I selected them because they were the cheapest by far when flying with only 3 days notice. They certainly have come a long way since I flew them from Bangkok with 400 Thai workers all smoking.
Plane was a brand new A330-200. Individual screens (Rain Main, The Fugitive) and electric outlets – so you can keep the laptop powered up the whole flight. I had 4 seats all to myself, which might explain why they are undercutting the competition ($1175 TLV to JFK). Great service. Delicious Cherry juice. Airport security was tight. Horrible Kosher meal on IST-JFK segment (next post). Short layover in Istanbul – there is a new airport there which is super-modern looking (almost Dubai level). Unfortunately, not long enough to hop into town and see the tourist attractions. And miles on United Airlines (they were with American Airlines)
And I got to read the Turkish Times. Anyone know that their entire government is in the process of being declared illegal and the President, Prime Minister and loads of elected representatives are about to be banned from politics?
Turkish Airways has been getting lots of coverage in flyerblogs. This post is about Turkish Air Frequent Flyer miles and this is about good prices on Turkish Airways.
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Filed under: Flights, Frequent Flyer Miles, Great Deals, Kosher Restaurants, Perks and Tips | Tagged: airfare bargains, airline lounge, airline seat, avis car rental, Best Seats, Business Traveler, frequent flyer programs, lost bags, luggage fee, seat guru, SJC, sky miles, suitcase charge, TLV, Trans Atlantic
Smoking is still a problem at IST. All the eating spots have about two tables in a non smoking area surrounded by 360 degrees of smoking area. And you can be assured – in Istanbul, with flights coming from former soviet, middle east and eastern europe – if they can smoke, they will.
In most of the terminal the ventilation system seems good enough to remove the stink.