ON THE GROUND: One of my favorite parts of my job is traveling to see our clients around the world and delivering the trophies they won in our reader-voted surveys throughout the year. This trip included İstanbul and Dubai to visit Istanbul Grand Airport, Turkish Airlines and Dubai International Airport. Despite having to travel from Philadelphia to New York ( JFK) to catch a non-stop flight to İstanbul, it was worth it to avoid layovers.

Check-in was easy. I had one bag to check that was labeled “priority” with an orange tag, and my bag was second to ascend from the baggage claim belt in İstanbul.

Unfortunately, the flight was delayed twice, for a total of five hours past the time listed on my boarding pass. Luckily, the Turkish Airlines lounge at JFK made for a comfortable couple of hours to work and have dinner. I enjoyed a chicken and rice dish, hummus and a delicious lentil soup. The lounge at iGA was magnificent with ironing services, several food stations manned by chefs and attendants, and a large restroom for freshening up before a flight.

PRE-FLIGHT: I was impressed with the business-class service. The traveler next to me mentioned Turkish Airlines is one of his favorites, as well. My seat was equipped with a pillow, blanket and slippers. Shortly after I sat down, I was offered fresh lemonade, high-end and comfortable headphones, and my amenity bag. This year Turkish Airlines rolled out its sustainable amenity bag partnership with Vincent Ferragamo. I was pleasantly surprised to receive this designer pouch which included Ferragamo products as well as Turkish Airlines socks and an eye mask. I also swiftly received the dinner menu from the business-class chef, decked out in her chef ’s toque and all!

© Turkish Airlines

IN-FLIGHT: Because I was traveling from New York to İstanbul, and İstanbul to Dubai, I had the chance to experience both the long-haul business-class service and the shorter four-hour flights. Both experiences boasted the same level of hands-on service from the flight crew. Dinner service (on each) began about an hour after take-off and lasted quite a while. On one of the flights, I even opted out of the choices from the dessert cart so I could get some rest. A flight attendant kindly helped on each flight to make up my seat for a comfortable sleep. Breakfast was served upon waking, about two hours before we landed at our destination, and was another multicourse meal.

TOP TAKEAWAYS:

• The service between the long-haul flights and the shorter flights did not waver and remained attentive and hands-on.
• The food options were health-forward and delicious.
• The Turkish Airlines lounge service at iGA was comparable to a 5-star hotel, from food options to clothing services and entertainment.

TURKISH AIRLINES
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