Review : Turkish Airlines Business and Elite plus Lounge, Izmir

The Turkish Airlines Business Lounge at Izmir Airport welcomes Elite Plus members of the Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles program, Turkish Airlines business class passengers, Star Alliance business and first class passengers and Star Alliance Gold members. This lounge is for domestic flights.

Elite” members of the Miles&Smiles frequent flyer program of Turkish Airlines have access to an adjacent lounge. Technically speaking, Business and Elite plus can use both lounges but will prefer this one, a bit more premium.

Location of the lounge

The lounge is located “airside” in the domestic terminal, i.e. after the security checks. You have to go almost to the end of the terminal to find it and then go down one level to return to the first floor.

Aéroport Izmir — You have to go to the end of the terminal to find the Turkish Airlines lounge

Business Lounge Turkish Airlines Izmir — Then you have to go down one level to find the Turkish Airlines lounge

At the reception desk, my boarding pass is scanned and I am directed to a door on my right. There is also a part of on the left. Traveling in business class on Turkish Airlines that day, I had access to a section reserved for Turkish Airlines business customers, Elite plus members of the Miles&Smiles program and Star Alliance Gold passengers. The other part of the lounge is visibly intended for “Elite” customers of Turkish Airlines and Star Alliance Gold passengers who have the choice between the two. We will visit it on a future occasion.

The lounge is, in theory, poorly located, as it imposes a long walk on passengers whose boarding gate is located in the other half of the terminal, but we will see later that this is not the case.

Turkish Airlines Izmir lounge layout

The lounge is rather average in size. Is it enough to provide a pleasant experience during rush hour? I think so because given the frequency of the flights we don’t stay there too long and as I said before there is a second lounge right next door.

There is a first lounge area with a buffet at the entrance.

Further on the lounge makes an angle. There is a lounge/TV/library area.

Tables to eat and then again a more cosy corner.

Everything is decorated with good taste and sobriety and is comfortable. Another good point, the entire length of the lounge opens onto a bay window overlooking the runway: sunshine guaranteed. It’s a change compared to blind lounges.

There is also a nice massage chair.

Nothing to say about the state and cleanliness of the toilets.

A somewhat limited restaurant offer

It’s 9:30 in the morning so I’ll have a buffet in “breakfast” configuration.

Fruits.

Cakes.

Bread and pastries.

And finally a buffet of fresh products a little limited in variety, accompanied by some sandwiches.

And a hot offer reduced to a minimum.

As for drinks, there are also the basics: tea, coffee, water and soft drinks but no alcohol.

Let’s not be picky: the essentials are there, but only the essentials. After the domestic lounge in Istanbul, this is the second time that Turkish has disappointed me a little on the catering offer in its lounges. Considering the standing and the ambitions of the airline, one could expect better, it is hardly worth the Air France of the terminal 2F of Roissy, that is to say.

Direct access to planes

You remember that I was concerned about the distance between the lounge and the gates. False alarm since, like what I experienced at the Turkish Airlines domestic lounge in Istanbul, a shuttle bus was set up to reach the planes.

For each plane that leaves, a bus comes to pick up the passengers at the exit of the lounge, which has an airlock overlooking the runways. This is the value of a lounge on the ground floor!