Hello from my Turkish Airlines 787-9 Business Class flight from Seattle to Istanbul! Photo by: Evan Berman

The first long-haul flight of the European Experience was a Turkish Airlines Boeing 787-9 Business Class flight from Seattle to Budapest, with a stop in Istanbul. The seat was very comfortable, the food was (mostly) excellent, though the service was lacking. A terrific value, this is a great way to get to Europe!

This review of this long-haul Turkish Airlines Business Class Flight is part of the Eastern European Experience. For more information on this trip, follow these links:

Intro

Flight: United Economy Class B737-800 CHS-ORD-SEA

6 Hours in Seattle

Centurion Lounge, The Club SEA, and United Club: SEA Lounges

Flight: Turkish Airlines Business Class B787-9 SEA-IST (This Article)

Istanbul Airport’s Famous Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge

Flight: Turkish Airlines Business Class B737 MAX 8 IST-BUD

2 Days in Budapest

Dining in Budapest

Hotel: Ramada by Wyndham Budapest City Center

SkyCourt Lounge, Plaza Premium SkyCourt, and Platinum Lounge (Schengen): BUD Lounges

Flight: Lufthansa Economy Class A320-200 BUD-MUC and A321-200 MUC-ZAG

24 Hours in Munich

Starkbierfest Munich

Hotel: H+ Munchen (Wyndham)

Lufthansa Business Class Lounge MUC

Flight: Croatian Airlines Economy Class Dash 8 and ATR 72-600 (Twin-Prop Plane) ZAG-SPU-ZAG-SJJ-ZAG-BEG

2 Days in Split, Croatia, the Beauty of the Adriatic

Delicious Food in Split

Hotel Vestibul Palace in Split, Croatia, a Small Luxury Hotel of the World (Hyatt)

Primeclass Lounge ZAG

6 Hours in Zagreb

Wine Tasting and Learning about Croatian Feelings

2 Days in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Restaurants in Sarajevo

Hotel Aziza Sarajevo (AABooking)

Business Lounge SJJ

Air Serbia Premium Lounge and Business Club: BEG Lounges

Flight: Swiss Airlines Economy Class Embraer E190-E2 and A220-300 BEG-ZRH-LJU

2 Amazing Days in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Food Scene in Ljubljana

Day Trip around Slovenia: Postojna Cave, Predjama Castle, Bled Castle, and Lake Bled

Hotel Emonec Ljubljana, Slovenia (Rocketmiles)

Flight: Air Serbia Economy Class ATR 72-600 and A319-100 LJU-BEG-SKP

1.5 Days in Belgrade, Serbia

Restaurants in Belgrade

Hotel: Hyatt Regency Belgrade (Hyatt)

3 Hours in Skopje, North Macedonia

Primeclass Lounge SKP

Flight: Wizz Air Economy Class A321-200 SKP-MXP

14 Hours in Milan and Monza, Italy

Hotel de la Ville Monza, Italy, a Small Luxury Hotel of the World (Hyatt)

Sala Montale and Emirates Lounge MXP

Flight: Emirates First Class A380-800 MXP-JFK

Conclusion

Flight Info:

Route: SEA-IST (Seattle, Washington’s Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Istanbul, Turkïye’s Istanbul International Airport)

Date: Wednesday, 3/15/2023

Flight: TK 204 (Turkish Airlines)

Plane: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (Charleston’s own!) (TC-LLG)

Seat: 4K (Business Window)

Upgrades: N/A, award flight

Est. Departure: 7:30pm local time (revised to 8:34pm) (10:30pm, 11:34pm EDT)

Taxiing: 8:40pm local time (11:40pm EDT)

Takeoff: 8:52pm local time (11:52pm EDT)

Gate: S16 (South Satellite Terminal)

Est. Arrival: 5:15pm local time (revised to 6:20pm) (10:15am, 11:20am EDT)

Touchdown: 6:07pm local time (11:07am EDT)

Arrived at Gate: 6:37pm local time (11:37am EDT)

Gate: D10 (Terminal)

Pricing:

