Dec 2012 - Turkish Adventure

Flight #26 - Turkish Airlines 4 

New York (JFK) – Istanbul (IST)  
Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 
Depart: 12:55PM / Arrive: 5:45AM (+ 1 Day)
Duration: 9hr 50min 
Aircraft: Boeing 777 
Seat: 23D and 23E (Economy) 
Mileage: 5,016 miles
Lifetime Miles:  53,766

In October, my father found out he was going to have some free time coming up (a lot of it), so my mother convinced him to go to Israel for all of January.

He agreed, but threw out the idea of having a weekend stopover in Istanbul so he could try flying Turkish Airlines (a partner of United Airlines in the Star Alliance).  It was going to be my first long flight since August when we went to Japan/Korea.  But this time, I was almost 14 months old and fully aware of my surroundings.  I had a sense of humor and an understanding of boredom/frustration as well.

So when it was time to board the full Turkish flight, the departure gate was like a cattle call. Dozens of people started getting in line way before any announcements were made.  No regard for priority or order. I could make a comment about the demographics of the passengers on this particular flight, but I'm sure my parents would censor it anyway, so I'll refrain.

So instead of being able to walk around on my own feet having my mother chase me around the airport, I had to be held close since we were now in the middle of this massive line 30 minutes before normal. I was getting frustrated with the lack of order/process (the half-Asian side in me) and I was starting to express my disappointment (the half-Israeli side) by complaining and crying.

And when I start freaking out, I can't really stop.  So I continued making a scene while the onlooking passengers looked upon my parents with pity which slowly turned to personal disappointment when they realized they might be sitting next to a screaming baby for 11 hours.

Then, the flight staff called for passengers with disabilities and small children to come up front.  Suddenly, dozens of the non-American passengers collectively decided they met those qualifications because they all started to rush to the gate.  I didn't see them with any kids or wheelchairs, so I can only assume they were mentally disabled.

We finally boarded and took our seats (center seats behind the bulkhead in Economy for the bassinet).  While we were stowing our belongings, the other passengers decided to use our row as a walk-through to get to the other side.

My mother started to yell at them and my father passive-aggressively just stood there in the space to box out any Turkish grandfathers trying to cut across.  A few harsh words broke out, but I really couldn't hear because of all my crying.

It was a horrible start to a long flight, and it didn't really get any better.

• My father's in flight entertainment (IFE) didn't work.
• We accidentally pre-ordered the bland Kosher meal options on Turkish Airlines (which is well known in the flying community for the best in flight food)
• After my 1 dose of Benadryl, I only slept 2 hours then wanted to move about the cabin for the next 8.
• Certain demographics of people opt to use less deodorant than a typical American does.
• And I got spanked for the first time for acting up and refusing to sit quietly/still.

Not my finest moment.