PREVIEW. Review new Emirates lounge in Bangkok: beautiful and bright, but it's all been seen before
After a years-long wait, in late 2023 at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport the satellite, or the first facility [...]
Emirates
BKK
Thailand
After a years-long wait, at the end of 2023 to theBangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport opened the satellite, or the first facility separate from the main terminal, what has been in the guiennes of records for years as the world's largest monoterminal airport.
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It's unbelievable, But all the times I arrived between late 2023 and all of 2024, I never landed or departed from the satellite. The facility had been completed well before the pandemic outbreak, but nothing had moved, then the covid and declining traffic, and in 2023 finally the much-needed decision to expand and allow it to handle up to 60M passengers more comfortably.
No official communication from Emirates on the opening of the new lounge in Bangkok
This lounge has taken the place of the old lounge in Concourse G, also because since EK moved its flights here to the new Satellite in 2023, passengers were forced to travel miles, to get from the lounge to boarding.
I stopped by here yesterday, Monday, January 13, and the attendant confirmed that the hall opened a few days after New Year's Day, the strange thing is that Emirates, to date, has made no press release to announce the news and I, like I imagine many other passengers went straight to the old location when I arrived the entrance found it like this: dark and there was not even a sign telling passengers where to go.
Signage was changed quickly, pending reprinting of all signs, and the Emirates logo covered with tape, but there is no signage leading into the new hall instead.
This is a little scoop from The Flight Club., as I could not find any articles on the net about this news.
Where the new Emirates lounge is located in Bangkok
Past immigration, just behind the iconic statue that welcomes all passengers are escalators leading to the people mover that moves passengers between the two terminals.
The train ride takes 2 minutes, but overall the time it took to go from the old lounge to the terminal was no less than 20 minutes.
Upon arriving on the main floor, one is greeted by statues of two elephants. The Emirates lounge is located on the floor above the art installation.
Access
Emirates' rules of access to its lounges are very simple. You get in if you have a business class, non saver, or first ticket. Or if you have Gold Skywards status.
Emirates also allows economy travelers to enter for a fee and as I always say that it is absolutely NOT worth paying. In this case it costs 155$ + tax to enter, however, if you are enrolled in the Emirates loyalty program you have a favorable price 125$+ tax, which then Is the same price in all lounges except the ones in Dubai Where it costs even more.
The lounge
Definitely nice, big, bright because it is open to the terminal and the glass roof lets in so much light (except that almost all of EK's flights leave in the night).
On the other hand, however, the feeling is that, apart from a few details, they have transferred the same furniture That was in the old lounge.
Emirates has a plan underway to modernize its lounges and so I thought I was seeing the new stylistic course, but instead it's the same old soup as aboard his planes: all boringly the same.
It is also reminiscent of the lounges in Dubai, precisely because it overlooks the runway, the terminus, and because it is a long open space.
The decor is the classic one found in various lounges from Milan to New York. Armchairs, of various kinds, a few mega screens and some plants to act as dividers.
At one end is the buffet area, with attached restaurant seating.
On the opposite side is a beverage island.
There are small rooms, but they are open to the rest of the hall, so where you can't isolate yourself at all.
It is then missing an optional extra that makes EK's lounges unique. in (almost) all the world, that is, the direct connection to the finger that allows passengers to board directly without leaving the hall, has not been implemented here.
Services
As in all Emirates lounges, except for seating, amenities and power outlets there is nothing. This stopover for EK is important because in addition to the many daily flights to Dubai it also has the fifth freedom flight to Hong Kong, but the recipe does not change.
There is no champagne bar, no spa or massage area, no children's area or a more sedate relaxation area to rest in peace, and not even a dedicated lounge for First Class passengers. As always, quoting a well-known advertisement, "Emirates does not sell dreams, but solid certainties."
Food and beverage
I had not yet reviewed the old lounge, but the feeling is that precisely we have moved counters and refrigerators, as well as the chairs. because it's all very similar.
On one thing, however, Emirates is a certainty, in the catering of its lounges. Not just the usual offerings, but also dishes that are beautiful to look at and not discounted.
However, there is no express cooking, as is the case in Thai or JAL's lounge, especially doesn't compare to the spectacle of the Qatar lounge which provides its business class passengers with a real restaurant in a space environment.
It is buffet only, there is no table service, no barista for a real cappuccino other than from the vending machine, a constant in all lounges outside Dubai.
The other certainty is that there is always good drinking in Emirates lounges. And seeing an Italian bottle makes one even happier.
In conclusion
Those expecting something new will be disappointed, certainly in this facility a dedicated finger was (perhaps) impossible to have, but at least a direct elevator to the gate could have been made.
Pro
- The space
- The winery
Against
- Little imagination
- Noisy