Air China operates several first and business class lounges at Beijing airport, especially at the airport’s terminal 3. During my recent layover there, between some plane spotting in the terminal, I briefly visited the Air China Business Class Lounge in Terminal 3E.
The lounge, located on a raised platform above the main departure level in the central part of the terminal, above some of the duty-free stores, could be accessed by a set of escalators and an elevator.
Besides being accessible to passengers traveling in business class or holding status with Star Alliance, it can also be accessed by Priority Pass members.
Lounge Overview
The lounge’s reception area, besides the actual reception desk, also included an automated kiosk where one could get the (highly censored) wi-fi’s access details, as well as luggage lockers.
Then, near the lounge’s entrance, there were also some reading materials, as well as fully enclosed sleeping rooms. And, there was a light buffet which was separate from the main buffet located further in the lounge.
The rest of the lounge was made up of a variety of seating areas mainly with typical sofa chairs arranged around coffee tables as well as along some of the lounge’s walls.
Separately from that, there was the dining area with some dining tables and the main buffet, as well as a self-service bar.
Here, I will also note that the Air China Business Class Lounge offered decent views of the apron as well.
Food and Drinks Selection
As for drinks, besides the liquor (and other drinks) offered at the bar, there were plenty of soft drinks both hot and cold (as well as beer) in the two buffet areas.
Similarly, the food offered in the Air China Business Class Lounge was spread across the two buffet areas, one near the lounge’s entrance and another, more substantial one, in the back of the lounge.
From the lighter buffet, one could get items such as packaged cakes and snacks, cupcakes, fruits, sandwiches, and yogurts.
The main buffet offered a wider range of bites to eat starting from whole foods, cereals, and bread.
Then, since I visited during breakfast time, there were things such as scrambled and boiled eggs, sausages, and meat patties.
Finally, there were some buns and porridge.
While the selection of items offered was decent, the food didn’t look especially appetizing. Although, to be fair, I didn’t try any of the items from the main buffet and instead only had some cut fruits from the snack area.
Air China Business Class Lounge Beijing Terminal 3E Summary
Overall, the lounge provided a comfortable enough place for me to relax for an hour or two before it became bright enough outside for plane spotting. At the same time, though, I would not go out of my way to be able to spend time in the lounge. Especially given its lack of any sort of business center or work space.
Perhaps the best thing about the lounge is that besides the usual access criteria of either status or business class ticket, the lounge can also be accessed using Priority Pass.
China is a vicious dictatorship with no freedom of any kind. If you’re a liberty loving American, you should avoid it at all costs. Patronizing such a place would have your European ancestors who made a dangerous trek across the ocean in search of human rights spinning in their graves.