Review – China Eastern First Class Lounge Shanghai Pudong

by Zac George
a long hallway with chairs and a television

After arriving from Bangkok in terminal 2, I had to make my way to T1 for my China Eastern flight. The transit process was easier than I thought and I was through in less than 10 minutes. From T2 there’s a long walkway which leads you straight to T1, you do have to clear immigration if you want to switch terminals.

China Eastern have a private check-in area for First and Business Class passengers, Eastern Miles Platinum, Skyteam Elite members and passengers on Shanghai Airlines Business Class.

a wall with plants in front of it

China Eastern Check-in Shanghai

It’s a very wide space and there was no waiting in line.

a large room with plants in pots

China Eastern Check-in Shanghai

It was fairly quiet but at 6:00 I suppose that’s a given. The staff spoke good English and we even had a good conversation and they were able to understand what I was saying which was great. They also asked if this was my first time in Shanghai and if this was my first time flying China Eastern.

people at a desk in an airport

China Eastern Check-in Shanghai

I answered yes to both questions and was sent over to the seating area. I was a little confused why at first until a staff member came over and said ‘Mr George, I’ll be escorting you to the First lounge. Please come with me” I’ve flown many carriers in First and this is a nice touch other Asian carriers don’t offer. It probably isn’t needed but I hadn’t been through the airport before so thought it was pretty helpful.

a couches in a room

China Eastern Check-in Shanghai

The staff member was quite friendly and we went through security fairly quickly.

a man in a suit pulling his luggage

Escorting me to the lounge

After arriving at the lounge, he sat me down and brought me a wifi code and said goodbye and have a great flight. I was expecting to be taken to some terrible worn out old lounge but this was the complete opposite. It was actually ‘Nice’

a room with chairs and tables

China Eastern First Class lounge

On the left, there’s a large amount of reading material both in Chinese and English.

a shelf with magazines on it

China Eastern First Class lounge

On both sides of the lounge is a lot of leather seating. Each seat is also close to a power point which is convenient.

a room with a white table and chairs

China Eastern First Class lounge

 

a white table and two beige chairs in a room

China Eastern First Class lounge

 

a room with a couch and chairs

China Eastern First Class lounge

The lounge was very quiet, while I was there were probably 6 people in there max. Only China Eastern First passengers and Eastern Miles Platinum members can access it.

a long hallway with chairs and a television

China Eastern First Class lounge

The lounge has quite a large buffet area with hot & cold food options and a large range of beverages.

a counter with drinks and beverages on it

China Eastern First Class lounge

There’s also a heap of snacks to choose from if you’re not feeling too hungry.

a bowl of food on a table

China Eastern First Class lounge

 

a beverage cooler with glass doors

China Eastern First Class lounge

All the food was fresh and the staff would always go and see if it’s acceptable or not i.e they test it by eating it.

a plate of fruit on a grill

China Eastern First Class lounge

There are fresh fruit and salads available.

a group of bowls of food on a table

China Eastern First Class lounge

There’s also a good range of pastries available.

a trays of pastries on a counter

China Eastern First Class lounge

The lounge also has quite an impressive bar that very much reminds me of the ones in Etihad’s revamped lounges.

a bar with a counter and chairs

China Eastern First Class lounge

At the bar, they serve all types of alcohol as well as freshly made coffee. Interestingly they don’t serve many of the drinks that are at the bar onboard the aircraft.

two buckets of champagne on a counter

China Eastern First Class lounge

Right opposite the bar is where the bathrooms are located. They were spotless and there was a cleaner in there every time I passed.

a bathroom with sinks and a mirror

China Eastern First Class lounge

 

a toilet in a bathroom

China Eastern First Class lounge

Next part of the buffet consists of more food options. First is a fridge with various types of sweets and sandwiches.

a display case with different types of desserts

China Eastern First Class lounge

Next along is all types of hot food. There’s a large selection of both Chinese and Western food.

a kitchen with many pots and pans

China Eastern First Class lounge

As you can see, the lounge was very quiet and wasn’t ever loud.

a group of people in a restaurant

China Eastern First Class lounge

Possibly the funniest part of the lounge is the cutlery. Plastic knives and forks in a first class lounge, really?

a plate with scrambled eggs and bacon

China Eastern First Class lounge

After having some bacon and eggs I decided to get some work done. The wifi was quite possibly the worst I had used in a lounge. A connection with bad speeds and a VPN really don’t do well together. I was able to post one blog post while in there but streaming and downloading anything was out of the question.

Another thing to note is the staff won’t interact with you and ask if you need anything. I found that a little odd as alot of them would stay huddled together on thier phones, oh well.

a hallway with lights on the wall

China Eastern First Class lounge

Right at the back of the lounge are some lounging and massaging chairs.

a hallway with a wall art

China Eastern First Class lounge

 

a massage chair in a room

Massage Chair

They are quite comfortable and would be the best place to get sleep if you needed to. I was tempted but I would probably oversleep and miss my flight If I had.

a black leather chair in a room

Lounge chair

Overall

The lounge isn’t one of the worst I’ve visited but also not one of the best I’ve been to. Yes, it’s new and quiet but the service is really lacking and the there are a few things that they could improve upon.

For what it is it’s great but I couldn’t see myself spending large amounts of time in there. I was there for about 6 hours and that was plenty of time.

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5 comments

MattJ April 26, 2017 - 10:14 pm

Sorry to be a pain Zac, I think you use “Heap” too many times. A heap of options, a heap of reading, a heap of leather etc. Your reviews are fantastic as well as your experiences explained but the word becomes repetitive in your coverage…

Can’t wait to read the flight experience!

Scott April 26, 2017 - 11:12 pm

It’s aussie thing! 🙂

Sean April 26, 2017 - 10:55 pm

Sheesh, Matt J — grammar police much? J/K

Zac – enjoying your review of this seldom-reviewed product and airline. Also appreciate a fresh take on some of these F/C products that are more widely reviewed. Keep it up, bro.

Carter April 27, 2017 - 4:31 pm

Not sure if this is lounge 36 in T1 (though the picture looks exactly like the one I was in), my experience was quite negative as it was jammed pack with people and I could not even find a seat to have my canteen like food (no where near 3 star hotel standards).

Drinks and pastry on the other hand were very presentable and gave the executive lounge feel.

There are more seats upstairs where people could go and hang out instead of hogging seats near the dinning area (some were sleeping with one lying down taking an entire bench) but perhaps people were unaware or prefer to stay where they were.

Anyway, it wasn’t a first class experience for me. Btw, the lounge I was in belongs to China eastern but was opened to at least another 6 to 8 airlines. I was flying Delta.

BC September 16, 2018 - 7:55 pm

Nice review Zac.
The only thing they’ve added since then is a Welcoming Robot. Literally a robot that says hello as you enter.

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