businesstraveller.com JULY/AUGUST 2019
Key facilities Shower suites, buffet,
manned bar
Opening hours 6am-12.30amUNITED AIRLINES –
UNITED CLUB LOUNGE
Where is it? Near Gate 60, Departures
Level 7, Terminal 1
Who gets access? United and Star
Alliance airline first and business class
passengers; MileagePlus Premier Gold
and Star Alliance Gold tier members.
What’s it like? As with the other two Star
Alliance member airline lounges at Hong
Kong Airport, the United Club lounge has
separate areas for first and business class
passengers. This is a decent-size lounge,
made all the better by its open-ceiling
format that provides views over the terminal
and ample lighting. That said, its facilities
are somewhat limited – food is buffet only,
and seating isn’t quite as varied or plentiful
as Singapore Airlines’ SilverKris lounge, for
example. United has previously suggested
the opening of a dedicated section within
the existing lounge that will be set aside
exclusively for its Polaris business class
passengers – two of the airline’s three
Hong Kong services, to San Francisco and
New York (Newark), are operated by
aircraft with Polaris business class seats.Key facilitiesShower rooms, business
centre, buffet, self-serve alcoholic beverages
Opening hours 6am-11.59pmSKYTEAM MEMBER AIRLINES
SKYTEAM EXCLUSIVE LOUNGE
Where is it? Near Gate 5, Departures
Level 6, Terminal 1
Who gets access? SkyTeam Elite Plus
members; business class passengers travelling
on f lights operated by Aerof lot, Air France,
China Airlines, China Eastern Airlines,
Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, KLM
Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air,
Vietnam Airlines and Xiamen Air.
What’s it like? Large, modern and not all
that busy considering it is the only lounge
catering to all SkyTeam member airlines
f lying out of Hong Kong (unless you’re
f lying with Xiamen Airlines, in which
case you also get access to the CNAC VIP
Lounge – more on that below). The
design of the lounge is bright and modern- it only opened in late 2015 – with the
large wooden divider between the busier
dining area and quieter seating space a
particularly welcome feature.
Key facilities Showers, business centre,
bar, yoga room, noodle bar, cooked-to-
order cuisine
Opening hours 5.30am-1am
NON-ALLIANCE LOUNGES
EMIRATES LOUNGE
Where is it? Near Gate 40, Departures
Level 7, Terminal 1
Who gets access? Emirates first and
business class passengers; Emirates
Skywards Gold tier members and above.
Paid access is not available.
What’s it like? While it may seem a little
old-fashioned at first, the Emirates Lounge
in Hong Kong shouldn’t be written off your
list. The food in particular is fantastic,
offering a lovely selection of tasty pan-Asian
and Middle Eastern dishes at the buffet. It’s
also relatively uncrowded, meaning guests
don’t have to tussle to secure one of the
generously spread-out seats. Staff are
pleasant and attentive, too. The lounge is
also open-ceiling, giving it ample lighting,
though a facelift could be warranted,
particularly to provide all guests with power
outlets by their seats, something that is
noticeably lacking in the current space.
Key facilities Showers, business centre,
buffet, self-serve alcoholic beverages
Opening hours 4.50am-7.20am/3.25pm-
12.05amCLOCKWISE FROM LEFT PAGE:Cathay Pacific Lounge –
The Wing First Class; Singapore Airlines’ SilverKris
Lounge; and the Emirates Lounge55AIRPORT LOUNGES