Review of Turkish Airlines flight from San Francisco to Istanbul in Business

Routing

Airport and Check-in

I arrived to the airport 2 hours before departure knowing that the inbound aircraft was still an hour away from SFO after being rerouted due to weather. Check-in was a breeze and PreCheck security was empty so I was airside in Concourse A just 10 minutes of being dropped off at the airport.

The connector to Concourse B offers good views over the tarmac and we have a CX A359, MU B77W, and KE B77W all preparing for their returns home.

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge

The first port of call was the MLL in Concourse D to catch the arrival of my plane on the outdoor terrace. The lounge was surprisingly full at this hour with flights to YVR, YUL, and YYZ all due to depart. It was too full to photograph so I just grabbed a glass of water and headed outside.

Here comes our A359 arriving from IST as TK289 and then taxing back to Concourse A. We will get TC-LHB today, a 1-month old A359 in TK's standard C32 (1-2-1) and Y297 (3-3-3) configuration. It is named Şebinkarahisar after the city in Giresun Province.

The Club

TK provides vouchers for The Club in Concourse B, which is also a Priority Pass lounge. Last time I flew TK, I didn't go in seeing the long line of people waiting admission. This time, I decided to scope it out after reading some "raving" reviews. I joined the queue and heard an agent going down the line notifying people it was a 30 minute wait to enter and we could be added to the wait list. I asked about the voucher from TK and she told me to go to the other side. I was called in about 3 minutes later so at least TK passengers do get some priority for access.

Going upstairs, the lounge was about as bad as the line outside promised. I made a loop of the space and eventually found a bar stool to sit at while I drank a coffee before deciding it would be more comfortable to wait by the gate. I wouldn't recommend this lounge at all.

Plane Spotting

Instead of waiting in a crowded lounge, I headed back to find a nice perch in Concourse A to watch all of the international movements.

Walking back a quick look at the FIDS confirms that our plane would be delayed to 13:25.

Passing the AC B737 to YVR on the way back.

Reaching Concourse A, I took the time to plane spot.

MU B77W in CIIE special livery.

BR B77W in *A special livery.

KL B787-10.

QR A350-1000.

YP B787-900.

Boarding

We were due to leave from A13, which meant pushing my way through the human mass boarding the AM flight to GDL at A12.

Then reaching the even larger human mass waiting to board our flight. It was chaotic and I eventually was able to snake around to the back of the business class line.

Reaching the plane, the crew was there to greet passengers at 1L. They came out to help the family get the stroller up and situated in the cabin before letting me in. The family would be sitting across from me in Row 8, but was swapped up to Row 1 to get a bassinet by the proactive crew. The greeting was warmer than expected on TK and I was sent through the galley and back to my seat.

As one of the last business class passengers to board, no cabin shot, but here is my seat for the flight. TK's current flagship product featuring Stelia Symphony seats in 1-2-1 configurations on their B787 and A350 fleet. This plane was only 1 month old and was still delivery line fresh with no scuffs.

Seat Features and Amenities

Pre-placed on the seat are a large pillow and smaller throw blanket. The bedding for sleep is distributed later, which is nice since it reduces the amount of clutter around the seat during the meal.

The slippers were pre-placed in the foot cubby.

A decent sized foot cubby. but not the best since on the narrow side.

The seat's subtle design touches, fabric choices, and aesthetics make it a very nice product visually.

The side table features a storage locker with a keypad. Inside was pre-placed the Denon headphones and it also houses the USB-A and 110V universal outlets. There is a slide out mirror along with a hook for headphones.

The head phone jack, seat controls, and IFE remote are located along the side of the console.

One slightly annoying aspect of this seat is how skinny the armrest is making it uncomfortable to rest your arm on it since it rolls off easily.

The literature pocket can also accommodate some smaller items such as laptops.

Literature was limited to the safety card and airsickness bag.

The standard A350 PSU with individual air vents.

