Turkish Airlines A350-900 Business Class Seattle to Istanbul Review December 2024

We traveled from the US to Türkiye in December 2024. This is our review of our business class flight from Seattle to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. 

Is it worth it to fly Turkish Airlines Business class?

I (Jedd) have been wanting to fly Turkish Airlines for a while. I’ve seen many great reviews (some not as great) and also loved that, on occasion, you can find really excellent award redemptions between the US and Türkiye.

TIP: Our favorite award search tool is Daily Drop Pro – you can check it out with a couple free searches.

We went into this flight with an open mind. Excited, but knowing it would be comparable to other business class flights we’ve taken in the past with Japan Airlines and Singapore Airlines.

The following is our extensive review of what it was like to fly business class between Seattle and Istanbul on the A350-900. And – spoiler alert – it WAS worth it. 

Our Flight Details: December 2024

• Turkish Airlines 204 (Flight Aware stats)
• Seattle Airport (SEA) to Istanbul (IST)
• Departure time: 7:22pm (Seattle)
• Arrival time: 5:41pm (Istanbul)
• 11hr 20min flight time
• Airbus A350-900 (Aeroflot version – seat map) 
• Seats 2A, 2B (windows)
• Cost: 88,000 award points per person and $13.40 in tax/fees via United Airlines miles. Out of pocket cost for this flight would have been ~$4000! Per person!

Quick Summary

Online reviews of Turkish Airlines business class can be hit or miss (depending on the route and reviewer). For our flight from Seattle to Istanbul, we lucked out with the latest hard product version (only 4 total planes in service).

We loved the meal service and got some decent sleep on our 11+ hour flight. Overall, an awesome experience.

Pros of Turkish Airlines Business Class:
– Priority check-in
– Priority baggage handling
– Access to a passenger lounge (The Club SEA Lounge)
– Solid service
– Comfortable, lie-flat seat with privacy door
– Delicious meals
– Good amount of space

Cons of Turkish Airlines Business Class:
– The dinner service was very long, pushed back our sleep time (nit picking here).
– Privacy door was hard to operate but we’re glad there was one.

Turkish Airlines Business Class Check in at Seattle-Tacoma Airport

The Turkish Airlines check out counter at SEA-TAC is at the far side of the international check in area. Signage was pretty good. Though it’s kind of a tight area, there are multiple check-in lines and things seemed to move fairly efficiently.

For business class passengers, there is a designated line on the left with two agents to help get you checked in. A couple of things about this process that would have been helpful to know:

• Our known traveler’s number was not passed through from the United system to Turkish. The agent asked us for this in order to get TSA Pre-Check on our tickets. We suggest having this number available and be ready to ask the agent if they don’t.
• They also asked if we had a frequent flyer program that we wanted to attach to this flight to earn miles. They then realized it was an award flight and so didn’t qualify.
• Business class bags are given a colored priority tag.

To complete the process, the agent gave us our boarding tickets and a lounge pass (which looked like another boarding ticket). The whole process took us about 7-10 minutes.

What is the baggage allowance for Turkish Airlines flights to Istanbul?

For this specific route, Turkish Airlines allows passengers 1 bag at 50 lbs per passenger.

Business class passengers get 2 free bags at a whopping 70 lbs.

It should be noted that they will also check your carry on items and may weigh them. On their website you are only allowed one carry on baggage at a max of 17lbs. They saw we had backpacks and didn’t bother to check the weight. 

Since Turkish Airlines is a massive airlines with tons of routes, we highly suggest you use their baggage calculator on their website for the most up-to-date information.

Onward flights: Bags and transfers

Since our award ticket included a second flight from Istanbul onward to the city of Antalya, the Turkish Airlines staff at check in confirmed that our bags would be picked up at our final destination in Antalya. Note that this is not the case for all international to domestic transfers on Turkish Airlines. 

Once again, because of Turkish’s massive operations, use this page to determine what your transfer baggage procedure will be. Actually, the most helpful information we found on what to do came from the IFE on the flight (more on this later).

When we got off the plane in Istanbul, there were agents directing people as well as good signage to find the domestic transfer area (though it was kind of a long walk from our arrival). We didn’t need to pick up and drop off bags again.

We went through immigration to stamp our passports (there was no line that evening) and then through a security check point to the domestic side. That’s it. A really smooth transfer process. 

