Review of Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Ankara in Economy

Report No: 2022-807

Dear folks,

Welcome to this brand new series which would be another Turkish domestic flight series, this time to Ankara which I preferred to fly rather than taking the train on this occasion. One of the reasons for this was that I was able to spot the ex-Aeroflot A350's on this route on both directions while I was booking this trip so I was excited to try this exotic aircraft which also has a Premium Economy cabin, which is something that Turkish Airlines doesn't offer, and sells as Economy Class.

For the outbound journey, everything went as planned as I was also luckily able to experience the Premium Economy seats on this special bird on a short flight to Ankara, which I think would be a deal-breaker for my upcoming long-haul trips if TK decides to fly this aircraft on longer routes that I'm planning to fly. At Istanbul Airport, I have also visited the iGA Lounge and the Turkish Airlines Domestic Lounge before my flight to Ankara which would also be covered in this report.

This series would contain two reports as below;

Loads for this flight:

Business Class: 85-90%
Economy Class: 75-80% 

ISTANBUL AIRPORT - IST

About 2 hours before departure, I have arrived at Istanbul Airport by a municipality bus.

Municipality buses would drop passengers at the departures level which is pretty convenient for passengers. Since the airport wasn't crowded, I used Door 1 to enter the terminal.

Despite the Turkish Airlines International Business Class desks are located at the other end of the terminal, the domestic Business Class desks, which I have access through my status, are located in check-in island D.

After a quick check-in process reclaiming paper boarding passes, I realized that I had an operational seat change where I was moved to seat 08A, the bulkhead row of the Premium Economy cabin for operational reasons, which I'll say is a positive improvement.

Security that day was a breeze and I was airside 1h55mins before scheduled departure time, which allows me the time to do some lounge hopping.

There are two lounges at the domestic section of Istanbul Airport, which are the Turkish Airlines Lounges which I could access via my status and the iGA Domestic Lounge which I could access via PriorityPass. Both lounges also do offer access via cash for those who are willing to pay.

iGA LOUNGE DOMESTIC - ISTANBUL AIRPORT

Since my last visit, the lounge had an expansion in terms of area increasing the capacity which I'll consider as an improvement as the lounge could have got easily overcrowded.

The recently added new area looked very fresh in terms of furniture but it was still a bit hard to find power ports

Despite that, the buffet has multiple varieties of cold salads, cheese and multiple hot options such as meatballs.

Since the lounge got crowded laterwards, I didn't took much photos that day but soft drinks, as well as some alcoholic options are still available at another section of the lounge. There are also cellphone charging lockers and a small business corner at the lounge.

TURKISH AIRLINES DOMESTIC LOUNGE - ISTANBUL AIRPORT

After spending some time at the iGA Lounge, I have went downstairs to the Turkish Airlines Lounge since it offers direct lounge boarding. The buffet mostly had cold options such as salad varieties and Turkish mezes.

There is also a section where a warmed chocolate cake, warmed simit ( Turkish pastry ) and hot soup could be found, which is not pictured in this report. 

Apparently after COVID-19, the Elite Plus & Business section of the lounge lost the handcrafted espresso machine section where a barista would prepare hot drinks and it is now replaced by a WmF automated espresso machine. Turkish coffee, tea, filtered coffee and soft drinks are also available at the lounge.

My selection for the day.

Once it was time to board, I have headed towards the boarding area and boarded the dedicated bus which would drive us to our aircraft.
This benefit of the lounge is highly appreciated by most of the Turkish travelers that I know since it allows people ( especially families with children ) to avoid any chaos at the terminal and have a dedicated, private path from curbside to the aircraft.

Since Ankara is an elite heavy route, we had a large bus assigned for the ride to the aircraft. Bear in mind that Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Classic Plus ( Star Alliance Silver equivalent ) passengers could use the domestic lounges without any fee.

After a short ride to parking stand F19, which only has jet bridge access to the international section of the terminal, here is the first photo of TC-LGJ.

Due to the busy summer season, these aircrafts were planned to be repainted in the Winter 22/23 so the "Russian Airlines" text was covered with a white sticker as a temporary solution.

Fuselage shot

TK 2170 ISTANBUL AIRPORT TO ANKARA ESENBOĞA AIRPORT

After being welcomed by the crew, I have headed to my seat 08A, which is located at the first row of the Economy cabin.

Since Aeroflot, has ordered this aircraft with 21 premium economy seats and Turkish Airlines doesn't offer a Premium Economy product, these seats could be pre-purchased online for ₺75 on domestic routes online at Manage my Booking or at online check-in. Turkish Airlines doesn't offer their own elites to choose extra-legroom seats and exit-row seats in advance for free of charge, the same applies for these Premium Economy seats.

The legroom is pretty generous

There is also a footrest located at the first row, which is ideal for long-haul flights.
A power outlet is also located at the mid-seat console. 

Another positive side of this aircraft is that these aircraft feature individual air nozzles, while TK doesn't have them on their own long-haul aircraft.

A view from the wing. At that stage all advertisements at the airport terminal were being changed to "BtcTurk" as the contract between the airport and HSBC has ended.

At the first row of the cabin, there was a common screen but it was not utilized; instead, the safety demonstration was made manually by the cabin crew.

While we were still at the gate, TC-JYJ, a Boeing 737-900ER had arrived to the adjacent gate

After the stairs were pulling back

We started our push-back

This part of the airport only had TK aircraft visible

Since we were going to use runway 36, which is located at the eastern part of the airport, our taxi duration was relatively short.

While awaiting for takeoff, this Boeing 777-300ER had landed at IST.

Afterwards, it was our turn to take-off

Some photos after takeoff

Shortly after takeoff, the onboard service has started. As usual Turkish Airlines offered their classic sandwich onboard this flight alongside with a choice of drink. I have opted for a cup of tea.

For those who wonder, this aircraft also had an IFE system but had limited content compared to other TK aircraft in the fleet.
The menu was only available in Turkish and English 

Here is the main menu of the IFE system.
Alongside with a USB-A port under the screen, there was also a USB-C port which most TK aircraft doesn't feature. 

There were a couple of movies available at the IFE system, including new releases

Apparently, there was no route map available but a flight information section was available which included information about our altitude, speed and the remaining flight time.

The flight was uneventful as the crew came to collect trash from the meal service and then we have started our descent into Ankara

A photo of Esenboğa Airport before landing

And we have landed 10 minutes ahead of schedule into the nations capital

The first visible aircraft was the A340-500 of the Turkish government

A view of the terminal

An AnadoluJet 737-MAX-8 at a remote stand

Another one parked at gate 112

A Turkish Airlines 737-800 that was going to operate TK 7116 to Şanlıurfa for AnadoluJet that evening.
During busy seasons, it is possible to see TK aircraft on AnadoluJet flights 

Pegasus 737-800

Another AnadoluJet 737-MAX-8

This time a 737-800. I have flown this specific airframe back in 2014 once it was in the fleet of Turkish Airlines

Another AnadoluJet 737-800 which had just arrived from Izmir as TK7009

And we were going to park at gate 103

Shortly after we have parked, the seatbelt signs were switched off.

ANKARA ESENBOĞA AIRPORT - ESB

Since only door 2L was used for disembarkation, first Business Class passengers left the aircraft followed by Economy Class.

Since I did not have any connecting flight, I went downstairs to the baggage claim hall and then towards the exit

And this report would now come to an end.

Thanks for reading this report and I hope you enjoyed it.
You could find my opinion regarding this product below at the conclusion section.
The series would continue with the return flight in the upcoming days.