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Old Oct 29, 2013, 2:12 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: littlevoices
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Lounge Admittance Policy and Guest Admittance Policy
Please see this link for details of lounge admittance for:
  • Marco Polo Members
  • Oneworld status holders
  • Business and First Class Passengers
  • People not flying Cathay Pacific or Dragonair
  • Guests


The following FAQs are addressed below:
  • What lounges does Cathay Pacific operate at HKIA (aka “what are my choices”)?
    • Which departures lounge should I use?
      • I am not a Marco Polo Club member. I am not travelling on a Cathay Pacific or Dragonair flight. Can I use one of the lounges?
        • I am arriving off CX First Class and connecting to a CX or KA flight in Business Class. Can I access the First Class lounge during my transit?
          • Can I visit multiple lounges?
            • Do operational-upgrades (op-ups) come with upgraded lounge benefits?
              • Do mile-upgraded (award) tickets come with lounge benefits?
                • What if I want to meet up with fellow FlyerTalkers in CX lounges?
                  • Transiting through HKG and getting to the lounges
                    • Is it possible to visit airside lounges during a transit and then exit the airport?





What lounges does Cathay Pacific operate at HKIA (aka “what are my choices”)?
Cathay Pacific (together with subsidiary Dragonair) operate the following lounges at Hong Kong:

Departure lounges:
  • The Wing - First Class
  • The Wing - Business Class
  • The Pier - First Class
  • The Pier - Business Class
  • The Cabin - Business Class - Closed as of 1 May 2018
  • The Bridge - Business Class
  • The Deck - Business Class

All departure lounges are airside and are only accessible by passengers who have an onward boarding pass and who have cleared security and passport control.


Which departures lounge should I use?
Depending on your access entitlement, you can use any lounge in the terminal. You should check how long it takes to get to your departure gate from the lounge you choose

Food
  • The Wing - F Class, there is a buffet restaurant, and an a-la-carte menu, and a Champagne bar.
  • The Wing - J Class, there is a new Coffee Loft concept offering freshly brewed coffee and freshly baked pastries. Compared to The Pier, there is also a wider selection of savoury foods.
  • The Pier - F Class has an a la carte restaurant, and no buffet. It is the newest of the lounges, and the most up to date in Cathay's service offering.
  • The Cabin has The Deli and the Health Bar which offer made-to-order hot sandwiches and antipasti, and fresh juices. There is also a small western and Asian food buffet. There is no separate F class dining or seating at The Cabin. The Cabin is permanently closed.
  • The Bridge features The Bakery, which offers freshly baked bread and pizzas, as well as sandwiches, pastries, Asian and Western soups, and fresh salads. There is no separate F class dining or seating at The Bridge.
    F Class Lounge Menus: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/catha...nge-menus.html

For details of what facilities are offered in each lounge, please refer to the links on the Cathay Pacific/Dragonair websites:

Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Airport Lounges


AusBT reviews of new CX lounges:
The Wing Business Class Review
The Wing First Class Review
The Bridge
The Pier First Class
The New Pier Business Class lounge



Discussion on CX Lounges World Wide:
New - The Bridge
The Wing - The Best Oneworld Business Lounge in the network?
Review of new F wing
Cathay Pacific – Chicago (ORD) Lounge
New CX lounge in SFO???
The New Pier First and Business Class lounges
The New Pier Business Class Lounge
London Heathrow lounge experience
The Deck



I am not a Marco Polo Club member. I am not travelling on a Cathay Pacific or Dragonair flight. Can I use one of the lounges?

Please see the above section which include details on Admittance policies.

The following can access Cathay Pacific lounges to the extent as detailed in the above admittance policy:
  • First and Business Class passengers flying oneworld marketed and operated flights, class of lounge depending on class of travel
  • Oneworld Sapphire members (including Marco Polo Gold members) departing on a oneworld marketed and operated flight, J lounges
  • Oneworld Emerald members (including Marco Polo Diamond members) departing on a oneworld marketed and operated flight, F or J lounges
  • Marco Polo Silver members departing on a Cathay Pacific or Cathay Dragon marketed and operated flight, J lounges (any lounge provided by CX to J passengers except for JFK, where SL members are directed to the Admiral's Club when it is open)
  • Marco Polo Silver, Gold, and Diamond members departing on a Cathay Pacific or Cathay Dragon marketed flight operated by another carrier, class of lounge depending on status, for Cathay Pacific-owned lounges only, if physically accessible and open.

If you do not fall into any of these categories you are out of luck (or you can be guested in).


