Star Alliance Lounge at Nagoya Chubu Centrair International Airport (NGO)

Star Alliance branded airport lounges remain to be a rarity, with outlets only in selected airports such as Los Angeles (LAX), Paris (CDG) and Sao Paulo (GRU). I was pleasantly surprised when I was browsing through the Priority Pass website to search for a decent-looking lounge with a shower at Nagoya’s Chubu Centrair International Airport (NGO). While I did not manage to find a partner lounge that had a shower, photos of the Star Alliance Lounge there caught my eye (in contrast, the other Priority Pass option – the KAL Lounge – looked horrible) and it ended up becoming my place of refuge as I was waiting for my flight out of Nagoya.

To get to the Star Alliance Lounge in Nagoya, you need to take the lift. From the transit area in the 3rd floor, the lounge is one level down. The elevator immediately opens up to the entrance where chirpy staff members greet passengers for registration. The reception counter itself is quite nice to look at – with warm shades and leading lines that are reminiscent of newer lounges.

The lounge itself occupies a relatively narrow but elongated space with floor-to-ceiling views of the tarmac. It was reasonably patronized during my visit as it coincided with a morning departure via Singapore Airlines – a Star Alliance member. However, I had no problems finding a place to sit.

There are various seating formats at the Star Alliance Lounge. Aside from the usual lounge chairs, there are bar stools for those looking to get some work done before their flight.

Proper dining tables are also available for those looking to have a proper meal prior to their flight.

Newspapers are available for reading. While most were Japanese titles, I was pleasantly surprised to see The Straits Times (albeit 2 days old) there.

The breakfast fare at the lounge was relatively simple. There were a couple of hot items such as spaghetti, scrambled eggs and sausages. For those looking for something really hot – three kinds of soup (the instant kind) such as corn soup, miso soup and seafood soup were also available or you could go with dependable instant noodles. For cold items, there were various maki or Japanese rice rolls and sandwiches. No pastries here except for some ring cakes.

The beverage areas in Japanese airport lounges tend to be superior to those in other countries so I was curious to see what the Star Alliance Lounge offered in this aspect. Most of the alcoholic beverages here come from Suntory – from the beer on tap to the premium whisky bottles beside it.

Most airport lounges these days have done away with business centers so I was pleasantly surprised to still find a PC and printing station at this lounge.

Visually, this was one of the more appealing Priority Pass lounges I have visited. The food may not be anything to shout about but it’s adequate for a 2-hour rest prior to a flight.

Lounge opening hours: 07:00 to 18:30 daily