Review: Qantas Business Class Lounge Sydney Airport

March 1, 2018 ~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

Out of all the hub lounges I’ve been to, my three favourite business class lounges are Virgin Atlantic’s Clubhouse at London Heathrow, Cathay Pacific’s The Pier Lounge Hong Kong, and Swiss’ Dock E Lounge in Zurich (more or less in that order, with Qatar Airways’ Al Mourjan lounge being a fourth). While I’d love to write a post dedicated to what I believe are the world’s best business class lounges, I have a couple more to visit this year that I believe will make the list, so I’ll hold that off until later this year.

Off the top of my head, I knew Qantas’ lounge at Sydney Airport wouldn’t make the list. While Qantas has a famously good first class lounge, the business class lounge has long seemed to be somewhat of an afterthought, with reports being that it’s drab, crowded, and aging. Qantas is planning on refurbishing this lounge, and the new lounge will be fully completed by the end of 2019.

With my family, my bags and somewhat low expectations, I headed to Sydney Airport at 1 PM for our 4 PM flight.

Sydney Airport Check-in Hall

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Review: Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Bangkok BKK Concourse C West

November 28, 2017December 13, 2017 ~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

Introduction: To Bangkok For The Weekend
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Business Class Lounge Hong Kong
Thai Airways A330 Business Class Hong Kong to Bangkok
Park Hyatt Bangkok
Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Bangkok BKK Concourse D
Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge Bangkok
Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Bangkok BKK Concourse E
EVA Air Lounge Bangkok
Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Bangkok BKK Concourse C East
Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Bangkok BKK Concourse C West
Thai Airways 747 Business Class Bangkok to Hong Kong

After visiting the East lounge, I thought my work would be bereft had I not rounded up my lounge visit by visiting the adjacent Concourse C West lounge. I went over to the other side of the hallway from the Concourse C East lounge, where the lounge was located.

Thai Airways Concourse C West Lounge Exterior

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Review: Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Bangkok BKK Concourse C East

November 21, 2017December 13, 2017 ~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

After a pleasant visit at the EVA Air Lounge Bangkok, it was time to head closer towards the gate to head towards our gate at Concourse C. Concourse C also has a couple of Thai Airways lounges, so I quickly made my way over so I’d have ample time to check them out and still be able to board first.

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Main Concourse

While I knew there were two Royal Silk lounges, I wasn’t expecting them to be right across each other, which was interesting.

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Review: EVA Air Lounge Bangkok

November 10, 2017December 13, 2017 ~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

The main destination of my lounge hop was EVA Air’s lounge near Concourse F, which I was excited to check out. EVA Air had just recently refurbished their lounge at Bangkok Airport, and I’d heard good things about it. The lounge is located at Concourse F, one floor below the general departures area.

EVA Air Lounge Bangkok Entrance

If this were a competition for Bangkok’s best lounge, EVA Air’s lounge would be by far the most try-hard out of all of them. The lounge’s exterior featured a wooden sliding door, with silver finishes (including a silver logo, as well as the word “lounge” being displayed with silver finishes too).

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Review: Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Bangkok BKK Concourse E

November 10, 2017December 13, 2017 ~ Alvin ~ 1 Comment

After a nice drink at the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge, it was off to the EVA Air Lounge. On the way, however, I wanted to check out the Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge at Concourse E.

The entrance of the Royal Silk lounge is across the Royal Orchid lounge, which I didn’t realise I could access (I was under the impression that it was a first class lounge, though Thai Airways’ first class lounges are called “Royal First lounges”). I didn’t end up visiting the lounge, though it seems to be the best of all the Thai Airways business class lounges, so that’s a bummer. Thai Airways’ lounge entrances are rather dated and unimpressive, in my opinion.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Entrance

I was admitted into the lounge and given another receipt-like WiFi code. The entrance to the lounge is standard for all of Thai Airways’ smaller lounges, consisting of drab carpets, a marble desk, and some garnishing orchids. In addition, there was a “no boarding announcement” sign (which I can appreciate due to the number of Thai Airways flights departing during peak rush hour), as well as the WiFi name.

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Review: Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge Bangkok

October 28, 2017December 13, 2017 ~ Alvin ~ 1 Comment

One of my destinations at Bangkok Airport was checking out the Singapore Airlines SilverKris lounge, as I knew that it had been recently renovated. This was a short walk through the terminal, where I eventually found signage towards the Singapore Airlines SilverKris lounge.

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Terminal

The Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge is located near gate D7, in Concourse D of the airport. The exterior of the lounge is in line with most of Singapore Airlines’ renovated lounges, including the one at Hong Kong Airport.

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Review: Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Bangkok BKK Concourse D

October 23, 2017December 13, 2017 ~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

Our time at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport started at 1:30 PM, when we pulled up to the departures hall of the airport.

Departures Area Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

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Review: Thai Airways Royal Orchid Business Class Lounge Hong Kong

October 6, 2017December 13, 2017 ~ Alvin ~ 1 Comment

While I’ve had rather mixed opinions of Singapore Airlines’ lounge at Hong Kong Airport and always rather enjoyed the United Club, I’ve always thought of Thai Airways’ lounge as the most dated lounge at Hong Kong Airport. I’ve visited the lounge a few times since my last review in 2015, and was eager to see if my last visit would be any different.

Thai Airways’ check-in counters are situated at Terminal 2 of Hong Kong Airport, which was bad news for us, since it was raining on the day of our departure. While Terminal 2 has an adjacent carpark, it’s outdoors, so we weren’t too comfortable with taking our luggages across the heavy rain into the terminal.

Go figure that the rain seeped away into a beautiful sunrise backdrop by the time we parked, which rendered our walk to Terminal 2 obsolete.

Hong Kong Airport

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Review: Al Maha Lounge Doha Airport

August 27, 2017August 28, 2017 ~ Alvin ~ 1 Comment

Introduction: 20,000+ Kilometers In Three Days
Virgin Atlantic 787 Premium Economy Hong Kong to London Heathrow
How Is It Like Staying At An Imperial College Dormitory?
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse London Heathrow Airport
Virgin Atlantic 787 Premium Economy London Heathrow to Hong Kong
Qatar Airways 787 Business Class Hong Kong to Doha
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge Doha Airport
Qatar Airways A350 Business Class Doha to Munich
Hotel Bayerischer Hof Lindau
Hotel Kempinski Berchtesgaden
Mandarin Oriental Munich
British Airways Galleries Lounge Munich Airport
Qatar Airways A350 Business Class Munich to Doha
Al Maha Lounge Doha Airport
Qatar Airways 787 Business Class Doha to Hong Kong

After disembarking my flight from Munich to Doha, I found myself on the path to a security transit area. While security is usually part of the airport transit experience, this brought up a few questions in my mind, since we didn’t have to go through security on the way from Hong Kong. Is transit security only required for select routes, or had we just been let out the wrong entrance by accident after our flight from Hong Kong the week prior?

Nevertheless, security was largely painless and only took around 15 minutes, definitely helped by the fact that there was a separate security lane for premium passengers. An escalator brought us back down to the impressive atrium, where I spotted the giant teddy bear in the distance.

Doha Hamad Airport Atrium

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Review: British Airways Galleries Lounge Munich Airport

August 23, 2017August 28, 2017 ~ Alvin ~ 1 Comment

After a great few days in Munich, it was time to say goodbye. Our driver Henry drove us to Munich, where he dropped us off at Terminal 1. The terminal looks nice enough from the outside, with a semi-enclosed driveway containing lots of natural light.

Munich Airport Terminal 1 Exterior

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