Hello everyone an welcome to another flight report. This time onboard a Turkish Airlines Airbus A330-300 from Istanbul to Amsterdam. For those interested a video version of this flight report is available on my YouTube channel. It is linked above.My journey began from Karachi , the report from that flight is : https://flight-report.com/en/report/46034/turkish-airlines-tk709-karachi-khi-istanbul-isx
Considering Ataturk Airport isn't one of the best airports around i spent most of my transit time either plane spotting on just napping because my earlier flight was very early in the morning. Here are some pictures that i had taken.Having good spots to take pictures is a positive i can think of this airport , besides that it really was a mess. I am glad Istanbul has a bigger airport now.
After some time it was time to board the a330 and no surprise considering this was Ataturk airport we got a bus gate. Apologise for no ramps shots as the boarding process was very rushed . This was the view from my seat,27A, onboard a 2016 built Airbus A330-300 with the registration of TC-LNG.
The seat consisted of a really nice size touch IFE screen and some really good legroom.There was a footrest which maybe on this flight didn't really mean much but on a long haul flight would be very handy.
The seat pocket contents consisted of the a330 safety card, "Skylife" inflight magazine and a waste disposable bag.
We commenced our taxi from an oddly placed remote stand that didn't require the aircraft to pushback , seriously the old airport was so congested that literally any empty space there was a remote stand.
After a quick taxi , we lined up on Runway35L and we lift off on our way to Amsterdam.This definitely was the last time i would take off from this airport.
After departure we flew over the massive city of Istanbul. I have been to Turkey before and visiting this beautiful city again is definitely on my list.
We then flew over what is the now the new Istanbul Airport. From the sky it looked really nice and grand and i would really love to fly out of it one day.
For those interested, the departure out of Ataturk Airport is linked above.
Shortly after departure the cabin crew distributed earphones. In terms of quality they are ok not the best but they do there job.
Then some chocolate was distributed by the flight attendants. Although it was some good chocolate, but if i wanted chocolate i would fly on an airline like SWISS. I would have loved if they had served Turkish delight rather than chocolate considering they are the Turkish flag carrier.
Shortly the lunch service commenced.For the main meal there was an option of chicken or pasta for which i opted for the chicken.It consisted of aubergine stuffed with chicken mince and rice. It was accompanied by cumin yoghurt, strawberry pudding , a bread roll and a cup of water Also got myself a cup of sprite.The meal overall was filling and tasty. Do&Co are known for there awesome inflight catering and that is definitely one of the reason i enjoy flying with Turkish Airlines.
The IFE had good number of latest movies, TV shows games etc. For a flight of just 3 hours long this was more than enough.But with the content present on it a 12 hours flight will go by also easily without any boredom.
Meanwhile we cruise at 36000 feet somewhere over Europe as we cruise toward Amsterdam. It really was really a nice and pleasant day for flying with clear views.
Spoiler alert….. time to start our descent into Amsterdam Schiphol airport.
Good evening Amsterdam…also windmills are a clear sign that we are in the windy country. And today we are going for the famous "Polderbaan" approach.
For those interested, the approach and arrival into Schiphol Airport is attached above.
On short finals for Runway 18R
And ……. touchdown in Amsterdam on time. Good job by the pilots with the really smooth touchdown.
We then commenced our very long taxi from the runway to the main terminal building. Seriously this runway is quite far off from the main terminal building as once you land there isn't any sight of airport buildings only empty grass fields.This definitely can become an issue for people connecting on to other flights as 20 minutes on average goes into taxiing to the gate.
And after quite some time taxing finally some aircrafts around. A TUI Boeing 767 waiting for us to pass over.
We parked next to a Corendon Airlines Boeing 737-800 that probably also arrived from Istanbul also but i may be wrong. And this brings us to the end of this flight report.
Hi Triple7Lover and thanks for sharing this report,
I already missed flying from Atatürk Airport, however, you are right that the new airport is much better than Atatürk.
- Hahahaha, once I remember that we parked next to the aviation academy jets as there was no other parking space available. The 45-minute domestic flight had a 20-minute taxi over there, plus a 20-25 minute bus ride to the terminal as we needed to cross the runway set that is currently out of service.
- These chocolates have "Happy Eid" written on the package. You were flying on Eid Al-Adha religious holiday in 2018 and that's why they gave this chocolate. So, if you have flown on a regular date, you would have not received any chocolate.
- Corendon does not fly to Istanbul, that aircraft probably came from the Aegean region or Mediterranean region of Turkey.
Once again, thanks for sharing. ?