Apr 2, 2019, 3:31 am
Last edit by: starflyergold
Unlike like Atatürk Airport, at Istanbul Airport there is more than one international lounge. Eligibility depends on your travel of class and your frequent flyer card status. PLEASE READ THIS WIKI BEFORE ASKING QUESTIONS.
For discussions and questions regarding outstation lounges ( Moscow, Nairobi, Washington DC ) and all other domestic lounges ( including SAW ) please refer to the respective forum.
For PriorityPass Lounges in Istanbul Airport (IST) please consult this thread in the Europe forum or the Istanbul Airport Master Thread for questions regarding contract lounges.
This thread covers TK Lounges at IST airport.
Chart of Eligibility for Lounges:
Thanks to DELLAS for sharing this chart.
International Lounges:
Miles&Smiles Lounge: This lounge is open to all Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Elite, Elite Plus card holders and Star Alliance Gold status holders along with one of their guests when flying Turkish Airlines or another Star Alliance member. Miles&Smiles Elite Plus members are also able to guest family members regardless of the number of people (spouse and children). Also Turkish Corporate Club members are allowed to access this lounge with one fellow guest who holds a valid boarding pass on Turkish Airlines.
To access this lounge take the elevators across gate C1 to the mezzanine level.
Business Lounge: This lounge would be open for all Business Class passengers on Turkish Airlines and Star Alliance partners. Unfortunately, no guests are allowed to this lounge.
To access this lounge take the elevators across gate E1 to the mezzanine level.
Both lounges are non-smoking. The nearest "terrace" (IST does not advertise smoking areas) is: For the business lounge: exit via the escalators, turn left and left again, past the public rest areas, and the terrace is on the right hand side. For the M&S lounge: exit via the escalators, turn right and right again, past the public rest areas, and the terrace is on the left hand side. In both cases a 3 minute walk.
Exclusive Lounge: No details, no plans as of yet
Arrivals Lounge: No details, no plans as of yet
Both the Business Lounge and the Miles&Smiles Lounge have showers, sleeping rooms and Turkish speciality food.
To use the sleeping rooms, you must have a connection time between 4h and 9h and the duration of one of your flights must be more than 8 hours. Unfortunately, Miles&Smiles Elite card holders and Star Alliance Gold card holders traveling in Economy Class are not eligible to use the sleeping room service. For sleeping room related issues please consult the this thread.
None of the international lounges have direct lounge access from the check-in hall; however, priority immigration and security checkpoint are available both for transfer passengers and passengers starting their journey in Istanbul.
Domestic Lounges:
The domestic lounge has two sections; one for Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles Classic Plus and Elite card holders, Star Alliance Gold card holders and Turkish Corporate Club members (if they have a same day onward international connection); and the other one for Business Class passengers and Miles&Smiles Elite Plus card holders.
Miles&Smiles Elite passengers, Star Alliance Gold card holders and Turkish Corporate Club members can invite one guest into the lounge. Miles&Smiles Elite Plus passengers can also guest one passenger or their family members regardless of the number of people (spouse and children). Miles&Smiles Classic Plus card holders do not have the right to guest someone.
The lounge has a separate entrance and check-in lobby from the street, along with a special valet parking drop-off point. Transfer passengers and passengers who decide to use the main terminal building can also access this lounge by using the elevators across gates G6 and G7. Be aware that there are no lounge signs within the terminal so it's advised to follow signs for gates G6 and G7.
For discussions and questions regarding outstation lounges ( Moscow, Nairobi, Washington DC ) and all other domestic lounges ( including SAW ) please refer to the respective forum.
For PriorityPass Lounges in Istanbul Airport (IST) please consult this thread in the Europe forum or the Istanbul Airport Master Thread for questions regarding contract lounges.
This thread covers TK Lounges at IST airport.
Chart of Eligibility for Lounges:
Thanks to DELLAS for sharing this chart.
International Lounges:
Miles&Smiles Lounge: This lounge is open to all Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Elite, Elite Plus card holders and Star Alliance Gold status holders along with one of their guests when flying Turkish Airlines or another Star Alliance member. Miles&Smiles Elite Plus members are also able to guest family members regardless of the number of people (spouse and children). Also Turkish Corporate Club members are allowed to access this lounge with one fellow guest who holds a valid boarding pass on Turkish Airlines.
To access this lounge take the elevators across gate C1 to the mezzanine level.
Business Lounge: This lounge would be open for all Business Class passengers on Turkish Airlines and Star Alliance partners. Unfortunately, no guests are allowed to this lounge.
To access this lounge take the elevators across gate E1 to the mezzanine level.
Both lounges are non-smoking. The nearest "terrace" (IST does not advertise smoking areas) is: For the business lounge: exit via the escalators, turn left and left again, past the public rest areas, and the terrace is on the right hand side. For the M&S lounge: exit via the escalators, turn right and right again, past the public rest areas, and the terrace is on the left hand side. In both cases a 3 minute walk.
