Review: Turkish Airlines B777 – Business Class

Istanbul – Hong Kong with Turkish Airlines

Our flight is the last one listed on the first screen: 2:00 am.

Still some corridors to cross (the conveyor belts help at this late hour)…

…and here we are at the boarding gate.

This flight will be operated by a Boeing B777. For your information, Turkish Airlines operates a flight from Montreal to Istanbul on an Airbus A330.

The difference between B777 and A330 in business class? The rows are composed in 2-3-2 on B777 against 2-2-2 on A330. To see the experience on an A330, go to this article .

Boarding of the flight Istanbul – Hong Kong

Thanks to the children, and traveling in business class, we will be the first to board at the scheduled time: it is around 1:30 am local time.

The cabin of the B777 of Turkish Airlines

In business class, the rows are therefore in 2-3-2. If you are traveling as a couple, you should obviously choose the rows on the portholes.

Aside: On our side, a problem with the reservation (a baby + a toddler) and a wrong information from the CIP Lounge concierge, made me and my daughter find myself on the row of 3 seats…. one of which was supposed to be “blocked”: no passenger should have had access to it.

It would have made our life easier: Turkish Airlines does not offer a “bedpan” for babies against the walls. So our goal was to have the middle seat… for baby.

Anyway, the business cabin turned out to be full and we had a passenger next to us in the 3 seat row, which made that plan null and void.

Alexandra has to choose: next to her grandmother… or to her father.

The leg space is very important with an ottoman…

…under which you can place your personal belongings.

The seat has traditional adjustments as well as a massage function.

Shortly before takeoff, the staff is busy in the cabin distributing the adult comfort kits (FURLA)…

… and for the children, which is very much appreciated by Alexandra, leaving me hardly time to take pictures of the contents (her hand present on each one!) …

A high quality DENON headset will also be distributed.

The crew will also take the orders of the different passengers for the evening meal and the breakfast.

I must admit that after having had dinner once on the flight Nice – Istanbul, then in the CIP Lounge, it will be “difficult” to have dinner again 1 hour after takeoff at the equivalent of 3 am local time!

The menu served on board

Here is the menu for dinner and breakfast…

…and the drinks offered on this flight.

Nearly an hour after takeoff, the meal will be served. Most of the passengers decided to start their night. I resist to present you the dishes! We start with the aperitif.

The entrance that looks like what we were offered on the flight Nice – Istanbul…

…followed by the main course…

… to finish with the dessert cart.

The food was good, without being exceptional. The service was excellent, worthy of a real business class… if not first class. The flight attendants take care to call you by name and will respond quickly to your requests.

The flat bed

2 hours after takeoff, it’s finally time to go to bed! A (very thin…) mattress topper will be placed on the chair. A large pillow will be distributed in addition to the small one.

Additional coverage will also be provided.

The chair is quite comfortable, I was able to rest a good 4-5 hours. My mother was able to sleep 8 hours straight (!) while Audrey frequently woke up with our baby (not visible under the blanket!)

Alexandra also liked her “middle chair” and her eye mask.

The entertainment system

The quality of the screen is very good, as is the content offered with relatively recent films in all languages.

Breakfast

A little less than 2 hours before landing, a breakfast will be served to passengers who have requested to be awakened.

Bottom line

A very good flight between Europe and Asia on Turkish Airlines.

Pros:

• a crew that takes care of each and every one of the passengers in the business class
• individual space at the seats
• film selection / screen quality

Minuses:

• A meal that takes a long time to be served
• the cabin is kept lit during almost the entire flight. Certainly not 100%, but at least 40-50%. Difficult to sleep without a mask.

I highly recommend you choose Turkish Airlines for your next trip: we are pretty lucky in Montreal to have a flight connecting Istanbul… and allowing you to access many parts of the world! And this, without any carrier surcharge with your Aeroplan points!