Hi All -

Looking at LAX to Kilimanjaro in the coming weeks and not sure which airline to do. Never flown Turkish or any of the following airlines so would love the feedback. This will be a purchased ticket (not using miles). Options include:

1. Turkish Airlines - (LAX-IST-JRO) 1hr layover in IST, comfort economy avail on LAX-IST segment only. IST-JRO is regular economy or biz for the 7hr flight.

2. Ethiopian Airlines - (LAX-DUB(no plane change)-ADD-JRO) on a B787 Dreamliner. I dont know if they offer a premium economy seat. A bit less expensive than Turkish but again, never flown Ethiopian or heard of anyone who has.

3. KLM: (LAX-AMS-JRO) - most expensive of the bunch but not rediculous. Premium economy available on all segments for an upgraded fee (approx $300 each way).

Has anyone flown this route, or familiar enough with these airlines to make a comparison?

Thanks,

Blasky

 

Comfort+Business on TK would bring you exactly the same seats LAX-IST and IST-JRO. TK uses 737-900 on these African routes with longhaul Comfort seats sold as short haul business class.

TK has good food even in economy and fabulous lounge. 1h is the minimum intl to intl connection time. I see that it is 50 minutes in IST on outbound connection. TK will pay overnight accommodation.

 

Interesting... when I priced out comfort economy, its said that it was not available on the IST-JRO portion. I was under the impression that that leg would be regular economy. Perhaps I am mistaken.

Also, I think the conenction time is 1h5m.... still a very tight connection.

 

Narrow body aircraft have business class which is the same seat as the comfort class seat on the wide bodies. You would have to do a search for business on the IST-JRO.

From LAX to IST on the 777, the seat below is "Comfort Class"
DSC02774 by Brian H, on Flickr

On their 737 / A321 the same seats are Business Class

 

There are different tabs on THY site. You certainly pay more for Comfort+Business:

Comfort(&Eco) Semi-Flex.
Deducted refund
From 2,165 (USD)

Comfort (&Eco.) - Flexible
Right to cancellation/refund
From 2,790 (USD)

Comfort (&Bus.) - Flexible
Right to cancellation/refund
From 3,490 (USD)

 

Are you *G? If you don't have lounge access, TK loses one big selling point over the others.

 

They don't...

 

If it's comfort you want TK is probably your best bet. If the fare is a concern Ethiopian currently charges $992 RT for LAX-JRO which is a pretty decent deal.

 

KLM does NOT have a Premium Economy Cabin. All they offer is a standard Economy seat with a few extra inches of legroom.

 

I have flown all three airlines but only KLM to Tanzania. TK in comfort economy (LAX-IST) and business (IST-JRO) or economy is a better deal than comfort economy in KLM. Comfort Economy in KLM is almost the same as regular economy, but a tiny bit more legroom. Ethiopian doesn't offer PE and is standard economy seats and service. Check if your layover in IST allows you to take advantage of a free night or the city tour.