{"schema_version":1,"citation_url":"https://www.loungefrog.com/news/star-alliance-paris-cdg-lounge-skytrax-2026","title":"Star Alliance's Paris-CDG lounge wins Skytrax's alliance lounge award for a third year","description":"The 1,300-square-meter lounge in Terminal 1 has held the title since it opened in 2023. Here's what's inside, who can use it, and why it matters if you connect through Paris on United, Lufthansa or Air Canada.","author":"Patrick Karsh","publisher":"Lounge Frog","date_published":"2026-10-06T20:38:26.695898Z","date_modified":"2026-10-14T23:43:03.291263Z","body_markdown":"The Star Alliance lounge at Paris-Charles de Gaulle has been named the World's Best Airline Alliance Lounge at the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards. It's the third year in a row the lounge has won, which covers every year since it opened in October 2023, according to [the Lufthansa Group's Sept. 21 announcement](https://newsroom.lufthansagroup.com/en/star-alliance-paris-charles-de-gaulle-lounge-retains-skytrax-worlds-best-airline-alliance-lounge-title/). The Star Alliance lounge at Los Angeles took second place, giving the alliance both top spots. The award was presented at a ceremony at The Langham hotel in London.\n\n![The Star Alliance Lounge in Terminal 1 at Paris-Charles de Gaulle](https://pub-fac99da959e344fe99d810d309cef7df.r2.dev/photos/article/7e8535fc-dacd-4c5b-9682-4e1f306dc262/ba02d329d7d06ff0306f2547bbaad05b.jpg)\n\n## What's there\n\nThe lounge is in Terminal 1, where most Star Alliance airlines operate at CDG. It covers 1,300 square meters, with views over the runway. Star Alliance says the design is contemporary with French touches, and the standout features are a dedicated welcome bar at the entrance and a wine section the alliance describes as immersive and inspired by French wine culture.\n\nThe alliance's [opening announcement in 2023](https://newsroom.lufthansagroup.com/en/star-alliance-opens-new-lounge-at-paris-charles-de-gaulle-airport/) fills in the rest. The lounge holds more than 300 guests and was designed by Gensler, the firm behind the Los Angeles lounge. The wine bar is curated by winemaker Gérard Bertrand and leans on the south of France. There is a tea salon, private work cabins, shower suites, a winter garden and an outdoor courtyard. It was the alliance's seventh branded lounge worldwide, and its second at CDG.\n\n![The welcome bar at the Star Alliance Lounge, Paris-CDG Terminal 1](https://pub-fac99da959e344fe99d810d309cef7df.r2.dev/photos/article/7e8535fc-dacd-4c5b-9682-4e1f306dc262/7ffd7adaf8a18e812ad8c6e99ca76624.jpg)\n![Seating inside the Star Alliance Lounge at Paris-CDG](https://pub-fac99da959e344fe99d810d309cef7df.r2.dev/photos/article/7e8535fc-dacd-4c5b-9682-4e1f306dc262/ddd17847ae67b6e9437e78fb0cc54e40.jpg)\n\nOur directory lists the two CDG lounges separately. The award winner is the [non-Schengen lounge](/lounges/cdg-star-alliance-lounge-t1), airside after passport control, serving gates 10 to 38, with four showers and a 4.5 rating. The older [Schengen lounge](/lounges/cdg-star-alliance-lounge-t1-schengen) is on level 10 of the terminal's central building, landside, and since 2023 has served Schengen departures from gates 50 to 78. It was refurbished in 2019, has two showers and an outdoor patio, and rates 4.7, one of the better scores in our Paris listings.\n\n## Who can get in\n\nThis is an alliance lounge, so the rules are the alliance's. Star Alliance Gold members get in when flying any Star Alliance carrier the same day, with one guest, as do passengers in first and business class on Star Alliance flights. The 2023 announcement adds eligible United Club and [Air Canada](/airlines/ac) Maple Leaf Club members, which our directory records on the non-Schengen listing as United Club All Access members and Maple Leaf Club members flying Star Alliance. See our [Star Alliance Gold](/programs/star-alliance-lounge-access) and [United Club](/programs/united-club) pages for the fine print.\n\nTwenty-one Star Alliance airlines fly to Paris, running more than 800 flights a week to over 30 destinations in more than 20 countries. For most travelers reading this, the relevant ones are United, Air Canada, [Lufthansa](/airlines/lh), Swiss, Austrian, Turkish, Singapore and [Air China](/airlines/ca). Check your departure gate: the non-Schengen lounge serves gates 10 to 38, and anything else means the landside lounge.\n\n## Why it matters at CDG\n\nTerminal 1 is the circular original terminal at CDG, and for years its lounge options lagged behind what [Air France](/airlines/af) offers in Terminal 2E. Star Alliance had a lounge here before 2023, but it was landside, before security, which is awkward for a connecting passenger. The 2023 lounge put a large alliance space airside for the first time.\n\nA single shared lounge also solves a practical problem for a terminal that handles so many different airlines. Instead of each carrier running a small space for its own flights, the alliance runs one large one with consistent hours and staffing. Our directory lists Star Alliance lounges in [Los Angeles](/lounges/lax-star-alliance-lounge), [Rio de Janeiro](/lounges/gig-star-alliance-lounge), [Buenos Aires](/lounges/eze-star-alliance-lounge) and [Amsterdam](/lounges/ams-star-alliance-lounge-27), and Paris is now the most decorated of them.\n\n## How I see the comparison\n\nThe Los Angeles lounge, which placed second, has eight showers to Paris's four, and our users rate it 4.5, level with the Paris non-Schengen lounge. Paris wins on polish and on the wine. The welcome bar is a small touch that most lounges don't bother with, and the wine section leans into the location in a way the alliance's other lounges don't.\n\nAgainst Air France's own lounges in Terminal 2E, the comparison is less useful than it looks. For a Star Alliance passenger, those aren't options. Within Terminal 1, this lounge is the clear best choice.\n\nManaging director Virginie Auriol said seeing the lounge \"recognized by travelers for a third consecutive year is incredibly rewarding.\" Star Alliance vice president Ambar Franco credited the member airlines and the lounge's partners for the result, and Skytrax chief executive Edward Plaisted noted the alliance's two-for-two finish.\n\n## Tips if you're connecting\n\nParis connections on Star Alliance airlines usually mean Terminal 1, and Terminal 1 means a security re-check if you're arriving from another terminal. Budget time for that before heading to the lounge.\n\nIf you're flying to the U.S., Canada, the U.K. or anywhere else outside Schengen from gates 10 to 38, you'll clear passport control first and then reach the award-winning lounge; our listing's directions send you up a lift from the duty-free zone near the YSL store. If your onward flight is within the Schengen area, the landside lounge is your option, and you'll need to allow time to get through security to your satellite afterward.\n\nOur listings don't yet hold opening hours for either lounge. Check the [Star Alliance lounge page](https://www.staralliance.com/en/star-lounge/cdg) before an unusually early or late connection, and see [all lounges at CDG](/airports/cdg).\n\n## Related reading\n\n- [Air France La Première wins Skytrax's World's Best First Class award](/news/air-france-la-premiere-worlds-best-first-class-skytrax-2026)\n- [Lufthansa Wins TAP: What Portugal's Airline Deal Means for Star Alliance Flyers](/news/lufthansa-wins-tap-air-portugal-stake)\n- [The 4 best Star Alliance Lounges, ranked: 2026](/news/star-alliance-lounges-ranked-2026)","link_base":"https://www.loungefrog.com/news/star-alliance-paris-cdg-lounge-skytrax-2026","citation_guidance":"Cite citation_url. 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