COVID-times Trip Report: Air China PEK Business Class Lounge
I had skipped lunch on my last day in Beijing on my first trip to the city in March, because I was busy checking out the 798 Art District. Coincidentally, my colleague who was on the same flight also had skipped lunch, so we were in need of some substance. After checking my bag in, we headed to the Air China lounge - it’s just after security. I’d been here in early 2019 when I was on a business trip from Spain to Xi’an, and I remembered it to be “quite crowded. I was lucky to find an empty pair of seats.”
Such a difference two years make! This time, the lounge was so empty. It was also empty because 1) the trip was during the Two Sessions national government conference when travel restrictions were in place for Beijing (to protect the city from COVID), and 2) it was a Saturday.
We headed to the even more deserted dining area, where we were the only ones.
They there was no food on offer, except for some neglected pizza that had been sitting around for who knows how long, and 牛肉面 beef noodle soup in those insulated boxes on wheels which they had back in 2019 as well.
My colleague took the last one in the container, so I waited around for more to come. It looked like they were prepared in the First Class side of the lounge, as this hair-netted worker was waiting by the partition for them to hand the tray of soups over.
I was really hungry so I went for a slice of that neglected pizza. It tasted just how that sounds, cheese rubbery and all. The beef noodle soup was okay, though the noodles were a bit limp. Such a far cry from the bountiful food last time! But we were satiated, and my colleague even had a glass of red wine which seemed to make her happy.
Mid-way through our stay in the lounge, I somehow thought to check the Priority Pass app to see what Priority Pass lounges were available at PEK, and to my astonishment, I found out that Priority Pass gives one access to both the Business Class lounge we were in (which I accessed with my Star Alliance Gold status), AND the FIRST Class lounge on the other side! I’ve never seen before where the Priority Pass lounge would be superior to the lounge available to Gold card holders!
I asked at the lounge entrance to double check that the app was correct, and the friendly attendant confirmed it. I inquired if there were a lot of differences, and the attendant said that there is usually more food there, but if i went there now (we were there ~4:15pm-4:45pm), it wouldn’t really be worth it because it wasn’t during a “meal time.” (Maybe another contributing factor to the sparse food offering on the Business Class side too.) That was very kind advice, because she was looking out for me in case my Priority Pass membership was of a pay-per-visit variety. I told her I didn’t have to pay per visit (thanks, Chase Sapphire Reserve Card), but it was nearly boarding time so I decided to check out the First Class side on the next chance to visit.
So if you have Priority Pass, go for the First Class side of the Air China lounge at PEK!