I am arriving off CX First Class and connecting to a CX or KA flight in Business Class. Can I access the First Class lounge during my transit?
Yes. You will be issued with two lounge invitations when you check in for your flight, one for use at your outport and one for use in Hong Kong. Your Hong Kong lounge invitation will clearly display an invitation to "The Wing/Pier/Cabin/G16 Lounge - FIRST CLASS".
There is some discussion at this thread regarding long transits between a First Class and Business Class flights and lounge entitlement: F lounge use when departing J after long next day transit

Can I visit multiple lounges?
Yes. Although the lounge invitation is collected upon entry, a lounge invitation is not required to enter a lounge. Your boarding pass showing cabin and status, and your frequent flyer card if you are relying on oneworld access privileges, is sufficient. The first time you use a boarding pass to enter, the gate staff will need to scan it to check entry eligibility. A re-entry stamp will then be stamped on your boarding pass, this is so that subsequent entries using that boarding pass will not need it scanned.


Do operational-upgrades (op-ups) come with upgraded lounge benefits?
No. This is because an operational upgrade relates solely to needing to re-seat a passenger on board. There is no operational reason to provide other benefits associated with the upgraded travel class such as lounge entry, priority baggage, or bonus miles.

For example, unless he has status etc. allowing first class lounge entry, a business class traveller upgraded to first class for operational reasons will receive a first class boarding pass paired with a business class lounge invitation. Attempts to use the first class boarding pass to enter a first class lounge will be denied when the lounge agent scans his boarding pass. Similarly, an economy or premium economy class passenger op-up'ed to business class does not receive lounge benefits.


Do mile-upgraded (award) tickets come with lounge benefits?
Yes, award tickets have the same lounge benefits as a regular ticket.


What if I want to meet up with fellow FlyerTalkers in CX lounges?
You could try having a look at this thread: Lounge Meetup Master Thread


Transiting through HKG and getting to the lounges

To provide an idea of where the lounges are located throughout the airport:
  • The Wing is near gates 1-4, G16 is near Gates 15-19. Both of these are on the far east side of the concourse - the Wing is southeast, and G16 is northeast.
  • The Cabin is near gate 21, centrally located also on the eastern side of the concourse.
  • The Bridge is centrally located on the west side of the concourse, within a five minute walk from all gates 30-71. This is probably the most strategically located of all the lounges given the volume of gates it is close to.
  • The Pier is on the northwest side of the concourse, nestled among the 60s gates.
  • *As of now, there is no lounge on the southwest side of the concourse (gates 40), but the Bridge is no more than a 5 minute walk from all of the 40s gates.

When transiting, you can use any transit point as they all lead to the same departures area of the airport. You can utilize any transit checkpoint to successfully reach your departure gate without much difference in walking time Therefore, if you see a transit point with no queue, just use it - you don't need to go to a transit point near your next departing gate. From experience, E1/E2 transit points are the points with the most congestion, but maximum time waiting through these points is about 15 minutes.


Is it possible to visit airside lounges during a transit and then exit the airport?

**Updated, this no longer seems possible, per this thread: Stuck in HKG without being able to Exit , previously there was some view that it may be possible, but this appears to be moot: Using HKG departure-side lounges before clearing immigration
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Lounge Access and other Lounge FAQs

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Old Sep 10, 2016, 12:54 am
  #856  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,053
Originally Posted by chrisny2
In what regard? I can't find anything that says tipping is illegal in Hong Kong.
There was a thread on this a while back. While it's surely not illegal (how could gifting money to someone be illegal) there was a comment that it would get staff fired if they accepted tips.
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Old Sep 10, 2016, 3:06 am
  #857  
 
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Originally Posted by gpia
There was a thread on this a while back. While it's surely not illegal (how could gifting money to someone be illegal) there was a comment that it would get staff fired if they accepted tips.
It is kind of off-topic. Laws prohibit such gifts unless allowed by employer. The gifter can be criminally liable if expecting or receiving extra or better service. Anyway, tipping to attendants is not expected.
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Old Sep 12, 2016, 4:35 am
  #858  
 
Join Date: May 2009
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Sorry, I know this has probably already been asked an answered (I searched and can't find it), but I am traveling on a AA first class award ticket. My itinerary is REP-HKG-ZRH. REP-HKG is a one-class plane so I'm in economy and then I'm in first from HKG to ZRH. Will I still get lounge access in REP? And if so, where can I view the rules about this situation?

Edit to add: REP-HKG is on Dragonair, HKG to ZRH is Cathay.

Last edited by giblet; Sep 12, 2016 at 4:48 am
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Old Sep 12, 2016, 5:08 am
  #859  
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Originally Posted by giblet
Sorry, I know this has probably already been asked an answered (I searched and can't find it), but I am traveling on a AA first class award ticket. My itinerary is REP-HKG-ZRH. REP-HKG is a one-class plane so I'm in economy and then I'm in first from HKG to ZRH. Will I still get lounge access in REP? And if so, where can I view the rules about this situation?

