Kids: Big Sister 8y3m, twins 5y8m
Flights: Hong Kong - Istanbul (2 night stopover) - Brussels and Brussels - Istanbul - Hong Kong on Turkish Airlines (TK)
Booked through: Sunpac travel agent, as I couldn't get the same fare out online with the stop over in Istanbul
Slightly different post this time, but I just wanted to share my excitement over this great product that Turkish Airlines has, their premium economy product. When Big Sister was younger, we'd fly mostly Business from the US to Europe on United, which is nice but absolutely nothing to write home about. When the twins arrived we opted for 5 Economy seats instead of holding twins on our laps in Business. Since then we've always flown economy with them. Initially the company paid for Cathay Pacific which we never really had complains about, always consistent service, good product, except those lousy seats at some point, although I don't hate them as much as everybody else because at least nobody was reclining into my lap. Another few years later, my husband is basically self employed so we shop for the best tickets to go home over the summer. As it's technically easiest to fly into Brussels and there is no direct flight to Brussels from Hong Kong, we have a chance to look into the (often) more reasonable connecting flights. In 2011 we flew back on points (using our final leg to go to Europe) with Lufthansa via Frankfurt. Was fine, cannot fault much, airplane was recently updated (I had night mares about having to watch a movie on the overhead screen for 12 hours), proper in-flight entertainment system, staff was doing their job well and even Frankfurt wasn't too bad at all.
This past summer we ended up with Turkish Airlines. I started looking for flights in October and found this great fare in Comfort Class which was equal to their Economy Class. A promotional fare as they were launching their Comfort product on their own B777 (they used to lease from Jet Airways on this route). Didn't let this chance go, plus I always wanted to visit Istanbul, so an absolute no-brainer.
The Comfort product is very nice and I'd highly recommend it. Seating is 2-3-2 in a completely different, spacious cabin. Cabin comes with own toilets, completely different (and very good) meal service, special amenity packs and amenity packs for kids (with their own socks, tooth brush, eye cover, etc. in a small pack pack). We had a row of 3 and a row of 2. Plenty of space to move around, even if they person in front of you reclines (not a fantastic recline) you can still easily get out of your seat or pass a passenger next to you without really disturbing that person. Foot rest, head rest, lumbar support, fantastic in-flight entertainment system with a proper sized screen, easy to control by touch (the kids could do it all by themselves). Staff is friendly but not overly friendly or warm, but doing a fine job. Food is really good, and I generally dislike airplane food. It's nicely presented with white linen, regular cutlery and table ware. Tasty salads, light meals, no heavy sauces, nice kids' meals (I still believe airlines over think kids' meals and they should keep it even more simple).
The airport in Istanbul is fine, plenty of food options and stores, but it's getting really small now that Turkish Airlines is expending so rapidly. It becomes very crowded and busy. We were lucky to be able to enter the HSBC Premier lounge by showing our HSBC Premier credit card, as we no longer have any note worthy status on Star Alliance since we left the States. The lounge was especially good on the way back when I travelled with 3 kids by myself, arriving in Istanbul at 11 pm, waiting for a 1 am departure. On the way back I had 2 rows of 2 and the staff did come over, saying my 2 children (Big Sister and her twin brother) couldn't sit by themselves in front of me and they had to be re-seated with another adult (read: stranger as they don't have rows of 4), which I refused. They were right in front of me, they're no longer babies, plus they knew about 10 months in advance I booked this combination so why start 5 minutes before take off? Plus who says a stranger would take proper care of my child in case of an emergency? Who wants to sit next to somebody else's child? Apart from the fact they are excellent travellers. They told me, it was my responsibility in the end, which I agreed with (it is anyway, isn't it?) and they didn't mention it again.
Transferring flights looks slightly chaotic at first, but it does work perfectly fine and goes fairly smoothly in the end. Even with 3 kids by myself it wasn't really a big deal at all. It's definitely not the shortest connection (Finnair would have been our fastest connection) but it was great to see Istanbul, even meet up with a friend from Hong Kong there, and the kids loved it too. In case you wonder where we stayed, I booked a family room at the Sirkeci Konak in the old city of Istanbul. Small family run hotel, super friendly, two connecting rooms (by no means large), and bathrooms could use an upgrade, nice breakfast buffet, afternoon snacks, walking distance to so many great sites! Highly rated on Tripadvisor, hence the reason I picked it.
This year we're flying Emirates via Dubai to Hong Kong (booked in September) and slightly cheaper in total than last year (which does confirm that booking early for the busiest time of year does pay off). Regular economy though but also visiting Dubai for 5 nights to see our friends who we miss so much. Will be fantastic, though very hot!
No comments :
Post a Comment