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Does this apply to all flights going through IST or the new airport then? |
Originally Posted by mrblanco
(Post 30374804)
Does this apply to all flights going through IST or the new airport then? |
Originally Posted by shuly
(Post 30368039)
So, who's the first to report from the new airport? With pictures, please, and of course -- the lounge!
Shuly Flight booked. CGK-IST-LGW on 1st Jan. New Airport, Possibly Snow,... what else will come my way? Hahahaha :D |
I see your booking and raise you CAI-IST (MS), IST-ASR (TK) on January 2nd, separate tickets. Was bought quite a while ago, so not really much I can do but wait and see.
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Originally Posted by shuly
(Post 30368039)
So, who's the first to report from the new airport? With pictures, please, and of course -- the lounge!
Shuly p.s. to all of you new to this thread: IST is the existing Atatürk airport out of which ALL flights depart/arrive until 31 December EXCEPT THE FIVE NEW FLIGHTS OPERATING TO/FROM ISL |
Any word on hotel at the airport, if any?
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So any reports yet? Lurking is fun ;) |
Originally Posted by vincewy
(Post 30375805)
Any word on hotel at the airport, if any?
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Originally Posted by tr3k
(Post 30369061)
Error 404
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Originally Posted by gilbertaue
(Post 30375094)
Our mod knows I drive in the fast lane ;)
Flight booked. CGK-IST-LGW on 1st Jan. New Airport, Possibly Snow,... what else will come my way? Hahahaha :D Landing at 05:00-ish on 01-01-19. Hoping for the arrival lounge then metro, but might have to settle for the thrills of a new airport and a long bus ride. Snow ploughs will be a bonus. |
And the first flight has taken off. :)
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Any news on the lounge?
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Originally Posted by Jaenks
(Post 30374094)
This is no more confusing than typical TK :D |
Originally Posted by FFlash
(Post 30376507)
Yeah. Nice promo with 5x miles to "new Istanbul airport" it says, but then, the only options in the booking engine are IST, ISL, SAW. Who the he*k would know now then if it has to be ISL for the promo to count - impossible!!! Since the promo is valid only for 2018 end, and there are no flights to-from the new airport until 2019?
This is no more confusing than typical TK :D I suppose if you were seriously chasing status, had time to burn and can find some ultra cheap tickets, you could get approx 900 miles for a ISL-ESB RT. Thats 4500 with the 5x promo. Two of those a day should be doable so thats E in 4.5 days or E+ in about 9 days. faster in J (divide days by 1.6 I think) but count me out! |
Originally Posted by starflyergold
(Post 30375960)
I understand that the Yotel hotel (air and landside) will only open in late 2018/early 2019.
There's Park Inn Odayeri nearby but there's nothing around, I've booked using Raddison points but realize unless I'm right at the airport, there's no point staying far away from Istanbul. I would be better off just staying at my usual spots near Bakirkoy and take early taxi there. |
Originally Posted by gr8pirate
(Post 30377539)
I dont know if I have Stockholm syndrome from flying TK almost exclusively for three years, but nothing about the promo is confusing to me.
I suppose if you were seriously chasing status, had time to burn and can find some ultra cheap tickets, you could get approx 900 miles for a ISL-ESB RT. Thats 4500 with the 5x promo. Two of those a day should be doable so thats E in 4.5 days or E+ in about 9 days. faster in J (divide days by 1.6 I think) but count me out! https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-t...nes/index.html |
Originally Posted by Jaenks
(Post 30378248)
It is fixed amount of miles intra Turkey regardless of status, so three mileage options in Economy and two in Business for roundtrips, 5x included. E 1500,3000 or 6000; J 10000,12500.
https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-t...nes/index.html This is the least expensive status run I've ever heard. |
Wow, this is an amazing promotion! For about $700 and 8 days of your time, you can get 100K miles.. I'm so tempted :D
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Originally Posted by stevenmb
(Post 30375775)
Two of us are flying out of ISL this Friday, 2 November. Will update with photos and trip report. We had intended to take the bus but now a friend insists on driving us because he too wants to see the new biggest airport in the world
Does your seat map look like a 777 as well? |
Originally Posted by flyjfk
(Post 30379128)
Wow, this is an amazing promotion! For about $700 and 8 days of your time, you can get 100K miles.. I'm so tempted :D
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Originally Posted by dabee69
(Post 30379865)
Tempting indeed. The open question is how to get from IST to/from ISL.
