Turkish Airlines TK55 Singapore to Istanbul Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Flight Review (for London Gatwick)

Turkish Airlines TK55 is the daily red eye flight from Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 1 to Istanbul. I managed to snag a good fare from Singapore to London Gatwick return for just S$1,088.60 return, which would also allow me to try Turkish Airlines for the first time, and the stopover in Istanbul may help my body clock adjust faster to the new time zones in both flight directions. For this first leg of the journey to London, my flight from Singapore to Istanbul is operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 1

Check-in

Turkish Airlines operates out of Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 1. Check-in is at Row 9 with FAST Check-in Kiosks, and early check-in is available at Jewel from 2pm.

However, there was an issue with the FAST Check-in Kiosk as the Turkish Airlines programme insisted that I keyed in a Turkish mobile number for contact purposes, which I obviously do not have.

Nevertheless, the check-in staff at the bag drop managed to get my check-in completed traditionally, and even had proper boarding passes issued instead of the receipt-like version from the FAST Check-in Kiosks.

Both boarding passes were issued from Singapore all the way through to London Gatwick.

My boarding pass for my Turkish Airlines TK55 flight from Singapore to Istanbul.

My boarding pass for my Turkish Airlines TK1981 flight from Istanbul to London Gatwick.

Immigration was a breeze with the many Enhanced Immigration Automated Clearance System (eIACS) automated lanes available, and I was in the transit area in less than 30 seconds.

Double-checking my gate on the screens inside the transit area.

Yup, D37 it is, all the way towards the end of the pier.

Heading down the full length of the D pier.

Gate D37

There was quite a line for security screening at Gate D37. I wonder where all these passengers were at check-in, since it was completely empty when I got there.

TC-LLK will be my first Turkish Airlines flight in my life, flying me from Singapore to Istanbul.

I got to the gate hold room when boarding was halfway through already, so I headed straight to the plane.

Turkish Airlines TK55

Boarding

Boarding my first Turkish Airlines flight.

It was a very full flight, and my seat was quite in front, so I didn’t take an interior shot or else I will have more than 100 angry faces to blur out.

Amenities

Some frills were laid on my seat already, which is nice to have, but it greatly reduced the space in my seat.

A pillow, blanket, amenities kit, and headphones are placed on my seat before boarding.

The headset had an additional cushion around it. While it’s not noise cancelling, it was certainly more comfortable to put these on than the usual headsets with hard plastic biting onto my ear.

The Turkish Airlines Economy Class amenity kit contains slippers, socks, an eyeshade, lip balm, and a toothbrush set.

The in-flight entertainment (IFE) screen was big, taking up almost the entire width of the seat back in front. Headphone jacks and a USB power socket is also available on the bottom left, with physical buttons on the bottom right to adjust the volume, channel (didn’t really use it), the reading light, and call button.

To start, tap the language you want the IFE to be in.

The legroom on board Turkish Airlines’ Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Lights were dimmed after the cabin doors were shut and before the safety video.

The safety video is played during pushback. The Turkish version is played first, followed by the English version.

Türk Hava Yolları Uçuş Emniyet Videosu

Turkish Airlines Safety Video

The main menu of the Turkish Airlines IFE screen on board the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

The movie selection on board is quite up to date.

There are also a variety of TV programmes.

Live television is also available in areas with WiFi connection.

As for me, I decided to watch my flight path for take-off.

There is even a live camera to see out front and bottom of the plane.

My Turkish Airlines TK55 flight departed from Istanbul at 11.47pm – 12 minutes late.

Menu Card

Menu cards are handed out about half an hour after cruising altitude.

The menu is in both Turkish and English.

While there are 2 selections for Supper, I was surprised to see Chicken Tikka Masala offered. The other option, Fusilli with Basil Sauce was expected.

I had a tough choice choosing between the 2 options as while I wanted pasta, Indian food on flights work well too.

I was surprised to see 2 options for breakfast as other reviews online only had 1. It was either a Cheddar Cheese Omelette or a Waffle with Raspberry Coulis. I know what I’ll be having.

A selection of juices, soft drinks, hot drinks, wines, and beer are also offered throughout the flight.

I had an issue with my tray table as the right arm wasn’t supported and collapsed down sideways. I informed the crew about it, but unfortunately there was only 1 empty seat available on this flight, and it was a middle seat, so I chose to remain in my own seat while propping up the tray table with my leg.

Chicken Tikka Masala

I decided to go for the Chicken Tikka Masala for supper as I decided this would have more taste than a plain pasta with mushrooms.

The sides included a white eggplant salad, a garden fresh salad, and a chocolate cake. For drinks, I ordered a Turkish white wine and a sour cherry juice which sounded unique.

The Chicken Tikka Masala was nicely presented. with “aloo gobi” spicy potatoes and cauliflower pilaf with peas. This makes it 3 dishes with rice. As expected for a European airline, it was just slightly spicy, but packed a good flavour.

Toilet

Toilets were quite heavily used, and there was quite a bit of turbulence due to the weather throughout the flight, so it wasn’t very clean overall.

A baby changing table is available above the toilet bowl.

The sink and mirror available on board.

There is also a cosmetic mirror on the side which enlarges your face.

Soap is provided in a separate bottle (blue), with a cologne spray to keep fresh on the long flight.

Cheddar Cheese Omelette

While there were 2 breakfast options, only the Cheddar Cheese Omelette was available when it got to my turn, despite sitting rather up front in the cabin. Nevertheless, the omelette is what I would have wanted anyway, so the inconvenience made no difference to me.

The Waffle with Raspberry Coulis is quite a popular choice to my surprise.

The sides included assorted cheese and fresh fruits. For drinks, I ordered a black coffee and apple juice.

The Cheddar Cheese Omelette was presented nicely on first look, but alas it tasted very bland. The omelette was also just a simple half fold on a round egg, so it tasted like a rubbery pancake with tasteless cheese instead of an actual omelette. I had to use the salt and pepper packet to get some salt taste into the egg, which did not enhance the egg flavour, and just tasted of salt instead.

I tried to check my connecting gate when landing, but the information is not available even upon landing.

Landing

Descending into Istanbul Airport.

The camera was not focused right, but I could still make out the lights at the airport.

My Turkish Airlines TK55 flight landed in Istanbul at 5.43am – 27 minutes early.

Istanbul Airport

Heading up the aerobridge.

Heading up to the arrivals level from the aerobridge.

Taking the travellators to the transfer path.

I had just 2 hours to my next flight, so unfortunately I did not exit out to Istanbul this time.

Heading down to the transfers and immigration level.

Istanbul Airport International Transfer

Istanbul Airport is quite transfer-centric, with a wide transfer area the moment the escalator reached down, even before immigration. In fact, people entering Türkiye will have to walk past the transfer area first before reaching immigration.

This made my transfer very efficient and I was up to the departures level in less than 10 minutes including security screening.

Conclusion

It was a nice full-service flight with Turkish Airlines, 2 meals on this 10 hours and 55 minutes flight. There were no snacks in between though, be it a snack service or a self-service box in the galley. Nevertheless, that would be the time when everyone will want to catch up on some sleep. Unfortunately I did not get much sleep, as I still felt rather cramped on this very full flight even with an aisle seat, and the weather conditions made the flight rather bumpy throughout.