jacob_m

Facilities for Turkish Airlines international premium passengers in Istanbul

It was quite a walk from the domestic terminal to the international terminal, but fortunately with moving walkways. The signs were easy to follow though and after a few minutes I was standing in the arrivals hall and only had to take an escalator to the departure level.
All passengers normally have to pass a security checkpoint before entering the terminal building, but since the domestic terminal and the walkways were in the secured area I did not have to do that.

Turkish Airlines advertise that business class and premium passengers should you entrance E in the international terminal which is almost to the far left from the taxi and bus drop-off area, but finding the premium check-in area was quite tricky in the huge departure hall and there were not that many signs. Eventually I found it though at the end of one of the check-in islands.
Four check-in desks were open with the same red carpets I have seen at other Turkish airports. There were large red signs saying business class passengers, Turkish Airlines elite card holders, and Star Alliance gold card holders could use it.
I enquired briefly at one of the counters if I needed an invitation to visit the lounge (as has been the case at other airports), but was told my boarding pass was sufficient.

Right next to the check-in area where was a fast track passport control with large red signs saying it was available for business class passengers and Star gold/TK elite card holders.
Great service! I was through within 30 seconds! ^
There was a man standing in front of the passport control checking boarding passes to make sure only eligible passengers use it. This afternoon there were not many passengers in regular lines either, but at other much busier days I know the fast track would come to very good use.

Pics
The international departure hall
Turkish Airlines Business class/Star Gold check-in area
The premium check-in area and the fast track passport control in the background to the very right (with the same red signs)

Just opposite the premium check-in area there was also a small exhibition with photos of “moments at Istanbul airport”. The arrival of the A380 in IST, the new president taking his first flight, a Nobel Prize laureate receiving the great news, and a photo of people waiting outside the old domestic terminal a late evening.
Really fun to look at!

Pics
From the exhibition: This is what the domestic terminal looked like just a very few years ago. I’m glad things have changed!

Turkish Airlines international CIP lounge, Istanbul - The most unusual and spectacular lounge I have ever been to!!

I headed to the Turkish Airlines international CIP lounge located at the very end of the terminal, a short walk from the fast track passport control.
I had heard that the lounge was going to be something very different, and I was not to be disappointed.

The lounge is without any doubt the most unusual and the most spectacular lounge I have ever visited.
It has an incredible cool mix of an oriental palace design with grandiose furniture, chandeliers and gold mirrors while other parts of the lounge have a 21st century supermodern minimalistic design with low tables, contemporary armchairs and couches, and widescreen TVs.

I presented my boarding pass at the reception desk and after being registered in the computer I was allowed to enter. The entrance to the lounge is to the left of the reception desk and the exit is to the right, never seen that before in a lounge.
At the reception desk they also had a printed map of the lounge explaining the facilities and where they are located. The lounge is vast and the facilities are plentiful, so it ended up being quite useful (I have taken a photo of the map below).
The lounge covers 1470 square meters according to the TK website and has a total seating capacity of 385.

First thing after the reception are “the palace rooms” with chandeliers, 19th century gold furniture, Turkish art and oriental antiquities.
Honestly I am not a very big fan of this kind of design, I find it a bit too much. But after having been to probably nearly 100 lounges this just differed completely from everything I have ever seen before, it was really refreshing and that did impress me a lot. Wow!
In the “palace part” there was a large sitting lounge, an adjacent smaller room with more seats and four internet computers, and a third room where you could have some rest.

After passing through the palace rooms you enter the main lounge which is very airy and spacious, high ceiling and with a modern interior.
There are plenty of lounge chairs and also a restaurant part with proper tables and seats.
At the end of the room there are four widescreen TVs mounted on the wall, very nicely they had left the remote controls on the tables in front, so you could choose yourself what to watch among the 40 TV-channels available (on the tables there was also a list of all TV-channels).

At the other end of the main lounge the self-service buffet offered a very good selection of breads, cold cuts, vegetables, packaged sandwiches, pastries, fruits, desserts and hot soup. Similar selection to the other TK lounges I have reviewed.
Opposite the buffet the self-service bar area offered a good selection of beer, spirits and cocktail snacks. In front of it they had placed a table with I think three types of red wine and appropriate wine glasses. Really elegant, very classy!! ^
I actually felt tempted to do some wine tasting…

The other facilities in the lounge included a playroom for children, a meeting room, a nursery room, a praying room, a cloakroom and a proper resting area with four reclining chairs separated from each other by large black curtains (cool oriental design again).

Overall it’s a great lounge, a very decent place to kill some time and a good compliment (or dare I even say an improvement?) to the existing Star Alliance lounges worldwide!