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Hello from Mecidiyeköy Metrobus terminal. In addition to the 48F buses the drivers here advised me of the new H-2 airport express bus that connects the new airport to/from Mecidiyeköy, where you can walk 2 min to the Mecidiyeköy-Şişli M2 line Metro Station. We might be getting a ride to the new airport tomorrow morning but if not I'll follow up with a bus report. For those wondering, you can pay the 48F fare with a refillable Istanbulkart that works on boats, buses, and Metro. |
Originally Posted by bamba70
(Post 30380006)
Not necessarily. You could start the run from ESB :)
2. TK 2124 departs ISL at 11:10 arrives ESB 12:35 3. TK 2125 departs ESB 13:30 arrives ISL 14:55 = starting in ESB requires an overnight in Istanbul every run I still see promo fares ISL<->ESB at 59TL each way, so when I get back from Antalya journey these do look tempting but going all the way to ISL five to ten times might try my patience. Tomorrow will be the test..... |
If I was in year 1 of my E+ cycle this would be really tempting. But basically any status miles earned in 2018 would be wasted on me.
Fingers crossed that we will see a similar, but obviously less lucrative promo, when the rest of the fleet moves over to the new airport. |
Havaist bus to ISL from Taksim Square
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...56e2b9946.jpeg First Havaist bus from Taksim to ISL ;) https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e609f4aab.jpeg As steven said, you can use your IstanbulCard ;) https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a66dab937.jpeg The screen was not used. No wifi. Maybe coming soon ;) |
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https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b668134ff.jpeghttps://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...aa4c3d302.jpeg Live band, domestic terminal https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...de7ffbbe0.jpeg Near gate G2b https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3e0266bbc.jpeg Some more goodiebags ;) |
Looks very festive!
Must be weird to have only five daily flights in this huge terminal. Must feel eerily empty. And... the lounge? Thanks for the photos! Shuly |
Great pictures!
I wonder what loads are like. If low it would be a nice touch to upgrade a few people to J (assuming at least the Baku flight has J). |
Originally Posted by shuly
(Post 30381569)
Looks very festive!
Must be weird to have only five daily flights in this huge terminal. Must feel eerily empty. And... the lounge? Thanks for the photos! Shuly |
Originally Posted by ankomonkey
(Post 30381581)
Great pictures!
I wonder what loads are like. If low it would be a nice touch to upgrade a few people to J (assuming at least the Baku flight has J). |
Below are the first impressions a visitor who went to Istanbul Airport, for a brief sightseeing tour (mainly of the terminal). Source: airliners.net Civil Aviation Forums.
I went to visit the new airport today by car. Parts of it (like the car parks) are still under construction and a lot of places like ticket offices, cafes and shops etc are still being fitted out. I was able to walk around inside though and the check-in area looks a lot like a giant version of Ataturk with the same interior layout, but just a lot bigger. I can see why they didn't open it fully yet - with the car park still not finished, interior fitting out and construction ongoing it would be crazy to try to move in hundreds of aircraft and huge numbers of passengers. Right now it's kind of like a cross between a small Ryanair style airport with 5 flights per day and a huge construction site. Certain parts are cordened off and they are still installing things like lifts in certain areas. There are a few cafes that are open but others that are closed and many areas reserved for shops that have still not been leased or fitted out. There are buses and taxis outside, but the car rental counters are not ready yet. It is quite a beautiful design with a lot of nice touches and I'm sure it will be amazing when it's fully operational. It is quite far away although the road was clear of traffic on the route I took (from Levent leaving at 4pm) so it only took about 40m. I talked to some bus drivers and they said that it takes about 1 hour to Taksim but it can take 2 hours to Kozyatagi because the traffic on the second bridge is very bad. |
Interest in this thread has suddenly dropped when the "no lounge" news came out :D
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Also seems like they killed those 493TRY /rt business fares.. was just about to book a run..
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Originally Posted by nilsrtw
(Post 30382196)
Also seems like they killed those 493TRY /rt business fares.. was just about to book a run..
