As mentioned when I wrote about my Xiamen Air flight from Vancouver to Xiamen, the airline considerably expanded its long-haul network over the last couple of years.
To cope with the growing number of passengers, Xiamen Air opened a new lounge for its business and first class passengers as well as Sky Team status holders back in May 2017. I had a chance to check it out during my layover in Xiamen earlier this year.
The Xiamen Air Lounge, also marked as “First Class Lounge No. 6,” could be found between gates 12 and 15. From there it could be accessed by an elevator or an escalator as it was located one floor below the main departures level, near bus gate 51.
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Lounge Overview
When I got to the lounge early in the morning, it was deserted. In fact, I was the only passenger in the lounge. While the it filled up a bit as the day progressed (I had a very long layover), it never got anywhere near full – and so, it was a fairly comfortable place to relax and work in.
As for the layout of the lounge, there was a reception desk across from the entrance where one could also get password for the (censored) wi-fi. The rest of the lounge was mostly taken up by leather sofa chairs arranged around coffee tables as well as by dining tables.
Just past the entrance, there was the buffet. I will talk about the food and drinks in the Xiamen Air Lounge later. But, I will note that a flight information screen as well as some reading materials could be found in the area as well.
Going back to the seating in the lounge, besides the typical lounge seating mentioned above, there were also a tea table and a “living room-like” area with a TV. And, there was a counter with a pair of iMacs.
Finally, for people needing to relax a bit, there was a trio of daybeds and a pair of massage chairs.
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Food and Drinks Selection
The food and drinks in the Xiamen Air Lounge was spread across a counter and a kitchen island near the lounge’s entrance.
In terms of cold soft drinks, there were canned soft drinks including Coke, etc., bottled water, as well as water and tea in dispensers. Then, there were the usual tea and coffee, and the slightly less usual hot milk. Finally, there was a small selection of wines.
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The lighter items to eat included nuts, some packaged snacks, cereals, salads, and fruits. There were also some desserts in one of the refrigerators.
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Finally, the more substantial food included bacon and sausages, rices, shrimp ravioli, porridge, etc.
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Xiamen Air First and Business Class Lounge Summary
Given that I had to spend half a day in the Xiamen Air Lounge, I would have appreciated if it offered some sort of work desks. Although, thinking back, the dining tables would have served that purpose equally well.
Other than that (and the fairly unexciting buffet), the lounge was a pleasant place to spend my layover in. That said, if Xiamen is your origin, I would not bother to arrive early at the airport just to spend more time in the lounge.
