Is Turkish Airlines Business Class Worth It? 6 Things We Love and 1 Thing We Hate

Over the last decade, we’ve dreamed of traveling to Southeast Asia together, but the distance and price of airfare always held us back. My budget journeys to the other side of the world over a decade ago involved a lot of slow travel that we just aren’t able to do these days. So we saved our pennies and finally started planning the Big Trip when we found an excellent business-class fare from Washington, DC into Bangkok and out of Kuala Lumpur. Considering we spent more than 45 hours in the air on this trip, it was super important to add a bit of comfort and luxe to our adventure vacation. But was it worth the splurge? Here are six things we loved and one thing that could’ve been better (“hate” is a strong word but it makes a better title).

This is our honest review from our own personal travel experience. We are so glad we’ve had this amazing opportunity and hope we can help you make the best choices for your next adventure.  

6 THINGS WE LOVED

1. The Smooth Airport Experience

Business-class tickets typically come with perks like express lanes through airport security and priority boarding. Turkish went a step above some other experiences we’ve had (though we’re certainly not connoisseurs of international business-class travel). Some bougie highlights:

• We had our own check-in lane, boarding area, and entrance onto the plane at all four airports, which eliminated any check-in or boarding chaos.
• Istanbul International Airport even has a separate business-class and elite check-in area.
• The lounge access was phenomenal, especially in Istanbul, which we describe in more detail below.

Pro Tip: It pays to ask questions at the airport about priority services that are included with your ticket – get your $$$ worth from that b-class experience. For example, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport had a separate business-class line through immigration with only about 10 people in it when we arrived with thousands of travelers! We had to ask a few airport employees if and where there was a priority line, but they politely pointed us in the right direction and saved us so much time.

2. The In-Flight Meals and Service

In addition to the flight crew being super kind and attentive, the meals were out of this world. Turkish Airlines is renowned for its in-flight meal service – and even brings its own chefs on board.

The meals were soooo good! So much food was served on each flight, we had to turn down some meals and plan ahead for others, so we didn’t go (too) overboard.

The wine selection was also fantastic and featured many Turkish options. We even had a little port with our dessert.  

Full disclosure: A few dishes were not so good but plenty were absolutely wonderful — and they feed you so much you can really just do a tasting and stick with the things you like best. They served a wide range of international cuisine to serve varying tastes. There were so many delicious options that I’m sure nearly everyone can be happy with this experience.

3. The Amenity Kits

These Salvatore Ferragamo amenity kits were the best we’ve ever received on a flight. The socks and eye masks were super comfy and high quality, as were the lotions and potions.

We collected eight of these bags between the two of us (they had different kits for men and women and new colors on each flight).

We left some kits with our tips at hotels and brought others home as gifts. They were just too good to leave behind!

4. The Lie-Flat Seats

For most of us, this is the biggest reason to book a long-haul business class flight. I gladly spent many hours of my life cramped in basic economy seats at the back of the plane near the bathrooms for the wonderful privilege of seeing the world. But I have to say that the added comfort of this experience was a big part of the vacation. So rather than suffering through the flight to get to the adventure, the adventure began immediately. It was a game changer to fully recline the seat after meal service and sleep for half the long-haul flight (times four!).

After our meal, the flight attendants came around and added extra padding, pillows, and blankets to our seats so we could settle in for the rest of the flight. Divine!

5. The Lounge Experience

On such a long journey, the lounge access made a huge difference. While the Turkish Lounge at Washington Dulles is included with our Priority Pass (and is one of our favorites), our long-haul business-class ticket gained us access to the super-premium United Polaris lounge (as a Star Alliance partner). Although it’s in a different terminal than Turkish, we gave ourselves 30 minutes to get from Terminal C to the gate at Terminal B before boarding began.

If you’re up for an adventure, you can lounge hop, starting with United Polaris and ending at Turkish.

The real star of the show, however, is the relatively new Turkish Airlines lounge in Istanbul. We had a 5-hour layover (which was kind of nice between two 10-hour flights) and found everything we needed (and more!) at this world-class lounge.

The lounge is gigantic with plenty of seating, entertainment options, and even a golf simulator and cinema. Not to mention that the food options are seemingly endless and delicious, highlighting Turkish and international cuisine.