Also anyone has information on the bus schedules? I'm trying to figure out the earliest bus available as I'd rather stay in Istanbul (nothing around the new airport but to sleep). |
Also anyone has information on the bus schedules? |
TRIP REPORT, part 1: ISL pre-departure
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2d1f4f9737.jpg Exterior with hideous and sad landscaping https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a8c3ebcdfc.jpg Future Check-in row https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c0fdca0e78.jpg Domestic departures security queue: empty! https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7a771ec969.jpg Cafe- landside https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4a3a73038c.jpg Photo kiosk! Report: Part One - Landside Two of us arrived in a friend's car, and the drive from urban Istanbul at rush hour was rather surreal: this is a very rural area. As you approach the airport you are struck by how many construction vehicles there are surrounding this mostly unfinished facility. The entrance is rather depressing and brutalist; the planted trees and grass and vegetation look like they are on life support and the design around the car parks is really dreadful (first photo). Entering the airport you'll go through the customary initial X-ray as in other Turkish airports. There are many many check-in rows and machines, and a handful of rows are presently staffed for the 4 daily flights (Baku hasn't started yet). The departure monitor is amusing: three flights on the domestic monitor (second photo) spaced roughly two hours apart. The Ankara flight leaves in about an hour, and after the initial rush to get those passengers through it's quiet now (third photo). There is a kiosk where you can dress up in pilot's caps, goggles, and get your photo taken for free (fourth photo). They email you a video of your "scene" as well. One cafe landside is open; we had tea and espresso. They've got baked goods and sandwiches as well (fifth photo). They clearly have a tremendous amount of construction work left to do: exposed wiring is everywhere; lots of unsealed joints, holes in drywall, and rather average-to-shoddy construction materials mean a lot of subsequent patching and repair work will be necessary. On the other hand, Berlin-Brandenburg (BER) likely will never open and yet this airport is now open for business. So there is that. Second report airside to follow. |
TRIP REPORT, part 2: ISL airside
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...57a5841bde.jpg Landside kiosks just before security: Turkish mobile providers https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3aecf86c62.jpg View of magnificent outdoor landscaping! :D https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...fce2212fd5.jpg Ara Güter photo exhibition; famous Turkish photographer died in October aged 90 https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cf6d399d38.jpg Airside photo exhibit https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...55e63c1b47.jpg Airside food/beverage kiosk https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...55cc6db00e.jpg Airside shops https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5a548ae873.jpg An empty passage! https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...271eb79917.jpg The dazzling G gates https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6d14a53e7b.jpg Much excitement airside https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9293e1e3a9.jpg Finally, a place to have lunch! Just before security you'll find each of the three major Turkish telecom companies in small kiosks: Turkcell, Türk Telekom and Vodafone. We were unable to visit the arrivals hall but assume they do or will have shops there as well. At present there are four daily flights, three domestic and one international. We could not view the area where the sole international flight departs (Baku service pending) and we could only visit the G gates area where our Antalya-bound flight departs. We note two cafes already opened and one opening soon, and just a handful of shops already doing business. One shop sells tennis shoes. This somehow is understandable, given that not much is happening here for two more months and paying employees to essentially do nothing most of the day costs money. There appears not to be a single luggage trolley in the airport. Maybe these are forthcoming, or as my lady travel companion suggested they'll just bring these over from IST on New Year's Eve. :D Then we set off to find the Turkish Airlines lounge, for which apparently no signage exists. Walking through the long long G gates area we passed two play areas for children; we found the prayer rooms; we saw a future smoking area (at least that's what we think it is, no signage); and a sad little terrace. And then finally an elevator to the lounge! The elevator has no control panel and appears not to have been installed. So if there is actually a lounge on the upper level we could not access it. The G gates are mostly finished; there is exposed wiring here and there; a missing floorplate here and poorly-trimmed carpeting there. Dusty footprints abound. It's literally a ghost town when you step away from the departure gate. Which was wonderful! We loved this experience of visiting the new largest airport in the world with literally nobody in it. Well, they've got two months to get this place in order. But compared with other new and newish major international airports this place is quite underwhelming. It's a semi-functional airport but shopping and services you'd find in mega-airports even when completed will be underwhelming. Though perhaps the international terminal(s) will be more impressive. |
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a4555238ce.jpg Unfinished lift (elevator) to the unfinished Turkish Airlines lounge |
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e4701f10e9.jpg An actual B737 on which we will fly! Note all the construction vehicles in background https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1c71af0722.jpg Gate G2 with fresh flowers awaiting departing passengers |
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