Review of Anadolu Jet flight from Antalya to Istanbul in Economy

Report No: 2021-305

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to this short domestic series inside Turkey with AnadoluJet ( a trademark of Turkish Airlines ) from Istanbul to Antalya for a short trip. As this trip could be considered as a last-minute trip and with the domestic service within Turkey not being different among all three carriers that fly this route ( from IST/SAW to AYT ) - ( AnadoluJet, Pegasus Airlines, Turkish Airlines ), I chose the cheapest which was AnadoluJet. Actually, Pegasus Airlines was at the same price with AnadoluJet, but as I am a TK*G, AnadoluJet has slight benefits so I decided to fly them on this occasion. For information purposes, Turkish Airlines from Istanbul Airport was twice the price of flying out of Sabiha Gökçen so it was definitely not worth to pay that difference. As you would notice, the service between Turkish Airlines and AnadoluJet is pretty the same these days due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The return flight of this journey would be on the Boeing 737-800 of AnadoluJet ( but this time on the ex-TK version ) from Antalya to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen. Similar to the first report, there would be no lounge report in this journey.

Here is the routing for this trip

Loads for this flight

Economy Class: 90-95% 

Antalya Airport - AYT

As I did already have a boarding pass, I have arrived at the airport about an hour before scheduled departure time. Before entering the terminal, HES codes were checked for Turkish citizens.

The security checkpoint to enter the terminal was empty and with no wait, I was inside the terminal.

Unfortunately, the Turkish Airlines CIP Lounge in Antalya is closed at this time

So, I headed upstairs to the regular security checkpoint.

The wait over there was minimal, thus I was airside a few minutes before scheduled boarding time.

As it's not high season in Antalya, the terminal was empty.

GATE AREA & BOARDING

As our gate was a bus gate, I have headed downstairs where the bus gates are located at.

While I arrived at the gate, there were no sign of boarding being started, and for 40 minutes, nothing happened. Boarding didn't start until then and the ground staff was replying passengers who asked about the boarding time that they would be starting boarding shortly as they are waiting permission. With no official delay being announced, it was impossible to predict when boarding would start. However, at 10:55 which is actually the scheduled departure time boarding started at the same time at two bus gates ( 209 and 210 ) to expedite the boarding process. There were 3 or 4 buses ready and as soon as the buses reached their capacity limit ( 50 people due to COVID-19 ), they left the terminal.

During our bus ride to the aircraft, I was able to spot SunExpress aircraft, as well as aircrafts of Russian carriers which is quite normal to see at AYT

After a short bus ride, our aircraft was visible. TC-JFG would be the aircraft taking me back to Istanbul. Originally being a Turkish Airlines aircraft and being moved to the AnadoluJet fleet in 2016, it was going to be my first time on this specific airframe.

A glimpse of remote stands, more XQ and some N4 aircraft were visible.

Boarding through the stairs, both the front and the rear door was operational during boarding.

TK 7517 Antalya Airport TO ISTANBUL SABİHA GÖKÇEN AIRPORT

After being welcomed by the crew and being handed an hygiene kit, I have headed to my seat 16A for this flight.

As I was seated in the exit row, the legroom is super generous.

The seats for this flight are the usual TK/AJet domestic TSI branded seats which are OK in terms of comfort.

View from the window. As some of the passengers decided to maintain social distance throughout the boarding process, it was possible to see people waiting outside for the stairs to be cleared so they could board.

Here is the hygiene kit that is provided. The hygiene kit has replacement masks and antiseptic wipes.

The overhead panel

As soon as boarding was completed and the final preparations were done, we have started our push-back, approximately 30 minutes later than our scheduled departure time.

Pushing back

And after a short taxi, we were at the runway.

As only 1 out of 3 runways were operational that day, we waited about 5 minutes for landing aircrafts and when it was our turn, we have took off towards the south.

Photos after takeoff

After the seatbelt signs have been turned off, the water service has begun. About 5 minutes later, the crew appeared one more time to collect trash.

A view while cruising in the air

After a while, we have started our descend to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport

The second runway is being constructed at SAW and would increase capacity when completed

Some more photos from the construction site

We have landed about 15 minutes later than our scheduled arrival time

The new ATC tower under construction

Some TK/AJet aircraft at the technic hangar

Ex-China Eastern ERJ145's are stored at SAW

In the apron, that day, there wasn't any interesting traffic other than AnadoluJet and Pegasus aircraft.

The terminal

Pegasus A321neo that would be heading to Lviv that afternoon

More Pegasus and AnadoluJet aircraft at the terminal

After a short taxi, we were going to park at gate 206A.

Next to this, AnadoluJet Boeing 737-800 that was going to head to Urmia (OMH).

ISTANBUL SABİHA GÖKÇEN AIRPORT - SAW

As you might expect in Turkey, nobody waited the people in front of them to leave the aircraft and everyone rushed as usual so deplaning was quick without the observance of social distancing.

Here is the last photo of TC-JFG before the bird continues to its next flight which is back to Antalya

As I didn't have checked baggage, I just directly headed towards the exit.

The landside arrivals level was a bit crowded but not that full.

Shortly after leaving the terminal, a relative has picked me up from the airport and this journey has come to an end.

Thanks for reading and hope to see you in another report.
Stay tuned for an international trip report which would come within the next few days.