777s are often more comfortable in coach than other planes. Oh sorry, my Chief of Staff informs me…read morethat cheap seats have been called "economy" for decades. I will edit out the part where I refer to this airline as BOAC. Anyway, in spite of Istanbul's terrible record for flight delays, our flight to London was on time, as was our earlier flight in from London. One meal was good, the second meal was just a light snack. The check in and gate people were the same, they were quite good, as were the flight attendants. Can't complain about the price amd good text and email communication.

This is where you get the cheapest transport to the airport. Very easy. There is a schedule online…read more Be aware that there are two separate airports that the buses depart to. Each airport is in s different part of the city. So, always ask to make sure you are getting on the right bus. If this is your first time using this airport shuttle it is best you arrive early.

IST was a huge airport. We flew Turkish Airlines four times during our first trip to Turkey and it…read moredidn't matter if the flights were domestics or international, we had to walk a long way to or from our gate. International departures guideline was three hours before flight but we got through all security, immigration and bag check in 45 minutes. It helped a lot having *G since we were able to use the dedicated lines and fastrack. The international Turkish Lounge was by Gate C1 so it was our first stop. A huge, nice lounge but very crowded at 5AM. Domestic flights recommended 2 hours arrival before the flight. Checkin areas were on the right side of the airport (only one terminal). The checkin process was slower as I didn't see the *G line. We completed all steps and sat down in the domestic lounge in around half hour. The domestic lounge for Turkish Airline actually had its own boarding gate where dedicated buses take passengers directly to their gates. Very convenient. International had a lot more lounge, food and shopping options plus the airport museum. Arrivals customs wasn't very busy in the afternoon and we cleared and claimed luggage in less than one hour. Much faster on the domestic side. To get to Istanbul and back we used Uber (exactly like the taxis but a fare range provided plus a booking fee). A little more piece of mind if you want a good idea of costs versus bitaksi (which provided a range too but we ended paying more when he deviated from the route).

Much larger airport than I had imagined. A bit confusing when going through security. There are…read moreseveral to pass. There also two parallel lines that do the same thing, except one line might have one agent, while the others may have 2 or 3. We started at the first and realized there's just one woman working it. We moved to the next one when we saw that the other one was moving faster due to having multiple workers. At the actual gate, there's another security person checking your boarding card and passport to enter the enclosed area. Several entitled people decided they didn't need to wait and pushed to enter from the side, causing a scene. At boarding time, you have to show your passport and boarding card again. It's safe, but it's a lot of checks. Allow enough time.

The Havaist airport shuttle service is the cheapest way to get to Taksim Square in downtown…read moreIstanbul. When arriving to Istanbul always consider this super convenient option. It is cheap and hassle free. Taxis are expensive. Although I have not tried any metro yet. Always consider the shifting magnitude of Istanbul traffic when planning your trip. It can take more than an hour if traffic is heavy. I used to take Havas airport shuttle at Ataturk International Airport, now it is basically the same service at the new airport run by Havaist. It is important to keep in mind that you cannot buy a ticket with cash. You can use an Istanbul Metro card or a credit card ONLY.

Havaist is a bus service that services the city of Istanbul and its 2 airports (New Istanbul…read moreAirport and Sabiha Gokcen). Havaist has set pickup locations throughout Istanbul. However, there are different stops for the two airports. The New Istanbul Airport offers more pick up and drop off locations than Sabiha Gokcen. For example, there is only a pick up and drop off in Eminonu and Sultanahmet for the New Istanbul Airport. To leave more about the pick up and drop off locations, use this link (https://hava.ist/en) or download the app. In regards to going from the airports to the city, I exclusively use this service because it is significantly cheaper (18 TL). Do not use a taxi! The New Istanbul Aiport has so many drop off points (17 I think). When you go to exit the airport, you will see signs for each of the drop off points. For the Sabiha Gokcen Airport, I have only been dropped off at Taksim. This may be the last drop off point. It's a lot cheaper to use a taxi from this airport than the New Istanbul Airport. Keep in mind that you must use a credit card to purchase an Istanbul card to use this service from the New Istanbul Airport. However, if you fly into Sabiha Gokcen, you can use TL to pay for your bus ticket. Buses are comfortable and pretty clean, especially the ones for the New Istanbul Airport. This is the cheapest method to get to and from the airport. I recommend using Havaist over a taxi.