My first reintroduction to Air Serbia in three years was not a good one…not a good one at all. While Air Serbia remains a top-tier carrier, its ground experience in Istanbul leaves much to be desired.
Air Serbia Ground Experience In Istanbul
We arrived at Istanbul Airport to check-in for our afternoon flight to Belgrade. As we approached the Air Serbia counter, we found a huge line.
Fine, we thought. We could use the business class check-in line, which was empty. So we got in the business class check-in line, but when (we thought) it was our turn to approach the counter, we were told to wait. There was a huge gaggle of passengers off to the side.
“They’ve been waiting!” we were told.
Okay, fine.
So we waited. And waited. And waited.
Mind you, none of these passengers were flying in business class, because each were given “economy class” tags for their carry-on items.
A half hour passed. No exaggeration.
Finally I had enough. Had we just stood in the economy class line, we would have been checked-in already.
All this time we had a porter with us, because my friend was checking several bags. The porter became a bit aggressive and finally got us to the front of the line to check-in.
The staff was rude and indifferent. There was a bit of an English barrier, but we were not warmly greeted nor was an apology extended for the odd extended wait.
Okay, fine.
After handing us our boarding passes I asked where the lounge was and if we needed a lounge invitation.
“There is no lounge.”
Oh, okay…
Priority security?
“No.”
We could have used the IGA Lounge via Priority Pass, but opted to proceed directly to the gate.
Our Air Serbia business class experience was off to a swimming start! Long waits and poor service to check-in, plus no lounge.
CONCLUSION
It should goes without saying that this is a first world problem, but since this is a blog that concentrates on luxury air travel, I feel it is only fair to warn you that the Air Serbia ground experience in Istanbul is truly abysmal.
Thankfully, the onboard experience on our flight to Belgrade would more than make up for it.
I wonder if many in the industry think of passengers this way, hate us or are indifferent. Some only appear welcoming?
The business class check in part has no excuse. They could have put a closed sign on it if that is what they wanted.
As to lounge access, I always use the loungebuddy app to check what I have access to when going to a new airport. It also tells me where the lounges are located, which is particularly useful as they are not always well marked. It took them a while, but it is also now pretty good at showing what is closed for the pandemic and current opening hours, since there has been a lot of fluctuation the last year.
This is how we do it in Ex-Yugoslavia. Balkan flights: economy class seat for a paid business class ticket. Why would experience be any different?! My last flight to ZAG from FRA with Croatia Airlines was pathetic. Flight attendant brought her friend to “business” class section and chatted with her whole flight. Service offered: small bottle of water.
Unfortunately the United Premier Access experience at many line stations is a contractor snapping “Use the kiosk” while he/she runs back and forth between an entire bank of kiosks, with the actual UA agent stuck handling a special circumstance (strollers, re-issues), so I can’t say this is much worse.
I had a pretty lousy experience checking in for a BA flight at IST. It seems to be you’re either a TK passenger, or you don’t matter. It’s also incredibly frustrating not being able to check in more than 2 hours prior to departure on non-TK flights. I learned this the hard way when arriving on a domestic TK flight from ADB. Fortunately the BigChefs in Gokturk is a cheap taxi ride away and has a much better drink selection than the IGA lounge anyway.
…. and we all can be pretty sure that they don’t care, Air Serbia does not care that anyone stands in the wrong line or expects white glove service by them. They must walk in their back rooms and laugh at all the Americans and Europeans who think every airline experience is going to be top-notch United or Lufthansa. They probably don’t even work for Air Serbia but work for a vendor that gives them nothing (no benefits) except an hourly wage. We can see the dumbing down everywhere already before and since Covid-19 so why would anybody, anywhere, with any airline think flying will get better ?
They were certainly contracted staff.
Sounds like my experience with LH at BCN a couple of months ago. Admittedly, I was fortunate that the Y queue was only about 7 people deep, so I, the only passenger in the C queue, got served after the fifth Y pax, and the agent was a bit apologetic about the lack of lounge access (though there was no language barrier).
I have a feeling that contract lounge access will never return to the pre-pandemic days. Unless you are flying from an airport where you there is access an airline-operated lounge that you definitely know will let you in, it will remain a bit of a lottery even with top-tier status and/or a business class ticket.
*where there is an airline-operated lounge that you know will definitely let you in
I advise you to fly Turkish Airlines. Services are perfect. I tried one times first than I decided to fly always with Turkish Airlines. Their service standart is always is perfect for different destinations.
I love Turkish Airlines, especially when leaving Istanbul, but this was part of a ticket to New York with a deliberate stop in Belgrade. At least the onboard experience turned out to be wonderful.
I am also a big fan of TK’s onboard product, although they often seem to struggle with IROPS. My impression is that they don’t really empower their staff to make decisions on things like rerouting, and that can result in unhappy customers; I haven’t had any major issues when travelling with them, but I have seen and heard a few horror stories.
Too bad to hear. I had a flight out of BEG on OS in May. OS does not have a contract with any lounges at BEG (or at least not during ‘COVID’). I used PP at the Air Serbia lounge. Very friendly and staff checking on me on a regular basis.
She never said you were a terrorist. You were the only who mentioned it. It was your attitude and demeanor that got you kicked off. You need to learn to pick your battles.
She was a pathological liar that does not belong in the skies, but in a padded room…
1- wastage of money to fly business class for any flight less than 5 hrs.
2-check the plane as small planes use economy class seats for business.
3- it is the pandemic , nothing is working properly, be greatful your r safe and sound.
Why do all of you travel-points-bloggers feel the need to qualify your complaints as “first world” problems? It’s amazing that you have no concept how tiresome those woke prefaces have become. Your entire life-function centers around maximizing the business class travel experience (which is why I used to avidly read these types of blogs), yet you ALL NEVER FAIL to ensure you guilt-trip the rest of us about working our asses off to eek out the occasional biz class experience.
I’m not understanding the vitriol.