Exclusive Lounge: No details, no plans as of yet
Arrivals Lounge: No details, no plans as of yet
Both the Business Lounge and the Miles&Smiles Lounge have showers, sleeping rooms and Turkish speciality food.
To use the sleeping rooms, you must have a connection time between 4h and 9h and the duration of one of your flights must be more than 8 hours. Unfortunately, Miles&Smiles Elite card holders and Star Alliance Gold card holders traveling in Economy Class are not eligible to use the sleeping room service. For sleeping room related issues please consult the this thread.
None of the international lounges have direct lounge access from the check-in hall; however, priority immigration and security checkpoint are available both for transfer passengers and passengers starting their journey in Istanbul.
Domestic Lounges:
The domestic lounge has two sections; one for Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles Classic Plus and Elite card holders, Star Alliance Gold card holders and Turkish Corporate Club members (if they have a same day onward international connection); and the other one for Business Class passengers and Miles&Smiles Elite Plus card holders.
Miles&Smiles Elite passengers, Star Alliance Gold card holders and Turkish Corporate Club members can invite one guest into the lounge. Miles&Smiles Elite Plus passengers can also guest one passenger or their family members regardless of the number of people (spouse and children). Miles&Smiles Classic Plus card holders do not have the right to guest someone.
The lounge has a separate entrance and check-in lobby from the street, along with a special valet parking drop-off point. Transfer passengers and passengers who decide to use the main terminal building can also access this lounge by using the elevators across gates G6 and G7. Be aware that there are no lounge signs within the terminal so it's advised to follow signs for gates G6 and G7.
TK in Istanbul Airport: Thread #2 - Lounges
Apr 5, 2019, 3:20 am
#31
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: UK
Programs: BAEC Silver, VS Red, HH Gold, IHG Gold, Marriott Gold, SPG Basic, Alitalia Status Match
Posts: 1,173
Apr 5, 2019, 6:26 pm
#32
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: YYZ
Programs: Air Canada SE /*A Gold, Emirates Skywards Silver, Marriott Titanium Elite
Posts: 131
Domestic lounge video is on Youtube! Impressive direct entry from the airport drop off area.... Too bad the international lounge won't be...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6nevj48_p4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6nevj48_p4
Apr 6, 2019, 3:15 pm
#33
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 310
Any chance that TK may allow Elite members to use the sleeping rooms in the M&S lounge, given that J has a separate lounge? Now the business lounge is separated, I think that the number of E+ passengers who would make an int-int connection with at least one long-distance flight and 6-9 hours connection time would be quite low.
Apr 6, 2019, 6:49 pm
#34
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Programs: TK Elite Plus,BAEC GGL,ITA Executive, AFKL Gold,QR Gold,HH Diamond,Bonvoy Gold,ALL Gold
Posts: 14,185
I have found a video of the lounge from a news program that was live yesterday ( 6 Apr ).
The video is in Turkish but you would have a simple idea about one of the lounges.
At the end of the video, the back voice tells that to use the sleeping rooms you must have a 4h to 7h connection time and hold an Elite card. However, AFAWK Elite card holders can't benefit from the sleeping room service.
The video is in Turkish but you would have a simple idea about one of the lounges.
At the end of the video, the back voice tells that to use the sleeping rooms you must have a 4h to 7h connection time and hold an Elite card. However, AFAWK Elite card holders can't benefit from the sleeping room service.
Apr 7, 2019, 2:11 am
#35
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 310
I have found a video of the lounge from a news program that was live yesterday ( 6 Apr ).
The video is in Turkish but you would have a simple idea about one of the lounges.
At the end of the video, the back voice tells that to use the sleeping rooms you must have a 4h to 7h connection time and hold an Elite card. However, AFAWK Elite card holders can't benefit from the sleeping room service.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70dGBmXpJmg
The video is in Turkish but you would have a simple idea about one of the lounges.
At the end of the video, the back voice tells that to use the sleeping rooms you must have a 4h to 7h connection time and hold an Elite card. However, AFAWK Elite card holders can't benefit from the sleeping room service.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70dGBmXpJmg
Apr 7, 2019, 4:06 am
#36
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: M&S
Posts: 59
now in Business lounge although I fly economy. They told me no differency between m&s lounge and business.. service and food is the same. First week all member ( elite and up ) can use business lounge. looks good to me but as crowded as at Atatürk airport :-(
Last edited by mandilmos; Apr 7, 2019 at 4:28 am
Apr 7, 2019, 5:17 am
#37
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: M&S
Posts: 59
just checked both lounges.. I like the loyalty lounge . Business lounge is somehow small. There are no differency for food and beverage side. but business lounge has digital golf section etc.
