Merhaba! Selaam Aleykum! and Welcome to Trip Report 3 from The Land of the Ottomans : Devlet-i Aliyye-i Osmâniyye
IST-ECN (4th May 2015) Turkish Airlines/TK960/Airbus A320-200
Watch the entire Trip Report below:
Trip Report 3
Having flown this sector before I joined Flight-Report.com please do bear with the limited narration since i'm unable to recall the finer details of this sector.
Having initially booked Qatar Airways to fly us in from Colombo-Bandaranaike International Airport (VCBI/CMB) due to the cheap fares available to Ercan (ECN) plus the operation of their Airbus A340-600 out of CMB as well as their Boeing 777-300ER on one of the sectors (the others were scheduled to be on their A330-200),along with flying the Turkish LCC Onur Air's Airbus A321 on the IST-ECN route and Turkish Airlines on the ECN-IST sector.
Therefore,I decided to give QR a try on this Intercontinental Flight and try out the 2 Turkish carriers as well.
However due to unforeseen problems, our agent suggested Turkish Airlines for the entire trip. The fares were a tad-bit more than the initial plan, however it also meant that we'd have more time in Northern Cyprus and shorter layovers which was agreed upon. So for me that meant flying on their Airbus A330-300, Airbus A320-200 and Boeing 737-800
My flight:
Flew In from Colombo Bandaranaike-International Airport (CMB) via. Male (MLE) on Turkish Airlines Airbus A330-300 (TC-JNH) and landed at Istanbul-Ataturk (IST) after 9+ hours of flying
(Unfortunately I do not have enough pictures for a FR)
The first leg of the itinerary: Colombo to Istanbul via. Male
CMB-MLE (3rd May 2015) Turkish Airlines/TK731/Airbus A330-300
onward to Istanbul Ataturk International Airport (IST)
MLE-IST (3rd May 2015) Turkish Airlines/TK731/Airbus A330-300
Turkish Airlines proved to be not only Europe's Best but probably one of the finest airlines in the world!
Moving on to the IST-ECN flight
As we were International Connecting passengers with a quick connection time of a little under 2 hours, being first time visitors to the land of the Sultans, we appreciated the assistance provided by the Turkish Airlines ground staff, allowing all of us to get to the gate on time for departure
Onboard
At the gate was TC-JPP, Turkish Airlines Airbus A320-200, our conveyance to North Cyprus
Departure was on-time and we were off to ECN! Probably the most beautiful sector I've flown on!
Cabin/Seat
The seats were in the standard 3-3 layout, and it felt cramped up. I probably might have felt worse after being accustomed to the A330-300's seat span,but overall it was definitely better than the other A320 i'd been on prior to this. The cabin on the other-hand was a little old and tried, with no IFE available on this short-haul flight. (It wasn't needed tbh).A Meal wasn't served,however the cabin crew busied themselves serving the passengers Tea,Coffee and Soft Drinks which was accepted for an early morning flight.
Landing was announced soon afterwards!
Ercan's Control Terminal
TC-JPP!
Overall, an above average short-haul flight on TK, not as good as their long-haul flights though but definitely one id recommend and fly on again for sure!
