Turkish Airlines B777300ER business class
MUMBAI ISTANBUL
BACKGROUND Turkish Airlines is the flag carrier of Turkey. It started operations in 1933 with just five aircraft. Counting cargo, passenger and training aircraft, the strength of Turkish Airlines’ fleet today is 328. It flies to over 300 destinations in 121 countries with 253 international and 49 domestic routes.
CHECK IN I arrived at 5am at Terminal 2 of Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. My flight to Istanbul was scheduled to depart at 6:55am. There was a separate queue for economy class passengers.
BOARDING Boarding for the flight started on time at 6:10am and within five minutes I was seated in the aircraft.
THE SEAT There are no first or premium economy class cabins. The business class cabin is arranged in a 2-3-2 layout across four rows – all front facing. There is enough legroom to stretch out and plenty of stowage for multiple items. I placed my cabin bag in the overhead compartment, purse and shoes under the bench-like leather platform below the 15.4-inch screen in front of me, and mobile phone in one of the four slots evenly flanking only the screen for the middle seat. The remote control is below the armrest, as are the charging socket, USB port and headphone jack. The dining table tray is tucked in the left armrest that also has the seat controls. A flexible reading light was folded up beside my backrest.
BEST SEAT Any of the aisle seats. Avoid the middle or window seats because if your neighbour is asleep, and you need to use the washroom, you’ll have to climb over her or him.
THE FLIGHT Shortly after boarding we were o ered drinks; I chose lemon-mint. Cabin slippers were placed in a cloth bag on the “bench”, and a blanket on the seat. About ten minutes before takeo the pilot updated us on the journey ahead. The cabin crew distributed Bentley Fragrances amenity kits and Denon headphones in a smart leather case. The kit had socks, toothpaste and toothbrush, a hairbrush, an eye-mask, earplugs, a shoehorn and a Bentley Infinite body lotion. At 6:55am we started moving just as the safety video — jolly with a man doing all sorts of magic tricks – played on our screens. At 7:05am hazelnuts were served. With the help of the cabin crew I was connected to the free wifi on-board and could surf the internet and WhatsApp with the o ice throughout the flight. The in-flight entertainment (IFE) movie options were decent – I watched Murder on the Orient Express, a book adaptation, which coincidentally my neighbour was reading.
Once settled in, the cabin crew came around asking if we would like our beds made – a sheet on the seat, pillow and
There is enough legroom to stretch out and plenty of stowage for multiple items
a thicker blanket. Food service was delayed due to turbulence. From the Turkish, Indian and continental breakfast options I chose the omelette. The tray came with a selection of Turkish cheese, orange juice, olives, and jalebi that really looked like a doughnut. Drinks – juices, tea, co ee, hot chocolate, wines, spirits and liqueur – were rolled out at 9:10am and the entire service wrapped up by 9:30am.
Despite having the galley up ahead, not once did I hear a sound from the crew. At noon we were o ered a snack of a vegetable sandwich or a samosa.
ARRIVAL We arrived on time and doors opened soon after to have us in the bus and finally at the terminal within a span of 15 minutes from touchdown.
VERDICT A comfortable flight. Despite having to wake up much before sunrise for this early morning flight, I landed well-fed and rested.
Neha Gupta Kapoor