Otherwise, we only have access to United Club which unfortunately is a mediocre lounge. Access is only available for those flying on Long Haul Business Class/First Class (Asia, Europe or South America). Despite flying in First Class, I had no access to Polaris Lounge (I was actually looking forward to it having missed the Polaris Lounge in Newark). Both United Club and United Polaris Lounge are located at Terminal E (hence the need to walk). It still took me about 20 to 30 minutes to clear the security.Īs Air China does not operate any lounge in Houston, your only choice is United’s lounge. There is a special line for Star Alliance Gold / Business & First Class passenger and TSA precheck that one can use, but don’t expect excellent speed. Given that it took me almost 15 minutes to get my boarding pass, I think I know the answer for the long queue. The miles required on First Class is 40,000 miles per person while Business Class requires 30,000 miles (it has since been devalued to 46,000 and 34,500 miles respectively).Īir China departs from Terminal D of George Bush International Airport – the queue at the check in counter looked quite long but I was told that there were only about 100+ passengers flying on that day. Between an international long-haul First Class vs a domestic USA First Class, the choice if very obvious.Īir China being part of Star Alliance can be redeemed using Krisflyer miles (and it can be searched directly from Singapore Airlines website). The other options would be United Airlines which uses a Boeing 737. Twice a week, Air China would have a 5 th freedom flight from Houston to Panama City operated on a Boeing 777-300ER.

This is a very new route that was launched only in April 2019.

Air china 777 300 first class