Review: Cathay Pacific The Wing business class lounge, Hong Kong
What to expect from one of Cathay’s flagship business class lounges at Hong Kong.
By David Flynn, June 2 2023
Country
China - Hong Kong
City
Hong Kong
Airport
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA)
Alliance
oneworld
Airline
Cathay Pacific
Cabin-class
Business
Notes
The Good
- The Noodle Bar
- The Long Bar
The Bad
- No showers
- Gets very busy and very crowded
X-Factor
- Made-to-order food with bartender service
Introduction
Cathay Pacific’s The Wing Business at Hong Kong airport is one of the airline’s two flagship business class lounges – the other being The Pier Business, located at the other end of HKG Terminal 1.
If you’re jetting out of Hong Kong in business class with Cathay Pacific or one of its Oneworld partner airlines (including British Airways, Finnair, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways and Qantas), or hold Oneworld Sapphire status, and your flight departs from the low-numbered gates at the top end of T1, The Wing Business is likely to be on your lounge list.
Alternatives include Cathay’s The Deck and the Qantas Hong Kong Lounge, both located at the other side of T1 near gates 5-9 – but if you’re checking in at the Cathay Pacific counters then The Wing Business is the most convenient.
Cathay Pacific's The Wing Business lounge.
Location & Impressions
Once through passport control at T1’s south departures zone (closest to the Cathay check-in counters), head downstairs and follow the signs to Gates 1-4: you'll spot The Wing Business on your left as you approach those gates.
Cathay Pacific's The Wing Business lounge is a go-to for business class flyers.
The Wing Business lounge’s layout may initially befuddle visitors: while the reception desk is on the same ground floor as the departure gates, you head upstairs to enter the lounge proper.
All the action is upstairs at Cathay Pacific's The Wing Business lounge.
That’s because The Wing Business was initially split across two levels, with the ‘downstairs’ area containing 24 private shower suites and an ‘IT Zone’ for working.
However, that space has been since been handed back to the Hong Kong airport operators – and yes, this means The Wing Business no longer has any showers. More on that later…
As a result, upstairs is where it’s all happening at The Wing Business, and for most of the day and night there’s a lot happening here.
Cathay Pacific's The Wing Business lounge.
This can be an exceptionally busy lounge, so your first order of business should be to grab a seat.
One of the comfortable banquette nooks at Cathay Pacific's The Wing Business lounge.
Thankfully there are plenty of options in that department, from comfortable armchairs to banquette nooks, padded stools for perching at The Long Bar and somewhat-cramped ‘personal workstation’ booths – and that’s without even considering the benches and booths in The Noodle Bar dining area.
The Long Bar at Cathay Pacific's The Wing Business lounge.
The Wing Business also tends to be on the noisier side due to the predominance of ‘hard’ materials on floor, walls and even the low marble-clad tables, compared to the ‘softer’ design of The Pier lounges.
Just about every one of these seats will be filled during peak travel periods at Cathay Pacific's The Wing Business lounge.
Access
The Wing Business is open to a very wide range of travellers:
- Business class and first class passengers of Cathay Pacific and its Oneworld partners
- Cathay Silver, Gold and Diamond members
- Oneworld Sapphire and Oneworld Emerald members (such as BA Silver & Gold, Qantas Gold & Platinum etc)
- Cathay Lounge Pass holders
Also on that list are eligible travellers on partner airlines beyond the Oneworld alliance, such as Air New Zealand flights from Hong Kong (in which case, this covers business class passengers plus Airpoints Elite and Gold frequent flyers).
Dining
The Wing Business has three main dining areas.
The Noodle Bar at Cathay Pacific's The Wing Business lounge.
The Noodle Bar is the main drawcard, with freshly-prepared dim sum such as steaming pork, chicken or red bean paste bao buns along with staples like classic wonton noodles (with prawn and pork dumplings) and the slightly spicier Shanghainese-style dan dan mien noodles with peanut sauce.
The Noodle Bar at Cathay Pacific's The Wing Business lounge.
Place your order, grab a small puck-like buzzer and get ready to enjoy some great noodles.
The Noodle Bar offers pre-flight delights at Cathay Pacific's The Wing Business lounge.
Off to the side of the noodle bar itself is a small self-serve spread of hot dishes from Fukien fried rice (with roast duck, chicken, shrimp and vegetables) to pork ribs with dark vinegar, sui mai and vegetable dumplings.
The self-serve selection at The Noodle Bar dining area of Cathay Pacific's The Wing Business lounge.
A more extensive buffet with hot and cold dishes, sandwiches, wraps and desserts can be found in the main part of the lounge.
The self-serve buffet in the main part of Cathay Pacific's The Wing Business lounge.
The self-serve buffet in the main part of Cathay Pacific's The Wing Business lounge.
Tucked away behind The Long Bar and overlooking gate 4 is The Coffee Loft, an ‘outdoor’ terrace with barista-pulled coffee plus cafe-style snacks and treats (sadly, The Coffee Loft was closed when Executive Traveller visited The Wing Business lounge in May 2023).
The Coffee Loft at Cathay Pacific's The Wing business class lounge.
Work
Fast free-flowing WiFi is pretty much a given for any airport lounge, and that includes Cathay’s (password-protected) network here.
While there’s no longer a dedicated working area downstairs, The Wing Business has a clutch of bespoke ‘Solus’ chairs which are like a personal workstation wrapped in curved privacy shells.
The 'Solus' workstation booths at Cathay Pacific's The Wing Business lounge.
Each of these has its own AC outlet (but not a USB port) next to a table where you can comfortably park a small laptop, or sit with your phone or tablet recharging while you do likewise with a drink or a snack.
However, some travellers find sitting in a Solus station to be on the squeezy side.
Relax
There’s no dedicated ‘quiet zone’ in The Wing Business, and with the downstairs area now taken back by the airport authority there aren’t any showers.
If you want to freshen up before your flight, head over to Cathay’s The Deck (which has eight shower suites) or the adjacent Qantas Hong Kong Lounge (with 12 shower suites).
Summary
While The Wing Business has lost a little of its edge over time, and now sits behind The Pier Business as Cathay’s best business class lounge in Hong Kong, it’s still a solid choice if your flight is leaving from the nearby gates.
Are you headed to Hong Kong? Here’s how your Australian passport can be used to skip the immigration queues at Hong Kong Airport via the automated e-Channel lanes.
QFF
12 Apr 2013
Total posts 1559
THE Piers is THE best anyway :-))) IMHO it is definitely worth walking if you need to.
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
12 Apr 2017
Total posts 207
I visited both The Wing and The Pier a couple of days ago (June 23), I stopped for coffee only in the Wing and moved on very quickly to the much better Pier for most of my time. Good as The Pier is, the newly opened Qantas lounge matches it, maybe even beats it as the lighting and the atmosphere is better. Much quieter with food which is as good. However the Qantas lounge is not open in the morning.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on Cathay Pacific The Wing business class lounge, Hong Kong