TRIP REPORT: Turkish Airlines, Sydney - Belgrade

TRIP REPORT

Written by Marko Matić

Flight date: 18.5.2025.

Flight time: 9h 10min. SYD-KUL, 10h 30min. KUL-IST, 1h 15min. IST-BEG.

Total flight duration (BEG-SYD): 26h 00min. including 3h 20min. transfer at IST and 1h 45min. stopover in KUL.

Flight numbers: TK175 (SYD-IST) and TK1079 (IST-BEG).

Aircraft: Airbus A350 and Boeing 737.

Luggage: 1x30kg checked luggage, 1x8kg cabin luggage and one small bag that could fit under the seat.

After spending almost a month Down Under, it was time to begin our journey back home - starting with our arrival at the airport. We got there a little more than three hours before our scheduled departure, which turned out to be a good idea given the number of people waiting to check in. The check-in process itself wasn’t very smooth. There was only one female staff member who clearly knew what she was doing - she was helping other agents while managing her own line. The others were quite slow and seemed unsure of what they were doing. She also confirmed that our checked luggage would be sent all the way to Belgrade.

Queue for the Turkish A350 flight

vs this queue for Qatar Airways A380 flight to Doha

Anyway, after checking in, we went straight to passport control - but that part didn’t go as smoothly either. First, my passport and some of my friends’ passports weren’t recognised by SmartGates, so the staff told us we needed to go through a manual inspection. However, even the border police couldn’t scan our passports using their document readers. So, they sent us for another manual check, where one lady inspected our passports using a loupe. Thank God, everything went fine during that second inspection, and she let us all through.

After a slightly uncomfortable situation, we went through security, which was smooth, and then entered the duty-free area. My first impression of the airport was that it felt small - definitely not like a major hub - but it also had everything you needed.

Although this creepy looking robot wasn't necessary

I decided to grab a bite at Macca's, after some plane spotting and wandering around the airport. It had this cool conveyor belt that circled around the restaurant, transferring food from the kitchen upstairs to the kiosk/pick-up counters.

Since my stomach was full, the only way left to spend more money at the airport was by browsing for some last-minute Aussie souvenirs. While waiting at the cash register, I noticed a pair of Sony headphones on sale and asked the staff if I could try them out. They let me, and I also asked whether the headphones were worth the price. To their credit, they were honest - they said the headphones were “fine for the sale price,” but they wouldn’t recommend them at full price.

I also bought this adapter for the IFE screens

Now that I had treated myself nicely and since most shops at the airport were starting to close, I went to the gate and waited for boarding. I don’t remember when boarding started or how it was organized (I was a little too tired to remember, to be honest), but it was completed 8 minutes after the scheduled departure time, and pushback started 7 minutes later. We taxied for the next 18 minutes until we lifted off from the runway.

There was a pillow, headphones and blanket on each seat

The legroom is good for someone who is around 180cm tall

Twenty to thirty minutes after takeoff, the crew handed out menu cards, bottles of water, and amenity kits to every passenger. Inside the amenity kits were socks, earplugs, slippers, an eyemask, a toothbrush, and toothpaste.

The food arrived nearly an hour later, but it was worth the wait. I chose the grilled chicken breast, which tasted excellent. This meal didn’t just look good, it was very flavorful.

After that tasty meal, it was time for me to try and catch some z’s. Considering that I got three seats to myself, I was finally able to get into a comfortable sleep position. I did manage to get around an hour or two-ish of sleep, and then the crew turned on the lights, so I thought “Oh it is time for a second meal, I must have slept a few hours”. That was until I looked at the time left for Kuala Lumpur and after waiting for the second meal for nearly three hours. I am assuming that the crew on this flight was probably new, since it was taking this long for our food to arrive.

This time the food was okay, but it is definitely not worth waiting that long, I chose cherry juice this time instead of water. You can also see that we got “Cheese & Relish Turkish Roll” instead of "Cheese & Tomato Sandwich" like it says on the menu.

Two hours after the second meal, we touched down in humid Malaysia, in the meantime the crew performed the disinsection.

We were once again told to leave the aircraft in order for it to be cleaned. We were allowed to leave the gate area to go to the restroom. After a brief hour and a half stop in Kuala Lumpur, our journey to Belgrade continued. It was dark outside so I couldn’t really catch any interesting plane or anything else at the airport. However, that didn’t mean the views of the city from above would be boring.

