Hi, dear passengers and avgeeks!
This historic FR covers a very special aircraft (which came to its present operator due to 24.02.2022) on a very special route (which no longer exists after 07.10.2023) on a very symbolic date (the next day after the mutiny in my ex-homeland).
The plan was to visit Kosovo (the last Balkan country I hadn't been back then) from Israel in late June 2023 by flying TLV-SAW-PRN on PC (B738 + A20N) 22-23 June and PRN-IST-TLV on TK (ex-Kingfisher A321 + standard A359) on 24-25 June. Though, having arrived to PRN on PC A20N, I was denied entry with no clear explanation, was given boarding passes back to TLV for free and escorted back to the plane. After landing in SAW I decided to ditch SAW-TLV leg and save my weekend and TK ticket, thus I went to the TK sales desk in SAW landside and for some fee deleted PRN-IST leg. The next morning my attention was drawn to the events in Russia (my ex-homeland, where I don't live since 19 February 2022), where the mutiny (eventually failed) was underway. Despite all the drama of these days I spent a good time in Istanbul, exploring a bit its Asiatic part with blooming lime trees and the new subway lines, connecting SAW and IST with the city center. And, as a compensation for all the stress, I got an extremely interesting aircraft on my way back.
As my IST-TLV flight was departing quite early in the morning, I decided to arrive to IST before midnight and spend the night in the terminal. So, I start this FR with the newest metro line, connecting Istanbul city with IST in just under 30 minutes. Its terminal station in the city is Kagithane with a nice design.
Entrance to the platform, showing off the next Erdogan's project - Istanbul strait, connecting Black and Marmara seas parallel to Bosfor. BTW, one of the intermediate stations of this metro line is called Bogazici ("bogaz" means "strait" in Turkish).
The line is served by modern and fast trains, produced in Republic of Korea by Hyundai.
Istanbul Airport (IST): Landside
IST, located quite far north-west from Istanbul city close to the Black sea shore, currently has 1 huge modern terminal (fully opened in April 2019 less than a year before the pandemic) with 5 long piers (A, C, D, F, G - the latter is the domestic one) plus 2 gates areas (B, E) in the main terminal, and 5 runways (in active operation are 3: 17R/35L and 17L/35R 4100 m. long and 16/34 3750 m. long).
As of 2025, IST shares the 1st place with LHR in the list of the busiest airports in Europe (and 7th in the list of the world's busiest airports). Needless to say that IST handles more airlines than LHR, albeit with significantly less percent of the premium-class passengers.
A view of the huge IST terminal from the subway station.
A view from the outside from the departures level to the arrivals level and of the terminal's roof. One can see that the arrivals level has quite a nice rest area outside. The huge windows of the facade are truly impressive.
Views of the very spacious check-in hall with a large number of "islands" with desks. One can notice desks for pets check-in, information desk, baggage repack areas, business class check-in area and terminals for obtaining wi-fi access (back then it was limited to 1 hour).
Some of the busy desks (F-sector) that night.
An installation (a contemporary tribute) with Galata tower and Maiden tower in the centre of the hall.
An installation with a silhouette of the European and Asiatic parts of Istanbul, dedicated to the primary opening of IST by Erdogan back in October 2018, near the entrance to the immigration.
Seatmap And Check-In
7 hours before the flight the seatmap in check-in terminals was showing the standard TK A359 scheme (C32_Y297). During online check-in I selected 24K seat.
I decided to change the seat to the "space plus" one 29K, and it was possible at the desk without a fee. Little did I know how this will end up in reality.
IST: Airside
Having everything sorted, I went through immigration and security to spend the night airside.
The signature part of the central airside plaza is these "mushrooms".
FID (displaying the info in the languages of destination) clearly shows how bustling is the Europe's busiest (along with LHR) airport (but back in 2023 IST was below LHR in this list).
