A confession to make on two counts

I have a confession to make. Turkish Airlines, which I have long urged to boycott (see Sept. 28 post) has turned out to be the best airline I've flown on. I flew Detroit - Istanbul and then Istanbul - Thessaloniki GR and will return Athens via Istanbul to Detroit. Let me count the ways. First I spotted a passenger watching NFL Thursday Night Football. I originally thought this must be a recorded game so checked the entertainment screen. Nope. The airline carries three "live" channels - a Brit sports station, CNN and an English-language Turk news network. So watch NFL football - at least the last half of the game between Pittsburgh and Cleveland  - it was, though the commercial spots were blocked out for PR announcements. And while I rooted from Aaron Rodgers's Steelers to win, and they came close, they unfortunately didn't....Next, the back seat entertainment offerings were fulsome and compared well to Air Canada's which up to then was the best I've found. An finally, the Boeing 787-9 aircraft actually offered two live cameras, looking below so you could see (when cloudless) what you were flying over, and front, below the cockpit - great for coming in to land! (photo)...The food was also par or better than that of other airlines, remarkably a full breakfast (scrambled eggs, roasted red potatoes) and a fig mousse, before landing. When on other airlines you might get a croissant and cheese to end a long overnight flight. And on the short flight to Thessaloniki a full lunch with artisan style bun and BBQ chicken and dessert. On North American flights you might get water and pretzels or soft drinks and coffee...I won't go out of my way to recommend the airline - and due to that country's politics would still opt for another - but I must give credit where credit is do.

In Thessaloniki I took three tours. I'm not a tour person and have a bias - some would say snobbery - against them. But they ended up being the best choice. My first inclination had been to rent a car. I wanted to go to Philippi - the first home of Christianity in Europe - Mt. Olympus - the mountain of the gods of Greek myths - and Meteora, the astounding area of monasteries set on gigantic rocky pillars or outgrowths. But if I had done that not only would I have had to go through the hassle of doing the rental paperwork but then the taxing drive to the locales. When a bus was cheaper, took me directly to the locations with no driving errors or parking issues. And it was far more personal. I met people from England and France, another Canuck from Yellowknife - whom I spent the day with - a couple from Turkey and a group of Israelis, who were convivial and I ended up dining with. 

This is true throughout Europe but reinforced on my trip between Thessaloniki and Athens. We pulled off for a half hour break and the service centre was far superior to any highway stop I've seen in North America. A large cafeteria style hot meal counter - with Greek food! - along with separate pastry station and numerous islands where you could buy an exquisite array of sweets. Meanwhile the dining area, unlike Hwy. 401's ONroute's plastic fast food chairs, had vast indoor and outdoor plush seating, even a bar. It's remarkable how far behind North America is in such basic services. Don't those people who design them ever travel?

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller