Review: Cathay Pacific & Dragonair Lounge Beijing Airport

@ Lucky — You forgot to mention how they confiscate your external phone batteries and all your alcohol at the first security checkpoint at PEK...

JRL

I was there last week and while I did not have issues with the wifi (even video skyped with my husband), I found the chairs to be incredibly uncomfortable -- I could feel every spring digging in to my backside (even tried moving to different seats. I had come in on an overnight flight from Bangkok and transfer and immigration was a pain in the arse (especially since they could not get the American Airlines boarding passes to print for over an hour - and of course you can't get through immigration without a boarding pass). As I was walking from the lounge to the boarding gate (which was quite a walk last Tuesday) I did see signs for showers. But as I was on my way to the gate, it was too late for me.

It is pretty amazing that an airline that has some of the best lounges in the world at its home airport has some of the crappiest at other airports in Asia. Last time I was at BKK, one of the two CX lounges was closed for renovation, and the one - near the G gates, if memory serves - was just like this. Small, uncomfortable, gross looking food. And not only did that one not have showers, it didn't have a bathroom at all. You had to leave the lounge to use the public facilities. I get the space limitations, but you would think they could do better with the spaces they do have.

totally agree with Neil S.; the CX lounge at SIN is pretty lackluster as well.

consistently amazed by the mainland chinese variety of gate lice, i.e., complete and utter f-ing chaos. people cutting the lines over and over with no cares, people simply walking up to the boarding door and trying to open it before boarding is even called, etc.

Were the office chairs "real" because they were Herman Miller knockoffs?

How was that Mainland Chinese wine???

I am going to be flying American Airlines on Friday from ORD-PEK and i just hurt my foot. I have crutched and a wrapped ankle. I have booked economy but i was wondering what you thought the chances of me being upgraded were. I am not looking specifically to get upgraded but it would be nice.
Thank you

@ Jack -- Without status or using miles to upgrade, I'd say very unlikely, unfortunately. Enjoy the trip!

@ Louis -- Hah, can't say I had anything to drink.

@ JRL -- Had that happen today, found it very odd. So minis aren't allowed through security, or what's the deal?

@ Lucky — They actually poured out a 3 oz mouthwash in a refillable bottle because they suspected it was booze. Seriously. No alcohol allowed (despite having self-serving booze in the lounge and a full bar on board). As for batteries, I had a $150 mophie battery pack charger confiscated as well for "safety reasons". And insult to injury I think they sell batteries at duty free in the terminal. Leave it to mainland China to be concerned with product safety... Unreal.

JRL

@JRL they have notice at check-in how could you not see it?

Interesting report Lucky!

In the US, I've had flights delayed by 3.5 hours only to change to being only 1.5 hours late because they substituted aircraft. As a result, I never count on the delay, and get to the airport pretty much at arrival time. I also thought I remembered someone getting cut off from checking bags on a delayed flight because the system didn't allow it (the fact that the flight was delayed wasn't relevant in this example), but maybe I'm misremembering that. Both of these happened in the US.

Wasn't there any risk of that when you arrived after the originally scheduled departure time?

@Louis Don't try it... don't even think of it...XD

@ beachfan -- I wasn't concerned, given that they didn't have a plane overnighting in Beijing. That was the only plane it could have been.

Someone at CX must have read your post or the flight announcers are very irregular. I was on this morning's AA PEK-ORD and the lady came through the lounge holding the sign for the departing flight and saying in such a soft voice it was almost a whisper: "Flight CX123 is now boarding." As she would say it, she'd turn the sign back and forth while looking deferentially and apologetically at passengers.

I have been to Beijing airport recently as well, however from afar, the ceiling work looks fantastic but up close vertically, its kind of very tacky how all the yellow and red metal works shows and in my opinion the lighting in certain areas is appalling, so I think Beijing did it best on trying to be Hong Kong

China has strict rules about lithium batteries especially in portable power sources. There are signs everywhere and the check in agent will ask you about them. Make sure you have them in your carry on luggage - never check them in.

Sad to say but this is the best lounge in all of PEK. Don't get me started on the Air China "lounge" which serves Great Wall piss.

The free internet at the airport has always been awful - you will need to register a phone number/ID to get access as well.

I do agree that Beijing Capital Airport Terminal 3 is architecturally stunning. I was there last year and just like on the streets of Beijing, almost all shops close during nighttime. I think the reason why the PA was shouting is because the announcement was broken. I've always been a fan of Cathay Pacific. My favorite lounges are The Wing and The Bridge, loved the noodles at The Wing's Noodle Bar and dimsum, the best part was the champagne bar with rose champagne. and I can't wait for the reopening of The Pier. You have to try CX's new lounge at Manila Airport Terminal 3 :). It had just opened a few days ago and is a huge improvement from their mediocre lounge at Terminal 1 which you reviewed back in 2009. The design is similar to Haneda airport's CX lounge, and the upcoming Bangkok and Taipei lounges. My friend had tried it two days ago and told me that it already has a Noodle Bar just like at The Wing, and the first and business class sections are already combined. The premium passengers are raving about it. 🙂

@ HansGolden -- Hah, good!

I was really surprised at the PEK lounge when I was there last April. I found it disappointing to say the least. I've come to the conclusion that CX only invests in the HKG lounges, which are awesome (I've been to both business and first). The LHR T3 lounge is uninviting and the one in SIN is also poor. So, I'll avoid them whenever I can.

The CX lounge in Beijing is in dire need of an uplift.

The official airport WiFi itself though, is fairly smooth to use.

The China Air First Class lounge gets a good review elsewhere. Have you been there, or just the Business Class version?? (These and a few others are accessible with Priority Pass.)

I am at the Beijing airport right now and was turned away from the security on the other side of the accessible line. Security told me it was only for diplomats now. FYI

I just wanted to give an update on this lounge as we went through here last week. We had a mid-morning flight so we were in the lounge from around 8am for a few hours. The lounge was very quiet with only about 20 passengers. The dim sum were fresh and just what I like for breakfast. We also checked out the toilets and they were rated as very good. This lounge is not up to the standard of the business or first lounges in Hong Kong but it was a pleasant place to spend a few hours. It looks like the lounge has been modified since Lucky was here as the hidden room that he mentions is now just part of the main lounge. I note that from arriving at the airport to getting to the lounge took about 1 hour even though it didn’t appear to be a very busy time. Security was very slow and we were told that there was no express or priority lane.