Flying Turkish's Leased Triple 7 from Saigon to Bangkok

Welcome to my Trip Report on Turkish Airlines' Boeing 777-300ER!

Introduction 

I went through my past trip reports and realised that this particular one was missing from my collection. How did this happen? I have no idea, too many to take account for. Fortunately, only this trip report was missing. I decided to re-do and updated it with today's information. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Some of the details from my memory, I try to recall as much as possible. 

Without further ado, let's get started! 

About this airline 

Turkish Airlines was set up in 1933 and is one of the oldest airlines in the world. Based in Istanbul, this airline has gone from strength to strength with an impressive fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft featuring almost every aircraft type except the A380 and Boeing 747-8I. It is a member of the Star Alliance, with a vast network, making the travel with this airline convenient for passengers to travel from point to point and with the Istanbul Airport just opened, the transit passengers will enjoy even more at the new airport. You can check out more information about the airport over here. (Youtube video) 

For the airline's vast network, over here.

This airline has some special liveries that I like to share with you all over here. Of course, these photos are well taken from popular photographers all over the world. Please enjoy! (These are just a few special liveries, there are many other nice ones, both past and present) 

Turkish Airlines (Retro livery)

Photo: Rainer Spoddig

One of my favourite liveries, Batman vs Superman. Unfortunately, it has been repainted back to the standard livery. 

Photo: Patrick Schwarzschulz

Photo: Jason Xu

Photo: Luca Carminati

Photo: Alp Akbostanci

Photo: Andrea Spoladore

The Star Alliance livery featuring this airline 

Photo: Jan Seler

Let's get started with the trip report! 

Arriving from my previous flight with Vietjet, click here for the report. 

Saigon Tan Son Nhat International Airport has been a regular airport for a couple of years. This airport has left me with bittersweet memories, but I have nothing but good experience on the domestic flights joyriding the Vietnam Airlines' Wide-body aircraft. You can check the trip reports at the bottom of the page. 

For this trip, it was my 2nd visit. As I was using Saigon Airport as a stopover for my flying trip, I had to give myself a good allowance of time for transit, to avoid missing my next flight. For the transit, I gave myself 3-4 hours to chill out and enjoy the facilities of this airport. 

Checking the departure time, my flight was on schedule. Purpose of flying this airline was to try out the leased Jet Airways' Boeing 777-300ER which featured the Indian airline's interior but operated by a different airline. 

The crowded departure area 

When the time was near, I went to check-in.

VT-JEP arriving from Bangkok. This aircraft was leased to several carriers, Thai Airways, Etihad and of course Turkish Airlines. It is believed that Jet Airways was over-capacity (More aircraft than it needed). Now, this aircraft has been registered as VT-JEV and is flying as usual for this financially stricken airline. A lot of aircraft of Jet Airways have been impounded due to non-payment to the leasing companies. I wish the airline a full recovery and may it continues its presence, especially in the Indian Aviation market. 

Touched down and taxied to the assigned gate.

Check-in was fast and I was told my flight was half full and the staff was nice enough to help me keep my row empty. 

Sun was setting at that time. Good weather for flying!

Choosing the front cabin with the window seat 

There it is, my ride to Bangkok. This beautiful plane would rest for 3-4 hours before heading home via Bangkok. 

Better photos of VT-JEP (Now registered as VT-JEV)

(In Jet Airways' livery)

Photo: Mark Kwiatkowski

(Turkish's livery) 

Photo: Andre S

Flight route: SGN-BKK

Miles: 445

My ride was getting prepared 

*Do note that some of the details below are missing.

Date of departure: 3rd September 2014

Airline: Turkish Airlines 

Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER

Registration: VT-JEP (Leased from Jet Airways)

Delivered to Jet Airways on May 2007

Configuration: F8 C30 Y274

Engines: 2 X GE90-115B

Line: 637

Other operators of this aircraft: Turkish Airlines, Thai Airways and Etihad Airways

Seat: 28K 

Gate: 18

Boarding time: 1940

Departure time: 2000

Arrival: Early

As far as I can remember, the boarding process was fast since it was a light loaded flight. More passengers would connect this flight to Istanbul most probably. 

I was warmly welcomed by the crew who directed me to my seat. The crew was a mixture of Turkish and Asian crew. It has the Indian atmosphere due to the colour of the seats I feel. The herringbone style of the Business Class seats, hope to try this one day. It is a unique design but still prefer the conventional 2 seater window seat side by side, especially if travelling with my partner. 

Business Class seats 

1-2-1 seating configuration. Are you a fan of it? 2-3-2 would suit the airline better in terms of revenue I feel.

I tried out the seat briefly. I prefer the seats to be facing in front instead of facing sideways.

Economy Class 

Configured in the comfortable 3-3-3 layout

It was nice to fly in a half-empty flight in Economy Class.

More photos of my seat 

What do I think of the Economy Class seats? 

I find it to be quite comfortable especially for the seat width. For me, it is wide enough for my body shoulder. Legroom space was adequate while the seat itself is comfortable. No complaints at all. 

The flight to Bangkok was non-eventful. It was a quick 2 hours ride with crew serving us a snack box midway through the flight. Easier job for this set compared to the next one (flying home to Istanbul). 

As this is the Jet Airways' aircraft, I would need to fly on Turkish's metal to do a comparison. Perhaps on Singapore to Istanbul (new airport) one of these days. 

It was nice to experience Jet Airways' interior with Turkish's in-flight service. 

Comparison to my recent LOT's ERJ-190 flight (Click here for the trip report), the legroom space on this aircraft is much better.

IFE System 

It was a good decent IFE system for 2014. The lack of a USB port and the drink holder on the back of each Economy Class seats. 

I think it was a touch screen if I am not wrong.

Flight map - I wished I was flying on a longer route!

Mood lighting 

We waited for a while at the tarmac outside our parking gate while waiting for permission to taxi. During that time, the cabin crew played with the mood lighting. Once we were cleared to taxi, it was back to normal lighting. 

So which is your preferred colour?

What's inside the seat pocket?

Safety card for the leased Jet Airways aircraft

In-flight magazine is standard on all Turkish Airlines' aircraft

In-flight snack 

Window shot photos

My rating:

The website including app: 7/10

On ground service: 7/10

Bangkok Airport experience: 7/10

In-flight service: 8/10

IFE System: 6/10

Cabin interior: 8/10

Cleanliness: 10/10

Punctuality: 10/10

In-flight snack: 6/10

Seat comfort: 7/10

Overall rating: 76/100

Conclusion

It was a nice flight experience on Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-300ER. I am glad I decided to fly with this airline as at that time, I wasn't sure how long Jet Airways aircraft was on loan to Turkish, so to catch this aircraft during this timing, I am lucky. The reason why Turkish Airlines leased these aircraft was that they needed capacity while Jet Airways was over capacity. Turkish Airlines were also taking delivery of their own Boeing 777-300ER so why not lease these aircraft and at the same time they can train their crew, letting them gain more hours on this beauty. 

For my next part of this flying trip, you can click here. (Kenya Airways BKK-HKG 787 flight)

Thanks for reading!

Charles