The main airside hall has airport museum (which was closed in the late hour), Yotel Air airport hotel with crazy expensive prices (thankfully, the neighbouring Arnavutkoy town has a number of much more budget-friendly hotels for the passengers who need a comfortable sleep), Skyteam lounge and IGA lounge.
The central plaza has a lot of duty-free shops (some of them have bazaar-like style) and eateries. As of 2026, everything in IST is crazy expensive.
The junction of the plaza with A- and B-piers has especially high ceiling (and the junction with F- and G-piers as well due to the symmetry).
A small rest are downstairs in this junction.
Let's explore a bit A-pier.
Some gates, like A2, are paired.
Gate A4, located downstairs, is actually a number of bus gates, rare in this terminal. The ceiling here is low, but this area is very quiet and good for an uninterrupted sleeping (A-pier also has a dedicated sleeping area, but it tends to be crowded).
One of the ordinary jetbridge gates with a lot of seating and a workspace area.
A general view of A-pier. The piers also have some duty-free shops, exchangers, eateries and cafes, but to much lesser extent than the central plaza.
Closer to its end A-pier turns into 2 corridors, but they soon join into one spacious gate area. This is applicable to B-, F- and G-piers as well. One can also see a machine for obtaining wi-fi access (one needs to scan the passport) and a duty-free shop.
My flight was departing from the central D-pier, which differs from the lateral A-, B- and F- international piers quite significantly.
The beginning of D-pier.
D3 gate as an example of an open-type gate in this pier.
A general view of the D-pier. One can notice that it has quite a number of enclosed gates (like D9 on the photo), which can be used for the flights to the countries with high standards of security (US, UK, Israel - before 07.10 when it used to have flights from Turkiye, and so on). This was the case for my IST-TLV flight. Overhead one can see the arrival galleries of the gates; the galleries on the both sides of the pier are connected with the bridges in several points (one can see such bridge on the backdrop).
View of the main building (near C-gates) with its gigantic windows from D-pier. One can see that IST literally has a system of "autobahns" under the gates for the ground services.
Planespotting in IST
One can expect that IST doesn't disappoint in terms of planespotting, being the Europe's busiest airport (along with LHR). Actually, IST hosts more airlines than LHR, but in LHR the diversity is much more easily noticeable any time of the day, and in IST one has to spend a lot of time to see the full variety. Most of the time the traffic is TK-dominated.
During the night I witnessed a moonset (it was a crescent back then) from A-pier. I remember, a passenger, sitting nearby, was Russian, and he was watching news about the Prigozhin's mutiny. Thankfully, I was heading into the very different direction…
TK A320 (TC-JPS) in Star Alliance livery near A-pier in the dawn. This one has CY159 layout with rare Aviointeriors seats. All TK's A320s don't have a proper narrowbody business class - just "eurobusiness". It's a shame that TK puts them on some international flights.
An impressive view of 8 TK tails in a row near the odd-numbered side of D-pier, viewed from C-gates: A21N (TC-LSM), B738 (TC-JVC), A359 (TC-LGL) - this was my plane to TLV, B789 (TC-LLP), A333 (TC-LND), A359 (TC-LGC), B789 (TC-LLN), B77W (TC-LJK).
TK B739 (TC-JYO) and a S7 B738 in the old livery (a rare sight nowadays outside of Russia!) near F-pier.
EY A321 (A6-AEG) along with some TK narrowbodies near C-gates. C- and E-gates, integrated into the main building, serve exclusively narrowbody flights.
SU B738 (RA-73121, ex VQ-BVO) near F-pier. Back in 2023 and 2024 SU used to serve IST not only with narrowbodies, but also with its flagship B77Ws.
