Oct 5, 2018, 9:18 am
Last edit by: ISTFlyer
Please note that this thread discusses only TK operations from the new airport. There will be no discussion of the politics involved. These can take place in OMNI PR. Anyone interested in general issue surrounding the new airport may find these in the "Europe" forum. The usual FT rules apply.
For a general discussion about the airport, not related to TK, please visit: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/europe/1955797-istanbul-new-airport-ist-isl-master-thread.html
Lounge questions have now a dedicated thread: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/turkish-airlines-miles-smiles/1963594-tk-istanbul-airport-thread-2-lounges.html
starflyergold
TK forum moderator
-----------------
This is the list of all Istanbul Airport threads where you could find more details related to your question if it's discussed in one of the forums below.
TK in Istanbul Airport: Thread #1 - General Discussion ( YOU ARE HERE )
This is the thread that you could ask your questions about the airport related to Turkish Airlines which doesn't have a dedicated thread. For example questions about check-in desks, the Miniport service, fast-track security, care points, etc... could be asked here if they are directly or indirectly related to TK.
TK in Istanbul Airport: Thread #2 - Lounges
This is the thread dedicated for lounges and questions about the TK lounges at Istanbul Airport. Sleeping rooms in the lounge could be discussed in the third thread as it's mainly related to longer connections. Please do refer to the respective threads in the Europe forum for other contract lounges at Istanbul Airport and PriorityPass lounges.
TK in Istanbul Airport: Thread #3 - Stopover Hotel, Touristanbul, Sleeping Rooms
This is the thread for passengers booked a long connection. The thread has a guide that would give basic information about the free city tour, the stopover hotel option for eligible passengers as well as the sleeping rooms in the lounges in Istanbul Airport. For issues onlyrelated hotel suggestions refer to the Europe forum.
TK in Istanbul Airport: Thread #4 - Transferring/Transit at Istanbul Airport
This is the thread were you could ask your questions about any type of transfer at Istanbul Airport. Such as what to do within a xxx hour layover, or facilities at the transfer area directly related to transit issues. Also questions related to transfer security, immigration in single/seperate tickets could be discussed here. As well as what to do in case of misconnections. The transfer hotel where passengers could access by paying: YOTEL has a dedicated thread where you could find here.
TK in Istanbul Airport: Thread #5 - Miles&Smiles Card Pickup at Istanbul Airport
If you want to pickup your Miles&Smiles card in Istanbul Airport, please consult this thread where you would be able to find the locations of the card print points for Miles&Smiles members.
There are also threads not only related to the TK pax but to all passengers traveling from Istanbul Airport. These take place in the Europe forum.
Istanbul Airport Master Thread
For any question related to the airport instead of TK ( facilities, pay-to-use services not related to TK, transportation, rental car services, hotel services, non-TK lounges ) please consult this thread in the Europe forum. Also please discuss, Flightradar24 related ADS-B issues, delays related to the airport here, unless it's a direct TK issue.
PriorityPass Lounges in Istanbul Airport
There is no PriorityPass Lounges at Istanbul Airport at the moment. However, I would update this thread when there is an available lounge for PriorityPass at the airport.
I (ISTFlyer) have removed the FAQ's as they are now all answered in the respective WIKI sections of the respective forums.
For a general discussion about the airport, not related to TK, please visit: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/europe/1955797-istanbul-new-airport-ist-isl-master-thread.html
Lounge questions have now a dedicated thread: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/turkish-airlines-miles-smiles/1963594-tk-istanbul-airport-thread-2-lounges.html
starflyergold
TK forum moderator
-----------------
This is the list of all Istanbul Airport threads where you could find more details related to your question if it's discussed in one of the forums below.
TK in Istanbul Airport: Thread #1 - General Discussion ( YOU ARE HERE )
This is the thread that you could ask your questions about the airport related to Turkish Airlines which doesn't have a dedicated thread. For example questions about check-in desks, the Miniport service, fast-track security, care points, etc... could be asked here if they are directly or indirectly related to TK.
TK in Istanbul Airport: Thread #2 - Lounges
This is the thread dedicated for lounges and questions about the TK lounges at Istanbul Airport. Sleeping rooms in the lounge could be discussed in the third thread as it's mainly related to longer connections. Please do refer to the respective threads in the Europe forum for other contract lounges at Istanbul Airport and PriorityPass lounges.
