Cathay Pacific to reopen The Pier first class lounge

Cathay Pacific’s Hong Kong lounge portfolio will be back at full strength by the middle of the year, with The Pier First and The Wing Business lounges both set to reopen their doors.

The moves come as Cathay continues to add aircraft, boost flights and revisit destinations, with the intent of being back to 70% of pre-pandemic capacity by the end of 2023.

The Wing Business lounge will open in the next few months.

Under Cathay Pacific’s 2023 lounge roadmap The Wing Business will reopen in the coming months, complementing The Wing First in offering a full proposition at the top end of Hong Kong’s Terminal 1.

That will be followed by The Pier First around the middle of the year, expects Vivian Lo, Cathay’s General Manager for Customer Experience & Design.

“This supports our offer in terms of passenger volume,” Lo tells Executive Traveller as the airline soars once more.

The Pier First is on the way back.

In the meantime, a section of The Pier Business remains currently roped off and reserved for first class passengers, Cathay Diamond frequent flyers and their Oneworld Emerald equivalents.

Lo says these privileged passengers can enjoy first class wines and Champagnes alongside pizzas – or even mini-pizzas, for solo flyers –  from The Pier’s refreshed dining area.

The Pier Business currently has a 'first class zone' for high flyers.

“In the past this was just a pure buffet,” Lo reflects. “We've changed this proposition to freshly-made Italian delights, a ‘Little Italy’.”

“The pizza we have are all handmade and freshly baked; you also have Italian pasta and homemade soup, etc, so it’s a kind of light-hearted, deli-type Italian proposition.”

When The Pier First does return, visitors will notice a fresh take on The Pantry: that almost hidden alcove near the horseshoe-shaped bar which was stocked with a dizzyingly wide range of light snacks and treats as well as drinks.

The Pantry nook at The Pier First lounge.

The Pantry will change to what Lo describes as “a new service proposition.”

“What we've realised is that everybody that goes to The Pier First, actually almost always wants to go to the dining room.”

Almost every peckish passenger headed for The Pier First dining room.

This led to the pantry being overlooked and under-utilised, Lo explains.

One option was to transform The Pantry into a ‘grab and go’ nook for lounge pit-stoppers.

But “instead of trying to replicate a faster à la carte, I think I'll do something very different,” Lo says, “like maybe some more delicacies that are fit for afternoon tea, or maybe for your drinks… because I think it’s probably for the people that don’t want to spend time in the à la carte dining room.”