The next stage of my journey after a wonderful flight in the updated Comfort class B777 of Aeroflot was flight to Istanbul on his Turkish counterpart. Initially, the flight was supposed to be in the new B777 economy class cabin on the morning flight to Istanbul, but due to the postponement of the Aeroflot flight, other subsequent flights had to be rebooked. Due to the fact that there was a little more than a week left before departure, and it is now high season in Antalya, a suitable option remained only in the B777 business class inherited from Kenya Airways - a little later I will tell you how it differs from the standard Turkish Airlines B777. Thank God, Turkish Airlines prices for domestic flights are quite favorable, so the rebooking turned out to be not as expensive as it would have been on an international flight - in terms of about 10,000₽. In Russia, we have never dreamed of such prices for a business class.
1. Turkish Airlines pre-departure services
2. Antalya Airport Domestic Terminal
3. Flight Antalya - Istanbul
4. Istanbul Airport
1. Turkish Airlines services before departure
I will tell you about this section, as always, in short, because everything has remained the same since last year.
Due to urgent rebooking, there was no longer a special choice of seats, so I took the last remaining seat by the window - 4K, just in the last row of the business class.
And in a day I confirmed this place:
2. Antalya Airport Domestic Terminal
At Antalya Airport, the domestic terminal is connected to the international T1, which serves regular flights of Turkish Airlines, SunExpress, Pegasus, as well as a number of foreign airlines - for example, other Star Alliance members and a number of others (AZAL, Air Astana, Qatar Airways, Uzbekistan Airways) . However, if T1 was opened back in 1998, then the domestic terminal only in 2010.
It consists of 4 teleports and 4 bus gates. The terminal cannot accept wide-body aircraft, so domestic flights are boarded by bus.
Arriving by taxi from T2 for 100 lire (about 350₽), I get right to the entrance to the terminal. A significant minus immediately caught my eye - there were no luggage trolleys at the entrance:
which, however, there was no pandemonium. You can’t say that in a couple of hours the 400-seat B777 takes off:
Business class is registered at the entrance to the business lounge, which is very convenient. I paid 240 lira (850₽) right at the check-in for a small excess of luggage.
After passing the security check, moving away from the check-in counter just a couple of meters, I get to the corridor - follow the sign to exit to a clean area, and you can take the elevator to the business lounge. There was still time, and I wanted to refresh myself, so I choose the second option:
entrance familiar from last year:
Surprisingly, the business lounge was quite lightly loaded - it does not look like the entire train from my flight was here:
As always, there was a fairly basic assortment of cold snacks, from which I took my tuna sandwich:
But the range of hot dishes was not impressive - frankly, at the level of the dining room. It can be seen that there is no DO&CO branded catering and no traces here:
The start of boarding was announced 45 minutes before departure, already an hour later the information about the start of boarding appeared on the board, and therefore it is time to move out of the business lounge towards the gate:
Since there are no gates for wide-body sides, we need to go one level lower:
Going down escalator and get into a rather small nook of bus gates:
The boarding was made through the same gate 210 as last year. I did not observe the division into priority and regular queues, so I asked the employee at the next gate, and he led me right under the fence.
Then I was taken to a separate bus, in which, apart from me, there was only one family with a child. I thought that there were not enough people for a completely sold-out board, and then it turned out that another bus was brought under the business. As a result, of the two of them, it was mine that started off sharply:
On the way to the far parking lot, we cross T1, mainly occupied by the SunExpress boards:
And literally our board ended up at one of the nearest distant stops:
Then the bus made a small circle of honor and drove up right side of the plane. I am literally the first to go up the ladder, observing from and to the entire scope of our board with colossal GE90 engines:
3. Flight Antalya - Istanbul
Information about the board:
Type : Boeing 777-36NER
Tail number: TC-LKA
First flight: 17.09.2013
Date of delivery: 18.05.2016
Formerly flown with Kenya Airways with tail number 5Y-KZZ.
Flight information:
The flight took place over the cities of Afyonkarahisar, Eskisehir and Izmit. Actual distance was 588km and travel time was 0:56:
I get on board and initially look into the economy class cabin. The chairs are absolutely identical to the old model of their own B777-300ER, only the color of the frame at the back differs. The only difference is that the layout is different here. Missing is the second business class cabin that I was able to fly a couple of years ago from Istanbul to Athens, so the layout here is 28/372 instead of 49/300. Thus, these are the most spacious boards used on regular flights of the airline (not counting the temporarily reconfigured economy seats in 496, but they fly only on charters).
Actually , the same can be said about the business class - the frame is of a different color, and the upholstery is branded:
The seat model is called Zodiac (now Safran) Aura. The seats are arranged in a 2-3-2 layout, also standard for Turkish Airlines B777. Unlike the later model with a sliding partition, privacy is of course lacking here:
And here and my 4K seat - sadly missing a window right next to my head, so I had to dodge around to capture the views.
