Getting to Istanbul

We finally made it... unfortunately this doesn't have a happy ending.

The flight to LA was as expected. Helen and I were both fortunate enough to have spare seat next to us, and I was moved up the bulkhead for more legroom.

Once we arrived at LA, there was a one hour queue to clear immigration (other planes landed just before we did) so once we got through our bags were waiting. We transferred them to Turkish Airlines then we had a quick walk down to the recently renovated Tom Bradley terminal. Here we confirmed our seats and received fresh boarding passes.

With over 3 hours to wait, we sat down for a nice meal at Daily Grill, walked the duty free shops, then cleared security which was quite painless compared to previous experiences at LAX. Then we waited for what seemed forever before we finally board our plane, a 767-300.


The Turkish flight was quite full, and the seats were more tightly packed than Air New Zealand. They trade seat width for more aisle space, and there is less legroom. We had the option of upgrading at the checkin counter to US$330 each to "Comfort Class" and I was reminded of this by Helen many, many times during this flight! They were generous with drinks however, not that we indulged but the trolley was up and down and many people made the most of the opportunity.

The flight seemed long. Minutes felt like hours. 12 hours seemed like days. But eventually we arrived in Istanbul where the queue moved fast and without a visa or a spoken word, we were stamped through. Welcome to Istanbul!!!

From here tings turned bad. As Helen has Koru membership, our bags were marked priority. Mine arrived quickly, it was on the conveyor belt when we arrived. Helen was less fortunate. Her suitcase, along with those of many other customers, never arrived.

After two hours of waiting, mixed instructions from staff who did not speak much English, other passengers crying, we filed a missing luggage report and left with only the one suitcase.

We are assured the suitcase will arrive and be delivered to our Hotel today. In the meantime, Helen has no change of clothes and we've had to cancel the walking tour we booked. Without suitable clothing (long sleeves, scarf) Helen won't be allowed in many places. Also it's hot here (30 degrees) and Helen is wearing the same jeans and shirt she has had on since Tuesday when she left New Zealand. Not the best start.

So today we improvise and will come up with something a little easier to manage while we await the bag.