I recently did something I had never done before. I flew out of Istanbul and it wasn’t on Turkish Airlines. That meant a whole new lounge experience.
Recently, I was in Istanbul for a couple days on business and ended up flying British Airways out of IST rather than my usual Turkish Airlines (you can blame TK’s lack of last-minute award space on any 787 route for that).
As odd as it was to be at Istanbul’s beautiful new airport and not be able to check out the new Turkish Airlines lounge, I got to check out the IGA lounge instead, which is the lounge used by airlines who do not partner with Turkish Airlines.
The lounge design is impressive, like much of the airport, with soaring ceilings and plenty of room to spread out.
It even has its own duty free shop:
And complimentary massage:
Food was a disappointment (buffet only, and the food was just okay) but I appreciated the barista-made coffee.
Sometime next week, I will offer a full review of this lounge with many additional pictures.
IGA Lounge Now A Priority Pass Lounge
This week, Priority Pass announced that IGA is now a part of its lounge network. This marks the first Priority Pass lounge in Istanbul’s new airport and as far as Priority Pass lounges go, a great one. It’s also open 24/7.
Here’s a video of the new lounge:
CONCLUSION
I’d never visit this lounge if I had access to the Turkish Airlines lounge…the pide alone is worth fighting the crowds.
But this is a great new Priority Pass lounge and a very nice lounge in its own right. The TK Lounge is not the only game in town…
Was just there. Completely agree with you.. food was horrible but the space is gorgeous.. the shower was great. I wish they had sleeping pods. I was there really early and you see people sleeping everywhere. The whole ist airport is grand, it’s spacious and beautiful.
Indeed. I’m planning a separate post on the airport itself.
It’s a phenomenal lounge. Used it on exactly the same flight as you… BA675 out of IST.
It’s a shame it’s about to be completely ruined with priority pass… that tends to happen. It will suddenly be very crowded in there…