Edit to add: REP-HKG is on Dragonair, HKG to ZRH is Cathay.
The oneworld lounge access rules are listed here: https://www.oneworld.com/ffp/lounge-access

The section you will be relying on is the one concerning connecting flights frmo long-haul to short-haul.

There are two camps on this. Some argue that it applies for a short-haul flight before a long-haul, others say it only applies at the connecting airport, ie between flights (not at the start).

I don't believe the rules as stated cover your scenario for lounge access at REP. Others disagree.

KA/CX will issue you with lounge invitation cards at check-in. However, if they don't give you one for REP it is certainly worth asking - no harm in trying.
LHR/MEL/Europe FF is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2016, 8:53 pm
  #860  
 
Join Date: May 2009
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Originally Posted by LHR/MEL/Europe FF
The oneworld lounge access rules are listed here: https://www.oneworld.com/ffp/lounge-access

The section you will be relying on is the one concerning connecting flights frmo long-haul to short-haul.

There are two camps on this. Some argue that it applies for a short-haul flight before a long-haul, others say it only applies at the connecting airport, ie between flights (not at the start).

I don't believe the rules as stated cover your scenario for lounge access at REP. Others disagree.

KA/CX will issue you with lounge invitation cards at check-in. However, if they don't give you one for REP it is certainly worth asking - no harm in trying.
When I checked in I asked if I could get a lounge pass for REP. The Dragonair rep said I could not, and when I asked again she went to talk to a supervisor, who also said no. Then, when she handed me my boarding pass, it turns out they had already automatically printed out a lounge pass for me. So I guess their computer system thinks this is legit.

PS. The new lounge in Siem Reap is really nice.
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Old Sep 12, 2016, 9:31 pm
  #861  
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Originally Posted by LHR/MEL/Europe FF
The oneworld lounge access rules are listed here: https://www.oneworld.com/ffp/lounge-access
Actually, now that I've sat down and read the page again, oneworld intention is clear:

Connecting between oneworld marketed and operated flights:
  1. First and Business Class customers connecting on the same day of travel, or before 6am the following day, can access the lounge when travelling between an international long haul (a oneworld international long haul flight is defined as an international flight marketed and operated by any oneworld carrier with a scheduled flight time longer than 5 hours) and an international short haul or domestic flight (and vice-versa).
  2. Lounge access will be determined on the international long haul ticketed flight (either First of Business Class) regardless of the ticketed class of travel on the international short haul or domestic flight.
  3. You must be prepared to show your boarding pass or itinerary showing travel in First or Business class on the international long haul flight, in order to access the lounge before your international short haul or domestic flight
(numbering mine)

When the underlined parts in (1) and (2) are read together oneworld's intention is clear:

a) A passenger travelling long-haul J/F --> short-haul Y will definitely fall under this rule.

b) So what does the "and vice-versa" mean?

b.1) It can't be held to mean short-haul Y --> long-haul J/F is eligible at the transit, the passenger is already entitled to lonuge access by virtue of travelling J/F alone

b.2) It can't be held to mean short-haul J/F --> long-haul Y due to operation of (2)

b.3) So it must mean short-haul Y --> long-haul J/F at *the origin*

However try convincing a non-native English lounge dragon of this...

---

(this is not for the lounge dragon) sometime between January and March 2013 OW changed the rules:

From https://web.archive.org/web/20130324...lounge-access/ :

"Customers flying in Economy class on a domestic or intra-European segment to connect to or from a oneworld longhaul First or Business Class flight can also use the lounge applicable to the class in which they are travelling on the longhaul segment. "


To https://web.archive.org/web/20130324...lounge-access/ :

"First and Business Class customers connecting on the same day of travel, or before 6am the following day, can access the lounge when travelling between an international long haul* and an international short haul or domestic flight (and vice-versa). (* a oneworld international long haul flight is defined as an international flight marketed and operated by any oneworld carrier with a scheduled flight time longer than 5 hours)"

The old rules don't use "between" and is a lot clearer, even if the scope is narrower.
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Old Sep 12, 2016, 11:14 pm
  #862  
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The other scenario is that the clause has just been badly written and the 'vice-versa' is out of place, or is intended to confirm that you can, of course, use the lounge anyway if connecting to long haul (as you'd be eligible on a departure basis anyways... as per your line b1)
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Old Sep 13, 2016, 6:59 am
  #863  
 
