Booking The Trip: A (slightly crazier) Southeast Asian Path to India
Review: P.F Changs LAX (Priority Pass Restaurant)
Review: EVA Air 777-300ER Premium Economy Class Los Angeles to Taipei
Review: Plaza Premium Lounge Taipei Terminal 2 Zone A
Review: UNI Air A321-200 Economy Class Taipei to Seoul Incheon
Review: The Millenium Seoul Hilton
Trip Photos: A Day and a Half in Seoul
Review: Korean Air First Class Lounge Seoul Incheon
Review: Korean Air 777-300ER Kosmos Suites First Class Seoul Incheon to Bangkok
Review: Le Meridien Suvarnabhumi Bangkok Golf Resort & Spa
Review: Cathay Pacific Lounge Bangkok
Review: Miracle Business Class Lounge Concourse G Bangkok
Review: Malaysia Airlines 737-800 Business Class Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur
Review: Malaysia Airlines Satellite Golden Business Class Lounge Kuala Lumpur
Review: Kuala Lumpur A330-300 Business Class Kuala Lumpur to Mumbai
Review: SpiceJet 737-900ER SpiceMax Pune to Goa
Review: Air India A321-200 Economy Class Goa to Mumbai
Review: Air India A320Neo Economy Class Mumbai to Bengaluru
Review: Air India A319-100 Economy Class Bengaluru to Mumbai
Review: GVK International Business Class Lounge West Wing Mumbai
Review: Singapore Airlines 777-300ER Business Class Mumbai to Singapore
Review: Crowne Plaza Hotel Singapore
Trip Photos: 8 hours in Singapore
Review: Singapore Airlines A380-800 NEW Business Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Review: Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class Lounge Hong Kong
Review: United Club Lounge Hong Kong
Review: Thai Airways Royal Orchid Lounge Hong Kong
Review: Hong Kong Airlines Club Bauhinia Lounge Hong Kong
Review: EVA Air A330-300 Premium Laurel Class Hong Kong to Taipei
Review: EVA Air 777-300ER Premium Economy Class Taipei to Los Angeles
YOUTUBE: EVA Air: Los Angeles to Taipei
YOUTUBE: UNI Air: Taipei to Seoul Incheon
YOUTUBE: Korean Air: Seoul Incheon to Bangkok
YOUTUBE: Malaysian Airlines: Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur
YOUTUBE: Malaysian Airlines: Kuala Lumpur to Mumbai
YOUTUBE: SpiceJet: Pune to Goa
YOUTUBE: Air India: Goa to Mumbai
YOUTUBE: Air India: Mumbai to Bengaluru
YOUTUBE: Air India: Bengaluru to Mumbai
YOUTUBE: Singapore Airlines: Mumbai to Singapore
YOUTUBE: Singapore Airlines: Singapore to Hong Kong
YOUTUBE: EVA Air: Hong Kong to Taipei
YOUTUBE: EVA Air: Taipei to Los Angeles
UNI Air is not a part of star alliance, even though its merely a regional subsidiary of EVA Air, so no Star Alliance lounge will be allowed in any form, even with status. Thankfully we have priority pass and can use one of the Plaza Premium Lounges at the terminal.
Here’s how you can access this lounge:
- You can use a Priority Pass Membership to bring you in along with any guests as per your priority pass visits allowance
- Pay at the entrance on a per hour basis
- If any airlines contract out their premium cabin passengers here that I wouldn’t know about (in this case, you’d find out at the check-in counter)
To get to this lounge, there’s signage throughout the airport directing you do the “VIP Lounges” area. It’s one floor above the rest of the departures area. I walked by the EVA lounges (Garden, infinity, etc) with a sad face knowing I couldn’t enter since UNI isn’t star alliance, but then the Plaza Premium lounge became visible with huge signage.
There are two Plaza premium lounges around the same area. The one with visibly bigger signage is the Zone A lounge and where I will be.
After getting admitted by the counter, there was some seating outside the lounge itself which was a first for me.
But the second you enter, it was a madhouse. The lounge was very crowded and finding a seat without any gaps proved to be difficult.
Immediately to the left after entering the lounge you’ll find a magazine rack along with a departure board.
There were some more dining tables in a booth style along the sides which, of course, were full as well.
It was so hard to even get a picture without it being obstructed by people. But along the right side you’ll find a selection of beverages, starting with a coffee machine.
Then there were some containers with chilled orange juice and milk.
Then there was a machine that dispenses just water, but at many different temeperature settings. So you could have normal temperature water, or slightly warm water, or hot water for tea perhaps. There were even tea bags available right beside the water machine.
Behind all the drinks was a counter I’m sure you could see. Here you could order these items for consumption if you wish as well.
Even the far end of the main room was crowded, but now in the back was where the buffet was.
First there were some nuts and cookies.
Then there was a box of breads along with some spreads to the right, and more snacks to the left.
Naturally, where you find bread, there was also a toaster there.
There was a chiiled foods section which contained salads, cheese, vegetables, chilled pastas, etc.
Then they had a couple of hot dishes.
For those wondering where the rest of the drinks were, they are in a fridge right next to the hot foods. They also had some light dessert items here.
And on top of that was a trolley with some wines and the wifi network & password. Spoiler: The password was “myairportmoment”.
But this wasn’t the only section of the lounge; there was some more.
There was a walkway (actually there are two) that lead to another seating room on the right for general seating, and to the left for reserved seating.
The reserved seats were all empty as no one was occupying them.
There were about 5 of these reserved sections, all on the left side facing the wall.
The other open seating room was crowded. Really crowded. If you see an open seat, its most certainly occupied and the person sitting there was just somewhere else in the lounge.
Here are a couple of the other privacy rooms that I walked by.
My seat was in that second room which was also crowded and I had two people sitting next to me.
The power ports were international standard and you had two USB ports for each seat which was nice.
There was some signage beyond the seating areas leading to the bathrooms and showering areas.
There was another long hallway down which there were private sleeping rooms which could be booked at the counter.
I didn’t want to open them since I wasn’t sure how to tell if one was occupied or not, but if its like any other private room, expect a bed, some kind of side stand with charging ports and a decent amount of walking space.
The men and women’s restroom was in the same place around the corner from the long hall.
The bathrooms were fairly clean and nice too.
There was also a baby changing room which was a nice addition.
And here is a look at the same hallway but in the opposite direction leading back to the main part of the lounge.
Overall, it was your standard plaza premium lounge, though it was incredibly crowded during the time that I was there. It was hard to find seating. The food selection wasn’t that bad for a plaza premium lounge, though I wouldn’t exactly call the food high quality. The made to order counter was a nice touch, and the beverage selection was decent for 6 AM. Overall, the lounge itself and the amenities it provides is decent enough, however, the crowding was ridiculous. I wish the lounge would send more passengers over to the other plaza premium lounge nearby if this one became too full. Honestly, even if I were among the ones sent to the other lounge, I wouldn’t be mad but this was too much.
If I’m traveling on a star alliance next time out of Taipei, you certainly won’t find me here, but if I end up on something like UNI that isn’t a member of Star Alliance even though it’s parent airline is, then I would have to consider if I’d even come here or just hang around in the terminal depending on the layover time and time of day.