Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class Minsk to Istanbul

August 25, 2025August 25, 2025 Koen 0 Comments

This review covers my Turkish Airlines business class flight on an Airbus A321 from Minsk (MSQ) to Istanbul (IST).

Turkish Airlines flight

After my short side trip to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, it was time to fly on to my actual destination.

Again, I was flying with Turkish Airlines, this time in business class on a one-way trip from Minsk to Istanbul, connecting onward to Almaty in Kazakhstan.

As I explained in the trip report introduction, this was actually one of the cheapest ways to reach Kazakhstan, and it also earned me enough miles to renew my Star Alliance Gold status for another two years, so I didn’t really mind the detour through Belarus.

ploshchad pobedy victory square minsk belarus — *Ploshchad Pobedy (Victory Square) in Minsk. ©Paliparan*

minsk airport belarus business lounge — *Minsk Airport. ©Paliparan*

Boarding

After visiting the rather unusual Minsk Airport Business Lounge, I headed to my departure gate at this quirky airport, where I learned that my Turkish Airlines flight was delayed.

The inbound flight from Istanbul had arrived 40 minutes late, which meant a delayed departure back as well – something that could potentially cause problems when it came to catching my connecting flight to Almaty.

Business class on the Turkish Airlines Airbus A321 has comfortable recliner seats in a 2+2 configuration, with power sockets and individual entertainment screens at each seat.

I had pre-assigned seat 3A for myself and was fortunate not to have a seatmate beside me.

Since I have already reviewed the Turkish Airlines Airbus A321, I will not go into as much detail about the business class product in this article and only detail my experience on this particular flight.

minsk airport business lounge — *The Minsk Airport Business Lounge, with four-poster beds weirdly placed in the middle of the lounge.. ©Paliparan*

Minsk airport bar soviet — *Bar at one of the gate areas of Minsk Airport. ©Paliparan*

turkish airlines airbus a321 minsk — *The Turkish Airlines Airbus A321 arrives at Minsk Airport. ©Paliparan*

turkish airlines airbus a321 business class minsk istanbul flight — *Boarding the Turkish Airlines Airbus A321. ©Paliparan*

*Turkish Airlines Airbus A321 business class seats. ©Paliparan*

Minsk (MSQ) to Istanbul (IST)
Turkish Airlines – Flight TK284 – Airbus A321
Business class – Seat 3A
Departure: 16:25 – Arrival: 18:55
Flight time: 2h30m – Distance: 872 miles

flight minsk istanbul — *The flight from Minsk to Istanbul took 2 hours and 30 minutes. ©Great Circle Mapper*

Departure

About halfway through boarding, the friendly flight attendant who would be serving us in business class offered pre-departure drinks and handed out the menus for today’s flight.

For pre-departure beverages in business class, Turkish provides a choice of lemonade, cherry juice, orange juice or water, regardless of the route you fly.

I chose the refreshing mint lemonade – my usual pick when flying with Turkish Airlines.

There were only four other passengers in business class, while economy seemed around 80 to 90 percent full by the look of it.

After a delay of almost 50 minutes, we finally pushed back from the gate.

From my window seat, I enjoyed a final view of Minsk Airport with its mix of exotic aircraft, whether those in flying condition at the jet bridges or parked on the apron, or the older Soviet models abandoned in the grass.

There were plenty of aircraft from the Belarusian national airline Belavia in both the new and old livery, as well as a Turkmenistan Airlines Boeing 737 and some rare Soviet planes such as the Tupolev Tu-134UBL.

Take-off from Minsk was smooth, on what promised to be another fine day for flying with mostly clear blue skies.

lemonade pdb turkish airlines — *Lemonade PDB. ©Paliparan*

belavia planes minsk airport — *Two Belavia planes and a Turkmenistan Airlines Boeing 737 at Minsk Airport (MSQ). ©Paliparan*

belavia old livery — *Belavia Boeing 737-300 in the airline’s old livery. ©Paliparan*

soviet plane graveyard minsk airport — *Soviet plane graveyard with a couple of Ilyushin Il-76 freighters. ©Paliparan*

Tupolev Tu-134UBL minsk airport — *Tupolev Tu-134UBL. ©Paliparan*

minsk airport take-off view — *Minsk Airport take-off view. ©Paliparan*

belarus airspace — *Flying high above Belarus. ©Paliparan*

Dinner service

Dining in Turkish Airlines business class is almost always a pleasure, and this relatively short flight from Minsk to Istanbul was no exception.

First, my table was laid with a proper tablecloth, and the lovely flight attendant served my chosen drink – a glass of champagne.

Shortly afterwards, she returned with the appetiser plate, which was presented together with the dessert course (a cheese plate white chocolate mousse) for after the meal.

The starter – a selection of Turkish meze with some tzatziki – was very tasty.

After I had finished the appetisers, my main course was served.

I had chosen the grilled salmon with sautéed julienne vegetables and château potatoes from the menu, which turned out to be an excellent dish as well.

At this point, I had switched to a Turkish white wine to accompany the main course.

For the cheese and dessert, I chose another glass of wine, this time a red.

To finish the meal, I opted for a Turkish coffee, declining the offer of cognac or any similar drink.

Overall, it was a great meal for an intra-European flight, and I could not fault the friendly and highly professional service, as the flight attendant completed the entire meal service in just one hour and 20 minutes.

I always find that Turkish Airlines makes a great effort to provide an efficient meal service.

