Last week I flew from Chicago to Istanbul in Turkish Airlines business class — one leg of a journey from SFO to KHI. We used United miles for the ticket: 80k points back in March when we booked. Prices seem to have skyrocketed since; currently United doesn’t offer SFO → KHI in business class for less than 300k points. The journey also included a first class leg on United from SFO to ORD (domestic first in a 737-900 is almost entirely forgettable) and a Turkish A330-300 on the IST → KHI leg, which is somewhat comparable to the 777-300ER we had ORD → IST.
This seemed to be an older aircraft. We’ve flown Turkish many times from SFO and LAX and those legs appear to get newer planes — you notice it in the older seats, older infotainment, etc. Turkish has also decided we’re in a post-pandemic world and no longer provides hygiene/sanitization kits. Pity.
Seating
Full lie-flat seats in a 2-3-3 configuration across two cabins. Our flight was full — even the middle seats were taken. The seats are decently comfortable, with tremendous leg room whether seated or lying down — more than the more “modern” 1-2-1 configurations, which usually have small footwells. However, they weren’t particularly wide and had poor storage for phones, headphones, water bottles and such. And just under half the seats lack direct aisle access. Cushioning was okay, not spectacular, and the bedding was a little thin.
Infotainment
Decent selection of movies and TV shows, including live TV. Two cameras (front and down) — I remain disappointed that most US airlines (and, oddly, Singapore) don’t offer cameras. The navigation system was relatively run-of-the-mill: no prayer times or direction offered.
Restrooms
Turkish offers some of the largest restrooms in the industry on their 777s — even in economy they’re large (some with windows). In business class they weren’t quite as large, and no window, but quite serviceable. The tap was auto-sensing and the sink was large — good for making wudu. No cups, though. And no toothbrush/toothpaste kits in the bathroom (though they did include those in the amenity kit handed to each passenger). Since the infotainment had no prayer times, you’re left to figure those out on your own — the camera view did help.
Room for prayers
The front galley is a little quieter outside meal times, and there’s plenty of space by the front doors to pray. Failing that, there’s some space by the exit doors between the two business class compartments, but that area tends to be busier, so I recommend the front. Also, the flight’s timing is such that if you’re flying in winter (as I was), you can get away with praying only fajr on the plane — isha starts around departure, and the sun sets after arrival.
Staff
I did not see a single person wearing a hijab on the entire journey. The staff was quite accommodating when asked about prayers.
Food
The food was excellent — good selection, good quality, and plenty of it. All halal. They do serve alcohol, and they don’t offer much in the way of mocktails.
Originally posted on the old ReviewSity, November 2022.