As I had quite some time between my flights from Jeju and to London while making my way to Africa back in June 2024, I visited the Air China Business Lounge in Beijing Capital Airport’s Terminal 3E. Given that I visited the lounge a few years ago before the pandemic, I was looking forward to seeing how, if at all, the lounge changed.
Continue reading this review to see what the lounge was like and whether it’s worth a visit on your next layover in Beijing.
Location & Opening Hours
Air China operates multiple lounges in Terminal 3, its home at Beijing Capital Airport. The one I visited was in Terminal 3E, which the airline uses for its international flights.
The lounge can be found in the central part of the terminal, on its right side when looking from the security check. Being located one floor above the main departures level, the lounge can be accessible using a set of well-marked escalators.
Air China’s website lists the lounge’s opening hours as “3:30-2:00+,” presumably meaning the lounge is open until the last departure of the day. I visited the lounge in the middle of the night, prior to my 2:30AM flight to London Gatwick. The last flight that day was a 3:15AM departure to Budapest, which was followed by 7:25AM departure to Hong Kong.
Entry Requirements
The Air China Business Class Lounge in Beijing Capital Airport’s Terminal 3 follows the standard Star Alliance lounge access rules.
It can be used by passengers departing on Air China and other Star Alliance airlines in business or first class. It can also be used by Star Alliance Gold members along with one guest departing on the same Star Alliance flight. In my case, I was traveling on Air China in economy class and could access the lounge using my Star Alliance Gold status.
Additionally, selected other airlines including Air Macau, Finnair, and China Airlines also invite their eligible passengers into the Air China lounge.
Lastly, both this lounge and the Air China First Class Lounge are part of the Priority Pass network.
Layout, Seating & Other Facilities
Upon entering the lounge, I was welcomed at the reception by a friendly agent.
In addition to scanning my boarding pass to let me in, he also showed me my departure gate on a map, mentioned how long it would take to get there, and noted down the time I needed to leave the lounge on my boarding pass.
Across from the reception desk were also some baggage storage lockers.
The lounge itself consisted of a variety of seating mostly spread across fairly narrow passages around the reception/staff area located in the middle of the lounge. Part of the lounge offered views of the terminal below, as well as of aircraft.
Seating mostly consisted of groups of sofa chairs arranged around coffee tables and of dining tables.
There were also a few bar chairs around a staffed bar counter located in the back of the lounge.
In addition to the bar, there were also a couple of drinks and snacks stations, as well as a full-fledged buffet.
During my stay, I also had a chance to use on of the lounge’s shower rooms. The shower lounges were on a floor below the lounge’s main floor and could be accessed by an elevator inside the lounge.
In addition to a walk-in shower, the room was also equipped with a toilet, a sink, an ottoman, and even a diaper changing table.
Towels, as well as amenities including a dental kit, a shaving kit, and a comb in addition to the standard shampoo and body soap were provided. There were also a perfume and a moisturizer.
Unfortunately, many of the seats in the lounge lacked access to power outlets and at the time of my visit, the lounge was fairly crowded. It would also have been nice if the lounge had a section for those wanting to get some work done in peace.
Drinks
With there being multiple drinks and snacks stations, a staffed bar, and a proper buffet area, there was no shortage of drinks in the Air China Business Class Lounge in Beijing’s Terminal 3E.
In the self-service areas, there were cans of soda and beer, small boxes of milk, and bottled water. There were also orange and apple juice dispensers.
Wine and other alcoholic drinks, coffee, hot chocolate, hot milk, and rose milk tea were available from the bar.
Lastly, both coffee and a selection of teas was available from the self-service areas.
Food
A variety of packaged snacks, as well as whole fruits, cut fruits, yogurts, and sandwiches could be found at the lounge’s drinks and snacks stations.
Additionally, in the buffet area, there were a selection of dim sum, porridge, and wonton soup.
Presumably (at least judging based on my daytime visit to the lounge a few years ago), the selection of hot food is greater during the day compared to when I visited the lounge after midnight.
There were also oats, a selection of bread, and a selection of instant cup noodles in the buffet area.
Air China Business Class Lounge Beijing Capital Terminal 3E Summary
Overall, the Air China Business Class Lounge was an OK place to visit for a quick bite to eat and to have something to drink. Both the selection of food (especially given the time) and drinks were decent.
That said, with the lounge being crowded to the point where basically no sofa chairs were available and only a couple of dining tables being available, it wasn’t the most comfortable place to wait for one’s flight. While the case might be different during the day, in the middle of the night, I would say the fairly deserted gate areas were much more pleasant to wait in than the crowded lounge.
