Review of Turkish Airlines flight Tunis Istanbul in Business

Airline Turkish Airlines
Flight TK664
Class Business
Seat 2F
Aircraft Boeing 737-800
Flight time 02:35
Take-off 10 Nov 13, 16:25
Arrival at 10 Nov 13, 20:00
TK   #13 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 776 reviews
lagentsecret
Published on 11th November 2013
Hello,

Let's go for a very special itinerary, a Round-The-World trip, but not only is it a RTW, it is especially special as it includes my dream flight : SQ22
Why is it my dream flight ? Because I like to be in the air onboard an airplane, so, of course, the longest commercial flight must be my dream flight.

I was always thinking of flying SQ22 but, since the end of BMI/Diamond Club, it's been difficult to get an award seat in a SQ premium class except with its own FFP, Krisflyer.

Krysflyer has very poor earning rates, prohibitive spending rates and its main benefit is to be able to fly in SQ First Class.
I'm not interesting in Flying SQ First Class any more :)

I've been lucky to live the golden era : flying 744 Megatop seating in Skysuites, with Dom Perignon in the lounge, 50ml Ferragamo perfume in the amenity kit and so on…

From cost cutting to cost cutting these times are over and SQ First is not so much appealling especially with the rise of an excellent Business class with full flat bed.

So it was not so easy to get this so coveted ticket but I knew that sometimes SQ, in its goodness, gives alms as J tickets for M&M.

I had in mind this possibility and it was mainly for that reason that M&M was my FFP choice after BMI's sale

I have to go faster last year when SQ announced that the SQ22 route will be discontinued at the end of 2013.

Almost every day I frantically search a free seat on a SQ22 flight using KVS tool but nothing appeared

In April this year I had to try harder and I decided to call my M&M local agent after being able to find a few available seats.
She was great and patient enough to check more than 40 days searching availability and bingo she found a free seat on the November 14th, one of the last flights.

I still had to wait for the approbation of the itinerary by the german M&M luminaries and was calling many times before the itinerary has been approved.
I immediately went to the M&M office to have the itinerary ticketed !
Looking at the booking I couldn't believe that finally I got it !!!

Sorry for this certainly too boring introduction but I know that most of you are scrolling experts ;)

So here is the complete itinerary built around the SQ22

  1. Tunis TUN - Istanbul IST (Turkish Airlines Business, 737-800)
  2. [YOU ARE HERE]
  3. Istanbul IST - Seoul ICN (Turkish Airlines Business, A340-300)
  4. http://flight-report.com/en/report-5519.html
  5. Seoul ICN - Singapore SIN (Singapore Airlines Business, B777-300ER)
  6. http://flight-report.com/en/report-5534.html
  7. Singapore SIN - Newark EWR (Singapore Airlines Business, A340-500)
  8. http://flight-report.com/en/report-5582.html
  9. New York JFK - Frankfurt FRA (Singapore Airlines Business, A380)
  10. http://flight-report.com/en/report-5610.html
  11. Frankfurt FRA - Vienna VIE (Lufthansa Business, A321)
  12. http://flight-report.com/en/report-5613.html
  13. Vienna VIE - Istanbul SAW (Turkish Airlines Business, 737-800)
  14. http://flight-report.com/en/report-5645.html
  15. Istanbul IST - Tunis TUN (Tunis Air Economy, A320)
  16. http://flight-report.com/en/report-5663.html

Once again I arrived early at the airport, usually because one never knows what could happen (New security check, strike, …), and this time because I was very excited beginning my RTW.

The check to enter the terminal : almost everybody was ringing the alarm but noone cared
photo 201311SQ22_0001 (Copier)

The terminal was overcrowded
photo 201311SQ22_0002 (Copier)

I went on walking to the Turkish Airlines check-in business counter, close to the famous Lindo bar.
photo 201311SQ22_0003 (Copier)

The flight is displayed but the check-in counter was unmanned
photo 201311SQ22_0005 (Copier)

I had to wait almost 30 minutes before someone came

Then a TK agent(male) with an airport agent(female) came and they were laughing and joking together.

The TK agent left but the checkin agent was still laughing.

I told her that it was better laughing than weeping which pleased her. She checked me in asking me if my transfer was to Cyprus…no, ICN is Seoul !
She looked at my passport searching for a visa but I told her that I didn't need one : she answered me that she was trusting me.
I still had to ask for a carry-on tag before heading to the immigratiom, customs and check.
photo 201311SQ22_0004 (Copier)

A lot of people were queuing for immigration but almost all counters were manned

Not the same for the check with only two lines opened and a long long queue

30 minutes later I was airside and heading to the Tunis Air lounge.