Security and TSA Pre Check for Turkish Airlines Passengers at Sea Tac Airport

After checking in, you head to the left and follow signs for TSA Pre Check (assuming you have that). We passed through the security check point a little after 5:00pm and it was relatively quiet. We breezed through security and were on our way to the South Terminal of Sea Tac, which is where many of the international flights depart from.

We would say that arriving to the airport 2.5 hours before departure would be plenty if flying in business class for this flight. That being said, Sea Tac is notorious for traffic and security-line congestion, especially around the holidays. So plan accordingly.

Seattle Lounge for Turkish Airlines Business Class Passengers

After security, look for signs for the terminal train connector. Head down stairs and find the train for the South terminal. After exiting at the South terminal, head back upstairs and look for signs for the “Airline Clubs” near gate S9.

There’s a sign to take stairs and, further down, a sign for the elevator. Either will take you up one floor to the British Airways and The Club SEA lounges.

The Club SEA is the lounge available for Turkish Airline Business class passengers. The ticket agent should give you the “Lounge Card” you’ll need when you check in for your flight, but it doesn’t have any helpful info or instructions. Don’t disregard this pass if you want lounge access.

At the check in desk for the The Club SEA, they’ll ask to see that lounge pass and your boarding pass for entry. This is for each passenger. 

This lounge will be familiar to Priority Pass card hold members who can gain access without needing a business class ticket. This is also the same lounge used for Singapore Airlines when flying out of Seattle. 

The Club SEA Lounge Review

The lounge itself is fairly spacious with good views of planes (if you are like me and like that sort of thing).

As with most American based lounges, it’s mostly just a quieter place to wait. There isn’t much by way of food (chips, guacamole, soup, salad) and so I wouldn’t suggest planning to have your only meal here. Save yourself for the meal on the flight. 

At Sea Tac, there are two Club lounges and this one at the South terminal is definitely the better of the two. It’s a lot more spacious. Because of spread out international flights, it never seems to crowded.

Overall it’s ok. 

Turkish Airlines Business Class Boarding at Sea Tac Airport

After sending off a couple of emails at the The Club SEA lounge, it was time to head to our gate. We headed downstairs and our boarding gate S10 was very close by.

Boarding was a little bit chaotic but the Turkish gate team (and there were many folks there) did a pretty good job of being proactive and ushering people into groups.

On the right side, away from the gate, is where they lined up economy class ticket holders. Directly in front of the gate, they put together wheelchair/special assistance passengers, including families with children under two. This group boarded first.

Business class had their own line slightly towards the left and was the second group to board.

Even though we boarded early and got settled, this is a large plane, and it took 45 minutes if not longer for everyone to get on board.

Turkish Airlines A350-900 Business Class Cabin

As I mentioned, I’ve been following Turkish Business flights for awhile and I was looking forward to trying out their hard product, which I though was going to look different than it did. To my surprise, the cabin looked like this:

There are only 4 of these kinds of planes with only a couple more slated to be added to the fleet. These planes were actually meant to be used by another carrier, but due to news you may or many not care about, Turkish has acquired them. If you do a simple search for Turkish Business class A350, you’ll see two different type of cabins. One is more open with darker trim. The other is like the one we flew on.

The passenger next to me could tell I was curious about the cabin and he mentioned that he flies Turkish business a lot, and this version was the better one. You could tell instantly why.

Though I liked the darker scheme of the normal Turkish Business class planes, the Aeroflot version has private cubicles for every passenger.

Privacy. That’s the main difference.

My fellow passenger also let me know that the Aeroflot version had bigger seats. At 6 foot 4″, he was much happier with these seats than the other version.

Our plane for this flight, the Airbus A330-900, (Aeroflot version) was setup into 3 cabins (seat map of our plane).
– Business
– Premium Economy
– Economy

The business class cabin had just 28 seats in a 1-2-1 layout. Here’s a layout curtesy of one of my favorite sites, Aerolopa, that shows detailed illustrations of seat maps.

The Business class seats were not full, yet one passenger seemed to have been bumped from the seat across from her husband a day or so before our departure. Other than negotiating their seating arrangement, everyone settled in smoothly.

The first thing we noticed about the seat was that it is spacious. Sitting down, you didn’t feel cramped in, even though it was kind of like a cubicle. 

Turkish Air A350-900 Business Class Seats

The next thing I noticed when sitting down is the HUGE touch screen. Next to it was a coat closet. 

With the arrangement of Michelle’s seat being on the opposite site, her coat closet was only one panel and ended up being too thin to close on her down jacket.