TK RR-powered A333 (TC-JNK) near the even-numbered side of D-pier. This is one of the earlier TK A333s, built in 2010; 2010-2014-built frames have 2-2-2 Zodiac Aura Lite angle-flats in business and Weber 5751 seats in economy. All TK's own A333s have C28_Y261 layout. On the backdrop one can see TK A321 (TC-JRD) in the Star Alliance livery near F-pier. TC-JRD, having CY194 layout, is one of the few TK A321s without the proper narrowbody business class, just with so-called "eurobusiness". It's a shame for TK for continuing to use such frames (deserving to fly only domestically) on some international flights.
TK B789 (TC-LLN - the penultimate PAE-built TK's Dreamliner) near the odd-numbered side of D-pier and TK PW-powered A332 (TC-JIR) taxiing to B-pier. TC-JIR was phased out in September 2025 and then scrapped; currently there are 4 its siblings - TC-JIO/JIP/JIT/LOH - left in the service. All TK's PW-powered A332s are received from TAM (when it had to reorganize during 2014 recession in Brazil) and have C24_Y255 layout with very obsolete 2-2-2 Sicma Majesty angle-lies in business and very comfortable Weber 5751 seats in economy. Near the end of B-pier on can see TK B77W (TC-JJR) and the tail of A332, leased by Uzbekistan Airways.
TK B77W (TC-LJK) near the odd-numbered side of D-pier. This is the last TK's B77W, built in 2017. All the TK's B77Ws, built in 2015 and later (starting from TC-JJV) have C49_Y300 layout from the very beginning with 2-3-2 Safran Aura Enhanced lie-flats in business. 2015-2016-built frames have 3-3-3 Safran Z300 seats in economy. TC-LJK stands out by having 3-3-3 TSI Skysofa seats (similar to the ones installed into TK's last A333s with TC-LN* regs and into "longhaul" A332s with TC-JNA…E regs) in economy.
TK A333 (TC-LOD) - one of 7 TK's "mid-haul" A333 in C40_Y265 layout with 2-2-2 Recaro CL4420 recliners (similar to the ones in TK A321s, B739s and B738s) in business and Recaro CL3710 slimline seats (by far the worst in all the TK's fleet) in economy (I got to fly a similar A333 on OTP-IST flight in early 2024). TK received these 7 frames from Skymark, when BC went bankrupt and had to reorganize (interestingly, BC before bankruptcy was even going to take 2 A380s, but these frames were eventually taken by EK). In BC fleet these A333s had W271 layout with premium economy 2-3-2 seating. On the backdrop one can see 2 TK A321s - one in Star Alliance livery and one (TC-JSU) in Biofuel livery (repainted into the standard livery in March 2026).
TK A333 (TC-JNS) - the first GE-powered TK's A333 (2013-built). Being one of the earlier TK A333s, it has 2-2-2 Zodiac Aura Lite angle-flats in business and Weber 5751 seats in economy. On the backdrop one can see engineless TK A332 (TC-JIZ) in "Invest in Turkiye" livery, which was withdrawn from use in January 2023 and partially scrapped since then.
TK B77W (TC-LJB) near the even-numbered side of D-pier. Being one of 2015-built frames, it has 2-3-2 Safran Aura Enhanced lie-flats in business and 3-3-3 Safran Z300 seats in economy. One can see how dirty were the windows of the pier.
TK B789 (TC-LLC - the 3rd TK's Dreamliner) near the even-numbered side of D-pier. All TK B789s have C30_Y270 layout with 1-2-1 staggered Stelia Symphony lie-flats in business and 3-3-3 TSI Epianka seats (the same as in TK A21Ns, B7M9s and B7M8s) in economy.
QR B788 (A7-BCI), departing from B-pier for DOH.
TK B738 (TC-JVC) near the odd-numbered side of D-pier and some narrowbodies near C-gates: TK A321SL (TC-JSR), GF A320 (A9C-AI) in the old livery, TK A21N (TC-LSR) and TK B739 (TC-JYF).
