Watch as TPG UK reviews Turkish Airlines in business and economy at the same time
Editor’s note: The team at The Points Guy loves to travel, but now is not the time for unnecessary trips. Our team has temporarily ceased taking review trips and we are not publishing new flight or hotel reviews. While bringing our readers unbiased, detailed reviews of travel experiences is one of our core missions, now is not the time. We all love to travel and know you do too. So, to help keep you entertained — and maybe inspire you — we are publishing a video review that was filmed earlier this year. Hopefully, this will help you once we’re all ready to start booking trips again.
Earlier in 2020, Jean and I headed to the brand-new Istanbul Airport (IST) to check it out. On our way back to London Heathrow (LHR), we flew with Turkish Airlines to pit the experience of an economy passenger against a business-class passenger.
We flew on Turkish's long-haul-configured Airbus A330-200 on the relatively short hop.
As with all flight reviews, we pay for our own travel. Check out our experience on board in the video review below:
Business class: Nicky Kelvin
TPG paid: £679 (about $837), which included a business-class leg from Beirut (BEY) to Istanbul (IST).
I was blown away by the experience at the new airport. The lounge was expansive and had an incredible variety of high-quality options. On board, the service was quick and friendly, the food was tasty and the seat was comfortable.
On the downside, because of the size of the new airport, taxi times can be incredibly long. The seat was great without a seatmate, but on a long flight with someone sleeping in the aisle seat next to you, you would have to climb over them to get out.
I was disappointed that although on a long haul aircraft, the Istanbul to London hop only includes short-haul service — both in terms of food and drinks and amenities. That being said, comparing this flatbed experience against the product an airline like British Airways operates on the same route, there is no comparison.
Finally, I was happy to earn 2,180 KrisFlyer miles to put towards my next Singapore Suites flight!. Based on TPG's most recent valuations, those KrisFlyer miles are worth $28.
Read more: Turkish delight: A review of Turkish Airlines’ 787-9 in business class
Economy class: Jean Arnas
TPG paid: £115 (about $142)
Jean also found the airport experience to be amazing.
On board, the service was fast and friendly, the food was rich but not that tasty — though it was free. He also thought that the leg rest and head adjustment felt more like a premium economy product.
On the flip side, there were very limited alcoholic drink options on board. For example, there was no vodka, gin or Champagne/Prosecco. There was complimentary Wi-Fi capped at 10mb, with a $30 charge for unlimited Wi-Fi, which Jean found expensive and perhaps even cheeky.
