[MoHaB]

Trip Background: My mother always wanted to visit Egypt, to see many wonders, and the ancient civilizations there. I have quit my job in March, allows me the time to take her for a tour. We've joined a local Chinese tour. They use Egypt Air, which is the quickest and easiest way from Beijing to Cairo with 1 stop in Bangkok. Egypt Air do have some good airfares, so we upgraded our ticket to First Class both ways, as I would like to have maximum comforts for my mother and check out how Egypt Air is like, as they're invited to join Star Alliance this year.



Date of Departure: 16 April 2008
Flight MS 961 schedule Departs Beijing at 2005, arrive Bangkok at 2345
Departs Bangkok at 0045 arrive Cairo at 0500

Beijing Capital Airport Terminal Three
Egypt Air, like all other Star Alliance members, used the brand new Terminal Three in Beijing, the terminal was built to expand Beijing capacity and for the 2008 Olympics. The terminal is the largest single terminal building in the world currently, it utilize natural sunlight for illumination as it is ceiling to floor glass everywhere showcasing the terminal. It contains three concourses, T3C for Chinese Domestic Flight, T3D not open yet, but reserved for Olympics special charter flights and T3E for all International flights. Currently, all Star Alliance and OneWorld Carriers use T3 plus Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, EL AL, S7 and Air Macau. Domestically, only Shanghai Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Sichuan Airlines and Air China use the new T3 while China Southern and China Eastern remain and T1 and T2 respectively.







Check In of Egypt Air, opens three hours prior to the flight. There were 5 counters handling Egypt Air Bangkok and Cairo bound passengers. Due to Thailand's Songkran Holiday, the flight was sold out and very busy at check in (Group) at 5pm. Egypt Air do have 1 counter dedicated to First Class passenger and we're expedited at check-in with lounge invitation card to the new Air China International First Class lounge.



Airside of Terminal Three, Beijing Capital Airport
After taking the concourse connecting train, we arrived in T3E, the international departure concourse. It is very quiet.as there aren't many flights leaving around 6pm. The ceiling is very high and feels very spacious. There are plenty of open space to the passenger. There are also some Chinese landscape feature include a patio in the terminal.





Air China International First Class Lounge



Air China International First Class Lounge is situated upstairs of terminal three access by escalators. The lounge is totally deserted when we arrive, my mother and I were the only 2 person inside a huge lounge, designed for 300 passengers. It is brand new and impressive from the moment you walk in, comparable to some of the highly acclaimed lounges in the world in terms of infrastructures.





Since it is almost dinner time, we decided to try out the Buffet at dining room. Here a waitress offers help to my mother. Everything looks brand new, flash and ready, we are excited and checking out the lounge features. First with the food and drinks.

Horrible looking food served ("Hot Beef")

Horrible looking Chicken dish
Being the best and latest lounge in Beijing, I expected some fine Chinese and International Cuisine which can be ordered like many other First Class lounge in the world. However, the food in both presentation and quality left much to be desired. It is unthinkable, a first class lounge provide such simple and un-genuine Chinese food, it does not even compare to the small local restaurants on the street in China. There were about 5 types of hot dish and a few type of Salad, also WonTon noodle Soup can be ordered. Given the cost of food is still relatively affordable in China, Air China catering need to pay much more attention to meet the International First Class passengers expectations and bring it up to the standard with the rest of the world.

Next, I visited the bar, it was left unattended and I asked the waitress for a glass of Champagne, much to my surprise, the answer is "No, we don't have champagne...". Asked for a glass of red wine, she replied, you will have to serve yourself in the bar. After received such answers, I was fascinated and went to the "Bar" to check out what exactly they have.


Disappointed with no proper White, Red or Champagne on offer. Only a local Chinese brand white grape wine there. No International brand of beer also. No wonder the bar is so quiet and tidy, there are no good drinks to have! I begin to doubt whether this International First Class lounge food and drinks pass the catering standard of Star Alliance.
Overall, I am quite impressed with the facility of Air China lounge, it is an improvement from the old lounge in T2, it has a 10 seat mini theatre/TV room, sleeping area with individual sleeper seats and doors, shower room and Business Center with very fast internet. While the hardware is new and inviting, they need to focus much on the software. i.e. the food/drinks served and the customer service.