TK B77W (TC-JJR) near the end of B-pier. It belongs to the batch of 2014-built TK B77Ws, which have C49_Y300 layout from the very beginning, without having premium economy in the past. These 2014-built frames have 2-3-2 Zodiac Aura Lite angle-flats in business and 3-3-3 Weber 5751 seats in economy.
The Aircraft
My flight from Istanbul to Tel Aviv was operated by TC-LGL - 2022-built A359, initially purposed to join Aeroflot fleet with SU-ordered cabins already installed, but due to the sanctions after 24.02.2022 SU became unable to take new deliveries (see the Appendix for the comprehensive info on the SU widebody fleet), and thus 4 SU-ordered 2022-built A359s with SU interiors joined TK fleet with tail numbers TC-LGI/J/K/L. 6 more 2023-built SU-ordered A359s also with SU-ordered interiors joined AI fleet (with tail numbers VT-JRA/B/E/F/H/I). All these 10 A359s have 3-class C28_W24_Y264 layout, but TK (being a 2-class - business + economy - airline), unlike AI, decided to market premium economy as "economy plus".
Boarding
My TK784 flight was departing from gate D7 - one of enclosed-type gates of D-pier. Interestingly, the flight was codeshared with Air Seychelles.
A wing- and engine view from the jetbridge.
The 2L door.
The Business Class Cabin
Before boarding I was so sleepy that even the tail number of the aircraft (TC-LGL) wasn't telling anything to my still-sleeping braing. But when I entered 2L door and had a look to the left, I immediately became awake, realizing that it definitely wasn't a standard TK A359! This business cabin, located between 1L/R and 2L/R doors and consisting of 28 1-2-1 suites, based on staggered Collins Aerospace Horizon lie-flats, looks incredibly luxurious! One can notice that the central suites don't have overhead bins, making the cabin feel even more spacious. More details will be shown further.
The Premium Economy Cabin
Right after 2L/R doors there's the premium economy cabin, consisting of 24 Collins MiQ recliners in 2-4-2 layout in 3 rows. Since mid-2016, when TK eliminated premium economy cabins in its older B77Ws, it doesn't offer this class of service anymore, thus it markets this cabin in Turkoflots as an "economy plus". I guess that holders of higher tiers in TK's Miles & Smiles loyalty program can choose these seats for free. Though, TK have plans to return full-fledged premium economy in the future, when it starts to receive the newest A35Ks for ultra-long-haul flights.
The Economy Class
The economy class consists of 264 Collins Aspire seats in 3-3-3 layout, distributed between 2 cabins: the front smaller one between the premium economy cabin and 3L/R doors and the larger rear one between 3L/R and 4L/R doors.
The bulkhead row (11) of the front economy cabin.
Some detailed views of the rear economy cabin. On the 4th photo one can notice that the last rows (39-40) are not limited in recline and how slimline are these seats (but, thankfully, well-designed as I'll show further). Needless to say that the crew on this flight were really nice and welcoming and they were not objecting against taking a lot of photos. They were one of the best crews I've ever had on TK flights! Sadly, such crews are not guaranteed on every TK flight, and sometimes one can get nasty and unfriendly crews (it was the case when I flew the same TK784 the next time on B789). Thus, this time I was twice lucky getting a combo - a rare "Turkoflot" plus an excellent crew!
The Economy Seat: Collins Aspire
My seat was 29K (let's remind that initially I chose it as a "space+" seat before the aircraft swap!) in the rear economy cabin (on the first photo is 29A). The seat model is Collins Aspire, which is the newest generation of Collins economy seats. I appreciate very much the previous generation - Pinnacle - for being very comfortable. Aspire is significantly more slimline, but, thankfully, it's well-designed and still feels comfortable even for long-haul flights (for comparison, all the Recaro slimline seats are disaster in terms of comfort, and Safran also went down the drain with its newest slimline Z400 seats, so huge kudos for Collins for not abandoning thinking about human comfort!). The seat has fabric upholstery, adjustable headrest, coat hanger, IFE with large screen and USB-A and USB-C ports, upper literature compartment, bi-fold tray table and cup holder, lower soft seat pocket and universal underseat power port. The IFE is powered by rather slim box, which is not bothersome. Waiting on the seat was a pillow. Speaking about seatwidth, I was unable to properly measure it, as my tape was confiscated when passing security in IST (back then I didn't know the lifehack how to hide the tape from the scanner - just put it into the camera bag, and the scanner will be foolished), and all I could do is just very roughly measure it with my hand, which translated into 17.7". Though, the actual seatwidth can be a bit larger, closer to 18.0", so the question remains open. The row pitch is very good. Moreover, the TK784 flight used to have consistently light loads on Sundays and the rear cabin was almost empty, so I got the whole seat triplet for myself!