We even got to reserve times to use a private shower room. We have taken advantage of these amenities in the past at other airports but were not expecting it to be so luxurious in Istanbul. This was so appreciated in the middle of a long journey. You can also reserve a private room with a bed if your layover is long enough.

We also had some champagne while people-watching in the open area that looks out over the terminal.

6. The Stopover Program

You may be surprised to learn that Turkish offers overnight accommodations in Istanbul for all passengers (up to two nights for business class and one night for economy), if your layover on a long-haul journey is at least a certain length. You can read more about eligibility and procedures here. (If your layover is at least six hours you should check out TourIstanbul.)

We were booked at the Sheraton Istanbul Ataköy Hotel, which was super comfortable with a nice restaurant for dinner but not in walking distance to anything. So, to make the most of our 24-hour stopover, we woke up early and took a taxi over to the historic old city — the Sultanahmet area — to check out the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia.

After wandering around the historic sites, we journeyed up to a rooftop restaurant at the Seven Hills Sultanahmet Hotel to enjoy the beautiful views over an insanely bountiful and delicious Turkish breakfast.

Signing up for the free hotel was totally worth it – as it was way cheaper to take taxis around to see the sights than pay for an accommodation in the historic area.

WHAT WAS THE ONE THING WE HATED?

… Some Things About the Seats

OK, you might be thinking: Didn’t you just say you loved the lie-flat seats? Yes, we really enjoyed our in-flight experience, but we want to be totally transparent. There were multiple design issues that took away from the comfort you may be expecting with a lie-flat option.

Here are a few things that detracted from the bougie experience:

• Older models: Three out of four of our flights were on older model planes with an open floor plan, and two of our planes had a 2-3-2 configuration. So even in business-class, you could wind up in a middle seat with a stranger blocking your aisle access.
• Seat Switch: We booked our flights 11 months in advance, picked our ideal seats, and monitored for changes, but they changed planes and schedules several times – and on one leg they automatically put us in the dreaded middle row with three seats (but we were each in an aisle seat with the middle open). We could not change to any of the two-seat options on the side, as none were open. I checked multiple times a day for six weeks and nothing freed up.
• Left to Luck: Fortunately, no one booked that middle seat, so it was a comfortable and spacious experience in the end, but you should know that this can happen even with careful, advance planning. Once main reason to shell out the money or points for business class is to have aisle access and not sit next to a stranger – even more so for super long flights.
• Blocked from Partner: We had the newer, more private cabin design on our last leg with a 2-2-2 configuration. We deliberately picked the “couples seats” in the middle so we could talk to each other on this 11-hour day flight, but the privacy barrier was not adjustable. It’s a small thing, but an honest detail that might bother a couple traveling together. Why bother having any couples seats with that design?
• Narrow Seats for Sleeping: In the lie-flat position, the seats felt very narrow compared to other airlines – on the older and the newer models – so we had a tough time staying comfortable as the hours went by. We also got very hot, which is why I try to bring a tiny portable USB fan and wear layers.

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All that being said, while some travelers may not like the open design of older Turkish Airlines cabins and prefer private pods, we really enjoyed it. We felt kind of like we were in a swanky lounge or restaurant (especially with the food service!)

We also really liked the benches for our feet rather than narrow foot wells in pods. Lovely open spaces!

Was It Worth It?

Yes! Considering the price was way less than the competitors and the flight schedules were really reasonable (no super early or middle-of-the-night departures/arrivals) we would definitely fly Turkish Airlines business class again. If the price was similar, however, we would probably try a new airline for comparison.

Pro tip: We booked these flights directly with Turkish Airlines the day they were issued and saved HUGE for two tickets – the price never dropped that low again, according to my fare tracker.

Budget savvy tip: Turkish allows you to upgrade for a fee or points at the gate on the day of departure. Since there were still empty seats on all our flights, this may be a great way to save big on business class. Just be prepared to fly economy if nothing is available, as there are no premium economy options.

This was the most fun we’ve ever had on travel days considering the swanky lounge access, lie-flat seats, amazing meals, and priority service. Have you flown Turkish Airlines? Have you tried their stopover program? Does their business class product seem worth it to you? Let us know in the comments!

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