Taipei’s Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is China Airlines’ main hub, home to four of the carrier’s lounges spread across two terminals. Despite varying degrees of differences, all four lounges are generically referred to as China Airlines Lounge. During my visit, only the biggest two were open – the China Airlines Lounge D in Terminal 2 and China Airlines Lounge A in Terminal 1. I will be focusing on the former in this review.

Transiting TPE Airport

After getting off my China Airlines flight from Narita, I headed straight to the nearest security checkpoint. This was the second time I’ve transited Taoyuan Airport and I was really impressed at how efficient the process was. I was the only person using the transit security checkpoint, and I didn’t even have to take out my liquids and electronic devices! For one, I was back in the departures level of the terminal less than five minutes after leaving the aircraft. Wow! Sadly, that leaves me with a long 15-hour overnight at the airport…

Afterwards, I made my way to the Terminal 2 China Airlines Lounge by following the signs… or so I thought. Whilst it did bring me to a China Airlines Lounge next to the EVA Air Lounges on Level 4, it was one of the two that was sadly closed during my visit. Coincidentally, as of this post, this lounge has reopened for passengers. 🙁

So having gotten lost, I made my way back down and asked an airport employee standing in the middle of the terminal about the other lounge. I wasn’t sure if it was just the way he talked, but I was taken aback a bit when he barked at me and pointed in the direction. Thank you, I guess?

Lounge Location

As I walked in the general direction he pointed to, I finally saw signs for the other China Airlines Lounge. It advised that the lounge is located near Gate D4. Sure enough, as I reached D4, I found the lounge entrance opposite the gate. For reference, when coming from the Terminal 2 immigration checkpoint, turn left to Concourse D before making a slight right.

Lounge Access Rules

The China Airlines Lounge is accessible to any SkyPriority passenger flying on a SkyTeam member airline. In practice, this means eligible passengers include those flying on China Airlines and other SkyTeam airlines in Business Class or holding SkyTeam Elite Plus Status. In addition, the China Airlines Lounge is also the contract lounge for Business Class passengers flying on Air China, China Southern, Emirates, Hainan Airlines, Hebei Airlines, Jin Air, Philippine Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, and T’Way Air.

China Airlines Lounge

Immediately past the entrance is the reception desk for the lounge. Curiously, the reception agent took copies of my Boarding Pass and took detailed notes of its details, instead of scanning it. It was only after that, was I invited to enter the Business Class section of the lounge.

On the far right end of the reception desk is an area dedicated to passengers needing special assistance, which I will expand a bit on later. To the left of the desk is an exclusive area accessible only to China Airlines Dynasty Flyer Paragon and Emerald members. They sure treat their own elite members nicely!

Business Class section

The Business Class section is located down the flight of stairs behind the reception desk. Bear in mind that non-China Airlines SkyTeam Elite Plus members similarly only have access to this section.

At the landing of the stairs is a display of Plum Blossoms, from which the airline’s logo is derived. Along the wall is a display inspired by Chinese calligraphy, which is a theme that runs throughout this lounge.

Lounge Seating and Amenities

Lounge seating

Past the entrance is the Business Centre, followed by a small seating area with eight pairs of armchairs. Behind the seating area are two individual use toilets.

Across from this small seating section is the lounge’s main seating area, consisting of really one long column of armchairs. Running across the wall is a continuity of the lounge’s Chinese calligraphy theme, featuring a soft pink backlight nodding to the airline’s plum blossom logo. Power outlets are available along the calligraphy wall in irregular intervals.

In terms of lounge design, this arrangement is probably amongst the lesser creative ones out there. For one, I wasn’t impressed with the outdated look of the furniture and I honestly didn’t find the lighting to be very relaxing or inspirational. In fact, the lighting makes me think of a mid-2000s frozen yogurt shop, which honestly doesn’t instill much value. At the least, despite the outworn design, the armchairs were comfortable to sit on.

Dining Table Seating

The dining table setup continues to the opposite end of the lounge, where the dining area and food spread are located. Along the ‘window’ side is a combined sofa and dining table set up, followed by a long row of dining tables near the aisle. Again, power outlets are available but only at irregular intervals.

During my four-hour stay, I mostly camped out in this area, as I found it most suitable to work in. I found the leather-clad chairs and sofa to be comfortable for longer stays. Admittedly, between the cold lighting and the greyish look, I didn’t find the space to be very inviting.

In any case, it could probably be the lack of a proper window view that makes the lounge feel rather stuffy and sterile. Had there been views of the apron, a small garden, or even just some sunlight, I think this lounge would have a drastically better ambiance.

Disregarding that, I observed that the lounge was mostly empty when I arrived at 17.30. However, it gradually filled up as we progressed into the evening, coinciding with the many late-evening departures to North America (which departs from Terminal 2). Most lounge patrons appeared to be Taiwanese businessmen, along with the odd family.

Business Centre

Next to the lounge entrance is a small business centre with two desktop computers. As far as I was aware, I didn’t see a printer, so I’d consider this setup to be pointless (at least for me personally). In any case, I didn’t see anyone using my four-hour stay in this lounge, either.

WiFi

All China Airlines Lounges at Taoyuan Airport maintain their own WiFi network independent from that of the terminal. The network is password and username protected, so be sure to ask for WiFi credentials slip from the reception desk. Whilst I found the WiFi speeds to be okay, the connection was a bit spotty in certain corners of the lounge.

Dining

The dining area is located towards the far end of the lounge, featuring a buffet food spread on one wall, followed by a noodle bar. It is catered by China Pacific Catering Services, which is also the catering provider for inflight meals on China Airlines.

The buffet spread has a mix of hot and cold dishes on offer, alongside finger food and snacks. On one side is a selection of two soups, some Taiwanese-style baked sweet potatoes, and some snacks.