Flight: I booked this award flight through Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles. Turkish flies to the most countries in the world and a member of Star Alliance. The one-way business award cost 31,500 points and $267.60 in fees. (31,500 Capital One Venture Miles were transferred at a 1:1 ratio)

Earnings: None, award flight

Flight Info: Class I (Business), 6,705 miles– 6,071 miles for Seattle to Istanbul, 633 miles for Istanbul to Budapest

MQM, MQS, MQD: N/A

Booking:

As I mentioned, this flight was booked via Turkish Airlines. There were a few options for redemption: All Nippon Airlines, Avianca LifeMiles, Turkish Airlines, and United Airlines. ANA allows for booking Star Alliance flights for 88,000 miles roundtrip (44,000 miles each way, though you must book round-trip itineraries), Avianca LifeMiles would price the flight at 63,000 miles while United would have priced the flight at 77,000 miles (now 88,000 miles). The normal price of Star Alliance Business Class flights to Europe is 45,000 miles (a great deal in and of itself), but there are infrequent discounts such as this one where Turkish prices its own Business Class awards at lower prices.

This is by far the best deal in pricing for Business Class to Europe and a steal if you can find it!

As soon as I logged out and logged back into the Turkish Airlines site, I saw my balance was 31,500 miles. I immediately searched the flight again and paid the mileage and fees. For the fees, I used my AmEx Platinum card to earn 5x points since it codes as an airline purchase.

In case you’re curious, this flight retails for $4,137. This was a terrific redemption where I earned 12.28 cents per mile in value from my Capital One Miles (4,137-267.60)/31,500*100= 12.2838. I would not have paid the $4,137, in fact there were other Business Class options for $1,400-$2,000 from NYC to Budapest, but this is terrific value and well more than the 1.7 cents per mile at which I value the Capital One Miles.

Lounges:

As a Business Class passenger, I was able to visit The Club SEA as well as the United Club. Additionally, AmEx Platinum Card allowed access to the Centurion Lounge. This article highlights my experience in the 3 listed lounges. Head to the Centurion Lounge, not the United Club!

Recap:

Boarding:

I spent 2 hours visiting various lounges in Sea-Tac, then walked over to the S16 gate where our Dreamliner was waiting to take us to Istanbul. As the picture above shows, the boarding area was a zoo! I arrived at 7:00pm, 30 minutes before our scheduled departure and was found the area to be a complete free-for-all. No boarding zones were respected and nobody seemed to know what was happening. I showed my boarding pass to one of the gate agents and he commented “we boarded Business Class 15 minutes ago.” Despite the unfriendliness, I was able to use the priority lane and board quickly.

I turned left into the Business Class cabin and found my window seat on the right side, 4K.

Boardin and Takeoff

At 7:14pm, flight attendant Maral introduced herself and offered a choice of drink– orange juice, lemonade, raspberry, and water. I opted for the lemonade and it was delicious. Shortly thereafter, the chef (Turkish Airlines is famous for their food and on long-haul flights has an onboard chef) offered me a menu and welcomed me as well. 

Boarding was complete at 7:31pm, but soon after the captain announced a delay of 1 hour due to a combination of a mechanical issue and congestion at IST.

On the seat awaiting my arrival were the following: a bottle of water, the amenity kit, headphones, bedding, a pillow, and slippers.

The captain welcomed us aboard again as we began to make our way to the runway at 8:40pm local time. He informed us of a mostly smooth ride that would take just over 11 hours and 30 minutes. We took off at 8:52pm local time. 5 minutes after takeoff, we were offered hot towels, a wonderful option to relax at the beginning of a long flight. Meal service began at 9:05pm.

This was one area where I found the service perplexing– the tray table was set up with the tablecloth, candle, and other items but it took 19 minutes just to get a water and 28 minutes after that to get the glass of champagne and nuts prior to our meal. In total, on an overnight flight, the first meal service took 2 hours and 10 minutes!

Meals:

I had heard terrific reviews of the food on Turkish flights and boy was I impressed! While the service was less than stellar, the food was great! Fun fact for those who do not often fly in Business, I recently flew Economy from Istanbul to Paris and had the single best Economy meal of my 100s of flights. They pride themselves on providing quality food and it shows!

