Singapore Airlines has reopened its SilverKris Lounge at Hong Kong International Airport, following a hiatus of more than three years.
This will be welcome news to Singapore Airlines (and Star Alliance) passengers, who have had to make do with the overcrowded Plaza Premium Lounge in the interim- although there’s no joy yet for those on the earliest SQ899 flight, since the initial operating hours exclude them.Â
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In fact, the lounge would have surely resumed operations earlier, if not for a renovation stint that began earlier this year. What work has been done remains to be seen (if you’re passing through soon, do give a shout out), but it’s apparently not complete yet since the showers and toilets will be initially unavailable.
Operating Hours & Location
The SilverKris Lounge at Hong Kong International Airport is located at Terminal 1, in the Main Departure Hall Level 6, near Gate 5.
Initial operating hours will be from 0930 to 1900 daily, which means it will serve passengers on:
- SQ875 (A350-900), departing at 1225
- SQ893 (A380-800), departing at 1540
- SQ895 (B777-300ER), departing at 1850
Eligible passengers on SQ899 (A350-900), which departs at 0905, will continue to use the Plaza Premium First Lounge on Level 6, near Gate 1 (open from 0630 to 0100 daily).
I visited the Plaza Premium First Lounge back in August 2018, and while I found the experience amazing, I think you’d best moderate your expectations- a lot of things have changed since then, and you shouldn’t expect the a la carte dining menu nor the peaceful tranquillity from before!
Access rules
The SilverKris Lounge in Hong Kong has separate First and Business Class sections, making this only one of four outstation lounges to do so (the others being London, Melbourne and Sydney).
Access is available to the following passengers.
First Class section
Access is available to passengers departing on a Singapore Airlines or Star Alliance flight in:
- Suites (+1 guest)
- First Class (+1 guest)
Access is available to passengers departing on a Singapore Airlines or Scoot flight in:
- Any cabin, with Solitaire PPS Club status (+1 guest)
Access while flying Scoot is a new perk for Solitaire PPS Club members, in effect since June 2023.Â
Business Class section
Access is available to passengers departing on a Singapore Airlines or Star Alliance flight in:
- Suites (+1 guest)
- First Class (+1 guest)
- Business Class
- Any cabin, with Solitaire PPS Club, PPS Club, KrisFlyer Gold or Star Gold status (+1 guest)
Access is available to passengers departing on a Singapore Airlines flight in:
- Any cabin, with Velocity Platinum or Gold (+1 guest)
- Any cabin, with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Gold
All guests must be travelling on the same flight as the eligible passenger.
It’s noteworthy that with the United Club still closed, the SilverKris Lounge will be the only Star Alliance facility currently open at Hong Kong Airport. To the extent that Star Alliance partners point their passengers here, it could result in more crowding (though if Plaza Premium is offering cheaper access, you can be sure the airlines will keep mum about this!).
Overview: SilverKris Lounge Hong Kong
We don’t know yet the extent of the renovations made to the SilverKris Lounge Hong Kong, but the 913sqm facility last received a makeover in 2014. This introduced the “Home Away From Home” design concept by Ong&Ong, now found throughout other SilverKris Lounges worldwide.Â
What the lounge lacks in natural light, it makes up for in amenities. Guests can look forward to separate dining and seating areas, a tended bar, productivity pods, and three shower suites, each featuring a rain shower, vanity area and attached toilet (still undergoing renovations, as mentioned earlier).
Inside the First Class section, you’ll find an a la carte menu with local favourites like wanton noodle soup and roast goose, as well as Singaporean classics like nasi lemak and laksa. Veuve Clicquot champagne is poured, though you’ll want to save your liver for the Krug and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne onboard.Â
The Business Class section has a more traditional buffet setup, but still serves up a variety of hot Western and Asian items, including Indonesian-style fried rice and sautéed conchiglie with vegetable and tomato sauce. There’s also a fridge full of Haagen-Dazs ice cream, and champagne is available in the form of Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut.Â
Which SilverKris Lounges are currently open?
Prior to the pandemic, Singapore Airlines had 13 overseas SilverKris Lounges. Adelaide, Kuala Lumpur and New Delhi have been permanently shuttered, and of the remainder, the following have already reopened:Â
This leaves Taipei as the only lounge yet to reopen. Incidentally, it’s also the oldest of all, never having received the Home Away From Home makeover. We do know that Singapore Airlines has plans to upgrade some of its overseas lounges, per a disclosure in its recent financial results announcement, so this could certainly be the next lounge to undergo the knife.
In any case, we already know that Singapore Airlines is planning a brand new Perth SilverKris Lounge that will open by the end of 2023, hosting 140 customers in a modernised space formerly occupied by Qantas.
More of the same, please.
Conclusion
Hong Kong flights are set to pick up during the upcoming winter season, with Singapore Airlines adding a fifth daily service on 29 October 2023, and eventually a sixth from 1 August 2024.
Having a dedicated lounge will be very welcome indeed, and eligible passengers can now enjoy the reopened SilverKris Lounge, a much superior option to the current Plaza Premium alternative. This is one of the few outstation SilverKris Lounges with a separate First Class area, which is good news for passengers in Suites and First Class (including on Star Alliance partners) as well as Solitaire PPS Club members.Â
I’m curious as to just how much renovations have been done, so if you’re passing through soon, do let us know!
Mainly Miles is reporting that nothing has been renovated at all and the showers / toilets are not opening at all!
That sounds like a mischaracterisation of what is also very poor reporting by Mainly Miles. The article says that a reader passed through the airport recently and saw that the ENTRANCE had not been renovated at all even though construction sheets at entrance had been taken down.. Since the lounge obviously had not been opened yet, such reader would have zero idea whether the INSIDE had had any renovations.
I definitely don’t care whether the entrance is renovated as much as the insides, so I’m not sure what’s the point of Mainly Miles on that.
Disappointing that the toilets have still not been fixed after 4 years. Must be some serious plumbing issues!
would you choose this over the centurion lounge?
To say the Plaza Premium lounge in Hong Kong is trash would be an insult to trash. After two business class trips with SQ post-Covid where they put us up in that joke of a lounge – the latest in early August – I’ve shifted all HK runs to Cathay. SQ’s poor response to countless complaints was to offer a measly food voucher and ONLY IF you skipped the PP lounge. The flights frankly aren’t that long so the lounge experience is vital especially if you’re after a pleasant place to finish working. The Plaza lounge had broken aircon, crowded… Read more »