After an outbound flight in A330, here is the return flight in A321Neo, still in economy. This is an opportunity to measure the difference in comfort between a twin-aisle and a single-aisle aircraft.
Check-in and ground experience
As I was connecting from Izmir I already had my boarding pass when I arrived at the airport and only had to take the connecting route between domestic and international flights. Police and security checks went very smoothly and I was able to spend a big hour in the beautiful Turkish Airlines lounge dedicated to international flights.
It’s fluid but given the size of the airport, you have to walk a lot and the passage to the lounge was a salutary break halfway. A lounge that I will leave in anticipation of the distance to be covered to reach my boarding gate, including the crossing of the gigantic duty free shopping area.
A look at the commercial area that I have not yet taken the time to explore.
I go down the escalator to the departure level…
The airport is so big and oversized compared to the current traffic that as soon as you leave its central area you see less and less people…
…. to end up in a long, almost empty hallway to my gate.
Here I am a few minutes early. Not many people…
The door is ready to start boarding.
The queue slowly starts to form, almost nobody in the priority queue.
To avoid any problems, the boarding passes for the priority lane will be checked before boarding begins to prevent people who are in the wrong lane from slowing down boarding.
Boarding starts on time and boarding priorities are strictly respected.
So I head for “my” A321Neo.
Discovery of the cabin and settling in
The single-aisle aircraft has a cabin that at first glance makes a good impression.
It looks like some Air France cabins found on European medium-haul flights, and it’s looks much less “cheap” than the A330’s economy class I took on the outbound flight.
It is comfortable, soft, I am very well seated. Maybe the seat is a little less hard than on Air France, but it’s not a big deal.
I will be as usual on the window side.
The legroom is very adequate for this type of aircraft and not worse than on the “big” A330 on the outbound flight.
Good size screen, USB plug….
Interface and catalogs are the same as on other Turkish flights that I have already reviewed here so nothing to report. The system is good, the catalog is rich, then judging its content is only a matter of taste.
An A330 is positioned right next to us.
The boarding continues…
We are finally ready to leave. Doors close and push back on time.
For the umpteenth time in the last few months, I watch the Turkish Airlines safety instructions in “Lego 2” mode.
We get it twice, once in Turkish, once in English. I promise you that it gets boring. Considering their length you may think that it should be enough to occupy the time of taxi to the runway…not even. The airport is so large that it takes a good 15 minutes to get there.
In flight
Smooth takeoff and nothing special to talk about. The service starts after a few dozen minutes. With only one aisle and 6 passengers in a row, it goes slower than in the 330…
“Meat or Pasta?” …. I choose meat, in this case meatballs!
My tray:
Once the bread, wine and water have been added, there is not enough room on the shelf. In any case it is well presented.
Fresh and not too heavy Turkish hummus.
The meatballs were seasoned to perfection, the rice was tasty and cooked to perfection, as were the vegetables.
And a melting mousse to conclude…
Once again an excellent service from Turkish Airlines. It’s well presented, it’s good, it’s tasty and it’s a pleasure to eat.
Special remark, I almost forgot, for the hot bread and the metal and not plastic cutlery.
The flight follows its course peacefully…
The night was short and I alternate between micro-naps and series on my Ipad.
I am (and I think will remain) very skeptical about the use of single-aisle aircraft such as the 737 MAX or the A321Neo XLR on long-haul flights in terms of passenger experience, even if it looks like a strong trend for the years to come.
However, I found this 3-hour flight in the A321Neo very comfortable and finally, with the help of leg room and the quality of the seat, more comfortable than my outbound flight in the A330. This will surely lead me to reconsider my habits and opt more for this aircraft for my next Paris-Istanbul flights (the 777 has more space in eonomy than the 330 at Turkish, at least in my experience).
But a 7 or 8 hour flight in a single-aisle aircraft? I don’t think I’ll be able to do it, due to the narrowness of the cabin.
We arrive soon in Paris.
Uneventful landing, arrival on time. Nothing to add
The staff and the service
These flights are too short to have a real interaction with the crew or to complain about not having had it. The service was as usual on Turkish: professional, attentive, without blunder. But we don’t really see the staff in the cabin once the service is over.
What more could one ask for?
Bottom line
There is always much less to say about a 3 hour flight in economy than a 12 hour flight in business, that’s not why it’s not worth sharing.
A comfortable cabin, a good looking meal for an economy, professional and friendly staff and a flight that leaves and arrives on time.
A very good flight.
For the record my routing
- Paris-Istanbul : Turkish Airlines Economy
- Istanbul-Izmir : Turkish Airlines Economy (No relevance – No Review)
- Izmir-Istanbul : Turkish Airlines Economy (No relevance – No Review)
- Istanbul-Paris : Turkish Airlines Economy (here)