#18 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
107 reviews
The second leg of our outbound flight to Vancouver was scheduled for 8 hours after arrival from SIN. We were suppose to arrive on CI 754 in the brand new A350-900. However a few weeks after our booking, China Airlines cancelled that flight and we were involuntarily switched to CI 752 that leaves 4 hours earlier. I suspect they wanted the A359 on long haul routes instead. We took this as a sign for us to throughly review the lounges at TPE. With that being said, we ended up not taking pictures of the actual flight itself. A regret as this was the last time a 747 was used for CI 32 before the switch over to A359.
Our flight landed in terminal 1 of Taiwan Taoyuan International. Strangely, China Airline flights do not operate out of the same terminal at TPE. Their regional flights operate out of T1, while long haul flights leaves from T2. This means we needed to take a train that took us to from T1 to T2 before passing through security to get to the departure level. Fortunately, the signs were clear and we quickly made our way through.
There are 2 Plaza Premium lounges in TPE T2 right across from each other. They are not connected so if you want to visit both, you will have to pay separately. We decided to visit the one in Zone A1 first as it did not have a shower and we planned to shower right before our flight in the other PP lounge. Compared to the other PP lounge, this lounge is located in the center of the lounge floor and has an open air concept.
There is a small buffet station with meat and vegetable dishes, a salad bar, and a cook to order station with the menu rotating through out the week. We tried the entire menu and found both the beef noodle and teriyaki chicken rice to be delicious.
Alcohol choices were taiwanese beer or standard red/white wine. No liquor this time.
Having gotten full from the food and alcohol. We made our way to the other PP lounge across the floor. Booked a time for shower during sign in and did work on one of the large tables around the dining area. The food choices were the same as the other PP lounge we just visited so I will not post it again.
This lounge offers more privacy as it is tucked away in a corner. It is more spacious than the lounge in zone A1 and you can also pay extra to use the nap rooms. If you can only choose one, I'd say this is the one to go for. The shower was clean and the attendants provided everything from towel to tooth brushes.
We somehow forgot to take pictures of the flight experience other than the food. This was the last 747 flight for this route and I do not have any pictures to commemorate. Overall the cabin was very similar to our previous experience on the regional A333. I always appreciate it when the crew walks around with water through out the flight and on this flight it happened frequently.
Catering on this flight had the standard asian/western choice The portion and quality were good for economy class meal.
8 hour transfer passed quickly with the help of alcohol. I will make up for the lack of in flight pictures in my review of China Airlines A350 on the return leg.
2 Comments
How nice to get the Queen for this flight, even if it makes the layover a bit of a pain. Fortunately, there are some lounge options to explore, but that’s a long layover even for really nice lounges!
“There are 2 Plaza Premium lounges in TPE T2 right across from each other. They are not connected so if you want to visit both, you will have to pay separately. “
- That seems poor planning. Is there any particular reason for this?
There’s not a lot to say about the flight experience since you didn’t get pics… and that is too bad, especially if it stands as the last time that aircraft operates this route. I think the few 744s left in the CI fleet aren’t long for this world, and are relegated to relatively short but high-density regional routes at this time.
I actually have a ride on one scheduled for next month, provided China Airlines doesn’t TG me.
Catering looks okay for Y, although that last breakfast looks a little sparse.
Thanks for sharing, and happy flying!
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