Pics
The entrance to the lounge
Reception desk
First sight after having entered the lounge. Wow!!
The corridor leading to the main lounge
A sitting area in the old sultan’s palace? No it’s still the TK lounge.
Work stations with free internet, at least the computers are not in gold
Entering the main lounge with a very modern design
Overview of the main lounge
Several widescreen TVs, you can choose yourself what to watch among 40 channels
The restaurant part with the self-service buffet in the background
The self-service buffet with a good selection of food
Selection of red wines, very elegantly displayed!
The bar area with beer, spirits and snacks
The corridor leading to the restrooms and resting areas
Praying room in the lounge
Even the restrooms are some of the most unusual I have ever seen
The resting area with four reclining chairs separated by large curtains
A map of the lounge explaining all the facilities
Exit from the lounge

The transit area

I spent nearly two hours in the lounge and then had a look around in the transit area before heading for the gate.
The international transit hall is vast, very airy and spacious and overall quite a pleasant place.
There are plenty of shops, pretty good duty free shopping, but other than that mostly shops of the major international designers (Bvlgari, Gucci, Burberry etc) with prices to follow. I ended up purchasing a bottle of whisky and a perfume at reasonable prices.
Around 30 minutes before departure the monitors indicated in was time to head for the gate.

Pics
The huge airy transit hall
The main duty free shop
I am still pondering over what this sign “Free shops” actually means…

Cheetah_SA

OMG!!! That is some lounge! "Most unusual and most spectacular" as you say. It's so OTT I want to see it!

Thanks again for this wonderful trip report. ^

PS Didn't you love the flower arrangement under the floor at the ADB lounge entrance?!

TrayflowInUK

Very nice Jacob_m, I always enjoy reading your TRs! TK sounds like a fabulous airlines. I only hope they stay that way.

jacob_m

After a very nice afternoon in that fabulous Turkish Airlines lounge it was time to head for the gate, final leg of this trip report is Istanbul-London/Heathrow.

In Istanbul security takes place at the gate. At the entrance to the gate area a security officer was checking passports before allowing passengers to the security check and to the gate area. He asked quite a few questions, the purpose of my trip, my occupation, where I had been in Turkey, and so on. He also looked through the stamps in my passport.
Not much to comment about though in my case…

The gate area was quite full, but it was not as bad as the outbound flight, I’d reckon a flight load of 70-80%.
Just like in London boarding was done by sections starting from the back while the other passengers were asked to wait in the gate lounge. This worked slightly better than in London, but there were still passengers who tried to board early only to be stopped by the gate staff.
I asked one of the gate agents if I could board early as a business class passenger, she double-checked with a colleague who confirmed it was certainly not a problem for me to board.

The aircraft used for this evening flight to London was an Airbus A321, unfortunately I never got to try the Airbus A330 on this trip which is a real shame as it was something I had been looking forward to.
Five rows were assigned for business class but the load was very light at the front so we all got our own row.
Pillow, blankets and headphones were available at the seat and once seated a flight attendant offered a pre-departure drink; orange juice, water or champagne.
She also handed out landing cards for the UK and all business class passengers also got a fast track pass for the immigration at Heathrow. ^
I do have an EU passport so I didn’t need the landing card, but a fast track pass could always come handy even though the EU-line at Heathrow terminal 3 normally is moving quite fast.

Pics
The Airbus A321 at the gate in Istanbul

Istanbul-London/Heathrow, flight TK 1981 operated by Turkish Airlines
Departure: 19:10
Arrival: 21:15
Aircraft: Airbus A321
Class: Business Class
Seat: 02F

We pushed back a few minutes late a 7.25 pm and taxied to runway 36R for a departure to the north. I enjoyed a great view of Istanbul and the Bosporus during the initial climb, it is really a massive city as you can see on the photo.
The routing to London would take us over Bulgaria, Serbia, Austria, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands and then across the North Sea to the United Kingdom.

Pics
The massive city of Istanbul seen right after take-off

Meal service

Shortly after the seatbelt sign had been switched off the meal service started.
We were given a hot towel and afterwards drinks were offered. I asked for a glass of champagne which was served with cocktail snacks.
At the same time the business class menus were handed out with the following choices:

Some of you may recognise the menu... I guess I was just being unlucky, but on the other hand I really enjoyed the food and with three choices of main course it wasn’t a big deal.
White tablecloths were laid on the tables and then the meal trays were distributed. Warm bread was offered as well as more drinks, I asked for some red to drink with the meal and had three different wines to choose between.
As main course I chose the traditional Turkish dish with vegetables, minced beef and yoghurt. Quite a different dish, far from the ordinary stuff, but actually quite tasty.
More drinks were offered followed by coffee and tea.

