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TK in Istanbul Airport: Thread #2 - Lounges

Old Apr 2, 2019, 3:31 am
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Last edit by: starflyergold
Unlike like Atatrk 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.
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TK in Istanbul Airport: Thread #2 - Lounges

Old Apr 14, 2019, 2:43 pm
  #91  
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Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Programs: TK Elite Plus,QR Platinum,BAEC GGL,ITA Executive, AFKL Gold, HH Diamond,Bonvoy Gold,ALL Gold
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Originally Posted by johan rebel
I guess you have not been to any of KLM's lounges in AMS then.


Johan
Nor the LH lounges in FRA.
cheltzel likes this.
ISTFlyer is offline  
Old Apr 14, 2019, 8:36 pm
  #92  
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
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Priority Pass for Istanbul Airport

To answer the question whether there is a Priority Pass lounge in the new Istanbul Airport, I just did a search in the PP app and as of this morning the only PP lounges listed in Istanbul are at the other airport (SAW). I have emailed PP to confirm this.

But at this time the answer about if there are PP lounges in the new Istanbul Airport is apparently no...

China Sailor is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2019, 5:59 am
  #93  
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
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Originally Posted by johan rebel
I guess you have not been to any of KLM's lounges in AMS then.
You are right, I have never been there - for that matter I took KLM only once in my life and that was enough for me to avoid it like plague ever since.

Originally Posted by ISTFlyer
Nor the LH lounges in FRA.

You are wrong, I never had problem taking showers in the Senator lounge at FRA. I just had one last week, at a busy time (~8am), waited 10min.

When there are a lot of people waiting, LH staff usually gives you a limit of 15min to shower - something TK should really consider doing.
Duriangris is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2019, 6:54 am
  #94  
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Originally Posted by Duriangris

When there are a lot of people waiting, LH staff usually gives you a limit of 15min to shower - something TK should really consider doing.
Not being a troll (hopefully) - but how can enforce it?

I can imagine they can ask nicely but once you are in the shower how can they remove you after 15 minutes?
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Old Apr 15, 2019, 7:46 am
  #95  
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Originally Posted by Duriangris
You are right, I have never been there - for that matter I took KLM only once in my life and that was enough for me to avoid it like plague ever since.


You are wrong, I never had problem taking showers in the Senator lounge at FRA. I just had one last week, at a busy time (~8am), waited 10min.

When there are a lot of people waiting, LH staff usually gives you a limit of 15min to shower - something TK should really consider doing.
My last two experiences at the LH SEN lounge:

9 Mar 2019 Fri: Terminal 1B FRA: Wait of 30 minutes for a shower at 11:00
17 Mar 2019 Sun: Terminal 1Z FRA: Wait of 30 minutes for a shower but much more crowded than my experience at 9 Mar. Every five minutes, pager numbers were announced throughout the loudspeaker as people didn't realize that it was their turn. As I had limited time, I wasn't able to use the shower. Around 09:00
ISTFlyer is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2019, 8:52 am
  #96  
 
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Originally Posted by TPJ
Not being a troll (hopefully) - but how can enforce it?

I can imagine they can ask nicely but once you are in the shower how can they remove you after 15 minutes?
Most people will respect the request as seen in the LH case.
flyerby is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2019, 7:41 pm
  #97  
 
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Location: Vancouver, BC
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Lounge Access at New Istanbul Airport?

We have business class reward seats, flying in from SIN on SQ at 7:45am on a Friday morning and connecting to CDG on TK at 7:10am Saturday morning.

Would we have access to TK's Business Class lounge when we arrive to freshen up?
We're looking to head into Istanbul for the day, leaving our carry on sized luggage at the airport's left luggage service, and head back to the airport some time before midnight. Would we be able to stay in the lounge from about midnight until when our flight boards around 6am?
(I found some references in some older threads but not sure if parameters have changed after the move to the new airport.)

TIA.
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Old Apr 16, 2019, 4:28 am
  #98  
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Originally Posted by Jay71
We have business class reward seats, flying in from SIN on SQ at 7:45am on a Friday morning and connecting to CDG on TK at 7:10am Saturday morning.

Would we have access to TK's Business Class lounge when we arrive to freshen up?
We're looking to head into Istanbul for the day, leaving our carry on sized luggage at the airport's left luggage service, and head back to the airport some time before midnight. Would we be able to stay in the lounge from about midnight until when our flight boards around 6am?
(I found some references in some older threads but not sure if parameters have changed after the move to the new airport.)

