Hong Kong transit - which Cathay Pacific lounge to visit?

16 replies

Lach77

Member since 05 Sep 2016

Total posts 7

I have 1.5 hour transit in HK, flying CX and QFF Plat. 
Any suggestions for lounges in that time would be great!


sid

Member since 07 Jan 2011

Total posts 204

sanj747

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 01 Nov 2016

Total posts 146

Yep agree with Sid.

ausJCP

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 28 Aug 2014

Total posts 132

Absolutely agree that Pier First Class is the go to, they offer an incredible menu, drinks, nap suites, beautiful shower suites, and massage.

BUT...

If you've never had an actual bath at an airport, I recommend going to the Wing First Class and asking for a cabana suite. It's an experience not to be missed (and they'll iron your clothes while you relax). Lounge food / drink comes and goes, but soaking in a tub before your flight? That's a rarity...!

blingwad

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 04 Jun 2015

Total posts 74

I'd leave it till the day and you see your gate number. I agree the Pier is the best, but only marginally in my opinion. The food is more extensive but the Wing restaurant is still good.

David

Member since 24 Oct 2010

Total posts 1,016

Time to do some maths: 90 minutes in transit means 90 minutes between flights, and allowing for boarding your onwards flight 30 minutes before take-off trims your transit time to 60 minutes. You can also allow 10-15 minutes from leaving your inbound flight and doing the actual transit from arrivals to get back up to the departures level; then maybe five more to get to the lounge. So now you're looking at 40 minutes of actual lounge time, and that's not allowing time from the lounge to your departure gate.


So, while knowing which lounges you'd like to visit is a good idea, I think the choice will be driven more by the location of your departure gate (and to some extent your arrivals gate) – if your inbound flight arrives at the 'top end' of the terminal and your outwards flight also departs from the 'top end' gates, 1 through to 20s, then The Wing First Class will be your likely go-to, because you really won't have time to comfortably shlep down to The Pier and then come all the way back again (for that, count a 20 minute round-trip, so you have barely 20 minutes to enjoy the lounge!)

Of course, a flight departing from the 'bottom end' of the airport is perfect for The Pier!

I'd suggest you browse this article on speeding your transit at HKG, by making use of the not-always-obvious secondary transit points:
https://www.ausbt.com.au/fast-track-your-transit-at-hong-kong-airport


Also, on arrival at HKG, check the departure gate of your outbound flight (the HKG airport app could help here, if it's a Cathay flight you can ask the CX cabin crew prior to landing and they may be able to check, otherwise just check the departures board in the terminal) and note which CX lounge is closest.


Let us know how you go!

Last editedby David at May 29, 2018, 10:30 PM.

Libertyscott

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 19 Aug 2011

Total posts 19

Agree with all of the above, plus consider time of day.
The differences in food between the Wing F and the Pier F are lesser over breakfast. The Pier F is easily better than the Wing F, but if your connecting gate is a low number then you have a good 15 minute walk from the Pier to the lower gates. The one good thing about the Wing F is the cabana baths, but you are likely to have to wait for them. See this map, it isn't up to date (the Cabin is closed and the Deck is now located near Gate 17, but you needn't be concerned about those) but gives you an indication of relative locations. Personally with that amount of time, I'd probably go to The Pier, unless I arrived at a gate number lower than 25 and was connecting to another in that area. There is a transit train to take you from the main terminal entrance to roughly where The Bridge lounge is, which speeds up your trip to The Pier too. http://www.travelcodex.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Cathay-Pacific-lounge-map-Hong-Kong.png

David

Member since 24 Oct 2010

Total posts 1,016

One other plus for The Wing First Class over The Pier First Class is that The Wing dining room has quite a good buffet spread in addition to the à la carte menu, whereas The Pier is pretty much menu-only.

Lach77

Member since 05 Sep 2016

Total posts 7

Plenty of options.

Flying in from Melb (CX134) before connecting through to Vancouver (CX838) if that helps...

lionelhutz

Member since 20 Jun 2014

Total posts 38

Definitely the Pier First. The restaurant is fantastic. If you are travelling next Wednesday, I'll be on CX134 with you and also transiting, you can guest me in if you'd like...

CBR boy

Member since 12 Feb 2015

Total posts 61

Checked FlightAware for CX838 departures over the last fortnight. More often high gate numbers, but on five of 14 occasions it was low numbers, including gates 1 and 16, at The Wing end. A matter of luck, it seems. FlightAware doesn't give CX134 arrival gates. Guess you could try CX or HKG airport websites for that.

David

Member since 24 Oct 2010

Total posts 1,016

Smart thinking, CBR Boy! I've done the same with some previous CX flights, trying to plan my transit + lounge strategy in advance, and reached the same conclusion: it's hard to accurately estimate the gate allocation, at most you can have a best guess but in the end it can and will depend entirely on the day.

Nick Sydney 2

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 22 Jul 2015

Total posts 83

HK is one mighty big airport. Last week I had a long layover and started with the CX Pier and then out of loyalty also QF HK. No shortage of great lounges but it's a tight turnaround you have so stick to the one closest to your outbound gate. Enjoy!

gpr49697

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 18 Jul 2016

Total posts 1

Ive enjoyed the beef burger at the pier but had amazing lamb cutlets at the wing. whatever u do don't waste time in QF lounge.

Dr Al

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 07 Mar 2017

Total posts 34

Pier F is best for a la crate dining, and has a newer style. Has massage, but you have little/no chance of securing one in your 4 0 minutes there. Has Aesop products in its showers.


Wing F has a nice Champagne bar, the option for a bath, but no Aesop products and the restaurant has both a la carte and buffet.

If you want to eat and shower - Pier
If you fancy a nice champagne and soak in the tub - Wing.

In the end your gate is likely to dictate.

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