One of my favorite parts of the chair (geek here) was the table, which first detached from above and could then be pulled towards you. It was sturdy and a great size to use our laptops and have meals on.

We were impressed by it’s design.

On the side of the chair (left or right, depending on where you are sitting), there is a small cabinet that was plenty big to hold the noise cancelling earphones and anything you might want nearby for the flight.

This was also the area to plug in said headphones as well as plug in any devices needing power.

Then there was a shelf/arm rest which also housed the buttons and the physical controls for the IFE.

If I had a small gripe about the chair design it’s that I naturally wanted to rest my arm on this shelf and I hit buttons that moved the chair a bunch of times during this flight. It was both funny and annoying. Mostly annoying.

But when you did want to recline or lay flat, you used these simple buttons and could easily put the chair flat.

And of course, one of my favorite part of these business class seats was the privacy aspect. There was a sliding door that, once unlocked, could be open and closed at will.

It did take a staff member to help me figure out how it worked, but once unlocked, it was nice to open and close it whenever I wanted.

Turkish Airlines A350 Premium Economy Cabin

Right behind the business class is a small service galley section that separated the two classes. Premium Economy looked nice and was set up in a 2-4-2 layout in 3 rows, for a total of 24 seats.

Turkish Airlines A350 Economy

Turkish’s Aeroflot version of Economy has two cabins on the A350 in a 3-3-3 pattern. The seats in Economy looked similar to Premium except with less recline and less spacing. 

Turkish Airlines Business Class Service

Overall, we both thought the service we experienced from the Turkish staff was good. They were nice to speak to and helped as needed. We didn’t get the same kind of warmth or over-the-top kind of service we’ve received from carriers like Hawaiian, Thai, or JAL.

As is not uncommon throughout Turkey, nearly all of the staff were men.

Turkish Airlines Business Class Amenity Kit

When we arrived to our seats, we were greeted with slippers in the footwell, a blanket, pillow, and noise cancelling headphones.

An amenity kit was later passed out to each passenger.

Also part of the pre-flight experience was a choice of a beverage: juices or water. I went with the mint-lemonade, which was refreshing.

Turkish Airlines Business Class Meals

Turkish Airlines is known for their meals, and they did not disappoint.

Even though it was a 2.5 hour (almost 3 hour) dinner experience and we would have preferred to get to bed a little earlier, it was worth it. Combined with watching a movie, we enjoyed it.

Here was the menu for our flight:

On this flight we were served dinner and breakfast.

The dinner had an entree selection, and the “chef” came by to take the order. Another crew member took a beverage order. After about an hour into the flight (8pm West Coast time), service began with a warm towel and warm nuts. 

For the starter course, the staff brings by a cart that you can select items from. When asking me what I wanted, I replied “all” and also got the soup. Having never had Turkish cuisine, I figured I would try everything. It was delicious!

For my main entree, I went with the chicken and it was not so great. The chicken (though it had good flavor) was rubbery and tough and the rice was hard. Kind of a disappointment. I was tempted to ask for more starters.

Michelle went with the fish. In hindsight, I will go with the fish next time if offered. She reported it was delicious, and even the chef had commented that it was their best option.

Dessert, similar to the starters, came on a tray. Again, it was ok to try everything, which I did. I think I had some sort of honey cake, Turkish delight, strawberry ice cream, and cardamom brownie.

Even though the chicken wasn’t my favorite, it was an excellent meal and up there with some of the best meals we’ve had on similar flights. It wasn’t as good as Japan Airlines or Singapore but easily second place.

Then again, any multi-course meal on a flight that tastes decent is pretty amazing IMO. 

Prior to landing, there was a second meal served with a breakfast theme.

But first, if you were awake, the staff might come by with a basket of individually packaged snacks, like nuts and crackers, and you can order coffee or tea.

Breakfast was a 2 course meal with a fruit starter and then a choice of omelette or french toast. We went with the eggs.

They also came around with a bread basket, including croissants. 

We loved the yogurt with honey mixed in. 

There was not an “order on demand” meal service, which we were fine with. Their website mentions being able to choose the timing of your own meal, but that did not seem to apply on our flight.

Finally, after breakfast was cleared, they handed out a small box with two chocolates – or maybe they were chocolate-covered dates.

Turkish Airlines Business Class In Flight Entertainment (IFE)

Turkish offers one of the best IFE systems out there.

The touch screen is massive and was responsive to the touch. It was easy to select the things we wanted, and it boasted a decent selection of entertainment.