by the way we use business lounge with our boarding passes , after that Loyalty lounge did not open entrance door with the same boarding pass. but they open manually. Not sure but it looks boarding pass is one time use only
I think lounges have nothing missing than Atatürk airport cip lounge, even more ( gozleme is even avaliable afternoon, Turkish traditional food is added )
by the way we use business lounge with our boarding passes , after that Loyalty lounge did not open entrance door with the same boarding pass. but they open manually. Not sure but it looks boarding pass is one time use only
I think lounges have nothing missing than Atatürk airport cip lounge, even more ( gozleme is even avaliable afternoon, Turkish traditional food is added )
Last edited by mandilmos; Apr 7, 2019 at 6:01 am
Apr 7, 2019, 6:33 am
#38
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: MAN
Programs: FB, OK+, MS, TK, Le Club, HH
Posts: 154
They've just posted some photos, via Twitter, of what they're stating as being the Business Class Lounge:
https://twitter.com/TurkishAirlines/status/1114861923244367874
https://twitter.com/TurkishAirlines/status/1114861923244367874
Last edited by GlenP; Apr 7, 2019 at 6:34 am Reason: Missing URL
Apr 7, 2019, 9:01 am
#39
Join Date: May 2018
Location: YYZ
Programs: AA Plat, Bonvoy Titanium, Hilton Diamond, Golden Circle Jade
Posts: 126
If I am flying PEK-IST-SKG-CPH, where PEK-IST is in TK J, IST-SKG is in Tk J, will I be able to use the domestic or international lounge? IST-SKG is a rather short flight, wondering if that would be considered a “domestic” flight, similar to how ORD-YYZ for example.
Apr 7, 2019, 9:05 am
#40
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Programs: TK Elite Plus,BAEC GGL,ITA Executive, AFKL Gold,QR Gold,HH Diamond,Bonvoy Gold,ALL Gold
Posts: 14,185
Turkey is not in the Schengen zone or does not have an immigration system like North American countries that all arriving pax should clear immigration even though they are transferring to another country. So, you would head to the international departures hall via transfer security and you would be able to access the Business lounge in the international terminal. The only flights considered as domestic is flights within Turkey. Even Ercan ( Turkish Republic of North Cyprus ) is considered as international.
Apr 7, 2019, 1:41 pm
#41
Join Date: Nov 2018
Programs: Miles and Smiles
Posts: 5
I had chance to visit m&s lounge today. It was breakfast time and there were three kiosks making egg, menemen, soup etc. Because it was early Sunday morning lounge was not packed yet. Comparing to old CIP lounge, food was a bit better on variety maybe. Tea section was elegant as well as all furnitures for sure. One problem took my attention. Near all couches there were electric sockets placed on the floor with an iron cover which is higher than floor parquet. I was almost falling down after I hit one of them. I am sure there will be many accidents if they do not find a solution.
For one week all eligible status passengers may visit business lounge which is not different than ms lounge at the moment. However soon there will be changes in favor of business lounge according to an employee on front desk.
For one week all eligible status passengers may visit business lounge which is not different than ms lounge at the moment. However soon there will be changes in favor of business lounge according to an employee on front desk.
Apr 8, 2019, 1:45 am
#42
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: M&S Elite+
Posts: 3,645
I had intended to visit last night. I had a connection time of 1 hour 40 minutes. At Ataturk, that would have allowed a half hour visit to the lounge. But by the time I found the business lounge and had sorted a ticket issue there was no time to go in
So it looks like the lounge will see less use from me. With quite a few flights arriving from London, connections usually are around 2 hours.
So it looks like the lounge will see less use from me. With quite a few flights arriving from London, connections usually are around 2 hours.
Apr 8, 2019, 3:35 pm
#43
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: LON, ATH
Programs: A3*G, BA Gold, OA Gold (in memoriam), Hertz #1 Gold
Posts: 545
Loyalty lobby on its new business lounge review shows "star alliance gold" under the business lounge sign. Does this mean that star golds will get access to both lounges in the long term?
Apr 8, 2019, 3:41 pm
#44
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Portugal
Programs: TK Elite+, FB Platinum, BAEC Gold, ALL Diamond, IHG Diamond Royal Ambassador
Posts: 293
LoyaltyLobby has a report on the business class lounge
https://loyaltylobby.com/2019/04/08/lounge-check-turkish-airlines-lounge-at-istanbul-international-airport/
https://loyaltylobby.com/2019/04/08/lounge-check-turkish-airlines-lounge-at-istanbul-international-airport/
Apr 8, 2019, 5:23 pm
#45
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Programs: TK Elite Plus,BAEC GGL,ITA Executive, AFKL Gold,QR Gold,HH Diamond,Bonvoy Gold,ALL Gold
Posts: 14,185
