Aboard TK81 ... IST to BOS

Smooth flying so far. We have about three hours left before we land at Logan Airport. Time to do a quick catch up footprint.

I’ve already posted about the glitch that has us heading to Boston instead of Houston ... no quarantine facilities for those who transited a Schengen country ... should that be necessary.

Since the tickets were issued through United, however, we had to get the change made through UA. Though Star Alliance Partners, the two airlines’ rezervation systems apparently don’t talk to each other.

Placed a call to UA ... no can do ... the wait time to get to an agent was two hours. Tried to make the change online ... no can do ... had to check in to the flight first ... not possible on the UA site since the Houston flight was operated by THY. In the end, we just bought another set of award tickets — these through Boston — and then canceled the Houston tickets. Worked like a charm.

Boarding TK81 at 2:50p, we settled into our Biz Class seats — 5J/K ... last row in the cabin, with a bulkhead behind us. Excellent ... no one to cough or sneeze on us. The flight was 10 minutes late, departing the gate at 3:50p ... wheels up 30 minutes later.

THY is known for its good service, and this flight has not disappointed. The flight attendants have been quite attentive. The Meal service — which was preceded by wine + warm-from-the-oven nuts + nibbles — was excellent ... mezes (tapas); creamy red pepper soup; sea bass en papilotte (one of three main courses available); and a selection of desserts ... including a to-die-for chocolate bomb filled with chocolate mousse and a mango surprise. Really yummy!

After dinner, our lie-flat beds were prepared and the cabin lights were dimmed. Mui did manage to sleep for a few hours, but I was too wired. So I spent some time journaling, processing photos for this footprint, listening to music, and watching a movie or two on the in-flight entertainment system.

I checked out the views below ... but once we were over the Atlantic it was either 100% cloud cover or nothing but “water, water, everywhere.” We did see some amazing mountains while still over Europe ... will have to check the GPS tag to see if they were the Alps. If so ... wow! So little snow on those peaks!

And here we are ... all caught up. The aroma of food is wafting in the air ... the 👨‍🍳 is preparing the “before landing” meal. I think I am going to abstain ... I’m still stuffed from the first meal service.Read more