New player on flights to Europe gets top marks in economy (almost)

1 day ago 4

Flip Byrnes

The airline: Turkish Airlines

Route Istanbul to Sydney, flight TK174
Frequency Daily
Aircraft Airbus A350-900 (359)
Class Economy; seat 16K, window
Flight time Istanbul to Kuala Lumpur is 10 hours, 15 minutes. The second leg Kuala Lumpur to Sydney is 7 hours, 25 minutes.

Turkish Airlines plans to launch non-stop Sydney-Istanbul flights later this year.Getty Images

Checking in

I’ve seamlessly checked in at Frankfurt for a 7am connecting flight to Istanbul (Turkish Airlines flies to more countries in the world than any other airline). So boarding onto Sydney via Kuala Lumpur I’m already in the furthest flung corner of Europe, making the remaining journey feel mercifully short.

There’s a single flight number so we have one boarding pass and shuffle off (with carry ons) in Kuala Lumpur with time for a quick coffee to shuffle back onto the same plane – cleaned from tip to toe with refreshed pillows and blanket. Turkish Airlines doesn’t have rights between Malaysia and Australia, meaning it can’t carry passengers solely on that sector and can only fly passengers through to the final destination.

Baggage

Checked luggage is 23kg, 30kg, 35kg or 40kg depending on which of the four categories of economy fare has been booked. All fares include a cabin bag of up to eight kilograms.

Loyalty scheme

Miles & Smiles. The airline is a Star Alliance member, along with Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and United Airlines, among many others.

The seat

Seats are in a 3-3-3 configuration.

The seats are comfortable at 18-inches (46cm) wide with a pitch (legroom) of 32 inches (81cm). Their A350-900 fleet has an average age of only 2.4 years, and the interior is a smart navy with stylish red pops.

Entertainment + tech

Thank you, plane gods – a USB port! (Along with other power points). Turkish Airlines is a regular entertainment award winner, with options ranging from wildlife documentaries to the recent Mission:Impossible on a 13.3″ (34 cm) crystal clear touchscreen display.

Service

There’s five courteous, friendly crew serving the cabin, dispensing amenity packs – which have been cancelled by most airlines for economy passengers – a thoughtful touch I appreciate.

Food

The grilled kofte is restaurant quality.Flip Byrnes

Is it a burger? Is it a dish? On the first leg a ‘chicken burger’ is presented with chicken patty, sauteed vegetables, dips and bread roll on separate plates. Figuring it’s a build-your-own situation, I devour the extremely delicious maybe-burger. The second dish of traditional, juicy mince kofte with a succulent tomato bulgur, buttered rice and mung bean salad beautifully salutes their DNA as Turkey’s national flag carrier. Both meals are restaurant level in flavour and creativity.

The chicken panini is sad and soggy.Flip Byrnes

My fork is poised excitedly during the second leg, but Malaysia catering hasn’t understood the assignment. A mushroom and omelette is piping hot and palatable, but something in my soul dies with the breakfast in a box. Like the chicken and Emmental panini I feel sad and soggy. Blast you, panini, we almost hit economy food perfection.

Sustainability

Turkish Airlines aims to be carbon-neutral by 2050 and is expanding the use of SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) to new routes. *

One more thing

Two free nights in a 4-star Istanbul hotel? Sign me up! The Turkish Airlines Stopover offer is like a mini bonus holiday and reason alone to fly with the airline.

The price

From about $1800 Sydney to Istanbul return in economy class. Flights to European cities with a lot of competition are cheaper, for example Sydney to Rome is just $1350 return; Sydney to Paris is $1450.

The verdict

“I’ve just booked them for Christmas, have I made a good choice?” a curious friend messages. “Excellent move! Won’t regret,” is my immediate reply. If you haven’t heard much about Turkish Airlines (yet), it’s because they began flying their own planes into Sydney and Melbourne in late 2024 (previously it was a codeshare partner to Asia). So now you can experience from our shores why they won Skytrax’s Best Airline in Europe award in 2025 for the 10th time.

The short legs from Istanbul make this feel like the world’s quickest flight to Europe, though it will feel even quicker when the airline launches its planned non-stop flights from Sydney to Istanbul this year. If it wasn’t for the greasy chicken panini in an otherwise gastronomic adventure, it would be top marks.