Gimme More: Turkish A350 Business Class To Tashkent – Review

Flying Turkish Airlines is always a treat, and this Turkish A350 Business Class to Tashkent was no exception. This flight was also marked two personal milestones.

First, I had the pleasure of experiencing the incredible new Horizon Premier product. Second, Uzbekistan became my 88th country—an unexpectedly symbolic number. While I’m not superstitious, there’s something satisfying about its double symmetry.

In any case, it felt like the perfect number to celebrate!

Flight Particulars

Route: Istanbul – Tashkent
Flight No: TK366
Date: 25.03.2024
Departure Time: 11:05
Flight Duration: Blocked 5 hours
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900
Seats/Suite: 6K

This is a medium haul flight, and Turkish Airlines uses everything from A321s, A330s and even A350s on the route with some rotations. However, it constantly swaps aircrafts, like with many other routes. So you truly never know what you will get !

Check-In & Lounge

My journey started in London Gatwick where I was checked through. It was quick with several dedicated Business Class counters.

Turkish use the No1 Lounge at Gatwick which is nice as far as contract lounges go – but the food just cannot be compared with Turkish’s own offering.

If you did begin your journey in Istanbul, it is a far more seamless and premium affair with it’s own dedicated entrance and generally efficient service

And the fantastic Turkish Flagship lounge awaits you after..

Boarding Turkish Airlines A350

I was able to catch a glimpse of our aircraft – still in preparation, now sporting Turkish livery to boot..

Boarding gate area was crowded and noisy, with Turkish providing little separation for Premium travellers.

Our flight started boarding on time, something Turkish is not known for with flights to Asia – which tend to suffer the most delays!

Turkish A350 Business Class To Tashkent Service

I was greeted by rather cheerful crew at the door and pointed to my seat..

..what a beautiful cabin and product to be flying in!

Boarding was somewhat haphazard, with some crews running up and down the cabin and while others trying to serve the seated Business passengers welcome drinks.

I quickly located my Suite and settled in..

Within moments, I was greeted again by the crew serving my side of the cabin with an offer for a drink – I chose a Raspberry mocktail – it was sweetly refreshing!

The crew then past through the cabin with flight menu and amenity kits..

The amenity kit was a plush leather Ferragamo bag, with contents from the Italian brand consisting of some lotion, lip balm and then other essentials like flights socks, eye mask and dental kit..

For a mid-haul daytime flight, I was rather impressed Turkish did not skimp out here and beats offerings that many reputable carriers provide for 10+ overnight flights !

The main meal of the flight would be a breakfast service, followed by a light lunch pre-landing.

About half hour after take-off, breakfast service began, with the first of two rounds of hot towels..

The starter was a traditional Turkish option of Smoked Turkey, beef, cheese, tomato and olives with a few garnishes.. this came alongside a small bowl of fruit and Mango Mousse dessert for later..

For the main, whilst I liked the sound of Pastrami, spinach and Egg wrap , I had to go with the Menemen

I loved the fact that this dish was pretty much as good as you would find on the ground!

Following breakfast service, the crew passed through yet again to offer hot or cold drinks. Laying off alcohol or caffeine, I opted for a herbal tea from their Wellness section..

For what it’s worth, here is part of the beverage menu..

I finished watching the film I had starting while enjoy the Ginger anise Tea

It’s hard to capture on pictures, the screen was so crisp, it was an absolute delight!

Turkish Business Class A350 Bathrooms Are As Stylish As

When nature calls, Turkish has rather plush offerings for the restrooms too, with Molton Brown amenities and fragrances

I also loved that they had some real plants in there..

Back to the Suite..

I appreciated the multi-stage window shade, so you can control the lighting in the Suite to your desire..

With more than 2 hours to go, I decided to enjoy a little nap. You have to test out the suite bed right ?

Turkish provide superb bedding on long haul overnight flights – but even without it found the seat to be rather comfortable on lie flat position. That said, perhaps it wont be for hours on end !

Pre-Landing Service

With an hour remaining on the flight, the crew passed through again, offering drinks and or sandwiches to those that wanted it..

This was a light snack, which is perfectly understandable given the flight duration.

10 minutes after, the crew had to clear up everything as were starting our descent.

Best Way to Book Turkish Business Class

I booked this flight through an OTA ( which I generally avoid if I can ) for just under £1400. There was very severe restrictions with few available dates on Gatwick departure only, it also only showed narrow-body flights. I was lucky to find a couple of dates with widebodies scheduled.

When I looked at the same flights directly on Turkish website itself, it was well over £3000!

If this deal was not available, I would have happily booked in Economy directly with Turkish, and hope for decent upgrade offers on this sector. It’s a gamble because there is never any guarantee with this approach.

Only other option was for this routing was LOT Polish Airlines, which exclusively only flies a 737 with “Euro” Business on a 6 hour overnight flight, no thanks !

Award Bookings

I previously posted about Turkish Award Promos, which can have some fantastic deals. This routing would have been available under that promo 35,000 miles one-way, with around £350 in tax/surcharges during this.

Sadly, I could not take advantage of this subsequent offer as my cash booking was non-refundable.

Turkish has since made some unfavourable changes, raising redemption rates across the board. Currently without special “promos” this route is bookable for 60,000 miles one way, through it’s own Miles&Smiles programme..

However, there is an even cheaper way to book, for 45,000 miles only via Aeroplan!

It’s very possible a future Turkish promo could still beat the Aeroplan rate, so it’s worth checking !

Overall Thoughts

This flight was real luxury, a medium haul flight with a super Premium long haul touches – I would have genuinely enjoyed another 10 hours in it !

Turkish service is always warm and friendly. The staff always mean well, even if sometimes, some of them can be difficult to communicate with due to level of English. Turkish catering is consistently excellent – in a way that very few other carriers can manage even then they do use the same Do&Co provider.

I have 4 more Turkish flights coming up this year – unfortunately none are scheduled to be in this glorious A350. Still you never know with Turkish – so stay tuned for more !