Since it was very early in the morning, the crew handed out menu cards at sunrise. About an hour after handing out the menu cards to every passenger, we were served breakfast along with a beverage. This time, I went with the pancakes. Although they were tasty, the portion seemed a bit small, to be honest.

After breakfast, I enjoyed the spectacular views outside the window. And it was finally time to put my new headphones to the test while exploring what the in-flight entertainment (IFE) had to offer. Even though I don’t enjoy or watch mainstream content, the selection of movies, TV shows, music, and games is fantastic for the average passenger (and impressively up to date). You’ll definitely find some of the newer releases available.

I even managed to find the song "Oro" by Jelena Tomasević

A few hours passed, and the crew began serving our second meal of the flight. This time, I chose the noodles, which tasted very good and left me feeling full. The rest of the flight was uneventful, except for the beautiful scenery. And three hours after the second meal we finally touched down in Istanbul.

After we landed and exited the plane, we headed straight to security. The walking distance from our arrival gate was very short - it took us maybe five minutes to get there. We spent another ten minutes waiting in line, and the procedure itself took a little longer than expected. As far as I remember, some of the bags ahead of mine were checked manually. So, in total, it took us about 20 minutes from exiting the plane to entering the duty-free area - which, for an airport of that size, is impressive. Overall, it was a very positive transit experience at IST.

I have to say that my initial thought upon walking in Istanbul Airport, after spending almost a month at the other end of the World was “It’s good, I’m here, I’m in the neighbourhood” or in Serbian “Dobro je, tu sam, u komšiluku sam”. My dad also told me that he felt relief when I texted him that I was in Istanbul.

After a long walk through the airport, I started to feel a bit hungry, so I looked for somewhere to eat. I ended up choosing Burger King and let me tell you, IST really slaps your wallet.

All of this was €30

Anyway, it was time for me to slowly make my way to the gate. When I arrived, it was a bit chaotic. Our gate had two sub-gates, and one of them was assigned to our flight. At the same time, however, the Turkish Airlines flight to Paris had its gate changed to ours. To make things even messier, the Paris flight was operated with an A330, while ours was a smaller B737, so the whole procedure became confusing. Passengers didn’t know where to go, and even the gate agents looked unsure of what was happening.

Even in all that mess, one of the employees still managed to inform us that it would be a good idea to do a gate check here. He asked who was willing to have their luggage moved down, and for those who agreed, he handed out these stickers. And after the long, exhausting and confusing process we finally boarded the plane.

The legroom is excellent on this short flight

Ten to fifteen minutes after our scheduled departure time, the engines slowly started, and shortly afterward, we began taxiing. Taxiing took another fifteen to twenty minutes before we lifted off from the ground.

The crew didn’t waste any time starting their service, less than 15 minutes had passed since takeoff. First, we were offered drinks of our choice, and shortly afterward, food was served to each passenger.

The rest of the flight was uneventful and we arrived in Belgrade ten to fifteen minutes after the scheduled time of arrival.

It took us about 10 minutes to get to the automated border control. The area was completely deserted when we arrived, so we passed through in no time.

There was a bit of a queue for passport control however

After this, we waited for our luggage, and I must say my checked bag arrived scuffed and a bit worn, even though I had used a stretchable suitcase cover. My gate-checked suitcase also arrived with the handle extended, and I remember that at IST, the handle hadn’t been retracted even minutes before it was supposed to go into the cargo hold. So I don’t know why the employees decided not to retract it only on my suitcase, considering that all the other suitcases had their handles down.

Some passengers had it even worse, suitcases with holes in the corners or missing wheels. So, my advice, don’t hesitate to pay extra for the luggage protection service at the airport. It can definitely make a difference.

Conclusion: All things considered, this was a long but pretty smooth journey home. Turkish Airlines handled the flights well, the crew was attentive, the meals (at least most of them) were tasty, and getting three seats to myself definitely helped with getting some rest. There were a few moments where things felt a bit disorganized, like the delayed second meal and the gate mess in Istanbul, but nothing that seriously threw the trip off course.

Transit in Istanbul was surprisingly efficient, and it still felt like a step closer to home. The only real letdown was the state of the luggage at the end, not just mine, but others’ too. So I’d seriously recommend looking into luggage protection if you're flying this with Turkish. For comparison, when I flew with Lufthansa, the luggage was not in nearly as bad condition as it was here, so that really stood out.

After nearly a month at the other end of the world, it felt good to finally be home.

Thank you for taking your time to read this trip report, I hope you have enjoyed it.

Also here are some of the pics that I took while I was there. :)

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