That's what these chairs do not occupy, so it's space. If in many modern salons in the layout 1-2-1 they specially put chairs in a checkerboard pattern in order to save space, then here the distance is very generous:
There was also a chair control panel. As I understand it, one of the buttons can even start a massage, but for some reason it did not work:
The headrest is adjustable only in height, but not on the sides, that is, the neck will not be fixed. Perhaps the only obvious drawback of this model of seats:
The armrest can be raised in height by pressing a button - alas, he has already seen the views so well, like much on this board . Apparently, the frequent use of the board on Indian flights affects. There, under the button, there was a headphone jack:
An entertainment system control panel was also hidden under it , lighting and calling the flight attendant, who ... did not work, as can be seen from the non-working panel.
Yes, and the remote itself seemed to be gnawed. Is that how they treated him like that? Bad thoughts come to mind.
There were also individual lighting lamps between the seats:
There was also a hook for outerwear on the back of the seat in front:
After boarding, the flight attendants began to distribute welcome drinks to choose from, which were not sorry - I took strawberry lemonade first, and then regular. But the flight attendant's colleague turned out to be forgetful and handed out the menu not to everyone in the cabin. traffic at T1 - for example, they towed B767-300 Uzbekistan Airways:
And the terminal also had a frequent visitor to Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo - B737 MAX 8 Kazakh SCAT. By the way, sometimes they can now be found on the rare MAX 9.
The bulk were, of course, the basic SunExpress and Pegasus, not to mention Turkish Airlines and AnadoluJet:
With a couple of minutes ahead of schedule, they started towing us, and a branded demonstration of emergency equipment was launched on the screens:
At long-distance stops, the A320 of the Romanian HiSky diluted the hegemony of the base aircraft:
For the summer, Turkish Airlines bases most of the B737 MAX 9 and some B737-900 in Antalya - that is why in the past managed to catch 737 MAX 9 exactly on the flight from Antalya to Istanbul.
It was quite a bit from our parking lot to the runway, and we stood for more time than taxied, now and then passing through the busy traffic of the airport. A few minutes later we are already at the end of the runway. Today we will take off to the south - in the same direction from where we landed on the last flight: , and the mighty GE90 engines (which are barely visible from the forward cabin) switch to takeoff mode, accompanied by an exciting rumble:
With a delay of less than 10 minutes, we take off leaving the airport platform behind. Today our flight is especially punctual compared to previous days.
Climbing over the outskirts of the airport, bathed in the scorching Antalya sun (and it was almost +42 outside):
Then we turn around over the sea, and the city below us is in full view:
Buildings in Antalya, of course, are very dense - there is a flat line of low-rise buildings all around:
in detail, you can see both terminals visited today and recognize some of the boards:
As I said above, the heat was colossal, and therefore the riviera was already rather hidden in the haze . Oh, how many memories from last year's trip are stored there.
Soon the valley gives way to mountains on the border of the provinces of Antalya and Burdur. And to be more precise, all these peaks belong to the Anatolian plateau:
Unlike neighboring Greece, the mountains here are greener, and there are plenty of reservoirs - here, for example, Karacaoren reservoir:
Egirdir Lake, in Isparta province:
After takeoff, it's time to look into the pocket, in which there was only a safety instruction, unlike Aeroflot. Apparently, covid in foreign airlines killed the in-flight magazines irretrievably:
The flight is short the salon soon began to carry the aromas of the coming dinner and the clinking of cutlery. Time is short, so trays are issued extremely quickly and drinks are poured immediately (strong drinks are not offered on domestic flights). Today it was offered:
1) Appetizer - assorted Turkish meze (besides eggplant, it was quite difficult to determine the taste of the other two appetizers);
2) Hot - herb-fried chicken fillet with fried eggplant and rice;
3) Dessert - nougat mousse with dried figs.
And in order to figure out what was eaten, I asked the flight attendant for a menu that her colleague did not convey to me:
with a bang) it's time to explore the interior, capturing another general view in the piggy bank:
Luggage racks and top panels are the same standard for B777:
Now it's time to explore the local entertainment system. For domestic flights, the assortment is somewhat limited, but this does not look significant - given that there is simply no time to go into the wilds of the assortment of films and music:
In addition to the remote control, the flight map also let me down in my place - it simply was not displayed, and instead of it there was one black background. Everything was fine in the rest of the seats...
Before the start of the descent, I went to the restroom, and there such a perfume was prepared for passengers - on international flights it usually supplemented with lotion. In addition, they are usually from Molton Brown there.
Less than 40 minutes after takeoff, we began our descent, being in close proximity to Istanbul. The Izmit Bay of the Sea of BR]
Just a couple of minutes later we were over Istanbul, and Sabiha Gokcen Airport appeared, from which I flyed to Baku with Buta Airways last year. It is the base for AnadoluJet and Pegasus:
Then came the very densely built-up Asian part of Istanbul, which in places resembles Dubai or Manhattan from a large concentration of skyscrapers:
In the meantime, an advertisement for a golf tournament was launched on the screens:
The Bosphorus with the European part of Istanbul appeared in all its glory - alas, this year it was not destined to be there:
Over the surface of the Sea of opened the panorama of the historical part of Istanbul. You look, and last year's memories of this wonderful city are rolling in:
And here is the old Ataturk Airport - now with only one runway, and the rest have already been completely excavated. Sic transit gloria mundi...