We also liked the Denon noise cancelling headphones. Those were comfortable and sounded pretty good. 

One of my favorite views was being able to see a live camera from our flight.

Oddly enough, one of the best things of the IFE was information regarding our upcoming domestic transfer going from Istanbul to the city of Antalya. The IFE provided really helpful information.

It’s worth looking at depending on what route(s) you’re taking on Turkish.

Does Turkish Airlines Business class flights have WIFI?

Yes, but I have to admit that it was a pain to connect. 1 Gig is free for business class passengers (unlimited for elite status) so that’s nice, when you can connect.

Here’s what I learned:

• You can only connect with one device at a time. So if you connect with one, you’ll have to log out and then start again with another.
• When you connect to the onboard WIFI on your device, you’ll want to open up a browser. We found that it never worked with Chrome but did work with Safari. We were using Apple devices so I’m not sure if that’s the case with non-Apple.
• Once you get to the log in portal, you’ll use your seat number and last name.

Once connected, don’t expect mind blowing speeds. You’ll be able to check emails and send messages out and that’s about it. Again, not the best experience but it was fine and not something we needed. 

Turkish Airlines Turndown Service

After the dinner service, we had to wait a little but the cabin transitioned into sleep mode as quickly as they were able. Staff were around to bring out an extra pad, pillow cover, and duvet for more comfortable sleeping.

They left us a small water bottle as well.

Some things I noted for the best sleep experience:

• The cabin was kind of warm but using the dedicated air nozzles in my area helped.
• You can turn off the IFE main screen and the remote control screen. However, you have to do that in this order: main screen then remote screen. It’s kind of wonky but we eventually figured it out. Otherwise, the remote control screen is too bright.
• Close your privacy door, lol. Duh. 
• There is a button next to the seat labelled Zzzz. This is presumably to indicate to the staff that you do not wish to be disturbed.

Turkish Airlines International Business Class: Is It Worth It?

As with most of our flight reviews, this is a hard decision. Here’s what we would suggest:

• Is money not an issue for you? —> Purchase Turkish Airlines’s Business class flight. 
• Do you want to have the best sleeping option? —> Purchase Turkish Airlines’s Business class flight for the lie-flat seat.
• Did you find a really good deal or points offer for Turkish Business Class? —> Then it’s worth it! We found an awesome redemption value via United Airlines. This also included an extra leg in business from Istanbul to Antalya. We transferred Chase Ultimate Reward points to United.You can also try other strategies such as transferring UR points to Air Canada’s Aeroplan or transferring directly from Capital One to Turkish Airlines’s own program. Note that you really need to book way in advance to get the best redemptions.

Though we liked this experience, we would probably not pay out-of-pocket for it. A typical price for our seats is ~$4000 per person at the time of this writing.

We found a sweet redemption for 88,000 miles per person using our United miles, and those are hard to come by these days.

TIP: To find these kinds of deals, our favorite all-in-one award search tool is Daily Drop Pro.

It’s hard to find good point redemption award flights from the west coast to Europe. One of the reasons I have been tracking Turkish is that they had great options, with Istanbul being a major hub. Plus, in our minds, if you’re going to use a BUNCH of points to fly business, you might as well save it for a long haul flight for 10 hours or more.

The Seattle to Istanbul route was great because it was long and it got us close to Europe. Once you get to Europe, individual flights around the region are more affordable out of pocket.

TIP: Many travelers waste hours researching flights online and still overpay or book sub-par itineraries. Finding great flight deals doesn’t have to take hours if you know the right tools and strategies.

If you have my Book Better Flights course (also available inside our Membership), use my video tutorials and follow my step-by-step flight research road map so you can save time and money booking plane tickets.

Protect your international trip with insurance

In addition to booking our international flights with a travel credit card that covers trip cancellation or delays, we’ve started using travel medical insurance to protect us from worst case scenarios while abroad.

We use Nomad Insurance by Safety Wing for affordable evacuation and medical coverage in case of incidents or accidents outside our home country. It also includes other beneficial coverages for travelers like lost luggage and personal liability.

Turkish Airlines A350 Business Class Review: Final Thoughts

We would not hesitate to book Turkish Airlines again if we found another good reward redemption.

The hard product and soft product were excellent, if not on par with most business class experiences out there. We particularly liked the Aeroflot version of this A350. 

Have you flown Turkish Airlines before? Have any questions? Let us know in the comments below.