TK away to London & Helsinki

[andye]

I'm off on my annual trip to the European Stroke Conference. After a few years mostly flying Oneworld, I decided to give Turkish a go.
I like trying out different airlines, which means status isn't a guarantee especially as I'm not that much of a frequent flyer.
TK particularly caught my eye as they were offering a free 5* (for J) 24h stopover in Istanbul and I still had a few sights to see from a previous trip.
Unfortunately, the staff travel office responded to my proposed itinerary with, "You can't take 3 days to get to Europe Dr andye" so that was blown out of the water (even though it was a little cheaper)

 

[andye]

Finished work (I'm technically supposed to be on leave on the day of travel but cancelling clinics when I am available doesn't generally help me in the long run) ,took taxi to SYD (have made the mistake of going by Uber once before but they can't use the bus lanes) and checked in very quickly.
I had hoped to go HLO but, as often the case, was presented with multiple large gifts for the UK rellies. SYD was having a good day with minimal queues at security so was heading to the *A end of the terminal.
Passed The House and figured I hadn't visited for a few years, so dropped in.
Much the same though. I've previously been in in the morning, so hadn't had the opportunity to try out the kind of pretty bar. Ordered a G&T which was a decent strength but came in the teensiest-weensiest glass.

Did find a quiet spot to call mstrandye1 (who is currently living in London) and wish him a happy birthday

 

[andye]

My usual preferred SYD *A lounge is the SQ one (for real champagne) but it was closed due to last flight having gone. The NZ lounge is still pretty decent with a pretty bar, well-presented food and free-pour spirits (in larger glasses than The House)

 

[andye]

Departure gate was pretty close to lounge. Boarding seemed slightly chaotic though eventually the priority lanes were established. TK175 is an A350 to Istanbul with a technical stop in Kuala Lumpur

 

[andye]

J Seats are in a 1-2-1 formation. Not angled and a decent footwell. Not as private as QR/JL but I liked it overall. The middle seats probably feel a bit separated if travelling as a couple

Amenity kit

Loos have nice-smelling diffuser. They also get checked for cleanliness by crew after each visit*

 

[andye]

*So if you sprinkle, when you tinkle, the TK crew will know it's you

 

[andye]

Fully lie-flat and crew offer a mattress topper. Entertainment is mid-range (not as good as EK but on a par with QF/BA/CX)
Pdb was a choice if lemonade, strawberry drink, lemonade or water

But where TK prides itself is on its food
Menus below

One of the crew is a designated chef dressed in white with floppy hat

 

[andye]

Wines are mostly Turkish and better than I expected. This is probably as my previous experience of Turkish wine is from package holidays with young children 20 years ago when my wine selection criterion was "what's cheap and effective?"

 

[andye]

The stop in KL is at 0335 so the airport is pretty quiet. There was no real info about what to do on the 2 hour stop so most of my fellow J pax went through security to the departure gate (pretty sure they saw the light at some point).
In the absence of a specified lounge, I used my Amex Plat Priority Pass to access the Global Lounge.
No booze at that time of night but there were comfy seats, quiet, coffee, a limited buffet and potentially virtual golf.

 

[I love to travel]

The stop in KL is at 0335 so the airport is pretty quiet. There was no real info about what to do on the 2 hour stop so most of my fellow J pax went through security to the departure gate (pretty sure they saw the light at some point).
In the absence of a specified lounge, I used my Amex Plat Priority Pass to access the Global Lounge.
No booze at that time of night but there were comfy seats, quiet, coffee, a limited buffet and potentially virtual golf.

Was it potentially virtual golf?

 

[ellen10]

Thanks for the photos and reviews @andye . We are travelling Turkish airlines later this year.
I was wondering about the fuelling stopover in KL. So you have the choice to get off the plane or stay on?

Food looks good onboard.

 

[andye]

Thanks for the photos and reviews @andye . We are travelling Turkish airlines later this year.
I was wondering about the fuelling stopover in KL. So you have the choice to get off the plane or stay on?

Food looks good onboard.

No you have to get off, with all your carry-on but you'll go back to the same seat

 

[andye]

Was it potentially virtual golf?

Didn't see anyone playing so no idea if you could actually swing in the middle of the night

 

[andye]

Boarding for the KUL-IST leg (for clarity it's a SYD-IST flight for FF accrual) was again a bit disorganised but back to seat 1A again.
I skipped the breakfast but slept well.
Menus and second service.


The starters and dessert came on a trolley (not up to the 1960s SAS standard:- A bit of humour but fun nonetheless)

 

[andye]

Arrived in IST. Its big and an impressive airport. Similar world-hub feel to DXB, SIN & HKG. Headed off to the IST TK J lounge

It's impressive in so many ways. It's big, not enclosed, on a level above the main terminal so you can feel the buzz of the airport. The (self-playing) piano is a cute feature. There are multiple stations with chefs making various Turkish (eg pide) and non-Turkish (eg freshly made ravioli) food options.

It is definitely not booze-focussed: difficult to find a beer (Efes-only) , 2 of each type of wines and no spirits. This is compared to multiple salads and 9 different olive options

The lockers to store carry-on is a very good feature.

The shower queue system is kind of OK (buzzer with typical 1h wait) and works reasonably but the sleep pods queue is very random (go to concierge with no queuing system and see if there is a slot) clearly puts pressure on the concierge, especially with the US guests.

I found the multiple stations difficult to just settle down and relax but accept that with familiarity I could make it work.

 

[RooFlyer]

Now there is the walk to the gate to look forward to .

 

[andye]

Yes, agree the gates are a bit of a hike. Makes it difficult to judge one's lounge time. I handed in my shower buzzer as I wasn't going to fit one in.
Was aboard the 4h A321 TK1931 to London pretty efficiently
J Seats are very good on a par with QR medium haul, above QF/VA J domestic and streets above Eurbusiness

 

[andye]

Menus and food. Not at the TK long-haul standard but good nonetheless

 

[andye]

LHR was having a very good day. Through baggage pickup and immigration within 30 mins.
Walked from T2 to T3 to pick up the Elizabeth Line (never used it before) and alighted at Tottenham Court Road to meet mstrandye1, mumandye and sisterandye+family in Soho where they had just had a birthday dinner (4 of them in the last week including 3 direct generations born on the same date)
Soho was heaving (Eurovision, FA Cup Final plus balmy London weekend) so pubs were overflowing.
B-i-landye had the inspired suggestion of kicking onto the nearby Marriott W hotel bar where we could get seats and drinks at a minimal premium
They even gave us limincello shots and a mini-birthday cake for the 4 out of 6
who we were celebrating


Then went back to Piccadilly Circus which was awash with Crystal Palace fans, bewildered by the fact that they had won their first ever trophy

 

[andye]

Spent the next few days in London
Mstrandye+1 have landed a beautiful flat in Westbourne Terrace near Paddington so stayed the night there.

Them went up to sisterandye's in Woodford on the tube to go to nephew3andye's end of season rugby preso. As a recently retired Junior Rugby President, this is my happy place.
Quite taken by the VC citation of a former player Augustus Newman - Wikipedia
Nephew3andye won the u15 coaches award.

Met up with mstrandye1+1 in the morning and went for a bracing walk in Epping Forest with lunch at the King's Oak pub


Then went on a search to find my student tipple of Murphy's Irish Stout which we eventually found in a Cork-owned pub in Shoreditch. Lots of bottles of antique Irish whiskey on the shelves

In the evening, I managed to make use of my Amex Plat $200 overseas dining credit taking mstrandye1+1 to Aqua Nueva in Argyll Street for fine dining Spanish tapas