Air China First Class Lounge at Shanghai Pudong Airport

Shanghai Pudong International airport (PVG) isn’t known for its lounges which is somewhat of a surprise given the fact that it’s a newer airport and a hub for China.

American Airlines passengers flying internationally out of Terminal 2 are directed to the Air China business class or first class lounges, which are adjacent to each other.

I wasn’t expecting this Shanghai Airport lounge to knock our socks off, given what I read about it (and it sure did not).

See also: Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai Review

Air China First Class Lounge

The Air China first class lounge is more or less an open room with seating surrounding a bar and buffet area in the center of the lounge.

During our 4:00 p.m. weekday visit, this Shanghai airport lounge was nearly empty.

Upon entering, my daughter and I were promptly greeted and handed a menu. Having just spent three weeks in Shanghai, she opted for spaghetti (which she loved).

I knew we were about to eat on the plane so I skipped this, however, I probably would have ordered dim sum of some sort.

The buffet, on the other hand, was a bit odd. One section featured breakfast items such as yogurt, toast and Corn Flakes that appeared to be on offer all-day.

Another buffet island featured hot dishes like two kinds of rice, a stir-fry, soup and a few other things.

On the opposite side, scrambled eggs with tomato, an odd assortment of sushi, cold dishes were available. Taste-wise, everything was just okay.

Now, we’ve had our fair share of just okay airport lounge food but this was a smidge difficult given that this Shanghai PVG airport actually has some decent dining.

Cafe Deco, a restaurant that used to be on The Peak in Hong Kong, has an outlet right outside of the Air China lounge. A myriad of coffee shops, dumpling stops, and other nice choices are also scattered around the airport. Now, there isn’t as much dining on offer as there are in other major airports but it’s fine.

Other Amenities

The WiFi in this Shanghai airport lounge, as can be typical in China, was terrible. So, definitely don’t go in for the WiFi. And, yes, it’s blocked by the Great Firewall so you’ll need a VPN to check Gmail, YouTube, etc. We sat near tables with electrical sockets in them but they didn’t work.

The lounge does have showers, a business center and a sleeping area.

See also: Things to Do in Shanghai with Kids

Who Uses This Shanghai Airport Lounge?

The Air China first and business class lounges services a number of other airlines. It’s called lounge 71 on some Shanghai airport maps.

Cathay Pacific has its own PVG lounge and if we had more time, I would have popped my head in. In fact, I’ll probably go here next time (even though it’s supposedly not fantastic either).