Cathay Pacific in no hurry to upgrade Hong Kong Arrivals lounge

Cathay Pacific's rolling roster of new and revamped lounges doesn't include its crowded Hong Kong Airport arrivals lounge, which has long been bursting at the seams with business travellers.

Outside from very early morning arrivals – including the overnight CX138 service from Sydney, which usually lands well before the Airport Express train begins running to the city – the lounge is often 'standing room' only, with queues and hour-long waiting lists for the eight shower suites.

Nestled in the walkway between terminals 1 and 2, the arrivals lounge is open to all inbound first class and business class passengers on Cathay Pacific flights, along with Diamond and Gold members of Cathay's Marco Polo Club and Oneworld Emerald members (including Qantas Platinum card-holders).

Space constraints at the airport are believed to be holding back the lounge's possible relocation to a larger area, with Cathay Pacific's General Manager Product, James Evans, telling Australian Business Traveller that the airline "continues to look into opportunities that will not only meet the needs of our customers but also tie in with the development plans of the airport."

The next Hong Kong lounge on Cathay's to-do list is the former Dragonair den at Gate 16, which is currently being remade in the new-look CX lounge image – including the near-mandatory noodle bar, below – ahead of an opening in mid-2017.

(And before you ask about Cathay Pacific's long-delayed new London lounges, which were due to open in August this year, Australian Business Traveller understands that the airline now hopes to cut the ribbon in December.)

David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.