The seatpocket content: just safety card, waste bag and simple earphones.
The overhead panel has airvents, which is a nice, but rather infrequent feature in A350s.
Some screenshots of the IFE: the main menu, movies, the flight map, showing the current position near IST terminal (whose shape is well-shown) and promo of TK's Miles & Smiles loyalty program.
Most A350s (but not all: for example, BA A35Ks are exceptions) have cameras with outside views, and here the camera with 2 modes of view and very good picture quality is the best part of the IFE. Here one can see a view of our A359 near D7 gate, being prepared for the flight.
The Flight
The cabin moodlighting is turned into departure mode. On the second photo one can see the protrusion of the crew rest bunk over the rearmost economy rows.
The tug is connected and ready for pushback; the safety video is played.
Let's continue planespotting during pushback and taxi. A view of our D7 gate and TK B789 (TC-LLP) near the adjacent D9 gate. The pilots check the control surfaces.
TK A333 (TC-LND) near D11 gate - one of the last 5 (TC-LNC/D/E/F/G) 2016-built TK-ordered A333s. These A333s feature TSI Skysofa seats in economy, in contrast to the older 2015-built TK A333s, which feature Safran Z300 in economy.
TK A359 (TC-LGC) near D13 gate. This is one of the numerous TK A359 with TK's standard C32_Y297 layout with the same 1-2-1 Stelia Symphony lie-flats in business and 3-3-3 TSI Epianka seats in economy as in B789s. One of these A359s was meant to operate my flight, but, thankfully, I got the beautiful "Turkoflot" with its much nicer cabins due to the last-minute swap.
Passing the end of D-pier. This central pier stands out compared with lateral A-, B-, F- and G-piers by having a lot of unobstructed views from the gates in its end.
An impressive view of 7 TK tails (with 6 being widebodies) along the even-numbered side of D-pier.
TK B77W (TC-JJM) near D16 gate in the end of D-pier. Being one of 12 oldest (2010-2011-built) TK's B77Ws, it originally had 3-class C28_W63_Y246 layout with 2-3-2 Zodiac Aura Lite angle-lies in business, 2-3-2 (!) Recaro CL4420 recliners (similar to the ones in TK A321s, B739s, B738s and "Skymark" A333s, but with fabric upholstery instead of leather) in premium economy and Weber 5751 seats in economy. When TK was getting rid of its unprofitable premium economy in late 2015 - mid-2016 and standartizing all the B77Ws to C49_Y300 layout, it refurbished TC-JJL/M/N/O/P with the newer 2-3-2 Safran Aura Enhanced lie-flats in business. In turn, the old Zodiac Aura Lite seats from these frames were used for reconfiguring TC-JJE/F/G/H/I/K ones.
TK A359 (TC-LGA - the first one of the type in the TK fleet) near F14 gate. TK took TC-LGA in October 2020 and now, in July 2026, it already has 36 A359s! To the right one can see the main building with E-gates.
TK B739 (TC-JYO), departing from E-gates, and 2 TK A333s (one of them is TC-JNS) plus TK A320 near even-numbered D-gates.
