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In a much anticipated release, Turkish Airlines has debuted the new business class seats it will use on its Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and they look like quite the upgrade.
Turkish Airlines’ newest biz product eschews the 2-3-2 and 2-2-2 configurations currently found on the airline’s Boeing 777s and Airbus A330s for a much more modern 1-2-1 arrangement, providing additional privacy and aisle access to every seat. The seats themselves are the same ones that are used on Singapore’s 787-10s that operate regional flights, which our reviewers have loved in the past.
Turkish, however, will be using this product on long-haul flights, including to North America, making it much easier for American travelers to try the new premium experience. The new 787s will operate flights between Istanbul (IST) and Washington Dulles (IAD) starting as soon as Aug. 8; and Atlanta (ATL) beginning Sept. 15.
If you’re looking to get on board Turkish’s Dreamliner and experience the new product for yourself, be prepared to pay for it. Round-trip flights from IAD are selling for about $5,000, while tickets from ATL are slightly cheaper — around $4,300.
Turkish is a member of the Star Alliance, of course, so you can use miles to book flights. One of the best places to start looking for availability is through United’s MileagePlus program. The bad news, though, is that availability is extremely limited. We’re not seeing any availability up front from IAD, though there are a few days with availability from ATL.
If you are able to find availability, you will be able to book a one-way flight for 70,000 United miles plus a small amount in taxes and fees. An even better option would be to book through Air Canada’s Aeroplan program, where a one-way business-class flight will run you 57,500 miles. It’s easy to earn miles in either of these programs, too, as Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to United at a 1:1 ratio, and American Express Membership Rewards points transfer to Aeroplan at the same 1:1 ratio.
If either account needs some replenishing, an easy way to do so would be to sign up for cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, which is offering a sign-up bonus of 60,000 points after spending $4,000 within the first three months; or The Platinum Card® from American Express, which is offering a welcome bonus of 60,000 points after spending $5,000 within the first three months of account opening.
The seats compliment the carrier’s highly regarded soft product (especially the catering) that it already offers. While the airline hasn’t said it will retrofit its older aircraft with this new product, keep an eye out for flights operated by either the 787 or Airbus A350, all of which will be delivered with the new biz product.
Contributing: Nick Ellis.
Featured picture courtesy of Turkish Airlines.
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