Turkish Airlines A350-900 Business Class Review: Boston to Istanbul

Check-in in Boston was slower than we expected, particularly by business class standards, but we still had plenty of time for the lounge.

Before the flight, we had access to the Lufthansa Lounge in Boston Logan's Terminal E.

We thought the lounge was good. There was food and drink available, plenty of space to sit, and it was a much more comfortable environment than waiting at the gate. The lounge was consistent with other Lufthansa lounges we've visited - sleek, modern and clean with everything you need.

It wasn't a lounge that became a highlight of the trip, but it was a good place to spend some time before boarding. The lounge was uncrowded, with a good selection of food and alcohol with a bartender serving drinks.

Turkish Airlines' A350-900 business class cabin has 32 seats arranged in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration, giving every passenger direct aisle access.

We immediately liked how the cabin looked. The dark finishes, grey seats and surrounding seat shells give the cabin a sleek and modern appearance.

Before departure, we were offered a choice of welcome drinks and both went with Turkish Airlines' signature mint lemonade. It was refreshing and a nice way to start the flight.

The seat itself was clean and comfortable, with enough privacy for an overnight flight. The configuration of the seat makes it feel more secluded than some of the more open business class seats we've flown.

The biggest issue we found with the seat was the foot cubby. It felt a little cramped, particularly when trying to get comfortable in the lie-flat position. It wasn't enough to make the seat uncomfortable, but it was probably the biggest weakness of an otherwise very solid seat.

Overall, the seat looked great and was comfortable for the overnight flight, even if there are more spacious business class seats out there.

We had everything we needed for an overnight flight, and the presentation fit well with the premium feel of the cabin. The kit included a toothbrush, toothpaste, an eyemask, a pair of socks, earplugs, hand cream, and lip balm.

The food was one of the things we were most excited about.

Turkish Airlines has an onboard chef who came through the cabin and took our orders. It adds something different to the meal service and was one of the features we had been looking forward to experiencing.

Another feature we really liked was dine on demand. Having more control over when we ate rather than having the entire cabin follow exactly the same schedule makes the meal service feel more relaxed.

Appetizers

We both ordered the Turkish mezze, which was one of the dishes we had been particularly excited to try. It didn't disappoint. The selection was great, and the hummus in particular was very good.

We also tried the creamy mushroom soup as a second appetizer. Both appetizers were excellent and ended up being one of the strongest parts of the meal.

Main Courses

For the mains, we tried two different options.

The beef brochette was good overall. The beef was slightly on the dry side, but still above average for beef in the sky.

The cheese ravioli was tasty and another good choice.

Overall, we were happy with the food. There was plenty of choice, everything we ordered was good, and the appetizers in particular stood out. But the overall dining experience didn't quite reach the level we had expected going into the flight.

Part of that probably came down to expectations. Having a chef onboard and taking orders is a nice touch, but we didn't find that aspect noticeably elevated the quality of the food itself.

If we hadn't gone into the flight with such high expectations around the dining experience, we might have come away even more impressed.

That's not to say we were disappointed. We weren't. The food was good, the appetizers were particularly strong and the dine-on-demand service was a definite plus.

On overnight business class flights, you're typically given the option of being woken for breakfast or left to sleep.

Depending on the flight and arrival time, we sometimes choose to skip breakfast and get as much sleep as possible. On this flight, we opted to be woken up.

Breakfast started with freshly squeezed orange juice, fresh fruit, yogurt, chicken breast, smoked turkey and cheese. For the main course, we both opted for the pancakes.

It was a nice way to finish the flight before arriving in Istanbul.

The flight attendants passed through the cabin regularly and were attentive when we needed something. We never felt ignored, and there weren't any noticeable service issues.

We'd describe the crew as efficient and business-like rather than overly friendly or welcoming. That's not necessarily a positive or a negative. Some passengers may actually prefer a quieter style of service where they're mostly left alone.

On an overnight flight, we were perfectly fine with it. The crew did their jobs well and were there when we needed them. It just wasn't the warmest or most memorable service we've experienced in business class.

The cabin looked really sharp, the seat was comfortable, the food was good and the Lufthansa Lounge was a nice place to start the trip. Service was efficient and attentive when we needed it, although it wasn't among the warmest or most memorable we've experienced.

Almost everything landed in a similar category: good to very good, rather than exceptional.

The cramped footwell was probably our biggest criticism of the seat, while the dining experience didn't quite reach the high expectations we had going into the flight. Still, those are relatively minor criticisms of what was a very enjoyable business class experience.

Turkish Airlines' A350 business class didn't quite reach the elite level we had imagined before the flight, but there was very little to complain about either. Everything was consistently above average and we were still very comfortable during our flight.

Considering what we redeemed for the flight, we felt we got particularly good value from our Aeroplan points.

Overall, it was a solid business class product and one we'd happily fly again.