Review of Turkish Airlines flight Istanbul → Algiers in Economy

This is the follow up from my previous flight from Dublin on flight TK1978. After we disembarked from the aircraft the bus took us to the arrivals hall. There is two Entrance, transit area or bag collections and customs. This is where i made a mistake and got confused as i wasnt sure where to go to get my hotel. After walking all over the airport and asking alot of people the directions for nearly an hour i finally found the turkish airlines hotel transfer desk. Thanks to one of the airport staff who spoke very well english and told me exactly where to go instead off all others saying the same answer, far end to the corridor turn left or right -___-. After a 15 mins wait i was called along with 15 others and the shipped us away into a very classy hotel approx 15 mins away from the airport.



The Courtyard Marriott hotel was super luxurious with twin double sized bed …. i took photos of my room but sadly my camera froze and didnt bother to retake it as i missed up both the beds lol ….. I suppose you only get twin double sized bed once lol. After a very nice long sleep i woke up around 10am, had a nice shower and a lovely breakfast. There was no sign of Turkish coffee soo i asked on of the lovely staff and few minutes later i cute waitress showed up with my Turkish coffee. That actually made my day in Istanbul. All the staff in the hotel were super friendly, no matter what time it is, they will always assist you with a big smile which what i liked a lot about istanbul and turkish airlines, a very warm hospitality and great care. I honestly felt like a business man because of the way i was being treated.

After a lovely long stay in the hotel, it was time to fly for my onwards flight to Algiers. Then i had a Domestic flight to catch after i arrive…. all in the sake of travelling which i love the most. The bus shuttle arrived and picked us up to take us to the airport.



It took us a while to get to the airport as it was super busy and packed and blocked off… reason was some politicians making a speech in front of thousands of people and security was super tight. I love the efficiency of Istanbul airport, even tho it was super busy and packed it took me less then 20 mins to be air side …. i thought it will be more but it went soo smooth.What i love about istanbul airport as well is that its super big and a lot of shops and restaurants are available all around soo you would never be bored. After i grabbed something small to eat as i know turkish airlines will take care of me once on board hahah i went to my gate, which is a remote stand and bus comes to collect you, all the 300 and 500 gates are bus gates …. which means a bus will take you to the aircraft. only one bus which indicates less then 50 people flying today on this giant A340-300.

Airlines: Turkish Airlines (Star Alliance)
Flight: TK657
Route: IST-ALG
Aircraft type: A340-313
Reg: TC-JII
Cabin: Individual old first gen IFE system on each seat



Once the bus pulled to our aircraft, i was amazed. First time being on an airbus widebody after the A310…. and it was big and them engines looked cute like a hair dryer lol. Very well portioned plane. I couldnt wait to get onboard, the seats were super comfortable and that the IFE was touch screen and very responsive which i was surprised as the other IFE i used on TK A330 and B737 were super slow …… had the perfect window seat beside the wings and engines and i kept taking pictures like there is no tomorrow lol. Felt bad for that dismantled A340…. was thinking that my poor A340 im on now will be in the same position in few months :/. Staff were nice and friendly and was looking forward with there service.



The Takeoff on the A340 felt like for ever, was very long and felt soo heavy when climbing …. unlike my favourite aircraft the B777 will be climbing like a rocket hahaha. Had amazing views of istanbul and the sea and few counties like Italy and Tunis. Soon after the cabin crew were around disturbing turkish delights and menus for the flight, the choice was either chicken or pasta.



The pasta was delicious, and the flight was literately empty…. alot of seats available , my seat was one of the best because its bulkhead seat with no giant IFE boxed which horrified me under the seats. The a340 is soo smooth it didnt feel i was flying at all. its truly remarkable machine i was soo happy to have a chance to fly on it. After the Lunch was done coffee was served and i just kept looking out the window admiring the beauty of flying. soon after we started our descent towards Algiers Houari Boumiedienne Airport.




After circling around algiers coast we finally landed on runway 23 and parked at gate 7. Before disembarking i had a quick look at the business class the bid the crew farewell and off to collect my bag.




After i collected my bags, i went to have an expensive crappy coffee and then went to the domestic airport to catch my air algerie last flight of the day to oran