Lounge Review: China Airlines Lounges, San Francisco and Taipei
I flew China Airlines’ Premium Business Class between San Francisco and Taipei, and reviewed the airline’s lounges in both airports.
I flew China Airlines’ Premium Business Class between San Francisco and Taipei, and reviewed the airline’s lounges in both airports.
Here are my reviews of the KAL Lounge at Jeju International Airport (CJU) and the Korean Air First Class Lounge at Incheon Airport (ICN).
The British Airways Terraces lounge at SFO is located after security in International Terminal A, between gates A4 and A6. I’ve visited this particular lounge a handful of times in recent years, which is jointly shared by British Airways and Korean Air passengers.
After landing, the other passengers either continued onward to their final destinations or headed toward immigration to enter Hong Kong. I was doing neither, since I was basically going to spend the next nine hours hanging out in the airport lounge, only to return to where I had just come form. While that may seem incredibly boring to some, I couldn’t have been more excited.
We disembarked and navigated out way over to the Etihad Premium Lounge. While the First Class Lounge is under construction, there was a small section in this lounge roped off for First Class passengers. However, the section was filled so we ended up finding a seat elsewhere near the bar.
Our flight wasn’t scheduled until 8P, so even with a late check-out time of 3PM, it still left several hours to kill. We mulled over the various options, but ultimately decided to just head over to the airport early. Besides, if you had to spend time at an airport, Changi is probably the best place to do that. We had about an hour left and had exhausted all of the options in that terminal, so we decided to hop into the Premier Lounge to relax. This lounge was part of the Lounge Club network, and I used my two free passes that come with the Chase Ink card since they were about to expire.
With a newfound hour to kill, we headed back upstairs to the main terminal and decided to wander over to the Singapore Airlines lounge which is located right next to the security checkpoint, and around the corner from the United Club.
The best lounge option for Star Alliance First Class passengers is the United Global First Lounge located between gates 98 and 100 in International Terminal G. While I still consider the Emirates Lounge to be the best lounge at SFO, this one is probably a distant second.
All good things must come to and end, and as much fun as we’d had over the past week eating our way through Japan, it was to time to pack up and head home. After checking out of the hotel, we jumped on the Metro for just 1 stop to Tokyo Station, and connected to the Narita Express (NEX) for a smooth 1-hour ride to the airport. By now we had been accustomed to the amazing Japanese efficiency, and took for granted how we were literally through security and at the entrance of the lounge in minutes.
***This is part 2 of my “Fat and Furious” trip report detailing a recent trip to Japan which included stops in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Matsuyama*** 1. Introduction 2. Star Alliance First…