TK A332 (TC-JNC) in the retro livery and TK A359 (TC-LGH) in the "400th aircraft" livery (though, it's questionnable how to measure the size of TK fleet - including AJet fleet or not). In late 2025 TK took delivery of the A359 (TC-LHH), which got the "500th aircraft livery". TK's rate of growth is truly impressive! Needless to say that starting from TC-LHH, TK switched to a newer (more dense) C32_Y308 layout with the same Stelia Symphony lie-flats in business and TSI Epianka seats in economy as in the older A359s.
TK B77W (TC-LJC) near F16 gate with jetbridge not being connected and the passengers boarding the aircraft via buses - obviously, TC-LJC arrived from an international destination and then was scheduled to a domestic one. This is a 2015-built frame with 2-3-2 Safran Aura Enhanced lie-flats in business and 3-3-3 Safran Z300 seats in economy.
TK A333 (TC-JOF) near F17 gate. This is the first TK's A333, featuring Safran Aura Enhanced lie-flats (2-2-2) in business and Safran Z300 seats in economy. I flew this aircraft on MAD-ISL flight back in early 2018.
TK A332 (TC-JNB) in "Turkiye" livery. I flew this aircraft on ISL-BOG-PTY flight back in February 2018, when it was in the standard livery, and it was a very comfortable and memorable flight. Since late 2017 TK's GE-powered A332s have C18_Y232 layout with 2-2-2 Safran Aura Enhanced lie-flats in business and TSI Skysofa (2-4-2) seats in economy. Though, due to advent of very fuel-efficient A359s and B789s to the TK's fleet, TK no longer uses these A332s on long-haul flights exceeding 8+ hours.
TK B739 (TC-JYO), the beautiful main ATC tower of IST, and a TK A359 plus a couple of AirAnka A332s on a remote stand.
TK A321 (TC-JMI) near the odd-numbered side of F-pier. This is one of the A321s with C20_Y158 layout, not taken by Kingfisher, still featuring the old Kingfisher-ordered cabins with archaic IFE. One of these A321s operated PRN-IST flight the day before. As I said above, I had to delete this flight from my TK PRN-IST-TLV ticket to be able to fly the last leg.
TK B77W (TC-LJD), TK A321SL (TC-JSE) and all-white Red Wings SU95 (RA-89190) near the beginning of F-pier (to the left begins the domestic G-pier). I flew TC-LJD on HKG-ISL back in January 2016. This is a 2015-built frame with 2-3-2 Safran Aura Enhanced lie-flats in business and 3-3-3 Safran Z300 seats in economy.
Views of the domestic G-pier with a number of TK A321s, including a couple in Star Alliance liveries and the one (TC-JRG) in "Turkey - Discover the potential" livery (repainted into the standard simplified livery without tulip in April 2025), and the secondary ATC tower.
Taxiing to the runway 18/36.
TK A321 (TC-JML) is taking off before us. I flew this A321 back in February 2016 on BLQ-IST flight - it was the first leg of my very first transatlantic journey to South America. TC-JML is one of TK's inferior A321s in CY194 layout with "eurobusiness" which got newer seats since. Hopefully, with TK getting more new-gen narrowbodies, all these inferior A321s and A320s will be pushed away from international flights.
One more TK A321 is taking off before us.
TC-JNC in the beautiful retro livery is taking off after us. I flew this aircraft on CMN-IST back in January 2021.
It's our turn to take off, and the water, condensed on the edges of the windows, starts to draw the lines under the inertial forces.
Overflying the development area north-east of IST. Due to the relative inhabitance of the Black Sea coast nearby, IST has a lot of space to grow.
While overflying IGA Port and crossing the coasline, we reach the level of clouds and some thick condensation appears on the wing. At the same time, the air on the ground level was dry with no effects on takeoff. So, these typical summer light thin clouds over the sea are formed due to the rise of wet air.
We then make a deep right turn, aligning with the direction towards south, which means overflying Istanbul city.
