Cathay plans ‘next-gen’ Hong Kong flagship lounges

Cathay Pacific is embarking on a bold transformation of the loungescape at its Hong Kong hub to create a family of “next generation flagship lounges.”

It’s a multi-year, multi-million-dollar undertaking that’ll span three phases, says Cathay Pacific’s General Manager for Customer Experience & Design, Vivian Lo.

Pulling back to the big picture, Lo describes this as “a holistic plan towards the next generation (of) flagship lounges for Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong.”

The Wing lounges will undergo a total make-over from mid-2025.

Central to this is a full renovation of The Wing lounges at the top of Terminal 1, which served as Cathay’s undisputed flagship lounges until The Pier lounges underwent a stunning transformation in 2015-2016 at the hands of feted UK designer Ilse Crawford.

Now The Wing is poised to steal back that crown.

"The future flagship First (lounge) will be amazing,” Lo promises Executive Traveller, “but will take some patience as we need to do this (renovation) step by step.” 

The Wing First is set to become Cathay's new HKG flagship lounge.

Bringing back The Bridge

Lo’s roadmap includes the return of The Bridge, which is currenrly being refreshed with furniture and other familiar elements in the same style as The Pier.

Under wraps: overlooking The Bridge lounge at Hong Kong airport, October 2024

First opened in October 2013, The Bridge is adjacent to Gates 35-36 at the end of the main spine of Terminal 1, as passengers come up from the Automated People Mover train and before the terminal splits into two piers.

As it once was: Cathay's The Bridge lounge, Hong Kong.

Cathay locked the doors of The Bridge in April 2020 at the start of the pandemic, and in August 2021 said the lounge would remain permanently closed.

As it once was: Cathay's The Bridge lounge, Hong Kong.

But its 2,560m² footprint and capacity for 450 passengers – making it around the same size as The Wing Business lounge – will be needed when The Wing First is shuttered for a makeover.

Lo confirmed to Executive Traveller that The Bridge is now slated to re-open around the middle of 2025.

“The Wing First will be closed for renovation after The Bridge re-opens,” Lo says.

“This will be in sequence as we need extra capacity for the spillover of passengers during the renovation closures… we won’t close The Wing until we have extra capacity.”

As it once was: Cathay's The Bridge lounge, Hong Kong.

The Bridge’s location is obviously less convenient than The Wing, which is perched at the very top of the terminal just after travellers pass through immigration.

After stepping off the inter-terminal train, many savvy flyers may opt to walk another five minutes to the comfort and familiarity of The Pier lounges at gates 63-65.

Visitors can expect to see many of the same hallmark pieces of furniture, and grouped together in similar ways, as at many of Cathay’s latest-look lounges.

Expect The Bridge 2.0 to look and feel more like The Pier.

This will likely keep alive The Bridge’s original impression of “a living room environment, with natural sunlight filtering through the floor to ceiling windows”, as the airline once described it.

Expect The Bridge 2.0 to look and feel more like The Pier.

The ‘northern’ wing of The Bridge originally included an opening dining room featuring a bakery turning our freshly-made bread and pizzas, to be enjoyed alongside Asian and Western soups, sandwiches, pastries and salads.

As it once was: Cathay's The Bridge lounge, Hong Kong.

This section of The Bridge also featured the iconic Long Bar, where passengers could enjoy views across the airport’s operational area, apron and runway.

As it once was: Cathay's The Bridge lounge, Hong Kong.

The ‘southern’ wing included a self-serve bistro, a Coffee Loft cafe (a concept also seen at The Wing Business lounge), nine shower suites and a business zone.

The Wing First as Cathay’s new flagship lounge

The Wing First will remain open for the first half of 2025 while Lo’s team maps out the details of how the sweeping transformation will take place.

Cathay is expected to reshape The Wing along the same lines as The Pier, providing consistency to the look and feel of all its Hong Kong lounges.

The Wing is one of Cathay's two Hong Kong flagship lounges.

“Our lounges are signature products,” Cathay Pacific’s Chief Customer & Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau has previously told Executive Traveller, with both The Wing First and The Wing Business to be upgraded in a staged process across two years.

Hopefully some hallmarks of The Wing First – such as the Champagne Lounge just beyond the entry, or the private Cabana Suites where passengers can enjoy an indulgent pre-flight soak in the oversized bath – won’t sacrificed in the process.

The Wing First's indulgent Cabana Suites.

Lo hopes The Wing First can be reopened “within a year’s time”, by mid-2026.

The Wing Business would then be shuttered shortly after, through to mid-2027, with The Bridge continuing to serve as an interim lounge for business class passengers, Cathay Gold and Oneworld Sapphire frequent flyers.

However, it’s not yet known whether The Bridge will serve only as a short-term solution during The Wingless Years or if it will remain open indefinitely to help Cathay cope with any increase in premium travellers.

The Wing’s makeover is part of Cathay’s pledge to launch three “newly-designed flagship lounges over the next three years”, with its companions being Beijing in late 2025 (which will move to a Pier-grade fitout and aesthetic) and New York in early 2026. 

Also read: Cathay Pacific locks in new A330 regional business class

David Flynn travelled to Hong Kong as a guest of Cathay Pacific