Review: Turkish Airlines Lounge Istanbul (IST)

Turkish Airlines has a very good business class product. Unlike some other reviewers, I wouldn't rate it as one of the best business class experiences I've had - let alone suggest it's better than British Airways' first class - but it is very good.

One of the places where TK shines most is its home airport lounge, which is easily one of the best bsiness class lounges around. In this article, I review Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge in Istanbul (IST) airport, and see how it's offerings have changed post-COVID.

Our rating

Our reviewer gives this lounge an: A-

Access

Access to the Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge at IST is limited to international business class passengers. If you're a Star Alliance elite, you won't be able to enter the lounge unless you have an international business class ticket. Turkish Airlines has another lounge at IST for Miles and Smiles elite (as well as Star Alliance elites). This lounge is available regardless of the class of ticket you're on.

Who can acess the Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge at IST?

• The Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge is open to business class passengers on international routes only

Who can acess the Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles Lounge at IST?

• Star Alliance Gold
• Miles and Smiles Elite
• Miles and Smiles Elite Plus

Turkish Airlines Business Class Check-in at Istanbul Airport

When you arrive at IST, you need to go through an initial security check to enter the airport. There is no priority security at this point, so you will have to wait in line. After that, Turkish Airlines has a semi-private check-in area for business class passengers, which is a nice way to begin your trip. The separate check-in is on the left side of the terminal.

The business class check-in area can get busy at IST. I noticed that there were some economy check-in desks open with fewer people in line than the business class check-in. Still, when I arrived, I only had to wait a minute before I was helped.

When I made it to the front of the line, I was told by the check-in agent that I need to go to a separate screening desk for a passport check because I was going to the U.S. Luckily, the separate screening desk was very close and there was no line. After I was screened, I returned to the main check-in desk to check in.

Note that the IST check in agents can be strict with baggage weights. I only travel with carry on luggage, but the Turkish Airlines check-in agent told me that my bag was over the 8kg limit, so it would need to be checked. I have had this happen in Asia on some low cost carriers, but never on a business or first class ticket. From the U.S. to IST, I was not required to check the same bag (with the same weight).

Aside from having to check my bag, check-in was quick and painless, as was priority security and customs.

Lounge Seating

One area where the Turkish Airlnies Business Class Lounge in IST lags a bit behind competitors is seating. Unfortunately, for many of us road warriors, this can be the most important part of the airport lounge experience.

There is one major lounge for Turkish Airlines business class passengers at IST. The fact that there's only one Turkish business class lounge at IST allows Turkish Airlines to offer some excellent amenities and services, since they don't have to split services among multiple lounges. However, this also means that the business class lounge can get crowded.

Before COVID-19, Turkish Airlines flew to more destinations than nearly any other airline. With that many routes, and that many passengers, the single business class lounge at their hub is bound to get crowded. And it does. I reviewed this lounge at an off hour, during a low season for Turkish travel, and the lounge was still pretty full. In fact, although there were plenty of seats available, there wasn't a single cluster of seats unfilled. For those of us who want to be free of interruptions while doing work in the lounge, this is far from ideal.

There are several seating areas in the lounge. The main seating area is starting to look a bit tired. The white chairs show their age, and can get somewhat dirty during the day. The smaller rooms have nicer brown chairs, which look and feel newer. Your best bet is to stake out one of these areas.

Power outlets aren't easily available for most seats, although there are a few places where you can find an outlet to recharge.

The Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge in IST suffers from a phenomenon that I have seen at a lot of lounges lately: there are so many passengers with access that the lounges are often more crowded than the rest of the terminal. The overcrowding of the lounge is not horrendous, but it is noticeable.

Food and Drink

One of the best things about the Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge is the food. The lounge has a wider variety of food options than most first class lounges, including the Concorde Room at LHR and even the Singapore Airlines Private Room in SIN, although it lacks the a la carte component.

The lounge is centered around two kitchens with windows. You can look in and see the chefs making fresh Turkish pitas and other breads, as well as cooking other Turkish delicacies. There are stations where chefs pepare popular Turkish foods, like pide (Turkish pizza) and simit (Turkish pretzels). There are also stations where chefs pepare international foods. The day I was at the lounge, one chef was cooking teppanyaki and another was making Italian food.