The chef came down the aisle to introduce herself and handed out the newly designed menus. These are a nice thick card stock and better than the previous black ones.

The FA working my section came by and introduced herself calling me by name. She handed me a hot towel and asked me what I wanted for PDB. This is a very premium change by TK to remove tray service and allow open bar. I requested a glass of Taittinger and a water. The interaction with the crew was vastly different from what I've experienced on TK previously, but I suspect this might be due to my status with TK based on how she interacted with the couple across the aisle and the passenger in front of me.

My drinks were promptly delivered with a smile and a request to let her know if there was anything else she could do to make my flight more enjoyable.

KE B77W departing.

CX A359 departing.

AZ A330-900neo arriving.

F8 B737-MAX8 arriving.

Taxing and Departure from SFO

Eventually, it was our turn to push back after missing our departure slot due to the delay.

The safety video played in Turkish and then English.

Taxing out, we cross the UA B737 in *A special livery.

We took a really strange taxi route and ended up taxing down an active runway to cut the queue for Runway 28L departures.

We eventually got to the front of the queue and were aligning for departure on Runway 28L at 13:52, over an hour late.

The morning rains left clear skies over the bay and were treated to beautiful views on departure.

Downtown SF visible in the distance.

Reaching the Pacific Ocean, we start our u-turn around the city.

We follow the coast up to the Presidio.

Downtown SF.

Golden Gate Bridge with Angel Island and Alcatraz.

The Bay Bridge and Treasure Island as we cross the bay. OAK is visible in the background.

Pan-Am's old home.

The cloud coverage starts as we reach Concord.

Leveling off, the crew starts by handing out the new Lanvin amenity kits which comes in a black faux-leather pouch. Contents are socks, eye mask, ear plugs, dental kit, and Lanvin products (hand cream and lip balm).

Crossing Lake Tahoe.

First Meal Service

As the meal service starts, let's take a look at the new menus.

The wine list, which features 3 whites, 5 reds, a rose, champagne, and port wine. The liquor offering has shrunk recently removing the digestives, but they did add a new whiskey.

The tray table deploys from under the screen and is very large and sturdy. The only criticism is that it cannot be locked in position and will slide towards you every time you push it away from you.

The service starts with mixed nuts and a drink from the bar. I opted to try the new Dimple 15 year whiskey.

Linens were then laid as the items were cleared.

The lovely crew then came down the aisle with the trolley to set the table.

Elegantly laid out as always on TK.

The FA stopped and talked to me for a bit about my trip and was describing the bread since TK is now branding it as "The Oldest Bread".

The trolley then returned with appetizers.

My selection from the trolley. Despite not being Do&Co catered from IST, the food was still excellent.

No shortage of cutlery.

The FA asked if I wanted another whiskey, but I asked for wine instead and my glass of Sarafin Sauvignon Blanc was delivered with a smile.

Shakshuka

Vegetable Spring Roll and Smoked Salmon

Octopus Salad

Leek & Potato Soup

The table was reset for the main.

Every time I have ordered seafood ex-US on TK it has been dry so went for the Steak & Salad along with the Château Lamothe Pontac.

Not surprising, well done and dry. Seasoning was good at least and the butter helped re-moisten it.

Another new feature of TK's service is the distribution of a coffee menu after the meal. Not as fancy as OS, but still a nice touch to see what options are available.

The dessert trolley then came down offering teas and coffee as well.

My selection from the trolley, or so I thought.

Miscommunication between the FA and chef and I ended up with two plates. They apologized for the mistake, but I obliged and took both.

As the trays were cleared, I asked for a cup of the relaxing tea to settle into sleep.

Mid-Flight

The cabin was slowly plunged into darkness after the meal.

The crew offered to provide turn down service, which includes the mattress pad, duvet, and pillowcase.

The bed itself is quite comfortable, albeit narrow due to the seat design. As a side sleeper, it is okay, but certainly not my first choice.