Overflying neighbourhoods of Goztepe station. The density of the residential areas is incredible!
Overflying the old defunct Ataturk airport (ISL) with just 1 active runway left. One can clearly see the former international and domestic terminals and Erdogan's VIP B748 in the centre. Besides this B748 (gifted by Qatar), the fleet of Air Dogan (pun intended) also includes A345, A332 and A319 (whereas it's still possible to fly a passenger B748 on some routes today, A345s are completely gone from passenger service since late 2022, but if you name is Recep Tayip, you can still fly one). As I was sitting on the right side, I was unable to see the Istanbul city centre, but, anyway, the very bright low morning sun was hardly allowing for some good views.
A view of the western part of Istanbul city with Kucukcekmece and Buyukcekmece lagoons and a lot of ships in the Marmara sea. Istanbul never fails to impress.
Having quickly crossed the narrow Marmara Sea, we're overflying mountains near Bursa. One can see, how bright is the sun on the left side.
Soon the meal service follows. As the flight time is noticeably less than 2 hours, no hot meal is provided, but even this cold breakfast (turkey breast plus some vegs and olives, bun, butter, jam and yoghurt) is definitely superior compared to what you get (usually just a cup of water) on intra-EU flights of the same length.
For the drinking I chose cherry juice and coffee.
An inflight view of the front economy cabin…
… and of the rear one - you see, how empty it was! One can guess that the return TK785 flight should've had consistently decent loads to justify the use of widebodies.
The lavatories are pretty standard for A350 and are clean and stocked with cosmetics, as usual on TK widebody flights.
Meanwhile we're leaving Turkish airspace near Mavikent.
Crossing the Levantine Sea at very impressive FL410. A350 can quickly reach the highest cruising FLs due to its large composite wing. One can notice that the IFE in Turkoflots was using the old version of the map back then. Hopefully it was upgraded to the modern much more interactive map since.
Flying near Cyprus. On this photo one can see Paphos right under the winglet…
… and on this photo is Limassol and its salt lake.
The cabin moodlighting is turned into the descent mode.
Views of the Levantine Sea and its light summer clouds.
The Israeli coast appears in sight.
Making landfall over Shefayim (between Netanya and Tel Aviv). On the left is Herzliya with its small airport and Tel Aviv downtown in the distance.
Raanana and Kfar Sava with Tel Aviv downtown in sight.
Making right turn over Qalqilya.
Overflying Jaljulya; flaps in the landing mode.
Gear down.
Passing Petah Tikva on the final approach.
Landing on runway 03/21 of TLV.
Speedbrakes on. One can also see a taxiing B744F.
Vacating the runway and starting taxiing with still active speedbrakes and flaps still in landing config, which is quite unusual.
Taxiing B744F (4X-ICA) of Challenge Airlines IL (5C) and a landing A20N. 5C has 3 B744Fs and 1 B763F in the fleet.
LY B789 (4X-EDC), B744F (4X-ICA) and the graveyard of the retired LY widebody fleet (2 B744s plus 1 B77E - 4X-ECA, which was recently reactivated and refurbished with the new cabins).
AZ A320 and a BlueBird B738.
HU B789. HU was the only Chinese airline (not counting CX, which is not fully Chinese) serving TLV before 07.10.2023.
B744F (4X-ICA) of 5C taking off. BTW, it was built in 2007, so it's not that old compared to other active B744s.
LY B739 (4X-EHI).
The Economy Class After The Flight
A detailed view of the rear economy cabin upon disembarkment…
… and a couple of detailed views of the front economy cabin.
The Premium Economy Cabin After The Flight
A couple of detailed views of the premium economy cabin upon disembarkment.
