Review of Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Buenos Aires in Economy

Hi everyone! This is my fifth FR, so I hope you enjoy it!
This flight has two segments, IST-GRU and GRU-EZE, so I divided the FR in two parts as well.
TK 15
Date: 13/02/14
Origin: Istanbul – Ataturk IST
Destination: Sao Paulo – Guarulhos GRU
Departure: 09.30 (10.15 real)
Arrival: 19.05 (19.45 real)
I got to the airport more than 3 hours before the flight on a transfer that my hotel hired. I arrived IST at 6.15.
IST entrance

Before getting inside the airport I pass through security check. They scanned all my luggage and I walked under a metal detector. When I passed security I was inside IST airport. So I walked to TK counters to proceed with check in. I had already checked in online the day before to choose my seat, but when I asked a TK agent which counters should I use he told me to use the regular check in ones.
TK counters

So after I dispatched my suitcase and got my boarding pass, I went to clear migrations. They have to separated areas, one for Turkish citizen and another for “Rest of world” citizen. Turkish area had only 2-3 people on a line, the other area had more than 150 people! But they go really fast. After that I cleared security again, and I found myself on the Duty Free area.
Airside

Duty Free

Airside

Duty Free

After trying some new fragrances, and tasting some “Locum” (Turkish Delight), I searched for my departure gate, since it wasn’t printed on my boarding pass. In IST airport, there are lounges near each gate for each flight. So when I found my gate, number 216 it was divided in two, half for the GRU-EZE flight and another for ARN. When the ARN flight departed, TK staff told us to leave the lounge and then they let us in again after checking our passports and boarding passes.
The Airbus A340-300 that brought me to EZE, TC-JIH

Only TK

Boarding Lounge

A guy sitting on my Airbus A343

Flight Info

When we all were in the lounge the boarding started, first passengers on Bussiness class, then the rest. So I was one of the firsts to get on the plane.
My seat, 31K, which would be my place for the next almost 20 hours!

At 9.20 all passengers were inside the plane. A couple of minutes later the captain introduced himself and the rest of the crew first in Turkish, then in incomprehensible English. Some minutes later we pushed back and headed to the runway.
Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-300ER

Saudi Arabian 747

Vintage Aeroflot

An Iranian visitor

Gambia’s Aircraft

Finally at 10.15 we took off. Some minutes later the FAs gave us a welcome “locum”.
Locum

After that they brought some hot towels, and amenity kits. When you got to your sit you could find a blanket, a pillow a pair of headphones, and a pair of slippers.
Hot towel and amenity kit

Amenity kit inside

Slippers

Then they handed in the menus with a little package of dried fruit and a drink. I asked for a beer.
Menu

Appetizer

Flight map

Finally they served the meal. I chose the pasta option which was really tasty! It included a little salad of tomato, cheese and cucumber, and another salad of kidney beans. For dessert: Chocolate cake. It was all really good.
Meal

When they took the trays I tried to get some sleep because I had almost 9 hours of flight ahead. I woke up a couple of hours later and I watched some films. They have an excellent IFE system. The only bad thing is the lack of variety in languages. I understand English very well, so I had no problem, but I heard complaints of other passengers. Though, they offer a few films dubbed in Castilian Spanish (Spain), but we Argentineans hate this dubbing hehehe… Until the next service you could take from the galley cheese sandwiches, cakes and drinks.
When we got closer to Brazilian territory they served the pre-landing meal. There was no choice for this meal. It had two koftes, a portion of rice and vegetables. There was also a salad of salmon, lettuce and cheese. For dessert, sour cherries and cream. Again, everything was really good.
Meal

The cabin from my spot

At 19.00 we started wandering over Sao Paulo, and many minutes later we landed. During this stop, passengers are not allowed to leave the aircraft. Also during this stop, an “army” of cleaning employed enters the airplane to do the cleaning. The crew leaves and a new crew arrive, and finally the passengers of the GRU-IST flight board the plane.
Sao Paulo

Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 at GRU

At 21.30 the new captain introduced himself and the crew in a better English that the other captain hehe. He announced that we will be taking off in about 15 minutes. As soon as we started getting closer to the runway, the FAs asked for a doctor, to identify himself and to contact the crew. After that I noticed that we were heading to the terminal again. The purser announced that a passenger had a problem so we had to go back to the terminal so she could leave the aircraft in an ambulance, and also they would take out her luggage. She also said this will take no more than 30 minutes….Later I found out that this woman had suffered an attack of epilepsy. Once at the terminal it took a lot of time to locate her luggage and take it out of the plane. I was so tired and upset for this that I fell asleep. I only woke up at 23.35 for the take off.
As a curiosity, the pre-recorded announcements given on the first leg of the flight are in Turkish, English and Brazilian Portuguese. On the second leg they are in Turkish, English and Castilian Spanish.
TK 15
Date: 13/02/14
Origin: Sao Paulo – Guarulhos GRU
Destiny: Buenos Aires – Ministro Pistarini EZE
Departure: 20.35 (23.35 real)
Arrival: 22.05 (01.15 real)
Once on the air they handed in the new menus. The choices were pasta, and another thing I don’t remember. I chose the pasta. It wasn’t very tasty, some parts were dry. It included a tabouleh salad, and a piece of cake for dessert.
Meal

I was so tired of being inside the plane that I fell asleep again, and I tried to sleep all the time I could during this short flight. At 00.45 (Argentina time) they announced we were descending over Buenos Aires, so I woke up and put on my shoes. Thanks TK for giving slippers on such long flight! They are so necessary!
Baires lights

At 01.15 we landed at Buenos Aires EZE airport. We passed through migrations and customs very fast. The only bad part was that I had lost my transfer bus to my city, but I could find another way to make it to Rosario.
TK Airbus 340-300 at EZE – Terminal B