Turkish Airlines offers one of the very best business class lounges at its home airport in Instanbul, complete with library, billiards area, and golf simulator. Now they have a new feature: virtual flight simulator. It’s called the “Hezarfen Flight Simulator Experience” after the first person in Turkish aviation history to take flight.
The simulator offers virtual reality goggles i which to ‘fly’ over Istanbul.
Following the flight path of Hezarfen Ahmed Çelebi, the route starts from Galata Tower and takes guests to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace, Büyükdere Avenue, 15 July Martyrs Bridge and Maiden’s Tower, with 4K resolution footage at a 360-degree angle, and the ability to experience wind and flight movements.
Credit: Turkish Airlines
Credit: Turkish Airlines
This is actually a fairly strategic offering – promoting uniquely Turkish aviation (enhancing national prestige) while offering many of the lounge’s guests who are transit passengers an experience ‘seeing’ Turkey.
To be sure it’s not a real simulator experience but seems like a fun way to kill a few minutes between flights.
Will I meet Morgan Freeman there?
Interesting. Alitalia had a (non motion) cockpit simulator in their lounge in Rome…I used it when traveling through around 2015 and it was one of the coolest lounge offerings I’ve experienced.
Was just in the Turkish business lounge a few hours ago. All the fun “stuff” (like the golf and probably the flight simulator) are behind a “we’re undergoing maintenance at the moment” barricade wall. Maybe the wall is there while they set up the flight simulator. I’ll be back in a few weeks and will try to check it out.
Following up on my post from the end of March. At that point I was in the line but the flight simulator area was closed. I just went through IST and it’s open. And now that I know where it is (next to the golf), it was the area that was under construction last time. But at one point last time there was a large group of TK employees by it, so I guess they were checking it out.
It’s a pretty cool VR ride over Istanbul. Lasts maybe 5 minutes. It’s fun and a cool add to an already great lounge.