- Tunis TUN - Istanbul IST ( Turkish Airlines Business, 737-800 ) in French http://flight-report.com/fr/report-5706.html
- Istanbul IST - Bangkok BKK (Turkish Airlines Business, A340-300 ) in French http://flight-report.com/fr/report-5722.html
- Bangkok BKK - Istanbul (Turkish Airlines Business, B777-300ER ) [YOU ARE HERE]
- Istanbul IST - Tunis TUN ( Turkish Airlines Business, 737-800 )
[SOON]
Few months ago, DURIAN, Numero_2 and I had decided to meet in Bangkok for a luxury champagne tasting.
Numero_2, first, told us that he had a special Bollinger vintage : James Bond 2002 in his cellar, that he would be happy to drink with us.
Then DURIAN and I also wanted to bring an exceptional bottle too, so the tasting was born !
For such a tasting we needed a unique place, so we choose the Lebua at state tower and The Hangover part II Suite with its 3 bedrooms ;)
That was the suite where the movie took place.
The bottles (Bollinger 2002 stayed in ARN because of the late arrival of LX flight so Cristal Roederer bought in VIE has replaced it)
That was a great event but now it's time for the FR
I arrived at the airport with the Airport Rail Link
I headed to the departures
I had to print my boarding pass and I went to the post office to do it
Then I went to the TK check in : it was time for the SGN flight check in and I was able to get a fast track pass
Immigration and security were a breeze and I was airside in no time
So time for lounge hopping
When I was heading to the SQ lounge I met grumpy people
Nice shop that DURIAN should like
There are a lot of lounges in different areas
First, the SQ lounge, at the entrance a charming SQ girl welcomed me
The wines
Alcohol
The cocktails : I tried a Singapore Sling but it wasn't good
The juices and the soft drinks
The Hagen Dasz ice creams(Meh!)
The cakes
The beers and the fresh coconuts that I'm fond of
The thai cakes and the macaroons
The sandwichs and the dim sum
The hot dishes
My selection
The lounge had windows with view on a garden
There was no restrooms, nor showers in this lounge
Then I was heading to the E gates to spot my 77W which just arrived from IST before flying to SGN and being back in BKK in the evening
The spotting was not easy because of the the windows :( Anyway I spotted this Regent (unknown airline to me)
And this is my 77W leased from Jet Airways, immatriculation VT-JEP and first flight on the 20/05/2007
Its neighbour is a 747 EL AL
After this spotting I headed to the TG lounge in area D
The sandwichs
The cakes
This is delicious
The soft drinks and the beers
The hot dishes
The hot drinks
The salad and the fruits
The buns
My selection
Then
Kids' corner
PCs' corner
The lounge is quite busy
I had to go to the Area C TG lounge because this one (Area D) didn't have any shower
Basic shower
This lounge is smaller than the former one but still not too busy
The alcool
The soft drinks and the beers
Notice that the food offer was the same for the three TG lounges that I visited
I was looking at the FIDS and saw that the gate of my flight has changed : not really in a good way
I headed to the area E TG lounge, the closest from my gate
It was almost full and I had to seat at the PCs corner
There was also a rest area with few beds
The alcool
Then I headed to the Eva Air lounge, but it was already closed
So I headed to my gate
There were few PCs for free internet connexion in the hall
As I was thinking it was a paxbus gate
The boarding started in utter chaos
The 77W was on a remote position
I tried to climb the front stairs because my seat was in row 2 but the agent refused and few minutes later people were using these stairs !
After crossing the business class I headed to my seat 2K
This leased Jet Airways 77W has a first class cabin with 8 seats and I've been lucky to reserve one of those there
On the seat there were a padded blanket and a pillow
The cabin
On the ottoman there were the headphone and the slippers
The remote for the seat and the lights
The closet
The IFE remote and the headphone jack were in a first storage
Obvious signs of wear
Quick seat commands
The universal power supply was located in a second storage
The legroom
The amenities kit which can be used as a cover tablet
A RJ aircraft
PDB
The first cabin was mainly occupied by Turkish people so I felt free to take two drinks like everyone else ;)
The Do & Co Cook was handing Godiva chocolates
The big size screen
The business cabin with herringbone seats
There was a Star Alliance commercial
Our flight plan
The safety card
The storage 1's stuff
A 747 UA
The pushback was on time, taxiing and alignement
Take off
An oshibori was handed out
The menu and Breakfast à la carte card to fill with your choices, were handed out
The winelist
The aperitif with nuts
The massive wooden table is by far the best I've seen including any first seat
Some champagne and homemade limonade
Amuses bouche : the aumonière (to the right side) was filled with cauliflower bechamel sauce, delicious!
