Standing for Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions, PAGSS is the primary ground handling company servicing Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). Amongst its offered services, it operates a number of lounges, which in Manila include the PAGSS Premium Lounge Manila in Terminal 1 and Terminal 3. Curiously, PAGSS also operates the Heroes Lounge in Terminal 3, an exclusive space open only to dignitaries and members of the Philippine Armed Forces, Coast Guard, and National Police. In this review, I’ll focus solely on the PAGSS Premium Lounge Terminal 3, which I visited before my ANA flight to Tokyo.

Lounge Access Rules

The PAGSS Premium Lounge is a contract lounge used by many international carriers departing from Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. Specifically, it is the default lounge available to Business Class and eligible frequent flyer passengers flying on All Nippon Airways (ANA), China Airlines, China Eastern, Etihad Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Gulf Air, Korean Air, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Starlux Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Xiamen Air. In addition, the lounge also accepts LoungeKey, Priority Pass, and Diners Club memberships.

Location

The PAGSS Premium Lounge is located in the lounge cluster at Ninoy Aquino International Aiport Terminal 3. After clearing departure security, follow the signs that point to the airline lounges. This will bring you to a lift lobby and stairway near Gate 114. From here, head up to Level 4 and turn right to the corridor upon exiting the lift lobby. The PAGSS Premium Lounge is on the far end of this corridor, past the Cathay Pacific Lounge, the SilverKris Lounge, and the Marhaba Lounge.

PAGSS Premium Lounge Manila

Upon entering the PAGSS Premium Lounge, you’ll be met with a reception desk at which you’ll have to show your lounge invitation or boarding pass or pay your way in. On this occasion, I was one of the many ANA premium passengers directed to the PAGSS Premium Lounge at check-in. As such, I accessed the lounge by showing my ANA Business Class boarding pass, which was promptly accepted by the friendly reception agent.

Lounge Seating and Amenities

The PAGSS Premium Lounge is separated into three distinct seating areas, each of which I will expand on below. Despite being the primary contract lounge for most airlines at Terminal 3, I was surprised to find that it was not much bigger than the neighbouring Cathay Pacific Lounge and Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge. Combined lounge pass passengers, it was no surprise to find the PAGSS Premium Lounge a lot more crowded than the other two lounges I visited in Terminal 3.

Main seating area

Just past the reception is the first and main seating area of the PAGSS Premium Lounge. In this area are a number of armchairs arranged in an irregular manner surrounding the perimeter of the section. There is a similarly seemingly random arrangement of sofa chairs in the centre. Each row seems to face each other but also not…? Either way, I couldn’t make out an obvious pattern.

Disregarding how messy the furniture arrangement is, I did think that the chairs look quite new for what they are. At the very least, the design still looks contemporary and the upholstery still looks arlight. In any case, I do appreciate that power outlets are available on the consoles separating each pair of chairs.

Dining area

Following the main seating area is the designated dining section, which is conveniently and closely placed to the lounge’s main food spread. On the wall behind the buffet is a long sofa which is complemented by five dining tables – each with a modern-looking dining chair. Sadly, this area follows the trend of being untidily-kept, much like the chairs in the main seating area.

Across from these tables, there is a long marble counter that runs along nearly the entire length of the lounge. This counter features bar seats that view the apron, a bit similar to the setup you’d often encounter in Japanese airport lounges. In any case, I also appreciate that power outlets are available here, although in a much more irregular pattern.

Finally, there is also an awkward-looking communal table at the end of the dining section, by the entrance to the annexe seating area. This table noticeably looked different and out of place compared to the other seats and furniture we’ve encountered so far. Although it seats eight people, I noticed that it was the only option that exclusively sits empty during my entire stay. Hmm…

Annexe seating area

A second seating area is located down the corridor past the dining area. This area features a few tightly arranged rows of bright orange chairs, a few of which are accompanied by a console table. By this point, it only occurred to me how disjointed the design of the lounge was. For one, I felt the each part of the lounge has a different theme from a different era, although not in a good way. Honestly, some consistency would be nice!

In retrospect, I believe what gave me a very poor impression of the PAGSS Lounge was how sheerly dishevelled the seating area was. Frankly, I thought that the lounge looked poorly kept and messy, which won’t help no matter how nice the place looks (not saying that it is). Either way, I think PAGSS could improve a great deal by at least making an effort to ensure all the chairs are lined up neatly and keep them clean.

Lounge Wifi

Like the other lounges at Terminal 3, the PAGSS Premium Lounge has a dedicated WiFi network, separate from that offered in the terminal. Understandably, the PAGSS Premium Lounge WiFi network is protected by a password, which you’ll have to ask for at the reception. During my visit, I found that the connection was decent, with the internet suitable for messaging and browsing.

Dining

Dining in the PAGSS Premium Lounge revolves around the buffet food spreads in the main lounge and the annexe seating area. In both areas, a selection of food and drinks are available, although note that the choices are more limited in the annexe.

Main food spread

The lounge’s main food station is wedged in a glassed corridor perpendicular to the main seating area and the dining area. Here, a noteworthy buffet (at least for my low expectations) is offered, featuring a number of hot and cold Asian and International dishes. As such, this was probably the strongest point of the lounge.

Clustered on one side of the buffet is the selection of savoury dishes and snacks. Although I didn’t find the food to be especially appealing, I was impressed by the selection of food. In any case, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Offered on the opposite side is a number of desserts and sweets, in addition to the selection of drinks. Amongst the selection were ice cream, mixed fruits, dessert bars, and cookies. Additionally, despite the fact that I didn’t find the drink selection to be great, at least it’s on par with the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge ;).

Annexe food spread

A supplementary selection of food is also generously offered in the annexe seating area. This spread is understandably a lot more modest, featuring the same cold snacks that are available in the main spread. Although I can’t add anything to say about the food, I was impressed by the beer on tap, which you don’t see in many lounges in Asia!

Furthermore, by this point, you might notice that some of these selections look very similar to those at the SilverKris Lounge, which is unsurprisingly also catered by PAGSS. This is perhaps most obvious with the dim sum and cold snacks selection.

Toilets

There are a total of two toilet facilities available for use in the PAGSS Premium Lounge. The first and main toilet is located in the main lounge just behind the reception desk. Here, the toilet is segregated by gender and is the much larger one of the two. Having low expectations based on my largely negative impression of the lounge, I was slightly pleasantly surprised by the toilet. Although dimly lit and humid, I found the toilet to be clean and functional – which I guess is a low bar to begin with.

A second toilet is available in the annexe seating area at the far end of the lounge. Unlike the first toilet, this one is more private since it can only be used by one person at a time. Given the space and the handrails, I’m led to believe that this is the designated toilet for persons with disabilities. In any case, I found this toilet to share the same clean state as the other toilet, although dimly lit and humid.

Overall

In all, I found the PAGSS Premium Lounge Terminal 3 to be an extremely basic waiting lounge saved only by its relatively fair food selection. Although I couldn’t quite pinpoint it to a specific element, something about this lounge made it feel both very underwhelming and uninviting. Perhaps it is the outdated furniture or the dark theme and lighting, I don’t know. Whilst I’m happy to have been able to access this lounge, I can safely say that calling this lounge ‘premium’ would constitute an overstatement. In any case, combined with crowd levels and the messy state of the lounge, I’m sorry to say that I wouldn’t want to spend any more time in this lounge than necessary.

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