TK in Istanbul Airport: Thread #3 - Stopover Hotel, Touristanbul, Sleeping Rooms
This is the thread for passengers booked a long connection. The thread has a guide that would give basic information about the free city tour, the stopover hotel option for eligible passengers as well as the sleeping rooms in the lounges in Istanbul Airport. For issues onlyrelated hotel suggestions refer to the Europe forum.
TK in Istanbul Airport: Thread #4 - Transferring/Transit at Istanbul Airport
This is the thread were you could ask your questions about any type of transfer at Istanbul Airport. Such as what to do within a xxx hour layover, or facilities at the transfer area directly related to transit issues. Also questions related to transfer security, immigration in single/seperate tickets could be discussed here. As well as what to do in case of misconnections. The transfer hotel where passengers could access by paying: YOTEL has a dedicated thread where you could find here.
TK in Istanbul Airport: Thread #5 - Miles&Smiles Card Pickup at Istanbul Airport
If you want to pickup your Miles&Smiles card in Istanbul Airport, please consult this thread where you would be able to find the locations of the card print points for Miles&Smiles members.
There are also threads not only related to the TK pax but to all passengers traveling from Istanbul Airport. These take place in the Europe forum.
Istanbul Airport Master Thread
For any question related to the airport instead of TK ( facilities, pay-to-use services not related to TK, transportation, rental car services, hotel services, non-TK lounges ) please consult this thread in the Europe forum. Also please discuss, Flightradar24 related ADS-B issues, delays related to the airport here, unless it's a direct TK issue.
PriorityPass Lounges in Istanbul Airport
There is no PriorityPass Lounges at Istanbul Airport at the moment. However, I would update this thread when there is an available lounge for PriorityPass at the airport.
I (ISTFlyer) have removed the FAQ's as they are now all answered in the respective WIKI sections of the respective forums.
TK operations from "Istanbul Airport" aka Istanbul New Airport (ISL/IST)
Mar 21, 2019, 2:11 pm
#511
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: KrisFlyer Gold, Marriott & SPG Plat, Hilton Gold, ShangriLa Jade, Enterprise Plat, Taj Gold
Posts: 3,343
Who sent your friend there? LH? The KF Gold lounge is right beside the SKL J & F lounges so there could have been some confusion there. LH F gets you into the SKL F lounge (but not TPR).
Mar 21, 2019, 3:15 pm
#512
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 26
In the FAQ on the website of Turkish Airlines point 44 (link below) it is stated that there will be three different lounges available. Domestic, Business and Miles&Smiles. I would expect them not to state this in such an FAQ unless the lounges will open as of 6 April? Any thoughts?
https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-s...faq/index.html
https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-s...faq/index.html
Mar 21, 2019, 3:30 pm
#513
Join Date: Mar 2019
Programs: VA WP, UA WP, QF LTNB.
Posts: 35
FYI Turkish airlines response on Facebook re: lounge and transport upon opening.
Mar 22, 2019, 7:35 am
#515
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 483
Would you have a long transfer or you are starting your journey from Istanbul? That really depends on the advise I would give you. I won't suggest that you stay at the Old Town or the Taksim area if you want a smoother ride to ISL. If you are OK riding a cab to ISL from the city I would suggest that you stay in the Maslak area, there is a newly refurbished Hilton over there where prices are reasonable. I've suggested this hotel because you have HH Gold. A taxi would dure 35-40 minutes ( maybe less ) if you leave at 13:30 for a 16:00 flight. If you don't want to pay taxis I would suggest the Movenpick Hotel in 4.Levent where Havaist shuttles to ISL depart from the opposite side of the road. The bus journey takes around 35-40 minutes but the bus could arrive 5-10 minutes late because of the congestion in the previous stops at its route. Btw, I don't find any of the Bonvoy hotels reasonable for traveling to ISL efficiently as they are all situated in an area that congestion could occur at any time. To travel from Courtyard at the old airport to the new airport, you need to pass the Basın Ekpres way which could be congested anytime during the day and if you decide to stay in Conrad in Beşiktaş, you need to pass the traffic jam for both of the bridges. I'm not talking about Maçka area hotels ( W, St. Regis ) where you could be stuck for 10 minutes only for a valet parking queue at the area.
