Review : Turkish Airlines Domestic CIP lounge at Istanbul, business, domestic flights,

2 hours to kill between my arrival from Frankfurt and my departure to Izmir is more than enough time to test the new Turkish Airlines lounge in the (new) domestic terminal of the (new) Istanbul airport.

As said before, the connections in Istanbul now require a few more kilometers but are smooth and serene.

I arrive in the terminal dedicated to domestic flights and start looking for the Turkish Airlines lounge. Due to the lack of signage, I ask a member of the airport staff in charge of helping passengers to get used to this new airport. I am vaguely told to take a right, go straight and ask another staff member on the way.

Location of the Turkish Domestic Lounge in Instanbul

So I obeyed. I don’t pass anyone and as the end of the terminal approaches I think to myself that they didn’t put the lounge at the very end, the logic being to position such things centrally to avoid it being too far from the farthest doors. Especially since it is a new airport and the airline had to be involved in its design…

Anyway, I turn around, still nothing.

The opportunity to admire once again the excessiveness of this new complex. It is far from the souk atmosphere of the old Ataturk airport.

Half-turn again and there I meet a staff member who shows me the way. The Turkish Airlines domestic lounge is conveniently located almost at the end of the terminal. I end up finding the only indication allowing to find it… Not easy !

I don’t doubt that this is a youthful flaw in a brand new airport and that before long it will be properly signposted, but in the meantime be aware that it is near gate G6 and you will need to take an elevator to get down there.

Two agents are at the entrance but they are only used to give information. You enter by scanning your boarding pass.

The name displayed is “Turkish Airlines CIP Lounge” but on the website of the airline it is called “Turkish Airlines Domestic Lounge”.

Organization of the lounge

It is intended for passengers traveling in business on Turkish Airlines, all classic and elite members of the airline’s Miles&Smiles program, as well as all Star Gold status holders on a Star Alliance airline with a guest.

It is in fact composed of two completely separate areas: one for business class passengers, the other for elite passengers (i.e. having a status on Turkish or a Star Alliance airline will travel in economy). It is the first of the two that we will discover here.

The lounge is large and is divided into two areas: one for catering with tables and chairs…

and one for lounging with more comfortable armchairs.

It seems to me to be a more than decent size but what about when the terminal is running at full capacity? We will see because it is not for tomorrow anyway.

The lounge is also directly accessible from the outside as it has its own security control. There is no need for passengers departing from Istanbul to go through the “classic” controls and walk to the lounge, they can reach it directly.

It is spacious and very pleasant. It’s clean and that’s logical, considering that the lounge has been open for less than a month.

Attention: no announcement is made in order to preserve the tranquillity of the passengers, we ask you to look carefully at the signs indicating the flight times.

A very disappointing catering

The catering now.

First of all, there are large fridges full of cold drinks in different parts of the lounge. There is hot water for making tea and dedicated staff to prepare Turkish coffee and espresso.

There is a cold buffet with vegetables, fruits and cheeses.

Another station offers pastries, cakes and a very limited “hot” offer.

No alcohol in sight.

I don’t know if it’s because it’s a domestic lounge or because we were in the middle of Ramadan, but it’s hardly better than the Air France lounges at 2F in Roissy, which is still a significant marker.

For the wifi you just have to scan your boarding pass to get a code.

The lounge has of course showers, very clean toilets (no photo possible because there are cleanliness behemothes permanently inside) and prayer rooms. But no spa or treatment.

Finally, and this is the advantage of a lounge located at runway level, for each boarding a bus takes passengers directly from the lounge to the aircraft, via an airlock that opens directly onto the runways. Good point.

Bottom line: a certain disappointment

Knowing the reputation of Turkish Airlines and the ambition of the lounge I expected something else. The lounge is pretty, pleasant, calm, and, to use the traditional expression, “does the job”. But in terms of catering, it does even less than the Lufthansa’s at Charles de Gaulle (by way of comparison) and is only superior to it in terms of its recentness and its design, which do not have to suffer from the old terminal design.

A youthful flaw for a lounge that has been open for barely a month? Time will tell.

Pleasant, useful but not experiential. Disappointing from Turkish.