With only a few passengers in business class the meal service was slightly quicker and they didn’t use a cart this time, instead everything was served directly from the galley.
Just like previous flights the service was very attentive and the FAs very friendly and helpful. They were always smiling and made a great effort to look after the passengers, nothing was too much trouble.

I was quite tired after the meal service and after lots of travelling so I tried to get some rest just like some of the other passengers, others chose to watch the movie on the main screen, I can’t remember which one they showed. There was also music to listen to through the inflight entertainment system.
One hour into the flight we encountered bad turbulence, actually very bad turbulence, which lasted for almost an hour. Very trying, especially as we couldn’t even visit the lavatory because the aircraft was shaking so much (I actually did and it was not very pleasant).

I woke up after a bit of well-needed rest and went to the galley to ask if I could get a cup of coffee, which was certainly not a problem even though the female flight attendant was eating her dinner. A cup of freshly brewed coffee was delivered to my seat a few minutes later.
Duty free items were also offered in the cabin in the middle of the flight.

Pics
Champagne, hazelnuts and the business class menu
Appetizer
Main course and red wine to drink

Arrival at London Heathrow

We started our descent to Heathrow somewhere over the North Sea, hot towels were offered in the business class cabin before the cabin was prepared for landing.
Fortunately no wait at all at Lambourne (the holding pattern in north-eastern London), we were directed to final approach straight away and got that nice approach providing a fantastic view of London flying over Docklands/Canary Wharf and then along the South bank and central London.
We actually landed ten minutes early at 9.05 pm on runway 27L.

For some reason the jet bridge at gate 11 was malfunctioning, the FA waited patiently in the galley for it to be positioned, but for some reason they just couldn’t manage.
Eventually she received a message from the ground staff that the rear door was to be used for disembarkation which she informed us about.
Not particularly nice for us in business class, we had to wait until nearly 150 passengers had got off before it was our turn. The FA was very apologetic, but there was not much she could do about it.
There was also a young man travelling in economy class waiting with us, he was quite nasty and rushed to the forward galley before the plane had even stopped and the seatbelt sign had even been switched off, just to be the first one off the plane, not very polite. Now he had to wait until the very end instead and was not happy about it.

At last the economy cabin was empty and we could get off using stairs attached to the rear door, we then had to walk over the apron to reach the terminal building.
Immigration was packed, even the EU-line was really long and stretched all the way to the stairs from the gates (for those who know Heathrow terminal 3). I suddenly remembered I had a fast track pass to use, I handed it over to the woman at the entrance to the fast track lane and was actually standing in the baggage hall a minute later. Great!!

Luggage delivery took absolutely forever, mostly because so many people were stuck at immigration. There was simply no more space on the baggage belt to load more bags, so they waited until enough people had reclaimed their luggage before they loaded more bags on the belt.
Very inefficient, I think saw some bags passing ten times on the belt! The priority tag didn’t make much difference either, this was the kind of moment when loading priority luggage first would have helped a lot, especially since business class passengers used the fast track and were among the first in the baggage hall.
Around an hour after landing I was on my way from Heathrow, certainly not my smoothest arrival.

Pics
Docklands and Canary Wharf seen during the approach to Heathrow
Docklands and historic Greenwich (where I used to live, my house is actually in the photo)
Central London and the Thames
Just landed at London Heathrow, there is another aircraft on approach after us (you can see the landing lights as a small white spot)
The Turkish Airlines A321 at the gate, we are using the rear exit to leave the plane

jacob_m

Conclusion

As I wrote in the beginning I really had no idea what to expect of Turkish Airlines. I haven’t seen many reviews and it’s not an airline people generally talk about.
Booking a business class ticket with TK was a bit like buying a pig in a poke, but on the other hand I love to try new airlines (especially more unusual ones) and fly to new places, it gives some excitement to the otherwise all too boring air travels of today.

Well in retrorespect Turkish Airlines exceeded my expectations in pretty much every aspect. They have a very good (and underrated) product and will make a good compliment to the Star Alliance network. Everything from ground services to lounges and inflight service was excellent, in many ways better than many other European carriers.
Unfortunately the aircraft change in the beginning meant I never got to experience the Airbus A330 with proper business class seats and avod, so I'll leave that to someone else to review
Still choosing Turkish Airlines was a wise choice, I would certainly not hesitate to fly with them again and will happily recommend TK to anybody.

Some general comments about the experience:

Ground services: Overall very good. Proper business class check-in at all airports I visited, always with red carpets in front of the check-in desks and with proper signage.
The domestic service in Istanbul with the private bus service to the aircraft was excellent. Fast track passport control/immigration in both London and Istanbul certainly also helped and saved a lot of time.

Lounges: Turkish Airlines impressed A LOT here!! All three TK lounges I visited were great and the international TK lounge in Istanbul was simply spectacular, wow what a lounge!! That lounge is definitely on my list of the best Star Alliance lounges worldwide now.

