I had already made you visit the Turkish Airlines business lounge dedicated to passengers on domestic flights from the new Istanbul airport. As I told you at the time, this lounge has an adjoining “twin brother” dedicated to “status” passengers not traveling in business class. This is the one we are going to discover today.
Who has access to the lounge?
Classic Plus, Elite and Elite plus members of the Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles frequent flyer program as well as members of Star Alliance airlines loyalty programs with Star Alliance Gold status.
Location of the lounge
In the Domestic terminal at gate G6 you will find an elevator that will take you to the lounge located on the tarmac level. Attention: the lounge is poorly or not at all indicated. No doubt it’ s a youthful flaw of a brand new airport, but for the time being, this is how it is.
No signage except on the elevator!
Once downstairs, a receptionist will direct you to one or the other lounge (they are adjoining) depending on your status/class of travel.
Lounge layout
It is composed of a single large area.
There are chairs and tables in a more ” catering ” configuration.
And areas with large armchairs, a little more lounge, to relax.
The lounge being new everything is in very good condition and the overall look is quite flattering.
There is also a playground for children.
And game consoles!
The lounge is of good size and in spite of the number of flights handled I never saw it saturated with people but it must be said that the business class passengers have a differentiated lounge.
Catering
Tea, coffee and pastries are available.
The hot offer consists of ….soup and that’s all.
As far as the cold offer is concerned, there is a buffet…
Not so great:
Fruit, vegetables, cheese, some sandwiches…basically if you don’t feel like making a salad you might starve.
I had already made this remark for the business lounge but I find that it is much too light in quantity and especially in variety for an airline of the standing of Turkish Airlines, what is more in its flagship airport! Especially when we see the excellence of their lounge dedicated to international flights which we will talk about here in a few days.
For cold drinks you have a soda fountain lost in a corner (coke, schweppes etc..). Otherwise water, lots of water... ( still, not sparkling, don’t exaggerate !).
What about alcohol? Nothing!
Again, a more than minimalist performance.
To be honest, the catering of this lounge is not even at the level of the Air France lounges of the Terminal 2F at Roissy, that is to say!
The bonus gift: boarding by bus
On the other hand, there is a service for the passengers that I applaud with both hands: the boarding by bus, as in the lounge in Izmir.
For each departing flight, a bus picks up passengers at the lounge and brings them to the bottom of the aircraft.
In fact, it is in front of the bus boarding gates that the passengers of both lounges meet.
Conclusion
A lounge which has the advantage of existing when you are in connection on a domestic flight. It’s big, pretty and brand new…and that’s it. The catering offer is totally insufficient for an airline of Turkish Airlines’ standing.
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