Beyond fresh cooked dishes, the Turkish Airlines lounge has the obligatory cheese and salad bar options, and plenty of pastries and cakes for dessert. I particularly enjoyed the fresh popcorn and simit stations.

For drinks, the Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge has the standard sodas and juices, a coffee bar, plus a lemonade bar with a half-dozen homemade lemonade flavors. There is also a wine cart with wines and champagne. I was surprised that (at least when I visited) there were no bottles of liquor available.

In terms of quality, I found the food to be very good. It is significantly better than the food at most business class lounges I have visted, and some dishes were surpassed what I expect to get in a first class lounge. However, the buffet style service meant that some dishes (such as the pide) weren't optimally heated. Overall, I would compare the food to that of a good casual-dining restaurant. Not "fine dining," but very satisfying.

Amenities

The Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge in Istanbul has some of the best amenities I've ever seen in a lounge. For kids, there is a large play area with a giant airplane that kids can play inside. There's also a large slot car racecourse which kids and grownups can enjoy.

For adults, the Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge at IST has a golf simulator and flight simulator. I wasn't able to get the flight simulator working, but the golf simulator is a great way to spend an hour.

There's also a small museum with sports memorabilia. Inside the museum there's a video game console, but I wasn't able to get it working and didn't see anyone else using it.

There are showers and nap pods, but there are access restrictions. Nap pods are only available if you have an international connection of a certain length, and even then, they're first-come-first-served. I personally don't know anyone who has successfully been able to snag one, since they're always in demand. Showers are not restricted, although there's generally a wait.

One place where the Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge in Istanbul shines is the restrooms. Attendants work in the bathrooms to keep them continuously cleaned. While other lounge bathrooms do have continuous cleaning, the standards here are some of the best I've seen. For example, the restrooms in this lounge are much cleaner than the restrooms in British Airways' Concorde Room First Class Lounge. And they are on par with what I have seen in Cathay Pacific's and Singapore Airlines' First Class lounges.

Other amenities at the Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge include luggage lockers, small nap pods, and a player piano constantly playing music.

Wi-Fi

Istanbul airport has free Wi-Fi througout the concourse, but it's difficult to access and notoriously slow. To access the public Wi-Fi, you must either find an access kiosk or provide your phone number and get a text confirmation. I tried several U.S. based phone numbers, and none of them ever received the confirmation. Therefore, I couldn't access the free Wi-Fi. I have, however, been told that it's absurdly slow (think 2G or less speeds).

Turkish Airlines has their own Wi-Fi in the lounge. You can access the Turkish Airlines Wi-Fi by inputting your flight details, which worked perfectly for me on the first try. The speeds of the lounge Wi-Fi were decent, and I was able to get work done; however, I found that streaming was unreliable. I had better luck using the hotspot on my phone over 4G.

Overall, the Wi-Fi options in the Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge at IST are decent, but if you have mobile data you may be better off skipping the Wi-Fi altogether and using a hotspot from your mobile device.

Location

The location of the Business Class Lounge at IST is not ideal. Since it's located centrally for all gates, there is no direct access to the jet bridge. In fact, you're likely to have a 10+ minute walk from the lounge to your gate. In my case, it took nearly 20 minutes to get to my A gate, although I'm not a super fast walker.

Turkish Airlines also doesn't call out boarding for individual flights in the lounge. This means that you must constantly be checking the departures screens to determine when you need to go to the gate. Furthermore, once you get to the gate, you may be stuck behind a long line of coach passengers for security (this is the third security check, because you have to go through security to enter the ariport). Although Turkish Airlines technically has special lines for business class passengers, in practice the security personnel doesn't always prioritize business class passengers.

Overall

Overall, the Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge at IST is a great place to spend a few hours. There are great restrooms with showers, and excellent food options. However, the lounge can be crowded and seating can be tight.

About the author: Roger Davies is a writer for Empty Lighthouse Magazine and a business traveler. He has been to more than 150 countries, although he has spent much of the time in the airport. You can reach him at writers@emptylighthouse.com