Durusu area is middle of nowhere and you might have difficulties finding a taxi from there to the airport. Mostly, that area is used for camping, nature activities, etc... The hotels over there are not ISL hotels but they are a 10 minute drive from the airport. However, I won't suggest staying there unless you are a transfer passenger.
Edit: For now none of the hotels announced shuttle services to the new airport.
Durusu area is middle of nowhere and you might have difficulties finding a taxi from there to the airport. Mostly, that area is used for camping, nature activities, etc... The hotels over there are not ISL hotels but they are a 10 minute drive from the airport. However, I won't suggest staying there unless you are a transfer passenger.
Edit: For now none of the hotels announced shuttle services to the new airport.
Mar 22, 2019, 7:37 am
#516
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 483
I have more information obtained about the lounges.
As Mr. İlker Aycı ( Chairman of Board of TK )
The Business Lounge would is completely ready and would open with the movement. In a public statement he has also given some information about the Exclusive Lounge but didn't mention anything about eligibility to the lounge.
I don't have time to translate all these information at the moment. Link:
And I also have bad news for Elite Plus passengers. According to the Turkish Airlines website, this information has been changed recently.
Elite Plus passengers would be able to access the Miles&Smiles Lounge instead of the Business Lounge. The Business Lounge would only accept Business Class passengers on Turkish Airlines flights.
However, all the lounges are Star Gold lounges according to the signs at Istanbul Airport.
The copyright of the image below belong to myself.
[img]https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.flyertalk.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/img_7915_d6e8c5f4bc2f76359139fdbc08b00cd101bae881. jpeg
As Mr. İlker Aycı ( Chairman of Board of TK )
The Business Lounge would is completely ready and would open with the movement. In a public statement he has also given some information about the Exclusive Lounge but didn't mention anything about eligibility to the lounge.
I don't have time to translate all these information at the moment. Link:
And I also have bad news for Elite Plus passengers. According to the Turkish Airlines website, this information has been changed recently.
Elite Plus passengers would be able to access the Miles&Smiles Lounge instead of the Business Lounge. The Business Lounge would only accept Business Class passengers on Turkish Airlines flights.
However, all the lounges are Star Gold lounges according to the signs at Istanbul Airport.
The copyright of the image below belong to myself.
[img]https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.flyertalk.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/img_7915_d6e8c5f4bc2f76359139fdbc08b00cd101bae881. jpeg
Mar 22, 2019, 9:54 am
#518
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 15,347
Yes the lounge is named METRO, As for the rest, one of us will return fro our sojourn in our time machine shortly and then will answer you.
Mar 22, 2019, 3:59 pm
#519
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Sacramento area, CA USA
Programs: UA Gold Million Miler, HH Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,858
Durusu Hotel claims to have an airport shuttle for ISL BUT I have no idea if anyone at the hotel speaks English nor how one would contact them for a pickup? Will the airport have assistance for English speakers?
Mar 23, 2019, 9:26 am
#522
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2006
Location: TUN
Programs: TK E+
Posts: 11,230
And I also have bad news for Elite Plus passengers. According to the Turkish Airlines website, this information has been changed recently.
Elite Plus passengers would be able to access the Miles&Smiles Lounge instead of the Business Lounge. The Business Lounge would only accept Business Class passengers on Turkish Airlines flights.
However, all the lounges are Star Gold lounges according to the signs at Istanbul Airport.
Elite Plus passengers would be able to access the Miles&Smiles Lounge instead of the Business Lounge. The Business Lounge would only accept Business Class passengers on Turkish Airlines flights.
However, all the lounges are Star Gold lounges according to the signs at Istanbul Airport.
Star Alliance Gold signs don't mean that the *A Gold pax have access to a lounge.
Mar 23, 2019, 12:05 pm
#524
Moderator, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles & Accor ALL
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: BRU
Programs: TK*G, Accor ALL Platinum
Posts: 7,588
Mar 23, 2019, 1:51 pm
#525
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2006
Location: TUN
Programs: TK E+
Posts: 11,230