TIA.
There is no baggage storage facility at Istanbul Airport, you could either check your bags all the way as your connection is technically less than 24 hours. However, if you want to store your carry on, you could store them at the lockers at the lounge, if you're planning to re-enter the lounge for the second time. Yes, you could head to the Business Lounge just after arrival but be aware that you should clear transfer security first as SIN is not a clear destination, you must also have your BP for your CDG flight present at that time. If the SQ agent in SIN won't be able to issue, you need to first proceed to the transfer desk. Of course, you may leave the lounge and the airport but it won't be easy as SIN or CDG T1 as in IST, airside and landside does not use the same path. There should be a way out from the international airside to the baggage claim but unfortunately no one knows how. You could access the lounge within all the 24 hour period before your flight so that means that there would be no problem accessing the lounge at midnight.
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Old Apr 16, 2019, 11:49 am
  #99  
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
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Hi everyone,

Is it possible to leave the lounge (to go to the duty free shops) and then re-enter the lounge with the same boarding pass a few minutes later ?

Thank you !
traveltheworld007 is offline  
Old Apr 16, 2019, 11:51 am
  #100  
 
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Originally Posted by traveltheworld007
Hi everyone,
Is it possible to leave the lounge (to go to the duty free shops) and then re-enter the lounge with the same boarding pass a few minutes later ?
Thank you !
It should be possible. I had issues entering different lounges with the same boarding pass, i.e. going to the M&S lounge first and then the boarding pass did not work at the gate for the Business Lounge. However, the lounge attendant was then able to manually open the gate.
SFOTraveler1984 is offline  
Old Apr 16, 2019, 11:51 am
  #101  
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Originally Posted by traveltheworld007
Hi everyone,

Is it possible to leave the lounge (to go to the duty free shops) and then re-enter the lounge with the same boarding pass a few minutes later ?

Thank you !
This is still possible so yes, you could enter the same lounge multiple times with the same boarding pass.
The thing that we discuss is that how to leave the airport when in the departures level of the international airside.
ISTFlyer is offline  
Old Apr 16, 2019, 7:26 pm
  #102  
 
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Originally Posted by ISTFlyer
There is no baggage storage facility at Istanbul Airport, you could either check your bags all the way as your connection is technically less than 24 hours. However, if you want to store your carry on, you could store them at the lockers at the lounge, if you're planning to re-enter the lounge for the second time. Yes, you could head to the Business Lounge just after arrival but be aware that you should clear transfer security first as SIN is not a clear destination, you must also have your BP for your CDG flight present at that time. If the SQ agent in SIN won't be able to issue, you need to first proceed to the transfer desk. Of course, you may leave the lounge and the airport but it won't be easy as SIN or CDG T1 as in IST, airside and landside does not use the same path. There should be a way out from the international airside to the baggage claim but unfortunately no one knows how. You could access the lounge within all the 24 hour period before your flight so that means that there would be no problem accessing the lounge at midnight.
Thanks for adding me to the wiki thread. Not sure why I didn't see it (!?!).

We're not flying until June but are trying to make a decision now if we want to get a hotel room or just tough it out in the lounge. I'm hoping left luggage will be up and going by then. Will monitor these threads/wikis. Good news about the lounge access and re-entry though.
Thanks for the reminder tips, particularly about the difficulty it may be to depart the airport from international airside. I previously encountered a somewhat similar situation in Seoul where a screening agent had to reverse flow me though some areas to get me to the immigration desks.
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Old Apr 17, 2019, 3:35 am
  #103  
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
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Originally Posted by Jay71
Thanks for adding me to the wiki thread. Not sure why I didn't see it (!?!).

We're not flying until June but are trying to make a decision now if we want to get a hotel room or just tough it out in the lounge. I'm hoping left luggage will be up and going by then. Will monitor these threads/wikis. Good news about the lounge access and re-entry though.
Thanks for the reminder tips, particularly about the difficulty it may be to depart the airport from international airside. I previously encountered a somewhat similar situation in Seoul where a screening agent had to reverse flow me though some areas to get me to the immigration desks.
If you have a passport from Canada, you will also need a visa to exit the airport.

northsideguy is offline  
Old Apr 17, 2019, 6:35 am
  #104  
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Originally Posted by SFOTraveler1984

The Business Lounge and the M&S lounge are almost identical. I might be wrong, but maybe the M&S lounge doesn't have shower rooms - I did not immediately see those.
Other than that the lounges are identical in size, food, layout.
During my two transfers so far, the M&S lounge was significantly less busy than the Business lounge.
The business lounge is outstanding. Many different food options, good wine selection, and pleasant environment. I will be back.
halls120 is offline  
Old Apr 17, 2019, 6:50 am
  #105  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 483
Can someone expound upon the differences between the M&S lounge and the Business lounge? Some report they are the exact same. Others report the Business lounge is better. How can they be the same? I would assume that the Business lounge would be better and I hope so-this will be our first time flying business on TK.
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