Istanbul itself is growing uncontrollably in breadth - so much so that you can no longer see its borders:
Sazly Bosna Reservoir with Shamlar Forest Park:
And here is the suburb of Arnavutkthe shadow of our side:
The pursuit of the shadow continues over the surrounding forests.
Well, a clear sign of the proximity of the airport - huge highways passing by it - free and with a paid backup:
A few seconds later, one of the many hangars of Turkish Technic appeared:
And the terminal itself, like a recumbent skyscraper, stretched along the airport platform:
The altitude is getting lower, and now, ahead of the schedule by as much as 25 minutes, we smoothly touch the runway 35R:
Distant parking with one of the B777 IndiGo can be seen from the runway , formally owned by Turkish and retaining the 7/524 layout from our Azur Air. Behind it, by the way, you can see the B777 of Aeroflot, departing home late - by the way, from the same gate where we will land later.
A local Cessna Citation Latitude business jet landed in front of us:
We we continue taxiing parallel to the runway to the terminal - there is a cargo terminal on the other side of it: a rare guest that you almost never see in Europe - B787-9 Biman Bangladesh Airlines:
B737-800 Air Algerie - you can meet them here several times a week at Sheremetyevo (sometimes even on the rarest B737-600):
And here is Pier F, to which we will arrive. On the right you can see the B737-800, which is sent to Salzburg - it was on it that I was originally supposed to fly:
The American B737-700BBJ is also a rare sight:
We are passing Pier D, near which there is another B777 IndiGo - also in the "Azurov" layout. However, the Indians after their public transport are no strangers.
And next to the Turkish Airlines A330-300 is the same Aeroflot A321, which stood across the gate from me in the morning at Sheremetyevo.
We turn to gate F8, near which B777 from my original planned flight from Antalya and B777 of Aeroflot stood today - now it's my turn.
Here, another Aeroflot board perched through the gate, but already A320 and from Sochi:
starts fairly quickly and with priority. Through door 2L we exit onto the platform, since this gate is international, and below we are already waiting for the bus:
Having thanked the crew for a pleasant flight, I go down the ladder:
In parting, I take a couple of general shots from the bus - of course, without a wide-angle lens, you won’t fit the entire side into the frame:
So I tried it on my phone. How well it turned out - I leave it to the judgment of the dear reader.
4. Istanbul Airport
The bus starts and we start a short voyage to the domestic arrivals area:
On the way, I shoot one of the A321 Turkish Airlines - he was preparing to fly to Kazan:
After we drove under the terminal past the labyrinth of baggage tunnels, an internal pier appeared, but today we did not go there hit:
Instead, we have a road to the entrance directly to the baggage claim hall, which is very convenient - it’s not even a fact that I would have been there faster if I had disembarked via a teleport through the far end of the pier. And then 3 minutes, and you're there. Passengers in transit used to enter through the adjacent entrance, but since I have different bookings, I first go to baggage claim:
The baggage claim hall here is identical to that in the international zone - but, of course, much smaller scale:
I recognize my baggage claim belt from the board and head towards it:
I receive my baggage on the 1B belt. Of course, from the 400-seat B777, the belt could not be pushed through, so we had to firmly hold the defense for the place near the belt.
After waiting about 10 minutes, I head to the exit - of course, without customs, unlike international flights:
A huge board of arriving flights hangs above the exit:
And now I find myself in already familiar arrival hall, but on the other side of it. Perhaps this is the time to end the current part - I will tell you more about the departure zone in the next part.
Let's sum up the flight, which, to be honest, was not the best in my memory - not without complaints.
- Antalya Airport, domestic terminal - here my verdict will not differ from last year - terminal at 5, a business lounge for a weak 4. There is almost nothing to eat, but to sit in silence and get unlimited access to the network (unlike the airport network, which you are tormented to connect to and will only come out for half an hour for free) - quite.
- Turkish Airlines - 4. I was disappointed by the rather dead state of the board - partially inoperative seat functionality (including the remote control), dirty table and windows. In general, after Indian flights, the cleaning of the board and the serviceability of the systems (especially in business class) need to be monitored more carefully. Some crew members did their job 5 (like the flight attendant who served me), some worked carelessly (like her colleague, who did not even bother to distribute menus to all passengers).
However, today I received a response to my complaint in the mail, in which they apologized for these shortcomings and credited 1,500 miles as compensation, which is good news. - Istanbul Airport - 5. As always, everything is prompt and well-coordinated.
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I do not accept criticism. Thank you all for your attention!
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