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…