Turkish Airlines is one of the largest European carriers with a fleet of more than 350 aircraft. In recent years, it has become a formidable competitor to European long haul carriers. And quite rightly so. And if flying via Istanbul to your far away destination is not an issue, you’ll find the prices extremely competitive, especially if booked early.

     This was my first long haul flight with them, and it will not be the last. I was flying from Istanbul to Hanoi and back, on an Airbus A330. Security at Istanbul was tight, so the boarding process took some time.

    However, once on board, I was welcomed with a smile and shown to my seat. The A330 seating is basic. Forward facing 2x2x2, but with a huge amount of leg room (along the length of three and half windows). And they are fully flat seats unlike some other business class seats where you have to squeeze your feet into a small footwell. There is no full screen to give much privacy, except the small screen by the side of your seat, that pulls forward. The window seats of course do not have direct aisle access, so you will have to step over your neighbour, if that seat is fully flat. The seat pitch is so vast, that you have to get off your seat to reach the IFE monitor in front, or literature and storage pockets.

     The light black seat was very comfortable. All the functions were right by the side, and easy to operate. The tray table that pulled out from side, felt a little bit wobbly though. At the seat there was a good size pillow, blanket, pair of slippers and a well stocked amenity kit.

    Once settled at my seat, the crew came around with a beautiful and colourful looking selection of welcome drinks - orange juice, raspberry, water, and I settled for a delicious mint flavoured lemonade drink. Champagne was also on offer. That followed by hot towels and menus. Another crew member came around handing out headphones.

     Soon after, the 'onboard chef' in typical chef’s attire (a nice added touch similar to Gulf Air’s on board chef)), came around to take our dinner orders. There were separate menus for food and another for drinks.

     As we began to push back, the safety video came up, which was a rather novel Lego Themed animation, both informative and amusing.

     Once we had taken off and the seat belt signs were off, the bar service opened. The menu had a good selection of drinks, cocktails and soft drink concoctions. I settled for a bourbon on the rocks, which was accompanied with some delicious warm nuts - cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, the lot.

     For me, the dining experience was the best. The presentation, and timing between courses was perfect. The plates were not served out of a trolley. Each dish was personally brought to your table, and cleared away, before the next course. A battery powered mini candle light complimented the food table, creating the ambience of dining by candlelight at a restaurant 35000 feet above the clouds. Following the main course, there was a short pause, before the desert trolley moved in. There was a huge variety to choose from, and you could have as much as you wanted, from ice creams, to cakes, to fruit salads, and others I can’t remember.

     The on board services from Hanoi back to Istanbul was equally good, although the cabin was an older design. The seats were not that comfortable, and there was not much storage space apart from the overhead bins. The IFE, with a small handset was so difficult to use, even the cabin staff were trying to help others with it. The flight announcements were crackled and weren't clear.

     However, on both flights, the flight attendants were extremely polite and friendly, regularly checking up on you if you needed anything, and seemed to genuinely enjoy their jobs. I was also impressed by the hospitality and attention to detail especially their meal service. And on both flights, the quality of food was excellent. While the return flight had its few problems, the outbound flight was near perfection. I believe that some of the older A330 aircraft business class cabins have been modified with newer seating.