Cathay Pacific is set to reopen five lounges by the end of the first quarter of 2023. Cathay Pacific stepped on the gas to restore its business as Hong Kong’s borders opened. This airline activates transit spaces for its passengers in addition to reopening its flight routes.
Cathay Pacific’s flagship lounge in Hong Kong, The Deck, reopened this month. Located in Terminal 1, close to Gate 6, The Deck added a number of new menu items to the Noodle Bar to commemorate its grand opening.
The airline is also gradually reopening its more remote lounges; its lounge at Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT) will reopen this month in new premises near gate 71, with double the space and seating of its previous lounge. Guests can enjoy traditional Japanese dishes such as sushi, grilled fish, miso soup, and curry with rice, as well as artwork from Japanese studios Belle Fleur and Arita Porcelain Lab.
This month, Cathay will also reopen its lounge at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), followed by the lounge at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport in March. A month later, the lounge at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport will reopen. These two lounges were renovated after they were closed due to the pandemic.
Cathay Pacific will reopen its lounges in Beijing (PEK), San Francisco (SFO), Taipei (TPE), and Vancouver (YVR) throughout the rest of the year.
Hong Kong International Airport (HKG)
Cathay Pacific is reopening its business-class lounge, “The Deck,” at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), three years after being closed due to pandemic travel restrictions. Since February 6, Cathay Pacific and its Oneworld partner airlines business-class passengers have had access to the luxurious lounge near gate 6 in Terminal 1. It is open daily from 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.
Guests at The Deck can choose from leather loungers and comfortable sofas in a living room-style area or more casual seating on the Deck’s namesake, an L-shaped terrace with panoramic views of the airport’s runways. The Deck has eight showers stocked with Aesop toiletries for those looking to freshen up before their next flight.
Cathay Pacific is also revamping the lounge’s Noodle Bar menu to commemorate the reopening. New menu items include Hong Kong fish ball rice noodle soup, poached Chinese vegetables, and Chinese soup, as well as old favourites like wonton noodle soup, Dan Dan Mien, and dim sum. The Food Hall offers an international buffet with self-service options.
The Deck has not been open to the public since February 17, 2020, when Cathay Pacific closed all lounges in Hong Kong due to a coronavirus pandemic. The lounges were closed for nearly three years as Hong Kong maintained some of the strictest travel restrictions in the world, including with mainland China.
Cathay Pacific is reopening the lounges in anticipation of a surge in traveller numbers. By the end of 2023, the Hong Kong flag carrier plans to operate at roughly 70% of pre-pandemic passenger capacity, intending to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024.
Tokyo Narita Airport
Cathay Pacific has opened a new, larger lounge at Tokyo Narita International Airport. In addition, the space will be given a “new-look lounge” makeover to match its Tokyo Haneda counterpart. Frequent Narita passengers will appreciate the larger space, which can accommodate 265 passengers across its 1235 m2 (13,300 ft2) footprint, as well as the panoramic views of the airfield provided by oversized windows that also allow natural light to fill the space.
The lounge’s location in Terminal 2 near gate 71 is also convenient for security and many Oneworld member airlines’ departure gates. Cathay advises that it is open daily from 7.30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with access for business class passengers and top-tier Cathay and Oneworld frequent flyers.
The Tokyo Narita lounge will eventually be given a glamorous makeover to match the contemporary look of other Cathay lounges, including its Haneda sibling, where the Ilse Crawford-styled template debuted in December 2014. Like all Cathay Pacific business-class lounges, Narita is set to get a trendy Noodle Bar.
Changi International Airport
Cathay Pacific will open the doors to its Singapore Changi T4 lounge in February as it rebuilds its lounge network. The lounge will be open from 7 a.m. to 1:25 a.m., keeping with the airline’s spread-out flight schedule on the busy Singapore-Hong Kong route.
This means that business class passengers, lounge-eligible Cathay Pacific Silver, Gold, and Diamond members, and their Oneworld Sapphire and Emerald counterparts will no longer be routed to Terminal 4’s subpar Blossom Lounge. Instead, they’ll be able to relax in the comfortable dining room of this boutique lounge and enjoy Cathay’s signature Noodle Bar.
Cathay’s Singapore lounge, like The Pier in Hong Kong and other lounges at Tokyo Haneda, Taiwan, Bangkok, Manila, London Heathrow, and Vancouver, is based on the same elegant template created by English designer Ilse Crawford and her StudioIlse team.
This results in a strongly residential vibe, albeit with the most upscale materials such as walnut and cherrywood, limestone, bronze, and brass, all of which add warmth, class, and a sense of calm to the space.
Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport and Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Cathay Pacific’s Bangkok lounge will reopen in March, followed by Manila in April. Cathay Pacific’s lounges in Bangkok and Manila follow the same elegant template created by English designer Ilse Crawford with her StudioIlse team.
Both lounges are relatively small, with seating for around 140 people. The Ilse Crawford design is rooted in a strong residential aesthetic, such as furniture and lighting; the vibe is more ‘living room’ than ‘airport lounge,’ and warm, earthy materials such as cherrywood wall panelling and limestone flooring are used.
The open space is divided into distinct sections, with Cathay’s signature Noodle Bar serving as a focal point. Access to the Cathay Pacific Bangkok and Manila lounges is available to business class passengers, Cathay Silver, Gold, and Diamond members, and their Oneworld Sapphire and Emerald counterparts.
Luxury knows no limits. Airport lounges provide various amenities for passengers, ranging from fine dining to a place to relax before your flight.
So, what are your favourite airport lounges? Do you think the reopening of these crucial Cathay lounges shows we’re coming out of the Covid slump? Let us know in the comments!
