Hello and welcome back to Zurich Airport.
Today, I'll be reviewing Turkish Airlines' Business Class product on their A321 from ZRH to IST.
My ride for today was:
Model: Airbus A321
Reg: TC-JSU
Name: Kalecik
Age: 10y/o
I initially booked an Economy Class Fare but received an operational upgrade to J at the Gate.
Check In and Security
TK uses ZRH's Check-In 2, like every non-LH airline. (Which use Check-In 1 and 3).
Thanks to my Star Gold Status, I could use priority check in and with no one in line before me, it went smooth and 5 mins later I was already heading to security.
Security for me went fast but I still wonder sometimes if people just stop using brains when at an airport. The security trays were stuck multiple times because people never removed their old ones so I did it for the line to move forward. There was a woman discussing with the security officer why she couldn't take her 100-pack of AA Batteries on board (what does she need those for anyway??) and an elderly couple shouted at the security officer in chinese and was visibly confused that she didn't understand them.
Besides that, everything went smooth and passport control was a breeze too.
SWISS Senator Lounge E
The E Terminal was almost empty this morning as I headed to the lounge, which was located on the northern end of the councourse.
Star Gold also gives me access to the Senator lounge and normally, I would've taken advantage of the Whiskey Bar but at 6 in the morning, I was not really in the mood so I opted for a ginger ale and some croissants.
The lounge itself is really spacious and has a terrace with apron views, which unfortunately was closed due to the bad weather.
Since I arrived only minutes after opening, it was also almost empty but I imagine that it will fill up fast during peak times because even though there is a lot of space, the really comfortable chairs take lots of it so the seating available is not that huge.
Unline Swiss' Inflight product, the lounge was great and I really enjoyed my stay.
I then headed to the gate about 10mins before the boarding.
Boarding
Boarding was pretty chaotic. A lot of people tried to board via the priority lane (including me) but were sent back (in a quite unfriendly matter) for a passport check. Apparently the called our names (which noe of us heard since we all were in the lounge) and around 70% of the line had to go back to form another line waiting for the check. I then received the great news that I received an upgrade. I assume it is because the flight was fully booked (overbooked). A lot of passengers also had to check in their carry-ons.
Downside was that the upgrade also meant a downgrade from window seat to aisle seat.
However, since the window seat next to me was the only unoccupied seat in the aircraft, I asked the FA if I could switch over and moved from 2E to 2F.
Cabin
Unlike most european carriers, TK actually has upgraded seats im business compared to economy, which resemble premium economy seats. The legroom was very generous and I could comfortably strech my legs (I'm 180cm).
After boarding was completed, the pre-departure drink was served. Only alcohol-free options were available and I opted for the orange juice.
The cabin crew was very friendly.
There were three buttons to adjust the seat as well as a remote control for the IFE.
The legrest was pretty unusable since it only extended a minimum and did not lift itself high enough to support the leg.
Taxi and Take-Off
We pushed back 2mins behind schedule (07:42) and made us onto our way to RWY 32, which is actually my least favourite rwy because you see least of the airport.
We than had a 17min taxi and took of at 7:59.
It was interesting to see, that ZRH was using both, RWY 39 and 28 for takeoffs, while 34 was used for landings.
IFE
The IFE was stored in the seat, which I disslike and storage underneath the seat was really small. However, free Wi-Fi was available to all passengers during the entire flight, tho it was pretty slow.
Inflight and Catering
Shortly after take-off, the menu card and the hot (or lukewarm) towel were handed out. I appreciated that the towal came on a little plate.
I opted for the pudding and and the fruity mocktail but with vodka.
The meal arrived around 20mins later and was delicious! Other european carriers can certainly take a note at the catering here!
later during the flight, some hazelnuts were served as well.
what I noted is that the flight attendandts didn't go through the cabin to ask if anyone wanted an extra drink, but if you asked, they responded swiftly. Overall, it was a great cabin crew.
After the meal i managed to get around 30mins of sleep before I was gently woken up by one of the flight attendants because we were landing and I had to put the seat upright again.
Arrival
we touched down at 11:15 (30mins before gate arrival) and had a quite long taxi but given IST's size, that's not surprising.
We arrived at our parking position (remote stand) at 11:39, 1min ahead of schedule.
A nice little perk was, that the business class passengers got our own bus, which featured more comfortable seats, carpet and was not cramped.
And now I am off to enjoy IST city until l have my connecting flight to BKK this evening