View of the table thickness
Dinner's time
Mediterranean Seafood
Tabbouleh
White Eggplant Salad
Yoghurt with Cucumber
Then
Creamy Potato Soup fried bruschetta
The main
Beef Brochette thyme sauce / gnocchi with mustard curry / grilled eggplants and zucchinis / roasted red peppers
and of course the fruits/cheese/desserts trolley
Turkish Desserts / Sour Cherry Strudel vanilla sauce / Tiramisu / Chocolate Ice Cream / Fresh Fruits
Therefore after this meal it was time to take a little rest
I asked for a lemonade to sip while watching the flight map
And I closed the doors to increase my privacy
No difficulty in these conditions to rest
I woke up about forty minutes before landing
My breakfast is immediately brought to me
The breakfast is served with the tray to each pax according awakening
It began with the fruits
Seasonal Fresh Fruits Plate
Mango Smoothie
Assorted Cheese
Bircher Muesli
Smocked Turkey and Chicken Breasts
Scrambled Eggs with fresch chives / Tomato and Cheese toast / Sautéed Mushrooms / Grilled Cherry Tomato
I finished my breakfast while the descent has begun
Time to put my things and we arrived early
Security transit : nobody to check the line reserved for elite plus/business pax but I adopted the Turkish way and engulfed me in this line after many other pax
So here I was barely 5 minutes after landing at the TK lounge
To be continued …
Fantastic Report James, I am so envious ^^ I would have liked to be with you for sure!
Nice lounge hoping, you are clearly maximizing your time at the airport.
Glad you benefited for a plane change and took the opportunity to seat in First for this flight!
Amenities are nice and catering seems good as always but no Candlelight dinner high above the clouds this time?
Thanks a lot!
There was a little candle but the table is so large that it's not possible to see it on the pictures
Ah TK... I've only met you this year but I'm already in love with you...
I don't understand how they managed to pull this off, such superb service for prices consistently lower than the competition, their product is a winner, this flight shows it, superb comfort, exquisite dining experience, nothing more to ask for :-)
Outstanding report with countless mouthwatering pictures!
Great location for your stay, sure you had a memorable time! Hope that none of you woke up with a facial tatoo the day after ;-)
at BKK airport is the garden accessible landside or airside?
According to your hopping, even without shower lounge at area D seems better!
I'm not even close to be a specialist but seats in a herringbone layout would be no go for me, especially if you can get a mini suite for the same price!
Many thanks for sharing
Thanks for this exquisite and fantastic report. No lokum onboard this time? I think the distribution of the small chocolate by the chef is more effective at the end of the meal to leave a lasting impression of the service. Personally I prefer to start with something salty at the beginning and end things with a sweet note.
Glad you were able to get a big F seat. I wonder how TK prioritizes the assignment of these coveted seats. Do they allow their top elite travelers to reserve them or is it available to anyone in J? It seems that they are still suffering from aircraft shortage if they need to lease equipment from Jet Airways.
It is always a delight to fly TK if your main focus is catering. It's too bad that their crew can not be more consistent and proactive. Refills should be automatic flying in J and one shouldn't even ask. World class carriers have this concept nailed down.
Looking forward to your next reports.
I didn't receive a lokum this time
I agree with you : I also prefer to begin with a salty note
Moreover, even being a chocolate addict I did not eat it
These seats are only available at the airport check in, to anyone : I was able to reserve one of them because at the booking time it was a A343 map.
TK is always suffering from aircraft shortage because they are opening new routes, again and again ;)
Although, I'm not a big ban of the Hangover movies (actually I think they're pretty dumb, LOL) I have to admit that suite is pretty nice and what a view! I assume noone fell out of the window like in the movie? :-)
I wonder why TK doesn't sell this F seat? They used to didn't they? It's probably a logistics nightmare considering the Jet Airways 77Ws are the minority in the fleet. I also don't think they'll be in the fleet much longer with the new 77Ws being delivered. It once again shows product consistencies with a business class that has full-aisle-access on these planes and F seats, but 2-3-2 config on their owned 77Ws. I'm surprised that anyone in J can be placed in one of the F seats--priority for higher Elites would make most sense. It is great that you were anble to get one!
Thanks for this great FR :D
Again a good flight in First of 9W's 77W ^^
Hi,I'm a university student and I'm performing an analysis about airlines customer forums.
For my research would be very important to know the nationality of each writer...May I know your nationality??
Thank you so much!