New lounges in store for Air China premium pax
 

http://www.businesstraveller.com/new...-china-lounges

Finally, they're willing to invest a bit more in their lounges. The ones at PEK and CTU are set to open this Spring, so it's quite a tight deadline. Anybody notice anything under construction at these two airports?

...but there's no mention about the opening dates for the two other 'new' lounges at PVG/SHA (?) and CKG.

It's about time. New planes, new cabin layouts, new lounges... it looks like CA is definitely taking the international game seriously now.

Are these going to be accessible by *Gs?

LAX

Was just at PEK and noticed nothing, just the Business/STARGold and First ones on either side of the central area of T3. Used the Business/STARGold on a CA C ticket. (Could I have used the F lounge? Seems CA hardly has many F international flights left...I was doing PEK-SYD and our 777 seemed to use the old F seats instead of the new C seats advertised. No complaints about the service so not sure what the difference would have been between F and C under the circumstances (other than a sleep suit?). Seems CA uses F and C interchangeably for its domestic flights though.

We could certainly use a different lounge at PEK for STAR carriers out of T2. The Shanghai Airlines lounge has to be one of the worst in the world!

:confused: No *A carriers fly out of T2 anymore.

Only Ethiopian. :p

I think you meant at PVG. I do hope FM will move to T1.

The most important customers of Air China are government officials at national and provincial level and then the "princelings" who run the state owned companies. Don't they have secluded VIP sections at major Chinese airports anyway?

Yes.

Which, combined with the fact that Air China is a de facto extension of the CAAC makes for a far less urgent need to provide state-of-the-art lounge services for non-Party elite passengers. ;)

At PVG, I didn't find it that bad actually.

The catering does need improvement as does the alcohol selection. The best part is the the view of the architecture of the airport from the elevated view point the lounge has. With a little larger space, it would be a pleasant space to spend a few hours.

I am in the new CA lounge in CTU T2.
This has got to be one of the best domestic lounges I have seen.
Impressive.