coolfish1103

The Asia's First SkyTeam Exlusive Lounge is open in HK
2015-09-22

Good news! Asia’s first SkyTeam Lounge is opening on today 22 September 2015. Business Class passengers, Eastern Miles Gold / Silver Card members as well as SkyTeam Elite Plus members can experience a brand new VIP lounge service at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA)!

Located opposite to Departure Gate 15 at HKIA, the 1083-square-meter “SkyTeam Exclusive Lounge” offers 220 seats and a variety of relaxing facilities like shower rooms, bar, yoga studio, TV lounge etc. The lounge provides healthy food and beverages in various styles including Chinese, Western and Asian. In addition, an “Instant-Cooked Noodle Booth” is specially designed to accommodate the preference of Asian passengers. Welcome to our “SkyTeam Exclusive Lounge” and experience our new service!

http://hk.ceair.com/muovc/newsite/ma.../News3598.html

Photos from China Eastern.
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I think the only difference from this lounge than other Skyteam ones is the noodle booth.





























There's only 220 seats so I feel this lounge in way too small to cater the entire Skyteam Alliance. Korean Air still has it's own lounge but it's now changed to Korean Air customers only, and other Skyteam members such as Delta still has access to Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, and Air France/KLM still uses Qantas Lounge.

Goldorak

Thank you for this very nice review. Looks nice.
But I agree with you : 220 seat is very surprising. And I don't see the point of having a Skyteam lounge if everybody keeps its own arrangements. But maybe this temporary and KE and AF/KL will progressively move to the new lounge. I'm guessing DL will stay with VS.

MSPeconomist

I've enjoyed the QF lounge and will regret losing access to it.

olivedel

OT: Amazed that a press release has a typo in the title!

Goldorak

Interestingly, the Skyteam app still doesn't mention this new lounge 3 weeks after its opening...

stargold

What privilege! You would have to be insane to choose the awful, awful, AWFUL excuse of a lounge that KE runs at HKG in favour of this lounge.

Thanks for the information and photos, coolfish. Once word gets out, I suspect the KE lounge at HKG will become an exclusive lounge for those who don't know better (as long as they don't specifically deny KE passengers and tell them to go to the KE lounge...)

tris06

Unfortunately I cant see those pictures you posted.

It is suprisingly small.

Yes makes one wonder if they cannot fit all passengers in the lounge will they just send them on to another lounge? You would also think that the skyteam lounge and korean lounge would have a hard time not allowing elite plus members into their respective lounges.

I agree the korean lounge is very basic.
If they do decided some people cant use the lounge who would it be?

In our case being CI members seems we would have no alternative if we get told at the frong desk that the lounge is full.

Thinking about numbers.

Also from previous experiences I had found China southern and China eastern members and business class passengers during most of the day is around 50-60 (at a min) guests at most times of the day for each airline due to the exstensive number of flight out of HK to Mainland China.

You can see these numbers of guests even at non major hubs like Shenzhen airport where they get decent numbers of guests in their lounges.

CI would need space for about 80-100 passengers?
I forget the capacity of the previous lounge but that was really full on busy days. The full seating capacity of the lounge was 120+. non peak times usually the lounge was 50-70 percent full.

So you can see even with these 3 airlines your bumping up on the capacity of the lounge.

Still missing GA, DL,AF/KLM, KE, Xiamen, Aeroflot.

MSPeconomist

The orange and grey high backed surround chairs look a lot like what DL uses in some SCs such as LAX, although the DL versions are solid grey, ivory, or light blue.

coolfish1103

I think they probably have to keep the current arrangements given that 220 seats is not going to be enough during peak hours. Basically HKG lost a CI lounge in replacement with this Skyteam lounge. The KE lounge may disappear but I think DL will stay with VS. Not sure what's AF/KL going to do, though.

I know right? Given it's Hong Kong based you'd expect them to be correct. I didn't correct it though, just made sure it's not wrong in my title

I think they don't want to advertise this lounge after realizing it's too small. They probably need a second Skyteam lounge with this space as well.

I have no idea how the KE lounge was, what does the KE lounge have?

I think they are still being sent to the KE lounge at the moment.

If they don't announce it then most pax will still go to the KE lounge since this lounge is probably out of the way of normal pax flow and is downstairs.

Maybe the Chinese airlines still have to use the CNAC VIP lounges? It's still available for all Chinese airlines... but I wonder who will want to use it.

Hong Kong Lounge use to have 28 for Emerald/Paragon and 105 for Gold/Skyteam Elites. Originally passengers who flew CI to HKG to transfer onto a flight bound China gets access, now that's gone so they probably need just 80-100 at any given time.

I think at night times the lounge will get crowded with all the long haul flights leaving fr Europe.

coolfish1103

More information and photos...

This lounge is jointly operated by China Airlines and China Eastern, so I guess members of these two airlines may get preferential treatment? Official operation starts Oct. 27, 2015.

Operating Hours: 05:30 - 01:30+1, adjust when needed.








The Yoga Room that was not pictured last time, so quite small.


Also the shower room that was not pictured, but I guess there's no amenities other than towels and bathing/showering gel.


Noodle bar will offer three kinds of noodles.





Still, in terms of food offerrings I guess this one would be the best Skyteam Lounge out of them all.

tris06

Hmm I doubt there will be any preferential treatment.
And plus what would that treatment be? It would be cool if they had a seperate room like the old CI lounge for maybe gold memebers of China eastern and CI emerald members.

Also how many showers will there be? I worry maybe 1-2 showers.
Food looks okay definately better options than the business class lounge before in HK (CI business class lounge)

olivedel

That would make the branding of SkyTeam lounge completely pointless. The goal being the fact that treatment is streamlined for all E+ passengers, regardless of which ST airline they are flying and FFP they are members of.

Frankly I do like the food of the SkyTeam lounge in LHR. So it might beat up this one indeed (I do not know other ST branded lounges).

coolfish1103

As of now the only difference I see is China Airlines' Gold still allowed to enter this lounge (which is already crowded) when flying AE/CI, rather than using another lounge. Though it's a China Airlines' published benefit for their Gold to use a lounge when flying AE/CI, but the Greater China Campaign is no longer applicable. Hong Kong is taken off as a destination for that.

MSPeconomist

DL had been using the very nice QF lounge, not VA until recently.

tris06

I am not sure by the meaning of the greater China Campaign?
Surely all members of skyteam would have access to the lounge if flying out of HK as there is no domestic flight. As far as I know all fllights to mainland China are considered international flights so skyteam plus have access.


Oh I just realised you might be refering to the silver members of say China Southern or China Eastern flying for example on CI to Taiwan.

For those who didnt know flying between Taiwan,HK and China meant elite members (not just elite plus) of CI,CZ,MU and Xiamen had access to the lounges if run by one of those airlines.

It would be nice if anyone went there to give us a review. I will be flying through on the 28th of December to TPE.