The Business Class Cabin After The Flight
The crew thankfully permitted me to visit the luxurious business class cabin. These suites, based on staggered Collins Horizon lie-flats, are better than the famous QR's QSuites, and can be considered as one of the best in the industry for A350s. Probably only the newest Japanese business suites in JL A35Ks and some NH B789s can surpass them. Due to the staggered layout, for window-seat passengers it's better to choose the even-numbered rows, as there A/K seats are close to the windows, and for the couples it's better to choose the odd-numbered rows, as D/G seats there are close to each other.
The Aircraft After The Flight
And now it's time to thank the today's TK crew for their hospitality and leave thus stunning A359. It was definitely one of my best flights this TK - sadly that it was so short!
A view of the aircraft from the arrival gallery of Terminal 3 through the dotted sun-protected windows.
Planespotting From T3 TLV
A bit of planespotting from the arrival gallery.
Tus Airways A320 (5B-DDP).
FZ B7M8 (A6-FMC).
Thank you for your attention and see you in the next FRs!
Appendix: Aeroflot Widebody Fleet In The Eve Of 24.02.2022
Before 24.02.2022 Aeroflot had huge plans abount the renewal of its widebody fleet. It was planning to retire all its aging A333 fleet (mostly having ancient obsolete cabins) and fully replace it with the newest A359s (SU received just 7 of them in the period from March 2020 until February 2022). Also, SU received 3 its latest B77Ws (including the last-built one of the type) with the new cabins and was planning to refurbish almost all its older B77Ws with the similar cabins. Though, 24.02.2022 and the subsequent sanctions put an end on these plans, and since then the SU widebody fleet remains the same as it was on the eve of the full-scale Russian invasion into Ukraine. For the sake of history, it would be useful to list SU widebodies with their seat models.
B77W: 19 2013-2019-built frames in 3-class C30_W48_Y324 layout with 2-2-2 Collins Parallel Diamond in business, 2-4-2 Safran Airgo FX in premium economy and 3-4-3 Collins Pinnacle in economy (these frames are very similar to CA 2-class B77Ws except having premium economy, which is similar to the one in AF "leisure" B77Ws), plus 3 2020-2021-built frames (including RA-73141 / ex VP-BFC - the last ever B77W built) in 3-class C28_W24_Y375 layout with 1-2-1 Collins Elevation reverse herringbone suites with doors (similar to "Club World Suites" in most BA widebodies) in business, 2-4-2 Collins MiQ in premium economy and 3-4-3 Collins Aspire in economy. 2016-built RA-73149 (ex VQ-BQM) is permanently stored since October 2022.
A359: 7 2020-2022-built frames in 3-class C28_W24_Y264 layout with 1-2-1 Collins Horizon staggered suites with doors in business, 2-4-2 Collins MiQ in premium economy and 3-3-3 Collins Aspire in economy. The youngest frame (RA-73156, ex VP-BYF) was delivered just 2 days before the full-scale invasion. The oldest frame (RA-73157, ex VQ-BFY) is permanently stored since early 2023.
A333: 11 2011-2012-built frames in 2-class C28_Y268 layout with 2-2-2 B/E Aerospace Minipod angle-lies in business and 2-4-2 (narrow and cramped) Sicma Airgonomic in economy (currently only VS A333s and CA oldest A333s have these obsolete seats in economy), plus 1 2011-built frame (MS ntu) in 2-class C36_Y265 layout with 2-2-2 B/E Aerospace Minipod angle-lies in business and 2-4-2 Weber 5751 in economy.
If 24.02.2022 didn't happed, SU eventually could've had very competitive product in all 3 classes (business, premium economy and economy) in its widebody fleet. Though, in this real world its fleet is frozen in time with no possibility of new deliveries and refurbishments. Moreover, as the fleet is serviced by Russian shadow standards, it will never be allowed to fly into Western countries even if the war will end one day.
The "Turkoflot" with one of the world's best cabins (for A350 standards) I luckily got on IST-TLV flight, is a clear illustration of how far the "river" of worldwide progress dragged Russia forward before it broke out 24.02.2022, and of what the Russian aviation could be in another world…