As we flew at night, dinner was the main meal served. While the table was set at 9:05pm, I did not receive the Champagne (Taittinger Brut Reserve) and nuts until 47 minutes later. As with most carriers, Turkish does not pour alcohol prior to departure (the reason for this is carriers have to pay customs taxes on anything served prior to departure. Once in the air, they get to the good stuff!), so this meant I was sitting on the plane for nearly 2 hours before the drink arrived!

Dinner:

The appetizer, despite mention of a choice on the menu, was a goat cheese & beetroot salad with an asparagus soup and a side salad. That may sound like a lot of vegetables, but it turned out to be a perfect mix, given the small nature of the goat cheese salad. This arrived at 10:15pm, a whopping 1 hour and 10 minutes after meal service started! The good news is it was worth the wait– the vegetables were quite fresh and tasty, the goat cheese was lightly torched to perfection, and the mustard-based sauce was delicious.

For the entrée, I ordered the Filet of Salmon. I have a theory that fish is less likely to be overcooked on flights than steak and is the safer option (despite what Airplane tells you 😉 ). In this case, the fish was tasty, though slightly overcooked, but the mousseline (lemon butter) sauce was a great addition and balanced out the lack of juice. The courgettes (similar to zucchini) were also overcooked, the only detractor from a great meal.

To drink, I continued with the water and a glass of Narince, a Turkish white wine.

While dessert is normally a highlight of Turkish Airlines meals, I was skipped and when I went to find the flight attendants in the galley, the food was put away. Definitely a strike against the service, though at this point, it was 11:15pm origin time, more than 2 hours after meal service began and I gave up and decided to get some sleep.

Here are the menus as well as the wine and spirits list:

Review:

From best to worst:

• Salad was delicious. Both the torched cheese and the veggies were fresh and the mustard sauce was a perfect pairing. 10/10, Excellent.
• Soup was terrific. The asparagus soup was an excellent way to start a meal– and quite refreshing on a cold winter day! 10/10, Excellent.
• Wine was great. The Narince was a perfect complement to the fish. This wine was crisp and refreshing. 9/10, Great.
• Fish was solid. While the salmon was a bit overcooked, the taste was there and the mousseline sauce was a perfect pairing. The sauce certainly rescued the meal! 8/10, Very Good.
• Courgettes were disappointing. After all the praise for the great fresh vegetables in the salad, it’s only fair that I focus on the disappointing courgettes. It was hard to tell how fresh they were since the texture was mushy from the overcooking. 6/10, Below Average.
• Overall 8/10, Very Good. The courgettes were a small part of the main course and everything else was solid or excellent. While they are not part of the dinner service, the nuts and champagne were solid, though nothing special (especially compared to the Dom Perignon 2013 served on Emirates!).

It’s worth reiterating that this was supposed to be a 3-course meal and I did not receive the dessert course service. Considering the potpourri of Turkish Desserts is a highlight of the culinary experience, this is a real negative aspect of the meal service.

Breakfast:

I awoke just before breakfast service began. Before the food was served, I ordered a cup of relaxing tea at 6:15am PDT. Lights came on just 6 minutes later at 6:21am. Hot towels were brought around 4 minutes later and the meal service began at 6:40am. There was no choice for appetizer, it was a selection of food items on a tray which was served at 6:45am.

The fruit (with the exception of the strawberry) was tasty, while the orange juice was not freshly squeezed despite what the menu states. The tomato (which is also a fruit!) was excellent as was the turkey (though small). Both types of cheese, feta and swiss, were tasty as was the olive. The bread (not shown here, it arrived after I had eaten most of this tray) was solid multigrain, nothing to write home about. In contrast, the jam and honey were exceptional, fresh from a Turkish company.

For the main, I had the choice of either an omelette or pancakes. I opted to roll the dice and go with the omelette– eggs are notoriously hit-or-miss on planes– but was average, far exceeding expectations.

To drink, I had an orange juice and another glass of water. The OJ was not my favorite, but I’m spoiled from drinking Natalie’s on the regular! This meal was much more efficient (little surprise given it was on trays and many people were still sleeping) and was finished at 7:15am, just 35 minutes after it began.

