Skyteam opens a lounge at the new Istanbul airport

Last month Skyteam opened its 7th “own” lounge in Istanbul. It follows Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, London Heathrow, Sydney, and Vancouver.

Why have their own lounge? In airports where no airline in the alliance has a strong presence, it is easier to open a common lounge than to multiply the number of small lounges per airline, which often offer a disappointing experience to the customer.

In this case the Skyteam lounge in Istanbul will be used by Aeroflot, Air France, KLM, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines, Saudia and TAROM.

The main features of the Skyteam lounge in Istanbul

The lounge has an area of 582 square meters, and can accommodate more than 145 people, it is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

It is located in the west wing at the level of gates A or B so a little less “central” than the Turkish Airlines lounges like the one we have already presented to you. This can be important: in this new airport the distances are very important and if you start from a gate other than A or B the distance to cross can be very consequent (more than 20 minutes walking). But of relative importance: given the layout of the airport if you are at a high gate number it doesn’t matter if your lounge is more or less central you will walk a long way.

The design of the Skyteam lounge in Istanbul

The design is quite airy and colorful, similar to other Skyteam lounges with a visible touch of local inspiration. A sense of spaciousness that the design of the airport itself contributes to, as the lounge is on the upper floor under an impressive ceiling height. It thus inherits a valuable feature of the Turkish Airlines lounge in the international area.

The entrance to the Skyteam Lounge in Istanbul

Catering at Skyteam lounge in Istanbul

It is organized around a buffet of international dishes and Turkish cuisine. A cook prepares Turkish pizza on demand. A welcome borrowing from the Turkish Airlines lounge?

Our opinion on Skyteam Istanbul lounge

A lounge that looks very promising but that we will judge with the use. Aesthetics is one thing, but you still need to see the “soft product”: quality and variety of the food, the speed with which the buffet is restocked and tables are cleared.