Review: Turkish Airlines A330 Business Class, Istanbul-Stockholm

Turkish Airlines business class meal, Istanbul to Stockholm

Flight: TK 1795
Departure time in Istanbul (IST): 14:40
Arrival time in Stockholm (ARN): 16:20
Aircraft: Airbus A333 named Golden Horn
Seat: 5B
Duration: 3h 40min
Date of flight: November 7, 2017
*Revenue Ticket (Upgraded to Business Class) Business Class flight #136


Video Review

Turkish Airlines Business Lounge, Istanbul

I was at the airport less than three hours before departure and since I already had my mobile boarding pass, I went straight to security which is connected to the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge.

Every time I visit this lounge and it's past afternoon, I always make sure I enjoy their pizza as they are just soooo good 😋😋

Boarding, Gate 701

Boarding was at gate 701 around 2pm and when the agent scanned my boarding pass (twice), it gave a beep sound. Then, he told me my new seat was 5B which is Business Class. Yipee 😍 This is actually my first time to be upgraded on a Turkish Airlines flight as an Elite Plus member so it was cool 👍

Aircraft, Airbus A330 (Golden Horn)

The plane named Golden Horn was on a remote stand which meant I could take a closer look (and picture).

Business Class Cabin

The business class cabin has a 2-2-2 configuration comprising of rows 1 to 5 although the middle seats are only until row 4 so it has a total of 28 seats. The load was about 90 per cent, I would say.

Seat, 5B

My seat 5B was an aisle. I would have wanted to get a window seat but all were occupied unfortunately. Waiting at my seat was a pillow.

Ottoman

Checking the previous flights of this aircraft, I learned that it has flown to Bangkok which is perhaps the reason why the seats look more like for long haul flights rather than regional.

Seat controls

Under the left armrest, there's the IFE controls, power port, USB port and headphones socket.

There's also the button for the privacy divider.

Reading lamp

Tray table

In-flight magazines, duty free magazine and waste bag

Safety instruction card

Personal screen

Premier movies

IFE controls

Later on the flight, I tested the seats and as expected, they were fully flat 👍

Pre-departure Drinks 😍

A few minutes after settling in, one of the flight attendants working in the cabin came to offer some pre-departure drinks which consisted of the usual water, raspberry, orange and lemon mint.

At 2:30pm, boarding was completed and ten minutes later, the captain came on the PA to welcome us on board. He gave us more flight informations including our flight time of 2 hours and 53 minutes. Around 2:45pm, the doors were closed and the flight attendants started offering newspapers and headphones.

Newspapers and headphones

I remember getting a DENON headphones on my last long haul flight with them in February from Hong Kong so I commented to the flight attendant that they had changed it to Philips, and which she confirmed. As usual, we were told that they would collect them before landing.

From the movie selection, I ended up watching "War For The Planet of The Apes".

In-flight Safety Video

Around 2:50pm, the inflight safety video started to play. Years have passed but I still think that this is one of the coolest safety videos out there 👍

Five minutes later, the captain came on the PA to apologize for the delay due to problem on cargo loading. Moments later, menu cards were distributed and we started our pushback at 3:07pm. Take off around 3:25 went smoothly.

A few minutes after the seat belt sign was turned off, the flight attendants started offering hot towels.

Dining

Menu card and wine list

Menu

Mozzarella and grilled vegetables, Garden fresh salad, Selection of cheese, Lemon Tart

The appetizer, cheese and dessert were all served on a tray and minutes later, bread and drinks were offered and I chose a glass of apple juice.

For my main course, I chose the Grilled Sea Bass which was delicious 😋😋

The other options were Fillet of Beef Cutlet and Vegetable Casserole.

To end the meal, coffee, tea and liquor were offered.

As usual, I had a cup of green tea.

To "officially" end the meal service, hot towels were distributed 😉

In-flight WIFI

Upon boarding, I noticed that the aircraft was WIFI equipped so I decided to test it.

Wifi connection is free for all business class passengers and Turkish Airlines elite members. I logged in using my seat number and surname and all worked well.

The hourly rate is definitely not a good offer but the 24 hour rate is 😉

Lavatory

The lavatory had the Molton Brown amenities which Qatar Airways was using years ago before they changed to Salvatore Ferragamo and then to Rituals. Turkish Airlines on the other hand previously offered a Turkish brand named Eyup Sabri Tuncer.

For short haul flights, they have started offering dental kits so I thought I'd ask one from the flight attendant.

Turkish Airlines business class dental kit, short haul

Airshow

Airshow enroute to Stockholm

View (Front Camera)

I could only see a little view from my seat so I decided to use the front camera instead 😉

The captain was back on the PA around 3:42pm and informed us that we would start our descent in a couple of minutes and that we would be landing in approximately half an hour, at 4:15pm.

By 4pm, the flight attendants started collecting the headphones. We landed at Stockholm Arlanda Airport at 4:17pm although it took another 13 minutes before we reached our gate which was gate 17.

CONCLUSION

First, I was really thankful that I was upgraded to business class as an Elite Plus member since it showed that I have priority over non-elite members whenever economy is fully booked 😉 I think there was one teenage guy who also got upgraded although I couldn't say if he had status as well. As usual the service was friendly and attentive and with the DO & CO catering, the dining experience couldn't go wrong. I also loved the fact that the plane we got to use was not the usual regional plane which meant there was wifi and the seats were fully flat. The Philips headphones and movie selection were very nice and the Molton Brown amenities in the lavatory was indeed a step up. Overall, I really enjoyed this flight and would highly recommend it to everyone 👍