mcrw00

I will be transiting through PEK flying Air China in J from Tokyo to Europe. My scheduled transit time is about 4.5 hours.
FWIW, I am *G.

My understanding is that this itinerary makes me eligible for both Air China's international J lounge and their international transit lounge.
Am I correct that these are my only complimentary choices, and if so, does anyone have any particular recommendations between the two?

Which is better for showering and sleeping?

dvs7310

There is no "International Transit Lounge". You can use the Air China J lounge as a *G passenger. Take your shower in Tokyo at the NH lounge before you depart, the showers in the PEK J lounge are nasty, I would only use them again if I had a transit off of a long haul, but you're not likely to get too grungy on the 4 hour flight from Tokyo.

The only other lounge they have in PEK (international departures) is the F lounge, which they may or may not let you into (it's not a *G lounge). It's not really worth even trying as it's almost exactly the same as the J lounge, just slightly less crowded.

mcrw00

Virginia Emery

Based on your link it looks like this Priority Pass lounge https://www.prioritypass.com/en/Loun...avelers-Lounge

Here is a link in tripadvisor about it https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic...ir_Travel.html

FlyerTalker688786

There is a transit lounge which is really a transit hotel belongs to the airport operator. Inside this hotel, there are about 5 single rooms and 8 or so double rooms. But these rooms do not have shower or toilet. These facilities are shared and badly maintained. If you are a J/F transit passengers with long transit, and do not qualify for hotels outside the airport, you can have 4 hours of usage of the room for sleeping, depends on availability. In this transit hotel there is also a big shared lounge if you do not qualify for the 4 hours free room. But the facilities are bare minimum and the food selection is poor.

I have used it 2 times now for sleeping. I had really good 4 hours sleep, better than the sleeping cabins in the lounge (the one in the lounge is open air, so you hear all the announcement and no way to sleep). For 4.5 hours transit I don't think you can access the transit hotel. In PEK you need to be at the gate 50 mins before departure, and it will take you 50 mins or so to finish the transit procedure. So your free time is likely to be 2.5 hours only. For this, you are better off in the J lounge which offers better food and beverage.

moondog

i can't recall ever seeing an ex-PEK BP that stated a number > 20 minutes. I can't speak for transit procedures, but do they really require 50 minutes?

mcrw00

Thanks everyone!

Anyone know which lounge’s showers are less gross (between CA J and the contract transit lounge/hotel)?

l380

Even though CA J showers are by no means the top facilities out there, they are still quite acceptable.

I haven't been to the transit lounge shower though.

dvs7310

This sounds like standard recommendation for a lot of airlines, but as you know they don't start boarding until around 30 minutes prior to departure and even with CA I've seen them hold open boarding for ages before closing the flight. Not that I recommend it, but you could probably get away with being there 5 minutes prior to scheduled flight time and still get on. The only other point to consider at PEK regarding time to the gate is that some gates are insanely far away from the lounges. Almost every time I take the HND flights it's about the furthest point possible in the international side of the airport.

FlyerTalker688786

Air China's official boarding time starts 30 mins before departure and close the gate 15 mins before departure in PEK.

I was really meant to say that to start walking from the lounge at least 50 minutes before departure as the gates can be far away. I had a moment of confusion when typing.

any way I hope the bossing time is more cleared now as I can check my boarding pass at this moment.

FlyerTalker688786

depends on the day by time of usage, the transit lounge shower can be gross due to lack of cleaning. Calling reception can yield some effort. It is OK to shower in the transit lounge. I have had worse. It is 3 stars standard so do not expect luxury.

lcpteck

My mom's IAD-PEK-SIN flight encountered a bit of hiccup, she found a piece of plastic in the food itself on the IAD-PEK leg and the FA replaced the meal and said someone from the Singapore office will get in touch with me to offer some sort of compensation.

Fast forward to recently, got a call from CA SIN office and was offered Lounge access during the transit at PEK for my Mom's return flight. I think it was fair and took it. The transit at PEK is about 5-6 hours.

Alex71

When I made the reservation for the transit lounge, the call center employee told me that the lounge is only accessible after arrival at PEK, but not before departure, which seems odd. Can anyone confirm that? Our plan had been to do some sightseeing and then to return to the lounge for a nap and a shower.

FlyerTalker688786

How long is your transit?

Alex71

It's 17 hours, 8 am to 1 am. We were thinking of booking a tour to the Great Wall and Ming Tombs es and then to return to the airport for some rest and showers before getting on our next overnight flight.

I guess we will have to pack shower shoes in our carry-on.