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 22, 2019, 6:00 am
#121
Join Date: Sep 2017
Programs: TK Elite Plus, AA Exec Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, United 1K
Posts: 311
What are the requirements for suites in the M&S Lounge? Given Suites are only given to J passengers, and that all the J passengers would be in the Business Lounge, who gets the Suites in M&S?
Apr 22, 2019, 6:13 am
#123
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: M&S Elite+
Posts: 3,645
Apr 22, 2019, 4:30 pm
#126
Join Date: Sep 2017
Programs: TK Elite Plus, AA Exec Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, United 1K
Posts: 311
Apr 22, 2019, 4:47 pm
#127
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: LAX
Programs: TK M&S, LH MM, Global Entry, Hertz Gold, Sixt Platinum
Posts: 1,087
Bit OT, but the access rules are a sore point for me - have been E+ for a while, but have not once found a connection that works for suite access.
Apr 22, 2019, 7:02 pm
#128
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
Just to clarify, unlike domestic lounges within Turkey,
Elite Plus pax are not admitted to the Business Lounge when traveling Economy, so E+ pax traveling on Y could only the sleeping rooms in the Miles&Smiles Lounge.
Elite Plus pax are not admitted to the Business Lounge when traveling Economy, so E+ pax traveling on Y could only the sleeping rooms in the Miles&Smiles Lounge.
Apr 22, 2019, 7:18 pm
#129
Join Date: Sep 2017
Programs: TK Elite Plus, AA Exec Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, United 1K
Posts: 311
ok so these are the rules for Suites in M&S Lounge? Elite+ when flying economy?
Apr 22, 2019, 7:21 pm
#130
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
- Elite Plus members who has an international-international connection between 4h and 7h with the duration of one of their flights being more than 8 hours.
Technically Business pax are also allowed to use the M&S Lounge so, Business Class with the same layover condition could use those sleeping rooms as well.
Apr 22, 2019, 9:43 pm
#131
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: M&S Elite+
Posts: 3,645
I was allowed into the business lounge yesterday as an E+ in economy on a GulfAir code share. So they have not started enforcing this rule yet, if they ever will.
Apr 22, 2019, 10:09 pm
#132
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
Interesting, the lounge eligibility chart indicates that only J Class pax would be admitted to the Business Lounge.
Apr 23, 2019, 4:07 am
#133
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: RIX
Programs: SAS Lifetime Gold, HHonors Lifetime Diamond, TK*G Elite+, airBaltic VIP, Sixt Plat, Hertz Gold
Posts: 1,079
I am in the Gold lounge now. The lady at the entrance to the escalator was really curios why I want to visit this lounge. I openly replied that I've been to the Business lounge multiple times already and want to visit this one.
The offerings are exactly the same. Hard liquor seems to be a bit hidden but certainly available - Black Label, Jack Daniels, etc.
The lounge is significantly less crowded. My hypothesis is that say a long haul flight has more C pax than Y *G. Some (most/) C pax are *G too.
My incoming Boeing 777-300ER had 7 rows with 7 pax in each row. Are there 49 more *G in Y? I am not sure.
The offerings are exactly the same. Hard liquor seems to be a bit hidden but certainly available - Black Label, Jack Daniels, etc.
The lounge is significantly less crowded. My hypothesis is that say a long haul flight has more C pax than Y *G. Some (most/) C pax are *G too.
My incoming Boeing 777-300ER had 7 rows with 7 pax in each row. Are there 49 more *G in Y? I am not sure.
Apr 23, 2019, 8:34 am
#134
Join Date: Mar 2019
Programs: Turkish Air
Posts: 13
Terrible
This lounge is awful. It's just like the old lounge in a new building. As previously noted, they moved over all the old furniture. So no modern seating with indegrated power. Also, the most shocking thing, they literally moved the old floor boards. You can easily see this is the same old squeaky, rickety, wooden floor from the old lounge by looking at all the wear and tear on it.
It totally escapes me why people give this lounge good ratings. It is big yes, but it isn't good. It's also frequently overcrowded. The food and drink offerings are very mediocre.
If you want to see a far superior lounge try Qatar's in Doha or British Airways business and/or first in London. Even some prime class lounges are far superior to this tired old shtick from Turkish.
Very disappointing.
Also the "exclusive lounge" is not open yet and won't be open until July.
Perhaps the most egregious screwjob at the "new" airport and lounge is that they flatly refuse to give you a sleeping space unless you have a layover that is between exactly 4 and 9 hours (regardless of the time of day) despite availability. Their old crappy furniture seems almost designed to prevent comfortable sleeping. This "policy" is almost funny because in the horribly designed new airport you will never have time for any kind of real sleep with "just" a four hour layover. If you are unlucky enough to have a "bus gate" in this "new world class airport" you might spend one hour from the time the wheels hit the ground to actually getting inside the terminal where the lounges are (especially if you have to do an unnecessary double security check which is still all the rage at Istanbul new airport but seems to be random if you have to do it or not).
I literally cannot think of another business that is so spiteful and ungrateful towards their most loyal customers. Even having elite plus gets you nowhere with this foul organization.
It totally escapes me why people give this lounge good ratings. It is big yes, but it isn't good. It's also frequently overcrowded. The food and drink offerings are very mediocre.
If you want to see a far superior lounge try Qatar's in Doha or British Airways business and/or first in London. Even some prime class lounges are far superior to this tired old shtick from Turkish.
Very disappointing.
Also the "exclusive lounge" is not open yet and won't be open until July.
Perhaps the most egregious screwjob at the "new" airport and lounge is that they flatly refuse to give you a sleeping space unless you have a layover that is between exactly 4 and 9 hours (regardless of the time of day) despite availability. Their old crappy furniture seems almost designed to prevent comfortable sleeping. This "policy" is almost funny because in the horribly designed new airport you will never have time for any kind of real sleep with "just" a four hour layover. If you are unlucky enough to have a "bus gate" in this "new world class airport" you might spend one hour from the time the wheels hit the ground to actually getting inside the terminal where the lounges are (especially if you have to do an unnecessary double security check which is still all the rage at Istanbul new airport but seems to be random if you have to do it or not).
I literally cannot think of another business that is so spiteful and ungrateful towards their most loyal customers. Even having elite plus gets you nowhere with this foul organization.
Last edited by jay49; Apr 23, 2019 at 8:43 am
Apr 23, 2019, 8:36 am
#135
Join Date: Mar 2019
Programs: Turkish Air
Posts: 13
I am in the Gold lounge now. The lady at the entrance to the escalator was really curios why I want to visit this lounge. I openly replied that I've been to the Business lounge multiple times already and want to visit this one.
The offerings are exactly the same. Hard liquor seems to be a bit hidden but certainly available - Black Label, Jack Daniels, etc.
The lounge is significantly less crowded. My hypothesis is that say a long haul flight has more C pax than Y *G. Some (most/) C pax are *G too.
My incoming Boeing 777-300ER had 7 rows with 7 pax in each row. Are there 49 more *G in Y? I am not sure.
The offerings are exactly the same. Hard liquor seems to be a bit hidden but certainly available - Black Label, Jack Daniels, etc.
The lounge is significantly less crowded. My hypothesis is that say a long haul flight has more C pax than Y *G. Some (most/) C pax are *G too.
My incoming Boeing 777-300ER had 7 rows with 7 pax in each row. Are there 49 more *G in Y? I am not sure.
