Flight review Athens – Istanbul with Turkish Airlines

Written by Dimitris Zopounidis, Aviation Industry Analyst, Founder of aviationlife.gr and Head of Research at the Western Crete Aviation Observatory (WCAO)

Evaluation is empirical and personal.

The flight took place with the new Turkish Airlines Boeing 737 8 MAX (age: 3 years) on July 26, 2022. The official departure time of flight TK1850 was 15:40 from Athens Airport. Flights to Turkey depart from the Non-Schengen area. So, our journey started from the security control in that area of the Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos”

The check-in counters of Turkish Airlines open 2 hours before the scheduled departure time of the airline’s flight, as was informed by the offices of the Turkish airline at the Airport.

Due to holding a Star Alliance Gold card, we had access to Aegean’s brand new lounge (Aegean Star Alliance Gold Lounge), at Non-Schengen area.

Spending time in this new business lounge was a very pleasant experience, with an excellent view of the Airport runways and aircraft movements, with a wide variety of food, snacks, excellent choices of hot dishes and meals (that day there were peas, veal with eggplants and the local greek cheese, feta, chicken pie from the region of Ioannina, Epirus at northwest Greece, grilled vegetables, hot soup, etc.) an expanded number of drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, soft drinks, a wide variety of Greek wines as well as their accompaniments (snacks, finger food) while the fine coffee (espresso, cappuccino, freddo espresso, and many more options) was not lacking. In addition, comfortable chairs are included, where you can relax while enjoying the movements and take-offs of the aircraft, while there is also a luggage storage area and meeting rooms.

It is the largest in Greece as well as the largest of Aegean. Equally good, after that, can be considered the airline’s business lounge in Thessaloniki, which opened in September 2021 and contains an excellent variety of food and drinks as well as a larger space than the previous one in Thessaloniki, with more amenities and functions.

Boarding for the flight took place from gate A5 (boarding – disembarking bridge). At the gate, boarding passes were printed by the ground staff.

Families with young children and Star Alliance, Turkish Airlines gold card holders and passengers traveling in Business class boarded first. On boarding, from the first moment and image, there was a beautiful and pleasant impression of the aircraft as it was in good condition and clean. The business class was a two-seater arrangement with comfortable leather seats, pillars, remote control as well as seat adjustment according to the passenger’s desires. Of course, there were in-flight entertainment (IFE) screens.

Our seats were 10F (window) and 10E (aisle), in economy class. The view of the window was of the aircraft’s engine. There was a choice through the Turkish Airlines application, which describes exactly the seats and what is view of each one them, through the app so that the traveler – passenger can choose the seat he/she wants. This is one detail that makes a difference in the overall passenger experience. Of course, in some seat categories and depending on the fare, there are specific charges.

As for the cabin of the aircraft, the Boeing 737 MAX 8, from the first view, looks more spacious than the competitor A320neo. The baggage storage area, above the seats, opens in a different way compared to the Airbus A320 and A320neo family. Also, the cabin air conditioning was not particularly noticeable inside the aircraft throughout the flight, however, the individual air conditioning worked perfectly.

There were in-flight entertainment (IFE) screens in economy class as well, while the airline provided each passenger with individual headphones for their personal listening. The IFE program was very rich, with a wide range of films, TV programs, podcasts, music, games, information about the Turkish Airlines destinations, an information section about the company itself (about us section) as well as live flight tracking. This last feature is very helpful for the passenger experience, as he can check every time he wishes the local time of his destination, the aircraft from many different angles as well as its speed and other useful information regarding the flight. Of course this judgement, is empirical and personal and overall, the in-flight entertainment system was overall excellent. This entertainment system gives satisfaction to the traveler and enables him to spend his time pleasantly. Turkish Airlines offers in-flight entertainment on domestic flights as well.

The flight was delayed and took off at 16:22 instead of 15:40.

As for the hot meal offering, a fairly satisfactory menu was offered on this international flight. It contained a Caesar salad, a sandwich with the basic ingredients of chicken, cheese and lettuce, a piece of chocolate cake, as well as a bottle (not the classic one found in Greece, you will see in the photo accompanying the review below). Of course, there were also the food accompaniments of a meal, such as some soft drink, coffee and tea.

Arrival at Istanbul International Airport was on time, despite the initial delay. The aircraft arrived at 17:21 (official arrival time 17:15).

The crew was very polite and helpful, the food was of good quality, the In-flight entertainment screens made a very nice combination for the passenger. Perhaps the air conditioning in the aircraft cabin needs attention because we are in the summer months, although there was no significant problem. The overall experience with Turkish Airlines for the first time is excellent.

A review of the Istanbul – Ankara flight with Turkish Airlines will follow in a subsequent article.

I am attaching a photo tribute of the trip.