Turkish Airlines TK509 Review: Jakarta to Istanbul Daytime Flight Experience

Connecting Southeast Asia to Europe via Turkey is a popular route for international travellers. During our trip in January 2024, we flew with Turkish Airlines on flight TK509 from Jakarta (CGK) to Istanbul (IST).

Departing Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in the morning at 9:50 AM and landing at Istanbul Airport in the early evening at 6:25 PM, this daytime flight spans 12 hours and 35 minutes.

Here is our honest flight review of Turkish Airlines TK509, covering boarding efficiency, seat comfort, inflight meals, amenities, and onboard service standards.

🇯🇵 この記事を日本語で読む：【TK509搭乗記】ジャカルタ発イスタンブール行き！ターキッシュエアラインズ機内食・足元スペース・アメニティ徹底解説

Index

Boarding & Cabin Layout
1. Boarding Process
2. Seat Space & Layout
Inflight Catering: Meals & Beverages
1. Breakfast Service
2. Mid-Flight Snack & Dinner
Inflight Amenities & Cabin Service
1. Complimentary Amenities
2. Onboard Service Standards
Inflight Entertainment & Screen Systems
Final Verdict

Boarding & Cabin Layout

Prior to arriving at Jakarta Airport, a slight delay of a few minutes had already been reported on the flight status.

Boarding Process

Boarding was announced by seat numbers rather than grouped zones. However, despite checking boarding passes individually, all passengers essentially boarded at the same time, making the seat-number separation feel somewhat redundant.

Seat Space & Layout

The economy cabin featured a 3-3-3 seating configuration. The seats provided generous legroom and comfortable pitch for a long-haul journey, allowing us to stretch out easily during the 12.5-hour flight.

Inflight Catering: Meals & Beverages

Turkish Airlines is well known for its inflight catering, and three separate services were offered during the flight: Breakfast, a mid-flight snack, and Dinner.

Breakfast Service

Shortly after departure, breakfast was served featuring an omelette accompanied by potato croquettes, sautéed mushrooms, fresh fruit, sliced vegetables, and cheese. Interestingly, hot bread rolls were served separately by the crew after the main breakfast trays had already been handed out.

Mid-Flight Snack & Dinner

Mid-Flight Snack: A light snack consisting of crackers was offered between meal services.
Dinner Choice: For dinner, passengers could choose between sautéed white fish with potatoes, or a chicken Nasi Goreng. As with breakfast, hot bread was distributed separately after the main meal trays were served.
Beverages & Wine: Drinks included various fruit juices, coffee, tea, red and white wine, and Turkish beer. Be sure to try vishne (sour cherry juice), a refreshing Turkish favorite! The red wine served was decent, though noticeably on the sweeter side.

Turkish Airlines TK509 dinner: sautéed white fish with potatoes

Inflight Amenities & Cabin Service

Complimentary Amenities

One of the highlights of flying long-haul economy with Turkish Airlines is the complimentary amenity kit. Upon boarding, a pair of in-flight slippers and an eye mask were waiting at each seat—a very welcome touch for a daytime long-haul route.

Onboard Service Standards

The flight crew were efficient and polite, though somewhat reserved. Unlike the warm, smiley service typical of major Southeast Asian carriers, some crew members appeared rather solemn.

Drink refills and water passes were not offered frequently through the cabin. If you need extra water between meals, calling the crew or walking to the rear galley is the most efficient option (though the rear pantry area was unstaffed when we visited).

Inflight Entertainment & Screen Systems

Each seat is equipped with a personal seatback screen featuring a multilingual user interface:

Language Options: While the selection of Japanese films was somewhat limited, major international releases were well represented with various audio tracks.

Selection: The movie library offers an extensive selection of international cinema and classic blockbuster titles.

Final Verdict

Turkish Airlines flight TK509 offers a reliable, comfortable way to travel directly from Jakarta to Istanbul at a fair price.

With spacious economy legroom, tasty catering, complimentary slippers and eye masks, and a convenient daytime schedule landing in Istanbul before evening, it remains an excellent choice for crossing between Asia and Europe.