Boarding: Well generally quite chaotic with all passengers trying to rush onboard without listening to announcements.
Great arrangements for domestic flights within Turkey, but I was a bit disappointed they did not offer priority boarding for the international flights (although in practice business class passengers were allowed to board at their leisure)

Inflight service: Always friendly and smiling staff who really seemed to enjoy their work. Many of the flight attendants spoke surprisingly good English and were quite knowledgeable.
On the longer flights the FAs spent a lot of time looking after the passengers and no request was too much trouble, I never felt like I was disturbing them.

Inflight food: They used Do&Co for the inflight meals on all flights I took. The food was not just very tasty but also looked appetizing, I give very high marks for the presentation and I especially liked the small pepper and salt shakers they provide.
On the London-Istanbul flights they provided three choices of main course which is quite good (more than most airlines would offer). They had also loaded far more meals than there were passengers, I never heard of anybody not getting his/her first choice.
Drinks selection was also good with both Turkish and international wines, proper champagne and a good selection of premium spirits.
On the domestic flights the meal service was superb, better than anything I have experienced on any other similar domestic flight, and they did offer champagne as pre-departure drink even on the domestic flights!

Arrivals service: The staff are well aware of the routines for Star Alliance gold passengers, no need to remind them of priority tags.
Unfortunately the tag did not work very well, same problem as at many other airports in Europe (but I admit I don’t have a lot of experience regarding TK in this matter).
Fast track immigration was very useful though and the miles for all the flights I took posted in my account just two days later.

hoyateach

Whenever I see a new TR from you, jacob_m, I always smile because I know I'm in for a treat. A wonderful report. Well done.

mad_atta

I couldn't agree more - a great report, as usual

And after so many mediocre additions to *A of late, how nice to read such a positive report about what appears to be a fantastic addition to the alliance. I've been meaning to go to Turkey for a long time - maybe this will be the prod that I need... Great to see such good lounges even in small locations, too.

gnaget

This inspired me to change a C class award booking from Swiss to Turkish for ZRH-IST in August.

Too bad about the lack of booze at the domestic lounges. I have a 2 hour wait in IST before flying to ADB in the late evening. I wonder why this is the case? High taxes on alcoholic beverages whereas they don't have to pay the taxes in the international transit area, maybe?

Re the fast track passport/security and lounge at IST: can I use this when flying LH? Does LH have its own check-in or does Turkish do their handling (like SAS in Scandinavia)? My flight IST-FRA is at 6 am so would like to get there as late as possible.

jacob_m

Thanks for the kind words!
Great to hear you enjoy reading them and a good incentive for me to continue writing, I do tend to put a lot of time and effort into my reports.

jacob_m

I have no idea, but I don't think taxes and alcohol regulations should be that much of a problem in Turkey.

Unfortunately I think arriving and departing passengers are separated in IST (can't be 100% sure though since I have never had an international transfer there), otherwise you could head for the intl lounge instead since customs clearance will take place in ADB and the luggage will be transfered automatically.

I can say for sure LH takes care of their own handling, or at least they have separate check-in desks.
The fast track passport control I saw only mentioned Turkish Airlines, so I doubt you'll be able to use it.

jul89

TK's J class is a very pleasant experience, judging from various trip reports (including yours). And that lounge in IST is just awesome ! OA, take note...

Gnopps

Thanks for the detailed report! You write it just like I to read it; lots of details..

SASDC8

Wow what a great report. Thank you^

TK`s lounges and inflight service looks truly amazing^

Do&Co is probably the best catering firm out there. Flew OS, which also uses Do&Co, VIE-BKK-VIE and I was blown away by the quality of the catering

I am considering a trip to IST this fall and if I do it will definitely be on TK!

Cheers

trakzter

excellent report ^

As someone said , lots of details. I would like to hear more about your impressions on their seat-pitch.

jacob_m

Thanks! Tack så mycket...

Well regarding the seat-pitch on the B737/A320/A321s TK has the same standard as most other European carriers.
Basically the same seats throughout the plane, but the first few rows (i.e. business class) have a bit more legroom, 2-5 inches depending on aircraft type.
Also, as you can see on the photos, the middle seats remain empty and have been replaced by a drink table providing more personal space, better storage and better seat width.

If you fly the A330 you get a proper lie-flat business class seat onboard with a 60" seat pitch and proper business class amenities.
I was supposed to have flown it LHR-IST as they use the A330 quite often on this route, but a last minute aircraft change meant I unfortunately never got to try it, so no review of it in this report.
Still I never found space and legroom any kind of problem on the other planes either (and a consistent great inflight service well make up for any inconvenience).