Review: Air China First Class Lounge at Beijing Capital Airport (Terminal 3E – International Departure)

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Air China First Class Lounge is an airside lounge for passengers departing for international flights at Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK). The lounge is located at Terminal 3E.

There are many Air China Lounges in Terminal 3, and it’s easy to get confused. Here’s the list of all Air China Lounges in Terminal 3:

• Terminal 3C: Air China First And Business Class Lounge (For Domestic Departure)
• Terminal 3D: Air China Premium Lounge (For Domestic Departure)
• Terminal 3E: Air China Business Class Lounge (For International Departure)
• Terminal 3E: Air China First Class Lounge (For International Departure) -> This is what I cover in this article

Opening Hours

Air China First Class Lounge is open from 3.30am to 2am+ daily according to Air China’s rather primitive website.

According to Priority Pass’ website, the lounge is open from 6am to 8pm daily. However, based on the printed service hours, breakfast starts at 5.30am and supper extends till 2am+, so I don’t think PP has the latest opening hours.

I visited the lounge around 2.30pm, and the lounge was about 60% full.

How to get there

Air China First Class Lounge is located at the 3rd floor of Terminal 3E, near gate E20.

The check-in counters are located at Terminal 3C. After checking-in, we had to take the APM Train (Automated People Mover Train) from Terminal 3C to Terminal 3E.

At Terminal 3E, just follow the signs to Air China First Class Lounge, which is near Gate E20.

When you’re near gate E20, you will see a pavilion with a small pond. Take the escalator up to 3rd floor and you will arrive at Air China First Class Lounge.

Admission

Generally, Air China First Class Lounge is for passengers traveling in First Class on Air China or Star Alliance flights. Meanwhile, the Air China Business Class Lounge is for passengers traveling in Business Class.

We were invited to enter Air China First Class Lounge as a Business Class passenger of Singapore Airlines.

Beside accepting Business/First Class passengers from Air China/Star Alliance flights, this Air China First Class Lounge also accepts visitors with Priority Pass.

If you do not have Priority Pass, you can get one for free by getting some of these Singapore credit cards in this guide.

Seating

There are plenty of seating areas in the Air China First Class Lounge.

First, as you enter the lounge, you will come across this round island. Inside, there is a cluster of trees and several seats. Outside, there are chairs and tables surrounding the feature wall.

There are PLENTY of seats inside the lounge, it wasn’t difficult for us to find an empty seat. Most of the chairs come with power outlet under the table.

I found it inconvenient to reach the power outlet. You need to squat down and reach quite far under the table.

There are several dining tables located near buffet counter.

My favorite seat has to be the window seats. Here, you get comfy rotating chairs, a small table and an astonishing view of the tarmac.

Food

Air China First Class Lounge has quite a wide range of food option.

First, there is a noodle section which offers 3 types of noodles. During our visit, they offered Peking Noodles with Pork (Zhájiàngmiàn), Beef Noodle (Niúròumiàn), and Tomato Noodle (Xīhóngshì Lǔmiàn).

These noodles are not made to order, but it’s ready-made. You can request from the staff and she will grab one bowl for you.

We ordered the beef noodle and tomato noodle. I’d say the beef noodle is okay, but the tomato noodle wasn’t that good.

At the salad section, you can find lettuce, cherry tomato, cold fishes, onions, bread croutons, and various salad dressings.

At the pastry section, there were breads and jams.

At the buffet counter, there were fried rice, rice, vegetables, fried fish with tomato, curry beef, chicken and carbonara pasta.

At the end of the buffet is the dim sum and soup section. During our visit, there were millet porridge, tremella and pear soup, and assorted dim sum.

Inside the fridges, there were sandwiches, cakes, breads, fruits and yoghurts.

There are snack tables where you can sample local bite-sized snacks, such as peanuts, green peas, glutinous rice rolls, haw, crackers and cookies. This is probably my most favorite section in the lounge.

Drink

Air China First Class Lounge doesn’t have too many selection of drinks.

For coffee, you need to request for it at the bar and they will prepare for you. There was no self-service coffee machine during my visit.

The tea selection is quite interesting. There are various tea leaves in a jar, and you can make your own tea. If you’re not used to loose tea leaves and would prefer teabag, there are teabags as well.

For cold drinks, they have soft drinks, juices, beers, juices and water in the fridge.

Alcohol selection is quite limited. They only have beers (Tsing Tao and Yanjing), a bottle of red wine (Great Wall), and Johnnie Walker Red Label.

View

Air China First Class Lounge has quite a nice view of the tarmac. From the lounge, you can see planes taxiing, pulling up to a gate, or heading out to the runway.

The other side of the lounge has a view of the pavilion right below the lounge.

Final Thoughts

So, does Air China First Class Lounge live up to its name? Well, not quite…

The food is nothing to shout about. The drink is quite limited. The alcoholic drink variety is underwhelming.

That said, there are some aspects that I like about Air China First Class Lounge.

I like that the lounge is quite bright and receives plenty of natural sunlight during the day. I love that we can watch the planes right from the lounge. I like that it’s not too crowded. And I love the snacks.

The Air China First Class Lounge is definitely not comparable to SilverKris Lounge in Singapore.

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