Round The World and other travel

Flight Log 6: TK53

Tokyo Narita (NRT) - Istanbul (IST)

This was my first flight with Turkish Airlines and I had very little idea what to expect. I boarded by Door 1L and quickly found my way to my allocated seat, 1K. The cabin had four rows of seat pairs along each side and 3 rows down the centre, the extra space in the middle being occupied by a small drinks service area at the front. The seat was of the 'lie flat at an angle' variety and therefore definitely not state-of-the-art. A large amenity kit by Crabtree & Evelyn was already present in the seat area, together with - you guessed it; this is really catching on! - a pair of slippers. It soon became apparent from the dress of one of the crew members that Bruce had been right when he said that he thought Turkish Airlines employed on-board chefs. In fact the said crew member was soon offering me a choice of pre-departure drink, served in proper glasses. The choice was water, 'home-made' lemonade, raspberry juice and orange juice and I had the second of those. It was soon to be supplemented by a little two-pack of Godiva chocolates. (Most airlines serve these, or an equivalent, with after-dinner coffee.)

Although the scheduled departure time was 2230, the airport screens had been changed to show a revised time of 2200 and boarding had begun promptly at 2130. Doors were closed at just after 10 minutes before 10pm and a manual safety demonstration was given at the gate, in Turkish and English. Even so, pushback was delayed until 2208. After a long taxi out to 34R, we finally became airborne at the original departure time.

Once the crew were released from their seats, service got underway in an unconventional manner with the distribution of pieces of Turkish Delight. High-quality hot towels were then served up on plates (echoes of Lufthansa First Class!) and menu cards were given out together with pens, so that breakfast choices could be made now rather than in the morning.

MENU		WINES and SAKE
Assorted canapés		Champagne
* * *		Gosset Brut Grande Reserve
King prawns with Claudio sauce, garden-fresh leaves and
tomatoes		White wine
or		Prestige Narince 2012, Turkey
Veal carpaccio with tartufato sauce, arugula and frisée, and		Chablis Premier Cru Les Beauroys 2010, France
black olives
		Rosé wine
Shepherd's salad		Kavaklidere Egeo 2012, Turkey
Tabbouleh
Fried eggplant with tomato sauce		Red wine
		Doluca Karma Merlot Bogazkere 2011, Turkey
and/or		Château Lamothe Pontac Médoc 2011, France
Mushroom soup with fresh chives		Bodegas Beronia Crianza 2009, Spain
* * *		Bodega Norton Privada 2010, Argentina
Grilled fillet of beef with mustard curry butter, sautéed leaf
spinach, buttered carrots and potato gratin		Port
or		Graham's Late-bottled Vintage 2008
Chicken brochette with Mediterranean vegetables and
rosemary potatoes		Sake
or		Gekkeikan Sake Daiginjo
Teriyaki yellow-tail with simmered radish, pan-fried beef
ribs with wasabi sauce, mixed vegetables, miso soup,
seasonal Japanese pickles
* * *
Assorted cheese, fresh fruit and desserts from our trolley,
including:
	Turkish desserts
	Apple strudel and vanilla sauce
	Pear trifle
	Black sesame ice cream
* * *
Coffee and/or tea
Digestives from our trolley
Petits desserts

Tablecloths were next to appear, followed by the pre-dinner drinks service: I had champagne, ice water and mixed nuts, the latter served on a plate rather than in a bag. The nuts were soon supplemented by a plate of three canapés - another feature normally associated with a first-class (rather than business-class) product. When my meal tray appeared, I swear my eyes nearly popped out of my head! My choice of king prawns was the main feature, beautifully presented and visually very attractive. But it came with all three of the side plates listed on the menu: fried eggplant, tabbouleh and so-called 'Shepherd's salad' (i.e. Greek to you and me! ) This delightful way to begin dinner was followed by mushroom soup, one of very few times that I'd ever had soup served in Business Class. It was delicious, but at the risk of sounding overly picky, I was mildly disappointed that the promised fresh chives failed to make an appearance.

My main course was another sight to behold when it came: again, beautifully presented on the plate, more or less begging to be eaten and absolutely delicious when I stopped looking and started eating! Next came another first-class touch: cheese, dessert and fresh fruit options were brought out on restaurant-style trolleys and passengers were invited to have whatever they felt like. (In my case, that amounted to a few pieces of cheese.) Finally, this amazing feast was brought to an end with hot drinks; I chose a herbal infusion in the hope of getting a reasonably good night's sleep. A further distribution of hot towels allowed passengers to freshen up before settling down for the night.

I had been watching the 2013 movie Now You See Me through much of dinner. I saw it through to the end before asking a cabin crew member to make up my seat for sleeping. A card had indicated that this was the thing to do, although the conversion was simply a matter of slipping a padded covering over the seat to act as a mattress and then laying the cover on top of that. I quickly fell asleep, but woke up after a couple of hours due to finding myself in a predictably uncomfortable position after spending that amount of time lying on a slope. I found that adjusting the seat to partially reinstate the two angles in it provided a more comfortable solution and I managed a further period of sleep using this posture.

RIGHT:
Pre-arrival breakfast service

I decided to sit up at around 0115 Turkish time and amused myself by watching the 1978 classic Death on the Nile, the outcome of which I had actually managed to forget! The lights were switched on one hour later and a further round of hot towels, followed by water and orange juice, signalled the imminent arrival of breakfast. My choices (given before dinner) were presented, including freshly made scrambled egg that was delightfully soft and buttery. The end of breakfast service was marked by a fourth round of hot towels.

Once my second movie had finished I decided to check up on where we had been. The map indicated that our initial route had been to the northwest, and this had been followed by a long haul across Russia and some former Soviet republics. We had passed close to Ekaterinburg, Moscow, Kiev and Odessa, and were now rapidly approaching our destination. During the final announcements, I smiled at what had been the standard method used for starting the English version: "Ladies and gentlemen and dear kids, ..." But my abiding memory of this flight will forever be the the standard of catering in a Business Class cabin. Turkish Airlines - who knew?!