, though probably not on par with SQ, as you pointed out. Although, certainly an improvement over the outdated 2-3-2 config on the 77W. However, I was lucky enough to have an elderly couple next to me so was never disturbed. I look forward to more yflyer TRs in future.

[yflyer]

I stayed in Conrad a while back - is Gauss the cat still roving in the lobby - its a calico cat who sleeps on the sofas in the lobby - super cute had a lot of time with her

Hi alian! No, I didn't notice any cat in the lobby of the Conrad. I didn't spend a whole lof of time in the lobby area, so maybe I missed her.

That said, there were so many cats in Istanbul, and they all looked so well looked after, or at least well fed, even the community cats. This cat was at The Last Ottoman, and sat next to me while I was having lunch...

[yflyer]

Great TR yflyer! Looks like you had a busy trip to Italy and a nice stopover in Istanbul. I agree TK crew can be a bit reserved and I wished too they would interact more with passengers. The hard product looks above average for the long-haul competition and price point, though probably not on par with SQ, as you pointed out. Although, certainly an improvement over the outdated 2-3-2 config on the 77W. However, I was lucky enough to have an elderly couple next to me so was never disturbed. I look forward to more yflyer TRs in future.

Thanks for reading, RedEyeflight!

Yes, a very nice holiday. Italy was great. Timing-wise May was a nice time to visit too, just before peak tourist season, and even then it was so crowded. I would have wanted to spend more time in Turkiye, and maybe venture beyond Istanbul, but I couldn't take more leave than that. One reason we chose TK was price point, there were very good sale fares available, and that made all the difference.