Air China's business lounge at T3 (Pier E) in Beijing is (probably) the worst in the world

I have explained several times the yardstick I use to review my experiences, if you are talking about lounges it is important to take into consideration the airport where you are, the size of the company and the type of ticket. Here is Using these parameters I feel like saying that this is the worst business lounge in the world.

Location

We are in terminal 3 of Beijing Capital Airport, a port of call that pre covid had come to exceed 100M passengers in a year. Pier E is the one designated for international flights.

This terminal is the newest terminal at the airport and as Matteo Legnani recounted in an article is an immense construction more than 3 km long.

This lounge is near Gate e19, it is the official lounge of Air China, one of the two present in the in this airport area the other is the First Class lounge.

Access

It is the business lounge so it is open to all business class passengers of Air China and all Star Alliance carriers. As well as some partner airlines, I was surprised that access was also allowed to Priority Pass holders. This is not the first time I have entered an official lounge with a PP, but never (covid period excluded) one in the main hub.

It's normal for companies to cash in on dead periods, accepting passengers with PP, happens for example to Lufthansa at JFK or to Air France to Bangkok. However, here we are in the home of Air China, where its most valuable passengers are, and the "excuse" of cashing in a handful of Yuan does not hold up.

The lounge

I arrived at the lounge a few minutes before 9 p.m. My flight to Frankfurt was leaving at 2 a.m.

Immediately past the reception desk is a huge circular pagoda, the only distinguishing feature of this room, which is otherwise decorated with zero patterning and a dominant brown color (I apologize if it is not exactly brown, but I remember that I am color-blind).

The hall is open air, which is basically not a bad thing. It generally means lots of light, and less noise. And indeed it did, of course flying late at night there was no trace of natural light, as well as the view of the runway was reduced to the dime, but that is normal.

The lounge revolves around the central body that houses the kitchens and technical services.

The restaurant area overlooks the runway, while the relaxation area is mainly towards the store area.

Behind the reception desk is a small amphitheater with a television set, obviously turned off and with a couple of passengers camped out, as if there were no more comfortable places to sleep.

There are many sessions, but nothing more. There is no area where you can comfortably work on your PC, no phone booths where you can isolate yourself from the lounge, no different chairs where you can maybe lie down for a nap, there is not even a recreation area for small travelers. Chairs and armchairs and that's it.

Even the flight monitors are KO. Considering that as many as 16 flights from this terminal of Star Alliance airlines depart between midnight and 3 a.m., we are not talking about pre last flight closure of the day.

Food & Beverage

Here we come to the madness. As mentioned, I entered the lounge just before 9 p.m. Time to walk around, sit at a small table, go to the bathroom to wash my hands, and get to the buffet.

By 9:05 p.m., employees were unpacking everything, at an airport that is about to see more than 500 business passengers arrive before the flight, and at the very least as many passengers with an elite Star Alliance card, the buffet is wiped out in 30 seconds.Two minutes later the attendants, as effective as worker bees have cleared out all the hot offerings, cleaned and sanitized everything.

All this while I dazed along with a couple of other passengers tried, in vain, to get our point across by saying, "Let us have something." I managed to pounce on steamed dumplings, the few left, before my colleagues finished them, as if it were the last hot meal before the gallows.

Net of food waste, I wonder what is the point of unloading the buffet at an open and functioning airport.

All that remains for patrons are coolers with sandwich-like sandwiches, yogurt, and snacks.

Even the bar counter lies dark and unmanned and will remain that way the entire time.

Services

As mentioned cosmic nothingness. Not even wi-fi, but that you know we are in China is difficult regardless.

Wanting only service is the locker where you can leave your backpack so you don't drag it around.

In conclusion

If this had been a "simple" Priority Pass lounge the judgment would have been much less severe, but here we are in the Signature Lounge.

This is where the most important passengers pass through, those who sit on the 747 of China's state-owned airline, not in the home of a small company in East Timor.

• Priority Pass