A very warm welcome to all Flight-Report members and visitors for this exclusive series of Flight-Report's which was an easy way having a Star Alliance Gold status. In addition, in this series I had the chance to experience the brand new Turkish Airlines Domestic Lounge at Istanbul Airport on the first day of its operation. This exclusive series would include 15 flights ( 14 on Turkish Airlines & 1 on SunExpress ) and 13 of these reports are flights to/from Istanbul Airport in Business Class. The other two flights are also domestic flights which are on Economy Class and they are not reports from/to Istanbul Airport. More details could be found in the routing section.
The eight flight of this series would be the start of my second tour of mileage run which would include flights 8 to 11 in these series. This report would be the second TK 2030 report on this site as I've also reported this flight on Economy in the past months. But, this time I would fly on Business Class and also have the chance to review the new Turkish Airlines Lounge Domestic again.
The routing would look like this. All reports except #2 would include lounge reviews as well.
Flight routing
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8#8 TK 2030 ISL to ADB ( J ) 737-800
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
Pax for this flight
Business Class: %100
Economy Class: %90-95
ONLINE CHECK-IN
Simply done via the TK mobile app. I had already pre-reserved my seat so nothing special today.
This time, I've chosen to use the İETT bus ( municipality ) from Mecidiyeköy district to reach Istanbul Airport. The journey takes around 35-40 minutes.
While on the bus, I had the chance to spot the incoming flight of our aircraft. Today's aircraft would be TC-JVD which is named under the quiet district of Istanbul, which is near the Black Sea: Şile
Istanbul Airport - ISL
I would like to mention again that at that moment the walkway to the CIP Lounge special entrance hasn't been open so I used the normal terminal to access the new lounge.
FIDS
I have simply printed my boarding pass for this flight on one of the kiosks but it didn't print my onward flights within the next 24 hours, so I've also stopped by a counter to have them printed in advance. A quick note that the TK CIP lounges in Ankara and Izmir doesn't allow mobile boarding passes as they have a stamp system to enter instead of a barcode reader.
As usual, security was cleared within less than 5 minutes.
Arriving to the gate level
And, I have used the elevators from the terminal to access the Turkish Airlines Lounge Domestic.
Fatal error:
Gate level: Floor 1
Lounge level: Floor 1
TURKISH AIRLINES LOUNGE DOMESTIC - ISTANBUL AIRPORT
Today the lounge was quieter than the last two visits as the Izmir flight is the only flight at that time slot.
Media corner
The buffet is the same with my morning visit even though it's afternoon at that time.
A second type of soup was added, probably due to the time of the day.
Butter from countryside Trabzon
Tea and coffee bar. Black tea is also available which isn't pictured in this photo
Lounge gates - As I mentioned before in the previous reports, lounge passengers are transferred to the aircraft with special buses to avoid long walks to the gates.
Boarding had started 30-35 minutes before the scheduled departure time at the CIP gate. My boarding pass was ripped in a different way today. :)
Our aircraft was parked at gate G8a
The door to the elevator at this gate had a problem; the door was stuck and didn't read staff ID's so we were asked to use the emergency stairs to the reach the aircraft.
Our aircraft from the jetbridge
TK 2030 - Istanbul Airport TO IZMIR Adnan Menderes AIRPORT
After being welcomed by the crew I have took my seat and sat next to another passenger that was doing a mileage run.
Shortly after I took my seat, boarding was completed and welcome drinks were started to be distributed.
Later on, the safety video was monitored
While the safety video was going on, the cabin crew came with the menus and a package of nuts
A photo of TC-JUE which had arrived from Trabzon and would operate the Adana flight that evening.
The massive terminal of ISL
TC-JVN had arrived from Gaziantep and parked to gate G2a.
The other edge of the terminal: B gates
Last view of the terminal from the ground
Entering the runway
The tower
Later on, we took of for a short flight to Izmir
Construction going on at facilities
The terminal
Büyükçekmece district
The IFE was closed for today's flight.
However, the route map was available
One of the regional airports
Shortly after we reached our cruising altitude, the meal sevice had begun.
Mozarella & Grilled Vegetables
Turkish Style Minced Beef with Ratatouille Couscous and Grilled Zucchini
Lemon Tart
For a drink, I opted for an ayran
Later on, before arrival tea & coffee was being offered.
Izmir
Adnan Menderes Airport before landing there
And after landing there
The terminal
AnadoluJet 737-800 heading to the runway
And, we had parked to gate 236.
IZMIR ADNAN MENDERES AIRPORT - ADB
After saying goodbye to the crew, I have the left aircraft and took this last photo of the aircraft.
As I had time till next morning, I had went to the city center with these Havaş shuttles as the suburban rail conductors were in a strike those days.
This report has came to an end, thanks for reading and hope to see you in another report.
Hello Eryorulmaz,
A strange feeling of deja vu on this flight. ;-)
The terminal ISL continues to impress — beautifully designed and so quick. I hope it continues to fare well once the switchover is complete.
“Butter from countryside Trabzon”
- I’ve seen these references in other FRs, and in my own experiences at IST. Is Trabzon countryside butter particularly luxurious in Turkish culture, or do they just highlight it because it's Turkish culture on Turkish Airlines?
“After being welcomed by the crew I have took my seat and sat next to another passenger that was doing a mileage run.”
- The TK mileage-running crew must have developed lifelong friendships over this MR-crazy time. It’s cool to be flying with so many of your like-minded peers.
As usual, lovely pics from the air, and amazing catering from Turkish.
Thanks for sharing this one, and looking forward to the continuation.
Hi hometoyyz and thanks for stopping by,
"The terminal ISL continues to impress — beautifully designed and so quick. I hope it continues to fare well once the switchover is complete."
- I hope the same thing. At the moment another concourse ( concourse D ) had opened for international flights and they are testing that area. If they think there would be a problem after the operation transfer from Atatürk Airport, they would postpone the opening again.
"I’ve seen these references in other FRs, and in my own experiences at IST. Is Trabzon countryside butter particularly luxurious in Turkish culture, or do they just highlight it because it's Turkish culture on Turkish Airlines?"
- I've rarely seen "butter from Trabzon" in luxury markets or any gourmet food area in Istanbul. But there is a taste difference between this specific type of butter and regular butter which are both served in the lounge. Probably, they highlight because it's Turkish culture.
"The TK mileage-running crew must have developed lifelong friendships over this MR-crazy time. It’s cool to be flying with so many of your like-minded peers."
- If I see some of the crews in the street, I would definitely recognize them. Probably they would recognize me too. Maybe not the crew of this flight because they had only been serving for me on this flight.
"As usual, lovely pics from the air, and amazing catering from Turkish."
- Thanks for the appreciation and your comment and hope to see you in another report.