Although I personally do not mind a leisurely meal on a daytime flight – and I was by far the slowest to finish the meal in the business class cabin – I know many business class passengers appreciate it, as it leaves them time for a nap or to get some work done.

turkish airlines business class menu beverage list minsk istanbul flight — *Turkish Airlines business class menu and beverage list for my Minsk to Istanbul flight. ©Paliparan*

Lunch menu — *Today’s lunch menu. ©Paliparan*

turkish meze plate appetisers business class minsk — *Turkish meze plate. ©Paliparan*

grilled salmon turkish airlines business class — *Grilled filet of salmon. ©Paliparan*

cheese dessert turkish airlines business class minsk flight — *Cheese and dessert course. ©Paliparan*

danube delta flight turkish coffee — *Turkish coffee to conclude the excellent meal while flying over the Danube Delta on the Ukrainian-Romanian border. ©Paliparan*

Descending towards Istanbul

The best part of the Turkish Airlines flight from Minsk to Istanbul was yet to come, as even though it was partly cloudy on arrival, the views over Istanbul and the Bosphorus during our descent were absolutely spectacular.

I was far from the only one glued to the window and taking lots of pictures, as the passenger in 2A in front of me was doing exactly the same.

It was simply amazing to catch glimpses of the Bosphorus and its bridges across this narrow waterway through the cloud cover.

However, that was not all, as there were also impressive views of the dozens of skyscrapers of Istanbul’s Levent business district, the vast urban sprawl of this megacity, and the old Ataturk airport.

At one point, the sun even broke through the clouds, creating some spectacular scenes.

Although the pictures below give a fairly good impression, they do not do the views justice, as the arrival into Istanbul was far more spectacular from the plane window.

It easily ranks among my top five favourite landings of all time.

bosphorus bridge plane view turkish airlines business class minsk istanbul — *View over the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, the most northerly bridge across the Bosphorus. ©Paliparan*

bosphorus istanbul view plane — *Bosphorus as seen from the air. ©Paliparan*

Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge Bosphorus — *Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. ©Paliparan*

bosphorus istanbul — *Urban sprawl of Istanbul on both shores of the Bosphorus. ©Paliparan*

istanbul levent sky air view turkish airlines business class — *The high-rise buildings of the Levent, Istanbul’s business district, as seen from the plane. ©Paliparan*

ataturk airport — *Istanbul’s old Ataturk Airport. ©Paliparan*

plane view — *View from the plane. ©Paliparan*

final descent istanbul airport — *Starting our final descent towards Istanbul Airport. ©Paliparan*

istanbul water reservoir — *Large reservoir just outside of Istanbul. ©Paliparan*

final approach istanbul airport turkish airlines airbus a321 business class — *On final approach towards Istanbul Airport. ©Paliparan*

sun clouds airplane view istanbul turkish airlines minsk flight airbus a321 business class — *Sun breaking through the clouds. ©Paliparan*

beam of sunshine clouds — *The magical sight of a beam of sunshine breaking through the clouds. ©Paliparan*

Landing

Each time I see Istanbul’s mega airport from the air during landing, I can’t help but marvel at what a remarkable feat of engineering it is and how challenging the project must have been to complete.

I’m not saying Istanbul ranks among my favourite airports in the world – it has some drawbacks, particularly its vast size and the astronomically high prices at shops, bars and restaurants – but it is certainly an impressive place.

Among other features, Istanbul Airport has five runways and can handle three independent parallel take-offs or landings simultaneously, which is highly impressive to witness if you happen to be landing or taking off alongside another aircraft.

Due to its vast size, it can take some time for your aircraft to reach its remote parking position on the apron or at one of the many jet bridges at the terminal.

By the time my Turkish Airlines flight from Minsk reached the gate at Istanbul Airport, our delay was still just over 50 minutes.

This left less than 50 minutes of what had originally been a one hour 40 minute connection to reach my flight to Almaty.

Unfortunately, unlike flights from many other European countries, flights from Belarus are not considered “sterile” by Istanbul Airport authorities.

This means you cannot enter the terminal directly to catch your connecting flight but must follow a special transit route to the other side of the airport, where passengers entering Turkey proceed to immigration and transit passengers re-clear security to access the departures terminal.

Would I still make my flight to Almaty on time? I knew I had to rush!

istanbul airport landing — *Landing at Istanbul Airport. ©Paliparan*

landing view istanbul airport — *Istanbul Airport landing view. ©Paliparan*

istanbul airport terminal — *Taxiing to the terminal can take rather long in Istanbul. ©Paliparan*

gate istanbul airport turkish airlines — *Arriving at our gate. ©Paliparan*

Conclusion

I enjoy flying Turkish Airlines in business class, and this Airbus A321 flight from Minsk to Istanbul was no exception, with comfortable leather recliner seats and an excellent meal.

However, the absolutely spectacular views over the Bosphorus and Istanbul on arrival were the best part of this flight.

Trip report index

This article is part of the ‘Back to Central Asia: Travels Through Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan‘ trip report, which consists of the following chapters:

1. Review: TAROM Domestic Flight Bucharest to Cluj-Napoca
2. Cluj-Napoca: A Travel Guide to Transylvania’s Vibrant Capital
3. Turda Salt Mine and Gorge: An Easy Cluj-Napoca Day Trip
4. Cheile Turzii: Hiking Through the Impressive Turda Gorge
5. Review: Cluj-Napoca Airport Business Lounge
6. Guide: Free Turkish Airlines Transit Hotel at Istanbul Airport
7. Minsk, Belarus: Chasing Soviet Ghosts in Europe’s Last Dictatorship
8. Review: Minsk Airport International Business Lounge
9. Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class Minsk to Istanbul (current chapter)
10. Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class Istanbul to Almaty
10. A Visit to Almaty, Kazakhstan’s Vibrant Economic Capital