Turkish Airlines has long been one of my favourites to fly. From their incredible business class lounge in Istanbul to the service and hospitality in the air, I’m always happy to get on board. Here’s my most recent trip experience with their A320 business-class product.
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Route: Istanbul to Tbilisi
Aircraft: A320-200
Seat: 2A
Highlights: Meal service
Low lights: Dated seats
Check-in
After spending a night adjusting to jetlag at the Yotel Istanbul Airport Hotel, I made my way to the check-in counter at IST. I had been up for close to two days but well worth it as I had a great long layover in Panama City and then a great trip on Turkish Airlines’ 787-9.
Since I was travelling carry-on only and because I already checked in online I would normally skip the check-in counter and head straight to security, however, as noted in my Copa Airlines business class review, my experience in Cancun made me second-guess travel requirements so I decided to pop in at the counter. I asked an agent if I needed to check in and if I had already checked in online and he gave me a look like he just bit into a lemon. I guess that confirms that.
Still, this pop-in gave me the opportunity to check out the business class check-in area at IST. It’s a very large space dedicated to business class passengers complete with plenty of plush seating. I assume this is for when counters are not open, something I would later confirm on my backend trip through IST. More on that later.
Lounge Experience
The lounge in Istanbul is, in a word, amazing. I would say uniquely divine if it didn’t make me sound pretentious. What other lounge has a golf simulator or virtual flight simulator? Its best feature is definitely the meal service. Turkey’s cuisine, in general, is great. The lounge is no different. I enjoyed an incredible omelette and a fresh simit before settling in with some Turkish coffee.
For a full rundown of my time at the IST lounge, stay tuned for my full dedicated review.
Turkish Air A320 Business Class Seats
Like most short-haul narrow-body flights, seats on this Turkish Air A320 business class are in 3–3 configurations with the middle seat blocked off. Aside from that, there’s not much that separates business class seats and economy on this Turkish Air A320–200.
The seats on this bird are due for a refresh and could use some attention. The magazine pocket stitching was undone and a trim piece covering the seat track was completely off. Not a good first impression.
There is a footrest but surprisingly minimal legroom when it comes to a business-class seat. For reference, my economy flight between Baku and Antalya on Azerbaijan Airlines felt like it had double the leg space.
Oddly, the seats did not have a power connecter, which I could’ve used to top up before landing in Tbilisi.
Turkish Air A320 Busines Class In-Flight Entertainment
The Turkish Air A320 does not have any in-seat entertainment. Turkish Air does, however, offer an entertainment app where you can stream movies and TC shows pre-flight and in-flight. This is a fantastic service. It has plenty of titles to choose from including the latest Hollywood hits and classics.
That said, with no power plug or USB port to charge my phone, I did not want to use use the app on this flight.
Business class passengers do get tablets to use which come pre-loaded with a fraction of what is available to stream. The downside is they do not have the option to pair Bluetooth headphones so I could not connect my noise-cancelling AirPod Pros.
Turkish Air A320 Business Class Service and Amenities
As this was a short haul, no amenities kits were provided on this Turkish Air 320 business class flight. Service started with freshly squeezed orange juice and a hot towel. Throughout the trip, flight attendants were very attentive and, as the recorded safety announcement says, clearly smiling behind their masks.
Turkish Air A320 Business Class Food and Drink
Like all Turkish Airlines flights, the meal service is where they shine.
Although my flight was only two hours and twenty minutes, I had the option of Sea Bass, Rigatoni with homemade parmesan tomato sauce, and grilled lamb chops for a meal. I went with the latter and it was very, very good. Even more so paired with a Turkish red wine.
A starter of a smoked chicken salad was provided which was also fantastic. Best of all was the Turkish rice pudding at the end. I would later seek this out in Antalya because of how much I enjoyed it on this flight.
I finished this off with a Turkish coffee complete with a Turkish delight.
Turkish Air A320-200 Final Thoughts
Despite the shortfalls with the dated seats and minimal space you get with the upgrade, access to the Turkish Air Lounge and the in-flight meal service makes Turkish Airlines’ already fantastic service that much better. I would upgrade to their business class service on any routing because of this.
READ MORE: Turkish Air 787-9 Business Class ReviewWhat say you?
Thoughts on this Turkish Airlines Turkish Air A320 Business Class Review?
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Great review! A few things to note: -The seat map on their website is inaccurate- the middle section only has 2 rows of business class, not 3. -Also, the business class section has 8 seats across (4-4), not 6. -The A320s that Turkish flies usually have in-seat IFE screens in business class, not overhead monitors. -Food was served on china, not plastic. -There is a pre-departure beverage service- you can choose from sparkling wine, water, or orange juice. -Welcome aboard announcement is made in both Turkish and English. Otherwise, spot on!
Thanks, Lewis. Are you sure you are talking about A320 and not A321 Neo? Those are 2-2 and newer. This A320-200 definitely had 3-3 configurations, as seen in the pictures. Sounds like you got better service too!
Great review!