Turkish continues to offer one of the best business class values from the UK, and it starts with the aircraft: a widebody 787 with a proper reverse herringbone seat, on a sector barely four hours long. The Turkish mezze service is authentic and generous even at this length.
I paid £540 round-trip business class LHR-IST on this route — roughly a third below comparable British Airways or Lufthansa short-haul business fares for the same dates, and those competitors typically fly a standard narrowbody economy seat with the middle blocked rather than a genuine widebody product. Turkish Miles&Smiles award space is also generous if you hold Star Alliance miles.
The 787-9 business cabin uses a reverse herringbone layout with direct aisle access in every seat. Storage is adequate though not as generous as Qsuite, and the footwell is tight for taller passengers. On a sub-4-hour sector there is no pretence of a flat-bed sleep, but the seat is genuinely comfortable for working or resting upright.
Catering opened with a proper Turkish mezze spread — hummus, baba ganoush, stuffed vine leaves, and warm bread — followed by a choice of lamb or sea bass mains, served at a pace that suited a short daytime sector rather than feeling rushed. The wine list skews Turkish and is genuinely interesting rather than an afterthought.
The one weak point, if you are connecting onward rather than starting or ending your trip in Istanbul, is the airport itself. Even with business class fast track, the walk from the lounge to some gates exceeds 20 minutes, and peak-hour connections feel chaotic — build 90 minutes minimum for international transfers. As a point-to-point London–Istanbul business class product, though, Turkish delivers far above its fare class and well above what UK short-haul business normally buys.
