Report No: 2021-304
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to this short domestic series inside Turkey with AnadoluJet ( a trademark of Turkish Airlines ) from Istanbul to Antalya for a short trip. As this trip could be considered as a last-minute trip and with the domestic service within Turkey not being different among all three carriers that fly this route ( from IST/SAW to AYT ) - ( AnadoluJet, Pegasus Airlines, Turkish Airlines ), I chose the cheapest which was AnadoluJet. Actually, Pegasus Airlines was at the same price with AnadoluJet, but as I am a TK*G, AnadoluJet has slight benefits so I decided to fly them on this occasion. For information purposes, Turkish Airlines from Istanbul Airport was twice the price of flying out of Sabiha Gökçen so it was definitely not worth to pay that difference. As you would notice, the service between Turkish Airlines and AnadoluJet is pretty the same these days due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This flight would be onboard the AnadoluJet 737-800 from Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen to Antalya on a short flight that took less than an hour. As the Turkish Airlines Domestic Lounge in Sabiha Gökçen is still closed due to the pandemic, there would be no lounge covered in this report.
Here is the routing for this trip
Flight routing
- 1TK 7518 Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen to Antalya ( Economy Class ), Boeing 737-800
- 2
Loads for this flight
Economy Class: 90-95%
ISTANBUL Sabiha Gökçen AIRPORT - SAW
I have arrived at Sabiha Gökçen Airport about 1h30mins before the flight. As the East Entrance closer to the AnadoluJet check-in counters and is usually less crowded than the other two entrances, I have used that entrance to enter the terminal.
The wait for the initial security check was less than 5 minutes
After that I was inside the terminal. If we look at the FIDS, it's nice to notice that there are plenty of both domestic and international flights. If I'm not wrong, according to Eurocontrol statistics, SAW is one of the airports in Europe that have the most daily take-off and landings during this season of the year.
Even though I have checked-in online as I was going to request an exit-row seat, I needed to wait at the line for the check-in counters. Unfortunately, despite having status or not; seat selection is paid for every-one in AnadoluJet and if you don't pay for a seat, you would be auto-assigned one. As a goodwill gesture, check-in agents tend to assign exit-row seats upon request so I waited about 5-10 minutes at the check-in queue. A reminder that the dedicated counters for Elite & Elite Plus passengers are no longer available since the pandemic hit and there is a single queue for everyone. Also, the kiosks doesn't allow you to change seats without paying so that didn't work for me as well; although, as the lounge is closed and other than to wait for the flight, I had nothing to do, I decided to wait for an agent at the queue.
Here are my boarding passes for this trip. As the arrival time of the outbound and departure time of the inbound flight is less than 24 hours, the friendly agent was also able to print the boarding flight for the return leg and assign me an exit-row seat for that flight as well.
After that, it was time to head towards security for the flight. The security check wasn't empty, however, with 5 or 6 lanes open, the line was flowing really quick so I was airside within 5 minutes.
After I cleared security, I decided to have a coffee from Starbucks as I had received a notification that some of my stars would expire on the end of the month. The best value to use Starbucks stars is at the airport as airport prices are mark-ups.
So I used 15 stars and got a latte for the morning.
Here are the FIDS for the day. Our flight was going to depart from gate 212 which is located at the newer part of the terminal.
GATE AREA & BOARDING
As I don't have PriorityPass, I was unable to access the Plaza Premium Lounge at SAW, so I just headed to the gate. I have arrived about 40-45 minutes before scheduled departure time at the gate and boarding had already started with row numbers higher than 20.
Due to the pandemic Turkish Airlines and its trademark AnadoluJet does not offer priority boarding for elites, thus everyone needed to wait for their row number to be announced to be allowed onboard.
About a 4-5 minute wait at the gate, rows 15 and higher were called onboard, so I did head towards the podium and boarded the aircraft.
Here is a photo of TC-JZR ( an ex-Norwegian bird ) which would be the aircraft taking me to Antalya.
TK 7518 ISTANBUL SABİHA GÖKÇEN AIRPORT TO ANTALYA AIRPORT
After being handed an hygiene kit at the aircraft door, I have headed to my seat 15C for this flight.
On these 186 seat ex-Norwegian configuration, the Recaro NEK seats are being used which I find them really comfortable. The legroom is also generous at the exit row
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic no written literature is offered, however, passengers could benefit from the Pressreader app for free for the day of the flight with their flight information.
The overhead panel
Here is the hygiene kit which was provided upon boarding, it contains replacement masks and two antiseptic wipes.
Boarding was completed on time, the cabin crew did the safety briefing and the exit row reminders as usual and we had took off 5-10 minutes later than our scheduled departure time due to the queue at the runway.
When we reached our cruising altitude, the water service has begun. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only water is being served on all Turkish Airlines and AnadoluJet flights and nothing else is being offered.
