For the school break in October we decided to fly to Dubai with Turkish Airlines. We opted for Turkish Airlines as we had never flown with them before. We are always keen to try new airlines especially when they are flying out of Luxembourg airport
Check-in was done by Luxair and our bags were checked directly to the final destination.
The flight to Istanbul was operated by a Boeing 737-800, and left on time. The aircraft was very well equiped. Every seat has its own entertainment system, which is great for a 737.
On a 3h30 flight, we usually do not watch a movie, but the selection of movies seemed fair. A page was showing the progress of the flight, but it bugged. For example the altitude was not refreshed, unless you would leave the page and open it again. Difficult to say if it is a conception problem or a one time bug.
Turkish Airlines – Kids Mag
The food was quite tasty for the Economy Class. A menu was distributed with a choice of two main courses. Wine and alcoholic drinks were free of charge.
We landed in Istanbul at 10pm and our next flight was departing at 1.40am.
The main terminal was not really pleasant. It was very crowded and there was nowhere to sit down. So after a bit of strolling around the shops, there was not much left to do. We decided to go to the gate to sit and rest, but the gates are only allocated less than an hour before boarding. So we waited at an other gate before walking to ours. The personnel at the gate was obviously not motivated to work during the night and was quite unpleasant not to say impolite.
The flight to Dubai lasted around four hours and was operated by an Airbus 330. As we left in the middle of the night, we were expecting a few hours of rest and a breakfast served shortly before landing. Unfortunately, the lighting in the main cabin remained on for quite some time as they were serving a hot meal. The food was different than on the previous flight. Nevertheless, we have no picture of it as we did not eat. Being asked “chicken or pasta” at 3am when you are trying to sleep is really exasperating. We would have preferred a breakfast shortly before arrival and after having slept even only for a short period!
Friendli- and attentiveness of cabin crew was average.
Pros and Cons:
+ Convenient departure from Luxembourg airport
+ Good food and entertainment system
+ Good value for money
-Annoying if long stopover in Istanbul
-No rest during short night flights
-Service is improvable