Review: Air China Business Class Lounge Beijing
- Konrad Tillman
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
Intro
Prior to my flight onboard Air China in Business Class from Beijing to Islamabad, I had the opportunity to check out Air China's Business Class Flagship Lounge at Beijing Capital International Airport.
While not the greatest lounge in the world, it is a decent place to relax in for an hour or two before your flight. With local wines from the Great Wall of China 😉, comfortable seating, and an extensive buffet, I enjoyed the few hours I spent here.
Location+Access
The Air China Business Class Lounge in the departure hall is located in Pier E, closeby to Gate E19. If you are departing Beijing, this will require you to take the train to where the international flights depart from, clear immigration there, and then the lounge will be just ahead of you to the right.
If in doubt, walk straight to the end of the hall once through immigration, and turn right until you see KFC.
In terms of access, Air China follows the traditional rules for most Star Alliance Lounges:
Passengers with a departing same-day ticket on a Star Alliance carrier with Star Alliance Gold
Passengers with a departing same-day ticket on a Star Alliance carrier ticketed in business class
If you are ticketed in First Class on one of the few planes operating the cabin, there is a separate lounge for passengers
There are reports of Priority Pass holders being accepted here, but I cannot confirm that as their website does not state entrance.
Seating
Stepping into the lounge, I was pleased to see that it had been somewhat upholestered since the last time I was here in 2019. In the center is a staple piece of the lounge, a large dome offering seating inside and around it.
Additionally, off to the right is where you will find some more seating, as well as a room consisting of more "recliner-like chairs" for sleeping.
For some odd reason, probably because the buffet was over there, that side was much busier than the lounge on the left and to the back. This space offered much more room with sleek brown leather chairs, and I even managed to find a spot nestled away in the corner.
Dining+Drinks
Those looking to fuel up during a layover, or before your next destination, there are snack stations around the lounge offering up basic items such as crackers and chocolate.
When it comes to drinks, almost all of these items are self-serve, minus wine and hard liquor. Even if you fancy a Qingdao beer, you can easily grab one out of the cabinet. Non-drinker? There are plenty of options, such as coffee machines and soft drinks, available throughout the lounge.
Feeling the need for a full meal? There happens to be a full buffet located behind the dome offering some hot and cold options. Unfortunately, it remained quite busy during my time, so I never managed to snap a picture.
Interested in harder stuff before your flight, apart from beer? There is a bar located in the back offering all of the basic liquors such as whiskey, rum, vodka, and gin, as well as local Chinese wines, which weren't actually too bad (for a house wine).
Restrooms
Unfortunately, unlike most flagship lounges, Air China does not offer showers (from what I saw) in their lounge, but they do offer a couple of restrooms located in the back of the lounge by the bar.
I mean, there were only two stalls in the bathroom, but it was fine.
Wifi
Ahh, I love China. A lot of people may find this annoying, but in order to access wifi, you have to physically get a code from a machine located close by the entrance, right by the big Panda bear.
Sure, it's a little bit annoying, but realistically, it's an extra 5 seconds of your life to get up and get a code. To me, it's different and sort of like it!
I found the wifi to be decently fast, as I was able to do work without an issue at all, and even take a FaceTime. However, keep in mind that if you want to access certain apps, you will need a VPN.
Final Thoughts
Look, this isn't the best lounge in the world, but it's not as bad as people make it out to be in other reviews. Realistically, there are hot options for food, a bar offering complementary drinks, nice Qingdao beer, and comfortable brown leather seats throughout the lounge. Just be aware that since this is the only Star Alliance Lounge in the terminal, it can get relatively busy during the peak departure periods, but never busy enough to not be able to find a seat.
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