For the duration of the flight, I have read a book and at some point, I visited the rear lavatory which was clean.
In addition to soap, the lavatory also had an hand sanitizer.
ANTALYA AIRPORT - AYT
After a while, we have landed at Antalya Airport and after a short taxi, we have parked at gate 5. As many people stood up to the aisle after the seatbelt signs have been turned off, no deboarding by row-by-row was applied, however, the deboarding process was quite fast.
Before heading downstairs, here is the last photo of TC-JZR.
It was time to head towards the exit.
As I didn't have any checked baggage I directly headed towards the exit, however, I would like to admit that the ground staff was really efficient in Antalya as bags from our flight were at the respective carousel within 5 minutes after parking at the jetbridge.
It's also interesting that the sign "Happy New Year" was still there at the third month of the year.
So, this trip report has come to an end.
Thanks for reading and hope to see you in another report.
The Flight-Report for the return leg would be posted in a short while.
Hi ISTFlyer, thanks for sharing this report with us! I was surprised to see that AnadoluJet has aircraft with Boeing Sky Interior. I was under the impression that their entire fleet consists of old TK 737s. And it's a shame that catering is down to just a "bottle" of water. Was the service on AnadoluJet usually similar to what TK offered prior to Covid? Looking forward to reading about the return! All the best and happy flying, NY
Hi NewYorker and thanks for stopping by,
- This aircraft is an ex-Norwegian bird so that's why it has Sky Interior. In addition, this specific airframe "TC-JZR" is the 1000th Boeing 737 with Sky Interior. However, you are true that most AJet 737's are old TK 737's.
- Pre-COVID the service was a limited version of what TK offered on domestic flights. AnadoluJet only offered water, tea, coffee as beverages and instead of the hot cheese sandwich that TK served, they served pre-packaged cakes or olive thymes instead. I also agree that it's not customer friendly to not offer anything else than water.
- See you over there. By the way, hope to read your IST-VIE report soon when it's published. Until then, take care :)
Hi ISTFlyer, thanks for sharing this report on Anadolujet as there aren't that many out there. Interesting and unique report on one of the ex-Norwegian 737s. The inside is exactly the same as it was under DY. It reminds me of the ex-WOW A330s that parent-carrier TK operate with the old WOW interiors--I guess it runs in the family.
I find it odd that Anadolujet make Elite/Elite Plus pax pay for extra legroom seats considering they operate under TK code, which always led me to think they would treat TK status the same as mainline TK, but this seems to be like Transavia is with AF/KL...mostly separate operation with few benefits for FlyingBlue status holders.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Kévin and thanks for your comment,
- I really would like to fly the ex-WOW TK A330's, although, they are grounded due to COVID. I never had the opportunity to fly DY until today although from Lufthansa flights, I am used to these Recaro seats and I'm glad that TK/AJet didn't changed the seats.
- It's really awkward but TK M&S Elite & Elite Plus members still need to pay for extra legroom seats on TK metal. TK only makes standard seats ( not exit-row or bulkhead ) free for their most loyal passengers which is a huge disappointment. The difference is that on AnadoluJet metal, you still need to pay for standard seats even if you are Elite Plus or you get one auto-assigned. As you mentioned, I guess that they would like elites to fly out of IST and pay extra for TK metal if they would like to use their benefits. At least I could get status miles on AnadoluJet while a FlyingBlue member on Transavia doesn't get XP's.
- You're very welcome. Take care :)
Hi ISTFlyer,
It was an entertaining read, thank you first this great report! I’ve never flown Andaloujet but seems like a very basic service these times. I must say, it’s sad to see the Norwegian interior... I remember flying them quite a lot and I might not be able to do it again if they go under :( Anyway, their seats were always comfortable and interiors well designed. I hope the old catering comes back to TK and Andaloujet soon - I was flying BA last week and was quite impressed with the offering being used to the old M&S BoB.
Best wishes,
Matthew
Hi Matthew and thanks for stopping by and I'm glad you enjoyed the report,
- Agreed, the service is really basic these days with the excuse of COVID.
- I have never got the opportunity to fly them though I intended to fly SAW-OSL with them at some point but the route didn't last that long. However, I hope I'll have a chance to fly them soon.
- Indeed, Recaro slimline seats are a great choice, especially for a LCC carrier. Definitely much comfortable than an ex-Ryanair AnadoluJet aircraft which still has the old Ryanair seats.
- They have restored catering on all routes over 2 hours but I think that the old domestic catering might never come back. Although, I'll really appreciate if they at least offer something on these routes ( free or paid ). With the SAW lounge being closed, I'm left with airport food which is actually good and not exaggeratedly priced; however, it would be a life-saver from departures from domestic outstations where the only food options at those airports are mostly convenience stores with packaged snacks and sandwiches.
- I am eagerly waiting to read your report with BA as I'll fly them in June if plans don't change.
Once again thanks for your comment and take care.