Turkish Airlines opens first lounge in US

By Kasim Ileri

WASHINGTON (AA) – Turkish Airlines opened its first lounge in the U.S. at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Turkey’s Ambassador to Washington Serdar Kilic attended the inauguration ceremony at the airport just outside of downtown Washington DC.

“Thanks to this lounge, people who are going to travel to Turkey from Washington will experience Turkish people’s hospitality,” Kilic said Friday..

With a covered area of about 5,000 square feet, "the interior design of the lounge reflects the rich cultural heritage of Turkey", Turkish Airlines chief Erkan Erdogan said.

The lounge features direct access to Turkish Airlines’ boarding.

According to Erdogan, besides unlimited Turkish and international gourmet food, beverages and free wi-fi, there will be showers, prayer rooms, a quiet room and a television area with individual headphone service.

It will also have an area for business with computers and tables to allow passengers to conduct work.

“With the opening of this lounge, we now have 18 lounges operating under the Turkish Airlines brand, 12 of which are located in domestic terminals and three at International terminals in Turkey. Our other International airport lounges are located in Moscow and Nairobi,” Erdogan said.

He noted that the Turkish Airlines lounge in Istanbul was awarded “best Business Class lounge in 2015.”

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority CEO John Potter also spoke at the ceremony and said Turkish Airlines has elevated its service standards to a very high level at Dulles Airport and thanked the airlines for opening the lounge.