Same food offer as usual with the breakfast pastries and some snacks added at noon
photo 201311SQ22_0007 (Copier)photo 201311SQ22_0012 (Copier)photo 201311SQ22_0014 (Copier)

The lounge is not bad except that it is often overcrowded and the offer is very basic.
I just grabbed some canapes and a pear juice
photo 201311SQ22_0018 (Copier)

This time it was even quite dirty and the couch was in bad shape, hurting my back
photo 201311SQ22_0019 (Copier)photo 201311SQ22_0022 (Copier)

Wifi seemed not to work and I had to use my 3G connection
photo 201311SQ22_0020 (Copier)

Corporate picture with 3G
photo 201311SQ22_0021 (Copier)

Spotting from the lounge


Luggage is loaded on the belts
photo 201311SQ22_0024 (Copier)

It was time to head to the gate and to add some planespotting on the way


My airplane at the gate : a Boeing 737-800 TC-JHF, first flight on 23/11/2008
photo 201311SQ22_0029 (Copier)photo 201311SQ22_0030 (Copier)

With this five year old airplane I wasn't surprised to see the old business class with neutralized middle seat
photo 201311SQ22_0036 (Copier)

I sat at my window seat with decent legroom
photo 201311SQ22_0035 (Copier)

Safety card
photo 201311SQ22_0033 (Copier)

Seat pocket stuff
photo 201311SQ22_0034 (Copier)

A beverage was offered : choice between 3 TK delicious juices
photo 201311SQ22_0037 (Copier)

and then the traditional loukoum
photo 201311SQ22_0038 (Copier)

Push back
photo 201311SQ22_0039 (Copier)

Taxi to runway
photo 201311SQ22_0040 (Copier)

Republic of Tunisia's airplane
photo 201311SQ22_0041 (Copier)

Smooth take off
photo 201311SQ22_0042 (Copier)photo 201311SQ22_0043 (Copier)photo 201311SQ22_0044 (Copier)

TUN runways
photo 201311SQ22_0045 (Copier)photo 201311SQ22_0046 (Copier)

The winglet


Oshibori before the meal
photo 201311SQ22_0059 (Copier)

Menu
photo 201311SQ22_0060 (Copier)

One more view from my high-above-the-clouds restaurant
photo 201311SQ22_0061 (Copier)

Meal service began : tray with appetizer, cheese and dessert
photo 201311SQ22_0070 (Copier)

Assorted Turkish Appetizers
photo 201311SQ22_0063 (Copier)

Mediterranean Salad
photo 201311SQ22_0065 (Copier)

Assorted Cheese
photo 201311SQ22_0064 (Copier)

Home Made Chocolate Mousse Cake
photo 201311SQ22_0069 (Copier)

I requested the Beef Tournedos for the main
Grilled Beef Tournedos mustard and curry sauce sautéed mixed vegetables/potato gratin
photo 201311SQ22_0072 (Copier)

Potato gratin was to die for as usual and the the meat was not overcooked
photo 201311SQ22_0073 (Copier)

As I'm a huge fan of turkish cooking and always ready to sacrifice for FR, I asked if it was possible to have a second main: the Moussaka
The FA answered me with a great smile : Certainly
Eggplant Moussaka
photo 201311SQ22_0074 (Copier)

I'm still mouth watering just looking at the picture ;)

I have to talk about my young neighbour : despite being a native English-speaker he seemed to have never learnt the words Please or Thank You :(
I was extremely ashamed for him when, for example, he was almost barking Water at the FA during the meal

What terrible people we have to meet sometimes !

The cabin was busy with 4/12 pax
photo 201311SQ22_0077 (Copier)

The descent was smooth and we parked at a remote position
photo 201311SQ22_0081 (Copier)photo 201311SQ22_0083 (Copier)photo 201311SQ22_0084 (Copier)
See more

Verdict

Turkish Airlines

8.9/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering9.5

Tunisair Lounge

5.6/10
Comfort6.5
Meal/catering6.5
Entertainment/wifi3.0
Services6.5

Tunis - TUN

5.0/10
Efficiency2.5
Access4.0
Services5.0
Cleanliness8.5

Istanbul - ISL

9.2/10
Efficiency10.0
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

Another great flight with Turkish Airlines, especially with this yummy Do&Co catering for a bit more than 2 hours flight.

Flight Attendants were smiling and efficient

Only the seat was the weak part

Information on the route Tunis (TUN) Istanbul (ISL)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 16 avis concernant 1 compagnies sur la ligne Tunis (TUN) → Istanbul (ISL).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Turkish Airlines avec 8.1/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 2 heures et 41 minutes.