Next to the selection of snacks and sandwiches is the selection of warm dishes in bain-maries. They had a rotating selection of Chinese and Western-inspired dishes on offer, although the selection honestly didn’t look very appealing to me.

Towards the middle of the spread is a selection of dim sum, which included vegetable buns, golden lava buns, pork shumai, and rice meatballs. I did sample the shumai and a vegetable bun, both of which tasted okay. However, I did notice that the buns had ‘Chi-Mei’ branded parchment paper affixed to them, which indicates that they were store-bought. Hmmm…

Next to the dim sum selection is a small salad bar, along with a couple of bread selections, and some rice.

Noodle Bar

Towards the end of the dining area is a fully staffed kitchen that handles the Noodle Bar. On offer were three selections of noodles, including Vegetarian Noodle Soup, Ancient Taste Tshik-a Noodles, and Taiwanese-style Braised Beef Noodle Soup. To order, you’d have to use the iPad set up next to the menu, which will spit out a ticket with the order number.

Since I’m very picky about Beef Noodles, I ordered the ‘Ancient Taste Tshik-a Noodles’ at one point during my stay. After roughly 5 minutes following my order request, my number was called and I came to retrieve my bowl of noodles. At first taste, I was really impressed by the springy noodles and the flavourful broth. But the more I drank the broth, the more it reminded me of a Taiwanese brand of instant noodles I once had on a flight to London on EVA Air a few years prior. Hmmm… Whilst I can’t attest if it was the same broth, that got me slightly suspicious.

Drinks

Most of the drinks were available in cans or cartons from the chillers that are built into the food spread’s wall. Amongst the choices available included Yakult, vegetable juice, a Taiwanese isotonic drink, soymilk, cold green tea, lemon tea, root beer, Spite, Coca-Cola, tonic water, ginger beer, and Taiwan Beer.

In addition, there are also the usual coffee machine and a selection of tea from a local Taiwanese brand.

The selection of alcoholic drinks was very disappointing, however, featuring one choice each of red wine and white wine, alongside Hine Cognac, Gordon’s Gin, Absolut Vodka, and Bailey Irish Cream. Having visited the China Airlines Lounge in Narita earlier in the day, I was surprised to see how small the selection was at the airline’s hub. Suffice to say, I wasn’t impressed one bit… but hey, at least one of the wines is in an ice bucket, right? 😉

Showers

Located behind the dining area are the four shower rooms, which are perpetually locked. To get a shower, you’d have to make your way back up to the reception to get a shower card (or waitlist for one). Following confirmation from the lounge staff, they will communicate to the shower attendants, who will take your card and unlock a room. As I handed my shower card, the shower attendant spoke a few sentences in Chinese. She got really confused when I replied in English, saying I didn’t understand. When I tried speaking in Japanese, she got even more puzzled and just left. Okay…? In any case, if it were important, I wished the lounge placed a sign somewhere regarding that.

The shower room was bright and spacious, if not reminiscent of a run-of-the-mill Taiwanese midmarket hotel. Across from the sink and toilet is a long bench, on which your belongings could be placed. A clean towel and a vanity kit were also left on the bench, for use.

The hand soap and lotion provided were from Pure Altitude (the same brand used in flight), which turned out to be a French cosmetic brand inspired by the Alps. The bath gel and shampoo, however, came in a wall-affixed dispenser and were similar in quality to the nameless bottles of hotel soap in the 90s. In addition, the water pressure was sadly very weak, which made for a less-than-satisfying shower.

Toilet

The China Airlines Lounge D has two toilet areas located on the opposite ends of the Business Class section. The main toilets are located at the end close to the dining area. These toilets are gender-segregated and looked reasonably contemporary. In the male toilet, there are two toilet stalls which interestingly aren’t equipped with bidets. Sadly, however, I did feel that the cleanliness at the toilet here (the male section, at least) could be improved since there were a few spots that were wet.

At the other end, close to the entrance, is the second toilet area. Here, there are only two toilets, each in its own room. Unlike the other toilet, I found this one to be much cleaner and better kept.

Wheelchair Lounge

Since the main lounge isn’t accessible due to the flight of stairs, there is a special section to the right of the reception desk dedicated to passengers requiring special assistance. After reconfirming with the lounge agents at the reception desk, I was permitted to view this section, which was referred to as the Wheelchair Lounge.

The Wheelchair Lounge consists of a small room comprising nine pairs of oversized armchairs facing each other. Noticeably, the area was devoid of the Chinese calligraphy theme otherwise displayed prominently throughout the lounge. Combined with the heigh ceilings and soft lights, this gave the section a calm and relaxing mood.

On the corridor that leads to the reception is the Wheelchair Lounge’s dedicated food spread. Expectedly, the selection is a lot more limited compared to the main lounge, having only two hot food options in addition to baked sweet potatoes. Also available were a bowl of fruits, a small selection of cakes and tarts, as well as the same mixed snacks available on board. The alcoholic drink selection, however, was identical with the main lounge area.

Towards the back of this area are the Wheelchair Lounge’s dedicated toilets. There were two spacious toilets, one of which also features a urinal. Curiously, there weren’t any grab bars, as one ought to find in an accessible toilet. In any case, however, the two toilets were very well-kept and clean.

Overall

Overall, I found the China Airlines Lounge D to be a very mediocre lounge. Whilst the space is bright and clean, and the lounge staff is warm and friendly (supposing they speak English), the space just felt uninviting and lacklustre. In addition, I wasn’t very impressed with the selection of food either. Looking at how outdated the furniture had become, perhaps the lounge has become ripe for renovation. In any case, however, I would not recommend allocating more time than necessary to spend at this lounge.

Read more from this trip here!