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Originally Posted by LHR/MEL/Europe FF
The other scenario is that the clause has just been badly written and the 'vice-versa' is out of place, or is intended to confirm that you can, of course, use the lounge anyway if connecting to long haul (as you'd be eligible on a departure basis anyways... as per your line b1)
True, but as written - however badly - percysmith is correct. There's no real ambiguity.
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Old Sep 13, 2016, 7:04 am
  #864  
 
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Originally Posted by percysmith

(this is not for the lounge dragon) sometime between January and March 2013 OW changed the rules:

From https://web.archive.org/web/20130324...lounge-access/ :

"Customers flying in Economy class on a domestic or intra-European segment to connect to or from a oneworld longhaul First or Business Class flight can also use the lounge applicable to the class in which they are travelling on the longhaul segment. "


To https://web.archive.org/web/20130324...lounge-access/ :

"First and Business Class customers connecting on the same day of travel, or before 6am the following day, can access the lounge when travelling between an international long haul* and an international short haul or domestic flight (and vice-versa). (* a oneworld international long haul flight is defined as an international flight marketed and operated by any oneworld carrier with a scheduled flight time longer than 5 hours)"

The old rules don't use "between" and is a lot clearer, even if the scope is narrower.
I think what the new rules meant to clarify is that the eligible flight must be on the same day as the otherwise connecting flight, as opposed to an overnight connection on the same pnr.
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Old Sep 13, 2016, 7:13 am
  #865  
 
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Please update Wiki

Do operational-upgrades (op-ups) come with upgraded lounge benefits?
No. This is because an operational upgrade relates solely to needing to re-seat a passenger on board. There is no operational reason to provide other benefits associated with the upgraded travel class such as lounge entry, priority baggage, or bonus miles.

For example, unless he has status etc. allowing first class lounge entry, a business class traveller upgraded to first class for operational reasons will receive a first class boarding pass paired with a business class lounge invitation. Attempts to use the first class boarding pass to enter a first class lounge will be denied when the lounge agent scans his boarding pass. Similarly, an economy or premium economy class passenger op-up'ed to business class does not receive lounge benefits.

It is not clear if an op-up'ed business or first class passenger can receive Arrival lounge benefits. ** does anyone have experience here ? **
Op-ups don't grant arrival lounge access. I was op-upped when I was a oneworld Ruby from PE to J and was not allowed to use the Arrival when coming in from EWR.

Op-ups might be able to use the Qantas lounge.
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Old Sep 20, 2016, 12:24 pm
  #866  
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
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guesting non OW passenger in HKG

Can't find anything current or definitive on this in this forum.

I am flying CX F from JFK to HKG and then J to BKK a few hours later.

My son will be flying similar timing to BKK from HKG but on TG.

Any recent experience whether I will be able to "guest" him into the CX F or J Lounges in HKG?

The CX website says I can bring a guest without any qualifications but the OW website says guest must be flying on a OW ticket.

Thanks in advance.
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Old Sep 20, 2016, 1:23 pm
  #867  
 
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Originally Posted by cmgalan
Can't find anything current or definitive on this in this forum.

I am flying CX F from JFK to HKG and then J to BKK a few hours later.

My son will be flying similar timing to BKK from HKG but on TG.

Any recent experience whether I will be able to "guest" him into the CX F or J Lounges in HKG?

The CX website says I can bring a guest without any qualifications but the OW website says guest must be flying on a OW ticket.

Thanks in advance.
No,they will scan both BP and reject the TG BP.
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Old Sep 28, 2016, 2:31 am
  #868  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
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Question: Are Bermudas and loafers allowed in CX lounges. My trip tomorrow is really a casual trip so I am not looking to pack in pants or even jeans into the luggage
CXFlyerBoy is offline  
Old Sep 28, 2016, 2:47 am
  #869  
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
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Posts: 7,708
Originally Posted by CXFlyerBoy
Question: Are Bermudas and loafers allowed in CX lounges. My trip tomorrow is really a casual trip so I am not looking to pack in pants or even jeans into the luggage
bermudas are shorts right? if so, there is no problem. there isn't a dress code that i know of in CX lounges. Many of us wear sandals, tennis shoes, shorts, PJs, tee shirts and other such casual clothes all the time. I'm not 100% sure if you're wearing some cutoff, like something you might wear in a weight room or working out, or less. I have no doubt there is a minimum amount of clothes required, I just don't know what it is but I know shorts are fine. Casual clothes, including shorts and sandals, are no problem at all.
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Old Sep 29, 2016, 5:07 am
  #870  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,053
I would hope wifebeaters are a no go. Never seen anyone wear one at a lounge though. Hate those things, even on Abercrombie models.
gpia is offline  


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