Next Level of Luxury with Turkish Airlines
by Jeffrey Guard
Goodbye and Thank You!
This incredible Viking cruise adventure had come to an end, and I found myself getting emotional. I was sad to be leaving. It was everything that you hoped for in a vacation: lots of exciting destinations to explore, tons of memories, lots of laughter. Even the low moments, the annoyances, we discovered were now filled with mirth.
Our hearts were truly full, and we were exceptionally grateful to be taking these wonderful memories with us.
The Viking Star was a truly outstanding ship and crew, and I would recommend Viking in the future. In fact, there are several cruises we’re eyeing for 2027!
I would also without hesitation recommend the Conrad Istanbul. The staff were outstanding; everything was just perfect.
One final exceptional touch was the transfer to the airport. Have you ever ridden in a Mercedes-Benz luxury van? I have! Ha! Look at those plush leather seats. What a wonderful treat to ride in style from Conrad Hotel to Istanbul International Airport!
Istanbul Airport: The Future is Now
If you are an American you will be pleasantly surprised by how advanced and futuristic Istanbul Airport is; it’s more advanced than any airport in the United States, even the new and greatly improved LaGuardia (which is also impressive!).
It’s airy with high vaulted ceilings that give a nod to Eero Saarinen with the stingray shapes that hover high above. There are wide expansive walkways, so you don’t feel cramped. It also has a bazaar atmosphere, which I found clever and ingenious in making it something that is distinctly Turkish.
There is tons of shopping to be had! Also, there’s a museum as well! If you’re interested in learning more about Turkish history, it’s free to explore and a great way to spend some extra time. We were exhausted at this point and could not absorb any more museums or antiquities.
One thing you will definitely notice that is different from American airports is the security. There are security stations everywhere, constantly checking and re-checking your tickets. We must have had to show our tickets 3 or 4 more times after clearing the first line security check. Just have your ticket and passport handy because you will be having to show it a lot.
Next Level Luxury: The Turkish Airlines Experience
I’m just going to say it out loud; Turkish Airlines is easily the best service carrier in Europe and is easily better than any American carrier, including Delta.
Their business class check in area looked like a luxury spa, it made my jaw drop. There were posh seats, woods, leather and marble everywhere you turned, zero waiting, and an expedited security line. It was like Delta One’s service at JFK Terminal 4, but a distinct level of luxury higher.
That was just the amuse-bouche.
The appetizer was the lounge. It was an OMG moment to end OMG moments. The Delta One Lounge in JFK T4 and The Virgin Clubhouse in London Heathrow are gold standards for Western air carriers, but Turkish Airlines easily bested both of them, just lapped those two lounges without even trying.
You know, when you see white leather in public spaces, it’s the real deal!
The lounge is on an upper floor and is vast, like maybe the entire length of a football stadium. There were tons of side spaces that had their own side spaces. The lounge overlooked the airport; if you’re a people watcher, this is Heaven!
It also felt airy and was filled with amenities: a driving range for golfers, a flight simulator, a small museum, a self-playing grand piano, a massage therapist, and of course, tons of delicious food options.
We had a glorious two hours of just being pampered; it was heaven. I ate like a glutton, some pretzel pastry with eggs and potatoes…and I may have had seconds. Then I moved on to desserts, there were so many. My only complaint is no complimentary insulin.
What I also greatly appreciated about Turkish Airlines is the range of non-alcoholic drinks available. They had so many kinds of fresh fruit juices, coffees, and teas. It was the kind of variety that I wish more Western airlines offered.
The few hours we were there sadly felt like minutes, and it was time to go. We got our boarding gate, more security check-ins, and then once on board, I knew this was going to be an excellent flight.
In Flight Experience
The crew welcomed me with genuine smiles and warmth. The crew of Turkish Airlines was exceptional from start to finish. It was a marvel to watch how unfazed they were in dealing with some passengers who were a bit all over the place.
Initially, some of the research I found showed that the planes had a dreaded Lufthansa-like configuration in business class of 2-2-2. I was so relieved to see that it was 1-2-1.
The seats were spacious, and the livery felt brand new. It had all the amenities you want in a hybrid business/first-class product. Tons of storage within the pod, but also in the overhead. I had a giant one all to myself. One amenity that was fascinating was having access to the cameras mounted outside the plane that show various POV’s. You can access them at any point! Watching them during take-off was a treat.
Sadly, even with this luxurious experience, there was a “BoB” beast on board. There was a British passenger who was barefoot. Please do not ever be this person who clearly was raised in the wild. Not only was he barefoot, but you could smell him. Thankfully, the ventilation kicked in, before those fumes choked me out.
The movie selection was vast, a wide-ranging library of Western films, mixed with some Asian.
One amazing thing was the Turkish Airlines documentaries. The best one was called, “Inner Portrait,” Turkish Airlines picked four people from different parts of the world who had never traveled and flew them to another place in the world to experience travel and then mapped their brain waves to create a visual representation of how the travel changed their brains.
It blew me away, travel is my religion, and so to watch their first time journeys was emotional, I was crying, laughing and just in it with each of them experiencing their first international trips. There’s a preview of the documentary on YouTube, you can access the link in my description. Soo good and no Turkish Airlines didn’t pay me.
The food was also delicious, on par with all the greats. First course was lox and shrimp, then chicken and an eclair for dessert. It was a great lunch.
Sadly, our flight to London was coming to an end. From London we would catch United’s Polaris from Heathrow to Newark. It was Christmas day, and the Heathrow was virtually empty. I wish I had taken footage, but I didn’t. We flew in Polaris class with United and the flight was fine, but it wasn’t Turkish Airlines. But one thing I was grateful for was a magical trip whose memories would last a lifetime.
And then just like that, we were home.
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