  More information

14 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 92611 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
    Thanks for this great first FR of what promises to be an epic series! The Do&Co catering lives up to its reputation; everything looks very appetizing. Sorry about your seat neighbor....I've had D@uchebags like that on flights; I just ignore them. Despite the Euro-Biz style cabin, the rest is perfect, including the great crew. It is too bad that TK has product incosistencies, though. Some flights with 2-2 Biz, some flights with Blocked-middle-seat Euro-Biz. Some Longhaul planes with Comfort Class, most without. Once TK gets their heard product inconsistencies in order, they will be a force to be reckoned with! Thanks again for sharing and I look forward to the next flights in your adventure!
  • Comment 92616 by
    Durian 1171 Comments
    Thanks for the report. Too bad for the crew having to deal with you moron neighbor.
    3 business-class long haul flights on SQ ! Good luck to the crew, I’m sure you’ll have out-of-protocol requests
  • Comment 92619 by
    jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
    Congratulation for scoring that elusive seat on SQ. What a great RTW journey and I can't think of a better way to start the trip than with TK, one of my all time favorite airlines.

    Some people have said that the closest program to BMI's is Lifemiles (TA and AV). I certainly appreciate the feature that allows you to do a combination of cash and miles to redeem a reward trip. Also, I have been able to find SQ J awards with them and that is how I booked a trip at the end of this month from HKG-SFO. When I checked using my UA Mileage Plus acct, there was nothing on SQ for the whole month. I think that SQ purposely blocks UA MP members from getting their award seats. With Lifemiles, I was able to see that they still had another J seat available on the same date after I booked mine and also on the day before. Go figure.

    The quality and presentation of TK's meals are truly excellent, particularly for medium and short haul routes. The pictures of your meals make my mouth water. Oh and those canapes at the lounge in TUN are so tempting. One of these days I will make a trip to North Africa.

    I appreciate the pictures of Tunis Air planes. I think they have a nice livery and logo. It would be interesting to fly them one day. Too bad they are not associated with any alliance.

  • Comment 92628 by
    East African 1582 Comments
    Very nice introductory FR!
    It was obvious this segment would be reported by 007 :-)
    I remember reading an email from you mentioning this special flight. It's a very good news your flying dream came true!
    TK is great as usual and i hope the next chapter will prove it again!

    Thanks for sharing
  • Comment 92655 by
    AirCanada881 1616 Comments
    When I first saw the front page I was like can this be 007 again? And here he is with a mouthwatering series of trip reports! How you managed to score this is nothing short of amazing, congratulations, you truly know how to enjoy flying and I hope the flights will be enjoyable to you at the highest level.

    Not much to say about the above flight, except that aside from the seat and your asinine neighbor, everything looks great, awesome catering comfort class style :-D I got hungry just looking at the pictures!

    I am looking forward to the next leg of your trip as I;ll be flying TK in J on their A330 next year. Look forward to the great photos.

    How long will your layover be in Vienna? I would love to come down and meet you there even for an hour or so (send me a message if you're free :-) )

    Looking forward to the next installments!
  • Comment 92700 by
    KL651 TEAM 4534 Comments
    Thanks for this FR.
    What a nice serie of flights to come.
    the catering in Y on TK is actually so good, that it doesn't differ much from the one you get in J on a short haul flight.
  • Comment 92702 by
    Bargi62 SILVER 3586 Comments
    Thanks for this FR:this routing coming soon on SQ is very exciting.
    Great catering on TK as usual.
  • Comment 92753 by
    A380B77W 4295 Comments
    Thanks for this good FR :)

    I'm impatient to see the SQ22 FR !!!
  • Comment 92976 by
    Denzee 1755 Comments
    Ouch almost missed your novel saga around the world.

    I'm really jealous as it was one of my dream to make a RTW using SQ and the famous SIN-EWR flight but it's too late now :-(

    Really look forward to reading the next episode :-)
  • Comment 92977 by
    Denzee 1755 Comments
    Ouch almost missed your novel saga around the world.

    I'm really jealous as it was one of my dream to make a RTW using SQ and fly with the famous SIN-EWR flight but it's too late now :-(

    Really look forward to reading the next episode :-)
  • Comment 93345 by
    pititom GOLD 11489 Comments
    Thank you for the beginning of this new saga. It looks as promising as a Durian's novel :)

    Thanks for the introduction...very interesting but too short ;) (I see in the routing a few more expert flyer's tricks unexplained ^^). In comparison, I could almost have scrolled on a new TUN-IST by TK007 ;) Catering is always nice to rediscover though.

    Let's get to the point now :)

Login to post a comment.