Last time we eneded at disembarking this beautiful A330 after our pleasant flight from Seoul´s Incheon airport Being bussed to terminal is maybe not the experience I expected when arriving from such a destination onboard such a plane.
After entering terminal we went directly for transfer gates and the whole corridor felt pretty crowded
Few moments later our progress stopped as we reached a really long queue. It´s not something you are dreaming about when you are a bit tired after a long flight with another flight ahead of you. Thankfully we had more than 3 hours to spare, but it still took us about half an hour to pass crowded security, if not longer.
We took a look into some duty free shops and then headed for a breakfast to airport´s Burger King. It was crowded everywhere as it was and early morning peak. Later we went to the gates area to get some views of the action outside. Mostly it were TK A330s who was leading the activity.
But there were also some interesting visitors, like this Turkmenistan 777
Our bird over an hour to departure
Mahan Air A310
Solomon Air B737 in the distance
Later the jetbridge was connected to our 737 and boarding started some 40 minutes before STD
I was quite excited during boarding because I knew there is a high chance of flying on a B737 with new Boeing Sky interior that day
And I was right! Our Boeing 737-800 was TC-JVF, in the air since May 2014 - the youngest plane I have ever flown on. Only 4 months old. The interior just confirmed it with business and economy classes both looking very good.
A thumb up for PTVs integrated in every seat
The mood lighting
Legroom was good, but still slightly worse than at A320 on PRG-IST leg.
Heavy one parked to the right of us
Pushing back..
And this 777 was parked to the left of us
Taxiing past neverending sea of red tails. Once again, TK´s dominance at Ataturk is impressive
I think we were third in the queue for take off and then we massively accelerated to lift off few moments later.
We were offered some views of the city, but the Sun made it difficult to catch a nice picture
Then we made it through clouds and headed over The Black sea.
This flight´s offerings. We still had bland meals ordered so we didn´t pay much attention to the menu cards
IFE was not at such a level as on the A330, but it´s still enough for me. I really couldn´t ask for more on an intra-european flight. There was also not as big selection of movies etc., but no problem for me at all.
A bland meal selection so it was pretty tasteless.
I love B73x winglets
After the meal I dozed off and woke up just few moments ahead of overflying my hometown Brno
Well-known places to me
A little while later we started our descent towards Prague. Pilots used spoilers to slow the plane down at almost cruising altitude - not sure if I experienced this before
Here it was pretty sure it was going to be RWY 06 landing, new experience for me. Landings are usually done on oposite RWY 24. So we were offered with great views of the czech capital city.
City center around Vltava river
The main railway station. From here we later left for Brno
And PRG airport visible
Final right turn and it was once again clear picturing will be barely possible due to the direct Sun
Both approach and touchdown were smooth and we were taxiing around usually calm Prague airport.
After 6 days abroad we met again with this American visitor
We parked next to UP 737, which is EL AL´s lowcost carrier. I really find their livery little extravagant.
When leaving the aircraft there were passport checks at the end of jetbridge. Police has taken 2 people aside and others seemed to be trouble free. Except of our captain who left the aircraft and wasn´t allowed to board back withouth getting through security which he kind of didn´t understand, but in the end he didn´t have any other option.
After taking our baggages an airport personel reached us and asked us where were we flying from and what are we carrying. We answered and immediately were given green to leave the airport… by bus to the railway station, as usual.
Turkish / Korean adventure has come to an end, so see you next time! Thanks for reading. Michael
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Verdict
Turkish Airlines
8.6/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew7.0
Entertainment/wifi10.0
Meal/catering8.5
Istanbul - ISL
5.6/10
Efficiency3.5
Access7.0
Services6.0
Cleanliness6.0
Prague - PRG
7.6/10
Efficiency7.5
Access7.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness9.0
Conclusion
I was lucky to fly on one of the newest planes in TK´s fleet. It was a big contrast to the first leg where we flew on an older A320 which felt like a low-cost. This time aircraft was perfect, personal IFE was a great bonus. Meal wasn´t very good, but it was our mistake that we ordered bland meal and still we can be happy for being given such a meal on an intra-european flight.
Ataturk has great action outside but didn´t impress me when inside as it feels really too crowded. Long security during our transit didn´t help it at all.
At Prague there was everything fine except of everyone´s passports being checked twice - when leaving the jetbridge and at the passport control.
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Thanks for this report. You were lucky to have this very nice cabin , one of the best on the B737 800 ( TK has infortunatly many versions). AS usual with TK, catering seems good and better than competitors and I am surprised it was bland ! IST is actually not a very good airport as TK has grown too fast and Ataturk could not keep pace with this growth. The new one is under construction and looks good, my only concern is the distance from the city center considering the usual traffic jam in Istanbul. I hope they will provide good rail tarnsportation to the city !
Thanks for comment. I think it´s correct it was bland as during the booking process we mistakenly selected we want a bland meal so that is the reason. I had no idea about new airport being built close to Istanbul, do you have more information? Like where is it? I agree that rail service is esential as the traffic situation in Istanbul is really bad during the working days.
It seems IST is too successful for its own sake. It surely isn't the best of experiences when arriving from a long haul. TK looked okay, the food offering better than most, and the PTV is always a nice detail. The bonus of riding on a new plane is also great!
The double passport check seems to be common on flights arriving from Turkey, they do them too at FRA. And I know that they also do them on Colombian flights at MAD and FRA.
Great report as always. You were lucky to have a new being sky interior plane. I just experienced Boeing Sky interior for the first time 2 days ago and it really makes a difference. It's very impressive.
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5 Comments
You were lucky to have this very nice cabin , one of the best on the B737 800 ( TK has infortunatly many versions).
AS usual with TK, catering seems good and better than competitors and I am surprised it was bland !
IST is actually not a very good airport as TK has grown too fast and Ataturk could not keep pace with this growth. The new one is under construction and looks good, my only concern is the distance from the city center considering the usual traffic jam in Istanbul. I hope they will provide good rail tarnsportation to the city !
I had no idea about new airport being built close to Istanbul, do you have more information? Like where is it?
I agree that rail service is esential as the traffic situation in Istanbul is really bad during the working days.
The double passport check seems to be common on flights arriving from Turkey, they do them too at FRA. And I know that they also do them on Colombian flights at MAD and FRA.
Thanks for the nice FR!
For my research would be very important to know the nationality of each writer...May I know your nationality??
Thank you so much!
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