I love the adorable salt and pepper shakers:

Review:

• Turkey was the standout out of all the food served for me, which was a shame considering it was only 1 small bite. There’s a joke about the country where we were flying (Türkiye), but in all seriousness, the slice was packed with flavor! 11/10, Above and Beyond.
• Fruit (except for the strawberry) was quite fresh 10/10, Excellent.
• Cheese were tasty, the feta and swiss were quite good. 10/10, Excellent.
• Mushrooms and Olives were solid. Both mushrooms and olives were a perfect salty complement to the rest of the meal. 9/10, Great.
• Potatoes were pretty good, but not exceptional. I prefer to douse most breakfast potatoes in hot sauce to give some flavor. There was none at 38,000 feet, but I was still able to eat them all, a sign that there was good seasoning and they were cooked properly. 9/10, Great.
• Omelette was decent. While the omelette would be just average in a restaurant, for an airplane
• breakfast, it was solid. 7/10, Above Average.
• Overall, 9/10, Great.

This service was expedited and as mentioned above, was completed in 35 minutes. Overall, the food was very good and the service was… lacking.

Amenity Kit:

Amenity kits are found on most every business and first class flight as well as some premium economy and economy long-haul flights. This is a way for the airline to stand out. Turkish uses the above kit from British design company Hackett. Inside were the following:

• Lip balm
• Single-use toothpaste and toothbrush
• Earplugs
• Facial Mist
• Hand Cream
• Socks
• Eye mask (for sleeping)

Additionally, slippers were provided for use on the plane and they were of nice enough quality that I made use of them on several flights on this trip. Unfortunately, as is the case with most business class flights, there were no pajamas available. This is one area (on a long red-eye flight) where the comfort could have been improved. I keep all amenity kits, though this one has not had much use, compared to others. I did appreciate the thickness of the socks and have worn them again on other flights (after washing them!).

Electronics:

The entertainment screen was crisp and moderately sized at 18″. Turkish Airlines’ selection was decent. They had 3-5 episodes of most TV shows, though there are few great options. I recognized almost no movies, but there was a good mix of films in various languages.

I watched 3 episodes of World’s Most Dangerous Roads, a show featuring a seasoned adventurer who partners with a comedian to explore some of the world’s most dangerous places. One memorable episode features adventurer Charley Boorman and comedian Sue Perkins who drive up Alaska’s Dalton Highway at the end of the winter, braving the weather that changes from cold but sunny, melting ice, to a fearsome snow storm that impedes progress.

Headphones:

The headphones were of the high quality and noise-cancelling variety, made by Denon. Unlike most airlines, Turkish Flight Attendants did not collect the headphones prior to arrival.

Wi-Fi:

All Business Class Passengers on Turkish Airlines get 1GB of free Wifi. That sounds great and is quite generous, but what’s the point if it doesn’t work? I tried several times to get the Wifi to load but I was unable to the entire flight. At one point, I was finally able to load an internet speed test and found the culprit, the speed was under 3Mbps:

Seat:

The seats are fully lie-flat on Turkish Airlines’ 787-9s in Business Class. The layout is a staggered 1-2-1 setup. The lie-flat seats are essential to get quality sleep and the layout means that everyone gets direct aisle access for this roughly 11 hour and 30 minute flight! The staggered arrangement means that there are better and worse seats.

Additionally, the footwells are built into the seat in front of you, where the side table is. This is (to me) still preferable to reverse herringbone seats, though those are identical and feature an unobstructed opening near the curved wall of the plane, and are inferior (in terms of space for feet during sleep or lying down) 2-2-2 layouts or First Class layouts with no obstruction in front of you. A future article will discuss the different layouts and their pros and cons, if this is confusing.

Even rows, like my 4K seat, have window seats that are closer to the window and further from the aisle and the center seats are closer to the aisle. In contrast, the odd rows have window seats that are closer to the aisle and further from the window while the center seats are close together, perfect for couples to sit next to each other.

The seat, as most Boeing 787 Business Class seats do, requires a 3-point safety harness to be worn during takeoff and landing for safety. This is similar to wearing a car seatbelt, so while uncomfortable, it is not unnatural.

