Help me pick best transit airport in Europe IAD-IST (lounge, etc.)
 

Hello - We are going to IST in June.
I am flying from IAD and will take UA (either true UA or codeshare) and then connect in the European gateway onward to IST.
I am Star Gold and will be in business.
On the day I can go, single connection options are available in the following cities.
MUC (3h 25m) - only LH G Schengen open so not possible for me.
VIE (1h 55m) - only Schengen lounge open so not possible for me.
ZRH (2h 50m) - only Swiss Schengen A lounge opened so no use to me?
BRU (2h 55m) - all lounges closed
FRA (4h 5m) - Star Alliance lounge finder says only LH Schengen A lounge open but LH website says non-Schengen B and Z open?
LHR (4h) - only LH business lounge open?

All the products over the Atlantic are lie flat and most connect to Turkish in Europe which I prefer over the "faux" business class of SN/LX/LH/OS.
What I'm most interested in ease of non-Schengen to non-Schengen with respect to Covid and access to lounges.
I realize many of the non-Schengen lounges remain closed.

Thanks.

The best transit option is always none. Why not take the non-stop on TK? It seems like your self-imposed requirement to fly UA is really hurting you here.

Sounds like the form of payment or party ultimately footing the bill may require spending the travel funds on UA/UA codeshares.

Does TK even codeshare with UA when it comes to a ticketed booking with only IAD-IST/IST-IAD on it?

A key question, what grounds (COVID exemption) will you be use to transit an European airport?

Why does OP need an exemption? His destination is Turkey which US citizens are permitted to enter. He can transit any EU airport or fly nonstop, as many of us have done.

I would prefer to buy a 016 ticket to help towards my 1K requirements.. Also, the lowest P fare requires UA or OS/LH/AC/SN/LX and I'm just as happy in the Polaris seat connecting with a real business class on Turkish for the last leg.

What I'm most interested in is does one hub make non-Schengen to non-Schengen transfers easier. I also want to cofirm it doesn't look like I'll have lounge access anywhere.

Thanks!

A lot of lounges across the Star Alliance hub airports in the Schengen area are shut down; and of the lounges that are open, some are now so bare-bones that it's not even worth considering when the lounge is more out of the way than if going directly from gate-to-gate to connect.

I would probably pick ZRH nowadays if I had to do this kind of trip, but I haven't checked out the flight schedules nowadays.

I've heard they've closed the LH LHR lounge again. FRA NS lounge in B is open and accessible to people who must stay in the transit area.

The *A lounges you mentioned have been extremely limited in their offerings for some time. Currently, even the LX is without any F&B service. You can't even consume stuff bought outside. And the Swiss tend to be more liberal.. So lounges wouldn't factor into the equation for me at all.

VIE.

Shortest layover, but long enough for decent buffer in case of any delays.

Comfortable lounger and workspace style seating in the gate/terminal area.

As mentioned before, all the other *G lounges are closed or barebones - basically only offering a seat. Otherwise it would be a toss-up - they're all sort of equally comfortable to me.

Since lounges are basically out of the equation, I'd go with ZRH. VIE is a close second.

Agree. Zurich for the easiest transit.

Though personally I wouldn't add a connection just to chase 1K. So not worth it.

If lounges are not a consideration due to closures, I’d go for the longest flight TATL so as to get the most sleep.

VIE is a big winner according to this metric (and shortest second segment), MUC comes second. 😀😀

A map from Great Circle Mapper - Great Circle Mapper

Interesting how close all of these are in terms of total distance - almost no variation and almost no "detour" off the direct path IAD-IST ...

If you are chasing for status, may also want to take into consideration flying non-UA, non-016 ticket, which may be a better earner than 016 tickets.

Wouldn't you have lounge access in the US?