Was I wrong about Turkish Airlines? Caracas-Istanbul business class trip report

[@airedition]

Follow me on IG for daily updates and more! instagram.com/gabeleigh

[@wianmostert8616]

The ammount of work and effort in your videos is just astonishing !! You always give extra and i highly appreciate it !

[@airedition]

Thank you very much!

[@dennisforfun]

Shoutout to Gabe, who spends his entire money on plane tickets instead of buying himself another shirt just to keep his channel going. Seriously, do you own any other shirt?! Excellent review, btw.

[@airedition]

Maybe the shirt was just very expensive so I want to get full use out of it! Another option is that I prefer to pack very light 😁

[@christianeduardo1]

What a weird/bitchy comment… Great video Gabe and I truly don’t care about your wardrobe choices 😊

[@walkwithjonas7920]

All the clips he ever made were produced on the same day that’s why

[@jamessmitka8066]

I am glad you replied to me concerning your recent A350 flight video. I noted that I got to sit in a captain's seat on the Flight Deck of a 787 just a couple weeks ago. NOW I know you are involved with this new channel which really fits your excellent commentary on a variety of airlines and aircraft. Very helpful! Thanks - Jim

[@airedition]

Thanks Jim, glad you found this one! Always appreciate your comments.

[@Thefinestselection2024]

I flown my 2nd time on long-haul with Turkish airlines. I have to say, based on my experience the value is WAY better than its competitors.

[@airedition]

That's good to hear!

[@avianlook]

I've heard a lot of different takes on Turkish, it appears to always be either good or bad with no in-between. Istanbul Airport however... well, most people seem to hold a similar consensus on it :p Great video on a unique route!

[@airedition]

Thank you! There are always one or two people who show up in the comments saying how much they love IST, and I can’t figure it out 😂

[@carolinelane9599]

​@@aireditionI hate with a passion transfering or arriving in IST. You think your driving to your destination. Taxing goes on forever. Then either transferring or getting out. I checked it last time we were there. From the time we stepped off the plane till we got outside it was 3.2km. Thats just nuts. The airport is just too big and badly designed with no travelators. Absolutely hate it. Transferring through there again next year and not looking forward to it at all.

[@airedition]

@@carolinelane9599truth!

[@ZRHTrainspotter]

Nice video! I love turkish airlines, always only had amazing experiences with them, and i dont get the criticism about Istanbul Airport. I quite like it as its roomy and large, but its expensive.

[@airedition]

That's nice if you like the airport, makes the experience all the better!

[@edpyle5429]

"A shower is better than no shower." For sure,Gabe, and how many airport showers have I had in my 50+ years of air travel? Ø Wonder what percentage of your subscribers have. Or even have had much if any airport lounge access.

[@airedition]

Good question I would also wonder what percentage have. The good news is these days with lounge memberships as part of credit card perks and various other more affordable means it's easier than ever to get lounge and shower access on connections. Though of course if you don't travel a lot these may still not be worth the price, but then there are often one-time passes you can buy on the day as well. I do find a shower after a long flight on a connection to be one of the best things you can do to improve your travel, for what it's worth.

[@maxart3392]

Did you come to Caracas also on Turkish via Havana? I did it last year (Istanbul - Havana; Havana - Istanbul via Caracas) in economy, but economy on 787 is a nightmare (no legroom, no shoulder room; I did IST-HAV once before on 330 which was way better). The seats on 787 are bad, they have some sort of winged headrest, but the wings wouldn't stay up and when I asked the flight attendant what's wrong, he would tell me that they are made this way: they don't stay up. On the other hand the food was ok and we were on time. Another good thing about the Turkish is that (at least last year) 2 check-in bags were included in economy ticket, and if you're lucky, you can get a reasonable price.

[@airedition]

Oh yeah I can’t stand 787 economy if I’m traveling solo; such narrow seats regardless of airline. The sole exception is JAL which has one less seat across, bless them. My flight over went direct to CCS; I know some do go via HAV. Interesting routing!

[@maxart3392]

@@airedition Well, JAL is the ONLY airline that kept the 787 in the configuration that it was originally planned for.

[@canadiantree2000]

Agree with everything you've said, TK is good value option but all other things held equal I'd choose Air France being based in Paris, IST is also quite a ways out of the way for west bound flights

[@airedition]

Yes I’d pick AF over TK any day!

[@keremoner]

Turkish is consistently ranked among the best 10 in the world. Hiw often is Air France ranked? Lol

[@canadiantree2000]

@@keremoner yes because awards are never biased lol

[@theshieldhero7062]

In all honesty, how would you compare Turkish Airlines and China Airlines ?

[@airedition]

The seat is better on China Airlines, the food is better on Turkish. Service standards more consistent on China Airlines. Both are overall usually good value!

