Turkish Airlines unveils its new Crystal business class seat
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Better late than never, Turkish Airlines has pulled back the curtain on its new Crystal business class seat.
Originally due to be unveiled at Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg in May, the seat was notably absent. A later launch in central London was also rescheduled twice before being pulled at the last minute.
Instead, Turkish Airlines decided to go head-to-head with the unveiling of the Qatar Airways’ Qsuite Next Gen (or Qsuite 2.0) at the Farnborough International Airshow. Apparently, not even the airline was sure it was happening until 24 hours prior!
Both Rob and I were able to see the mock-up in person in the Turkish Airlines chalet. Whilst we were told off for taking too many photographs, we managed to smuggle four out!
The most interesting thing about the Crystal business class seat is that it has been developed entirely in-house by Turkish Airlines subsidiary TCI Aircraft Interiors, which was founded in 2011.
This is highly unusual – even custom designed seats such as Qatar’s Qsuites are usually handed over to a seating partner for technical engineering and production – but would make sense given existing seat-makers’ struggles to deliver products on time to airlines. The situation is so bad that Lufthansa is currently flying its Allegris A350 fleet with the entire First cabin missing.
Turkish Airlines also has a history of vertical integration, including its Turkish DO&CO catering JV in Istanbul.
Turkish Airlines has produced a rather good video of the new seat. If you are reading this via email you can see it here.
Turkish Airlines Crystal Business Class
What can we expect from Turkish Airlines Crystal Business Class?
For a start, this is a staggered 1-2-1 layout that seems to be increasingly popular over the competing herringbone approach. This means that all seats are forward-facing rather than angled towards the window or aisle.
Anyone travelling with a friend or partner will be happy with central pairs, which alternate between side-by-side honeymoon suites and seats that are further apart. Both variants feature electrically actuated centre dividers which slide down.
The seats themselves are 23″ wide – almost 60cm – which is the same, it seems, as Qsuite Next Gen.
In terms of detailing, “everything is more airy, flowy and brighter”. It looked smart in person: warm, sand coloured finishes in a variety of materials, including the wavy ‘Flow’ pattern that the airline is adopting as its brand identity.
The console table has a ‘marble-style’ finish and does look surprisingly convincing compared to other marble-effects I’ve seen recently. It is also featured on the bifold table.
Meanwhile, rose gold finishes add a touch of metallic shine, particularly on the suite door. (Yes, there is a door.) It’s a less grey-and-red colour scheme for Turkish Airlines.
There is a deep storage cupboard above the console table, underneath which you’ll also find two USB-C charging ports and a universal 110v socket. Qi wireless charging is also available on the console table.
The 22″ in-flight entertainment monitor comes from Panasonic’s latest Astrova line, which should mean it comes with native 4K and OLED technology. I should imagine Bluetooth headphone pairing will also be enabled.
Other neat touches include seat-number light projections on the carpet, a great feature for night flights and something I’ve only seen on Iberia’s ‘Next’ business class seat.
One thing I did notice is that Crystal business class features one of the deepest footwells I’ve ever seen. I didn’t have my measuring tape on me but I would assume it is over 50cm deep. That’s not necessarily a good thing, of course – a deeper footwell means that (at least for taller passengers) more of you is constrained, rather than in an open area. Comfort will depend on the pitch of the seat and how far apart Turkish Airlines chooses to fit them.
And no, there is no ‘business plus’ bulkhead row with additional leg room, sadly.
Conclusion
Turkish Airlines isn’t reinventing the wheel here, and that’s probably a good thing. In fact, Crystal Business Class looks remarkably like other staggered seats available on the market, including Recaro’s R7 business class seat and Safran’s Unity seat.
The staggered configuration is a tried-and-tested model that has proven popular with many other airlines. This lets Turkish Airlines and TCI Aircraft Seating focus on the engineering, certification and production of the seat: no mean feat given this is their first time.
The new seats will initially be retrofitted on Turkish Airlines’ existing Boeing 777 fleet in 2025 when it clears the final certification hurdles. We can say goodbye to the airline’s dated 2-3-2 seats on the 777s.
Crystal will also be installed on brand new A350 deliveries from late 2026. It could also, it seems, be fitted on the Boeing 787 fleet at some point. We look forward to giving it a try next year.
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