Turkish Airlines has installed individual air nozzles above the seats which is terrific for people such as myself who run hot. It can be difficult to sleep on planes operated by Asian carriers who often turn the temperature up much higher than my preferred 68º F at night!

As is typical with Business Class seats, there is ample legroom and it is easy to get comfortable while sitting.

Even if these seats do not have doors, the privacy is quite good. There are extensions on the side of the seats that prevent you from staring down your neighbor. As shown in the photos above, in order to see your neighbor, you would need to lean forward significantly.

The seats overall were in good shape, though there is some evidence of wear and tear. This is a bit concerning, given this plane was delivered in January of 2020, just 3 years ago!

Sleep:

This was a red-eye flight, leaving Seattle at 8:45pm and arriving in Istanbul (10 hours ahead) in the late afternoon. It was imperative to get as much sleep as possible as quickly as possible. After dinner service finally was concluded at 11:15pm PDT, I headed to the bathroom to change into more comfortable sleepwear (though no pajamas were provided on this flight, unfortunately) and freshen up before bed. When I returned, no turndown service was provided. In fact, it was only after I had put the bed in lie-flat position and set up my bedding that the FA reappeared and asked if I needed help. By then, there was nothing left for her to do.

I went to bed as we were heading over Quebec and woke up about 6 hours later, just north of Great Britain. I managed to get a solid 5.5 hours of sleep which is pretty good on an airplane! The irony was I was in essence waking up at 9am ET but that meant it was already 4pm in Istanbul. Not ideal for avoiding jet lag but sleep is more important. This is why I harped on the lengthy dinner service– on a red-eye flight, every minute you stay awake makes it harder to adjust to the new time zone!

The bedding and pillow were comfortable, though nothing special. In all, I was pleased with the quality of the seat and got nice sleep. Of course, it would pale in comparison to my recent sleep aboard the Qatar Airways A380 First Class but still solid nonetheless.

Experience:

We left Seattle on a cold March evening and flew over Northern Canada before crossing the Atlantic, heading over Scandinavia, and continuing over the Continental Europe before touching down in Istanbul. The windows were darkened for the entire flight until about 30 minutes before touchdown. That is one complaint I have about the Boeing 787-9 in comparison to the Boeing 777-300ER or the Airbus 350-900– the crew control the window dimming or raising. While it is nice to have darkness when sleeping, it would have been appreciated to open the windows while eating breakfast as it was midday in Europe. Crossing the Alps is always a beautiful sight but by the time we were able to see out the window, it was dark and gloomy in Northern Türkiye.

Between the solid meals and sleep, this lengthy flight went by fairly quickly! While the service was lacking, the overall experience was solid (especially the food) and I would quickly fly Turkish Airlines to Europe or the Middle East again soon!

Customs:

Istanbul International Airport is massive. The construction was finished in 2018 and was designed to help further enshrine Turkish Airlines as one of the global leaders in aviation. As with most Middle Eastern airports which are designed as connecting hubs, you do not need to go through customs on connecting flights. I followed the signs to the short connection times transfer and simply cleared security before heading to the Turkish Business Class Lounge. As an agent repeatedly called out, only those with connection times of less than 1.5 hours may proceed through these shortened security lines. Everyone else must use the regular transfer security lines.

As my flight was more than 1 hour and 15 minutes late, I was initially worried about missing a connection. However, I still had 50 minutes before my flight onward to Budapest, Hungary, and as luck would have it, the gate was next to the Lounge. IST is massive and some gates are as far as a 20 minute walk from the lounge so it was quite fortunate to be able to explore and not worry about getting to my next gate!

Baggage:

As I was continuing onwards to Budapest, I did not need to pick up my luggage at IST. I would need to retrieve my suitcase and clear customs at BUD.

Recap:

The first leg of the trip to Europe was under way. I flew Turkish Airlines to Budapest via Istanbul. This section covered the excellent long-haul Turkish Airlines 787-9 Business Class product. Despite every Business Class seat but 1 being taken, it felt very private! Next up: my time in the Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge in Istanbul before continuing onwards to Budapest, Hungary! Have you ever flown Turkish? How does this compare to other Premium Cabins that you have flown?