Review of Turkish Airlines flight Manila → Istanbul in Business

Hello and welcome to my flight report onboard Turkish Airlines bound for New York! Apologies for posting this just now, I'm trying to get rid of my backlogs now that I'm back home for vacation. Anyways, this is actually a six-legged flight though I will cut the domestic legs since they're hardly interesting anyways. While we were planning to visit the United States after the pandemic, this promotional fare from Turkish Airlines actually came out of nowhere. Anyways, once that was booked we then purchased tickets from Cebu Pacific since 5J and TK both operate at the same terminal. MNL Terminal 3 is unique as it has both domestic and international wings- both international and domestic flights of Philippine Airlines depart at T2, Cebu Pacific operates at T3, while the remaining domestic airlines operate at T4. There are rumors that the terminal assignments will shuffle in the future, but until they actually materialize this game of airline limbo will continue to persist. Anyways let's go on with the report!

Before anything else, I had to board my Cebu Pacific flight in Davao. It was an uneventful flight though. Nothing to report here!

At around noon time, we were able to land at Manila. We had enough time since the flight to Istanbul will board at around 9 PM.

Here's the check-in area. Check-in did not open until around 5:30 PM. In the meantime, we just waited in the area.

As mentioned earlier, check-in lanes were opened at around 5:30 PM. There was only one line at the entrance of the check-in area, though there were counters for Business Class passengers.

After checking in, it was straight through immigration formalities (which took around an hour and a half, expected for airports like NAIA) and security. I then proceeded straight to the PAGSS lounge. It was comfortable, with ample seating and space. There weren't any boarding calls in this area, but staff will inform you once your flight is open for boarding.

This was also the food on offer. I swear that I took a few more photos of the food offering, but some of my files got deleted. Oh well.

This was my selection. I went for the pasta basilico, some siew mai (in our country it's romanized as siomai), and some arroz caldo. The latter was good, but I'd like to believe that none would ever topple that of PAL's Mabuhay Lounge.

A bit of plane-spotting was also in order, though it's a shame that the view is obstructed by the airport ledge. Here's Emirates' 777-300ER bound for Dubai.

And a Singapore Airlines 787-8 bound for Singapore. Never expected that I'll be able to fly SQ in the near future!

Boarding was called at around 8:30 PM. I then proceeded to take a seat. The color scheme looks a little too corporate, though the seats were comfortable. These seats are the same model as Singapore Airlines' regional business class seats found on the 787s and A350s. Here's a cross-section from my return flight.

We were also given a choice of welcome drinks (if I can recall, there was water, orange juice, raspberry juice, and mint lemonade). I went for the mint lemonade and it was quite refreshing. An amenity kit from Hackett's was also distributed.

Here's the amenity kit close-up.

Headphones were also found in my seat. They were of good quality.

Here's the menu for tonight's flight.

After a while, the safety video played. Not long after, we started to take off.

After take-off, oshiboris or hot towels were distributed. I understand that hot towels are the norm, but given the hot tropical climate in the Philippines, I think it might be better if cold towels were given instead. Just my two cents!

The table was then set up and the ordered drinks came with warm nuts from a ramekin. I stuck with the mint lemonade for this flight.

The table was then set for dinner. I went with the mushroom soup for starters, which was hearty and delicious. I also like how TK adds a candlelight (electronic of course) that adds a touch of elegance to dinner.

I went for the linguine for my main. It was alright, though I should have went for the chicken instead.

Dessert came shortly thereafter. I went with the brownie cheesecake, which was essentially a cheesecake with a brownie crust. I love cheesecakes, so this is an automatic yes for me.

Shortly after meal service, it was time for a visit to the lavatory. It was stocked with Molton Brown amenities, but other than that it's nothing out of the ordinary.

The flight attendants then offered to set our beds as this was a red-eye flight. Once the seat was set I briefly dozed off. I woke up near Georgia. I then tuned in to the live television onboard. It's nice to be able to tune in to live news onboard.

Not long thereafter, breakfast was served. The cheese, starter, and yogurt was served together with fruit. All items tasted good, and there was a lot of variety. Other airlines would usually serve only fruits, yogurt, and a main dish for breakfast. If I'm not mistaken there was also honey, which went well with the cheese and yogurt. 

My main, a spinach omelette with Lyonaisse potatoes arrived soon thereafter. It was a standard omelette, but it was quite tasty.

We then approached Turkey at around 4:00 AM. It's such a shame I couldn't go out and visit Istanbul (though technically you can just apply for a visa on arrival, I did not want to risk it this time).

We then landed at around 4:50 AM. Our plane was parked next to a sea of TK birds. The new airport was very clean and sprawling.

It was time to head over to the lounge, but not before clearing transfer security! I'm amazed by the airport's design and size. Anyways, that's it for my flight report this time around! Please stay tuned for the next installments in this series. I'll include a lot of tourist bonuses from my time in New York. See you around!