I slept for 4 hours and awoke as we were leaving Greenland.

The lavatories behind the business cabin near 2R/2L are larger, were spotless even mid-flight, were well stocked with Molton Brown products, and even included a bidet toilet.

The crew was very friendly and talked to me in the galley for a bit. I asked for a Turkish coffee to wake up and it was promptly delivered along with a Turkish delight and water.

They later came back with a snack basket and offered me to take several items.

In-Flight Entertainment

I didn't take pictures, but TK offers business class passengers 1GB of data for free. With my TK status, it is unlimited data. You just need your seat number and last name and are instantly connected. The signal was worse this flight over some patches of Europe, but still worked well across devices.

The IFE is easy to navigate and has a lot of content (~800 movies and ~2000 TV shows). As an A350, there are of course several cameras and the moving map is good.

I had brought my own headphones, but TK's Denon ones are very good quality. So much so that the crew insists on taking them back when the cabin is prepared for landing.

Second Meal Service

The cabin lights started to cycle on as we were reaching Copenhagen.

Service started with a hot towel.

Clear skies today in Europe and we had a nice aerial of Copenhagen. CPH is visible on the left.

Then crossing over Malmö and the Øresund Bridge.

A macchiato and orange juice to start the service.

Reaching Poland.

The service finally reached me by the time we were crossing Poznań.

The breakfast starts with a fruit plate and small dishes. Breads/pastries were then offered from a basket.

In the back we have some smoked meats and yogurt.

A bowl of cheeses and accompaniments (butter, honey, salt, and pepper).

I was then asked if I wanted the omelet or pancakes for main. I took the omelet since I already had enough sugar from the dessert course. The omelets on TK are decent.

After the meal, there was still a little over an hour to go as we continued the trek south. Our beautiful wing across the blue sky.

Crossing the Danube River as cloud coverage took over.

Arrival into Istanbul

The cabin was prepared for landing as we crossed from Bulgaria into Türkiye. A small box of chocolate covered Turkish delights was handed out. My FA stopped and talked to me again about my flight experience and asked me to fill out a survey, which I obliged.

A ULS Cargo (GO) A310 was flying below us for a good 2-3 minutes before we overtook them. We would see them again soon.

The spotted clouds over Türkiye as we made our turn towards the Sea of Marmara over Kapaklı.

We entered the Sea of Marmara to make our u-turn to approach IST from the south.

The old Atatürk Airport is visible beneath the clouds as we begin our short final.

Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadyumu.

The city is replaced with green hillsides.

Crossing Arnavutköy.

We cross Turkish Technic as we come to land on Runway 35L at 11:16, ~30 minutes ahead of schedule despite leaving SFO >1h late.

IST is always exciting since there are no shortage of exotics. Our first spotting is a Meraj Airlines (J1) A300 getting ready to head back to Tehran.

As we hold on the taxiway, the ULS Cargo (GO) A310 we saw enroute landed behind us.

A Somon Air (SZ) B738 heading back to Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

We were soon arriving at the D gates.

LO B737-MAX8.

KU B77W.

SV A320 in new livery.

Qanot Sharq (HH) A321neo getting ready to head back to Namangan, Uzbekistan.

We pull into our gate D7.

Warm farewells from the crew as I exit out of 2L. Türkiye is part of OSS, so I show my connecting boarding pass to the agent am released back into the terminal directly. Very few connecting passengers on the flight with everyone else in business appearing to head to immigration.

From the gate area, great views of the plane could be had on stand.

Leaving the gate, we are in the beautiful IST and on our way towards the lounge for a much needed shower.

I'll leave off this series here as I begin my layover in Istanbul, thanks for stopping by!

Flight Information

Turkish Airlines, TK290
Equipment: Airbus A350-900 [TC-LHB “Şebinkarahisar”, delivered March 2025]
Departure: 12:40 (ATD: 13:52)
Arrival: 11:45 (ATA: 11:16)
Flight time: 11:24