[@angelhernand1057]

10:45 hour flight? I don't know why I thought it was like 14 hours lol

[@airedition]

Yeah eastbound it’s not too long. Westbound can be 12+

[@Idrissi_Mas]

İst is the Best Airport in the world!!! I've been there more than 20 times there's absolutely no comparison to another Airport

[@johnk6657]

Have you been to HKG, SIN, HND or YVR?

[@Idrissi_Mas]

​@johnk6657 Been to. Yvr, Sin, and Hkg

[@airedition]

To me and many others it’s an unthinkable statement but one thing I love about what I do is finding people with completely different experiences and opinions than myself and my inner circle. I’m glad you enjoy the airport!

[@cajamusical_]

Thank you once again. Hope you had arepas and venezuelan rum :)

[@airedition]

Oh yes! Arepas are the best thing ever.

[@cajamusical_]

@@airedition Im glad you liked them :)

[@Dreamweaver787]

Another great narrated report as always Gabe, Do Boeing send there 787's to Caracas airport to do shake down test on that runway it was that bumpy😊

[@airedition]

Haha yes it’s a good place to make sure the bolts are all correctly installed 😂😂

[@gunvaldsandhaland7757]

I Like The Cusisne Aboard

[@bsum8715]

The conclusion was spot on, same as my previous experience. Turkish Airlines business class represents good value for the price and their extensive network may mean fewer transfers for some. The overall experience is certainly not the best among business class, but it is not bad either.

[@airedition]

Thanks, glad to hear others have found the same thing!

[@ArnonShimoni]

You say they started service 2.5 hours before landing and I'll tell you why. It's SLOW, especially in economy. It takes Turkish airlines crews routinely over 90 minutes to complete serving one round even on smaller aircraft like the A320 or 737

[@airedition]

Hmm yeah, it makes more sense in economy with more passengers to get through, maybe. Though a simpler service…

[@BA-li5ur]

You don’t mention WHY you hate IST so much. I haven’t been to the new one yet, but I was fine with the old one.

[@airedition]

I think I covered the reasons more extensively in the video about the outbound flight. It’s far too big and poorly conceived, generally irritating and delay-causing for a brand new multi-billion dollar airport.

[@madaboutsnooker147]

who else immediately thought that he needs to review Conviasa 346!

[@airedition]

Definitely would be fascinating. Those particular aircraft have murky histories though!

[@madaboutsnooker147]

@@airedition explaaaaiiiiiinn!

[@airedition]

@@madaboutsnooker147 A bunch of them come from Iran, which originally got them in black market deals because of sanctions, meaning the aircrafts' maintenance logs and other official papers are now illegitimate and murky. Doesn't inspire a huge amount of confidence!

[@GiovanniPietro9000]

Good review!

[@airedition]

Thanks!

[@emeryagnan]

🔝

[@mr_matcheu]

The pink socks are back !! 😇😅😅 Don't we all have a fetish clothes we always wear for flying (I do actually 😇🙃) Jokes aside it was once again a nice trip report, TK looks really nice !

[@airedition]

Haha!

[@ArnonShimoni]

That takeoff roll was L O N G

[@airedition]

Yeah it really was!

[@TheCordmen]

The 787 purposefully almost always uses full length on takeoff for maximum efficiency!

[@tally1604]

Istanbul Airport is too big, expensive, and understaffed. With just 10% more staff, the result would be very different.

[@tally1604]

THY is good, I my opinion. Not in the same league as SIA or JAL, but defo better than any European or American carrier. But I don't come from a country where we unexplicably expect everybody else to constantly smile and fake enthusiasm. Plus, I think with Turkish, crew attitudes change depending what the destination is. Europe and North America always get well trained cabin crews who understand that a bit of a soft touch goes a long way. Russia, Middle East, and Africa get the rest.

[@A380_Flyer]

I flew Turkish before Covid and the stewardess dropped a yogurt on my trousers when doing dinner service. Not really her fault but it leaves a bad memory! Your flight looked interesting though, even though I’ve never been to South America.

[@JamesSmith-yw7jt]

I think you're to pickey.. I have flown Turkish Airlines many times KLAX-KIST. 777 Etc. So shut up the negativity.

[@GlobalAdventurer]

Too many complaints about stupid things.

[@airedition]

Hooray another person who doesn’t understand what a review is.

[@master13fox]

@@aireditiongo fly Ryanair. And stop crying

[@suhailshafi]

Turkish Airlines and Istanbul Airport both look great. I don't see what you are whining about. Istanbul has repeatedly been voted the world's best airport.

[@airedition]

By who!?

[@keremoner]

He asks by who? Tells you how much he researches things lol. He's a cry baby.

[@master13fox]

@@keremoneryeah he knows nothing. Go fly Ryanair 😅

[@pginse]

IST is an expensive, disorganised, rude mess. I try to avoid it as much as I can.

[@airedition]

Glad to hear I’m not alone in this! 😁

[@jimakcelik6486]

There’s a always someone complain about Turkish airlines you don’t like it? Fly afghan airline😂

[@airedition]

Hmm did you watch the video? This video is largely positive 🤷🏼‍♂️