that is hilarious

I think something similar happened over a year ago up in China. A passenger kept using the lounge and the airline caught on to his ways.

You will have problems going through passport control if you are going back landside to the Regal Airport Hotel.

Your biggest problem is not the "leaving airside" aspect, but the "leaving Hong Kong and re-entering without travelling" aspect.

If you were in transit, it is no problem to use the lounge first and then clear immigration. You will be entering and leaving Hong Kong the same number of times, just with slightly different timings.

In your case, you will leave Hong Kong, enter Hong Kong again on the same day, and then leave Hong Kong once more on the following day. I would expect immigration to say no or potentially give you a load of hassle when trying to leave again. Not really worth the effort - your friends will be better off meeting you landside.

actually a lot of this is like the terrorist handbook of getting around airport security
Hong Kong and other airports suffer from the boarding pass ticket switch system operated by syndicates
A triad checks under Mr Y in and enters the secure departure area
An incoming client enters the departure area in transit having managed to get there as Mr X
In the loo , conniving sales people or elsewhere Mr X gets a new passport in Y's name and genuine boarding pass and hopefully then goes on to his destination of dreams
Triad says his wife in an accident and is escorted out through security/immig/customs
Hopefully the computer system can pick this up
It could also mean a jihadi gets on the flight.....

Also, as HK resident I have only tried to use the Arrival (not operated by CX but a lounge contractor) once - I was told it was only for incoming flights from certain long haul destinations (I came in from Vietnam on CX Biz as a Diamond member)

Unless the policy has changed, this isn't correct. I've been asked whether I want to use the Arrivals lounge when checking in at locations such as Singapore and Tokyo.

The rare times that I've used the Arrivals lounge, I've had no issues whatsoever. Flights from ICN, BOM, and BKK.

Same, never had an issue coming in from regionals.

The OP specified contract lounge - i thought The Arrival was a CX lounge? Could the OP have been trying to get into the Priority Pass lounge or whatever it is nearby by mistake?

The Arrival is a CX branded lounge run by Plaza Premium. But for all intents and purposes, it's a CX lounge (just like the Bridge is also run by Plaza Premium).

My experience KHIA 8/14
 

I am not an expert in this area but in August '14, I had a 12 hour layover in HK and wanted to go to Lantau. I asked at an airport counter about doing this and they said this was probably not a good idea, due to the potential hassle at immigration.

I do not know if the advice was correct but I decided not to chance it since I was staying 5 days in HK on the return.

I was traveling in business so I made use of the lounges. BTW, IMHO the CX lounges are not all that great. After what I had read about Cathay Pacific I expected spectacular, but they were ordinary.

Had I not been planning a later stay in HK I might have gone ahead with my plan to visit the Budda temple, but since I was not familar (at that time) with all the transportation options and it looked like rain was coming, I figured why chance it.

When is the off-peak time for CX so that one can get an escort to the immigration area? I'm guessing that mid afternoon might be OK. I would only consider it for a layover of more than 6 hours.

I was at a departure-side lounge for a few hours (decompressing from 16 hours in economy) and asked to exit to immigration-side. I had a 12+ hour layover. At first they said no, then they said yes but I'd have to wait for an escort (1 hour quoted wait) and that I can't do 'this' again. I waited 40 minutes for an escort mid-morning, and then he escorted me to the train which was a less than 5 minutes process.

I'd done this once before at a similar time with almost no wait.

I don't qualify for Arrivals lounge, but this was a hassle. In the future if I had a layover, I might just spend money for a shower on the other side.

Frankly, CX should keep a list of these passengers. If they try to pull this off more than 2-3 times without a legitimate reason, they should be blacklisted.

At least, thanks for having the courage to post! I am no fan of this practice at all...but appreciate you sharing this update regardless.

+1.

My concern is if this loophole is abused too much, the losers will be those of us who use HKG weekly as part of our work. I'm waiting for the day everyone's flights are delayed due to a security scare on account of some yahoo leaving bags in the Wing at 7am, showering, and then goes to town for the day before a connecting flight at night. If this practice of passengers leaving their bags airside for 12+ hours while they themselves are 15 miles away chowing down dim sum in Central and taking selfies on the Peak, eventually the security dragons somewhere are going get their panties in a wad and we'll all get delayed as a result.

Or, if CX determines this loophole is being abused by these folks - who appear to be leisure traveling award travelers, in my observation from the FT posters - then CX or HKIA shuts it down for everyone. Maybe cancelling our ticket if we go back landside, or some other disincentive. Again, the real losers would be the frequent HKG business travelers. If you fly ex HKG 50+ times a year for many years, eventually you'll need to leave airside for an emergency or a situation once in a blue moon. Has happened to me just twice IIRC over the last 8 years, but I am thankful the outlet was there. Would be a real shame if it got shut down on account of the lounge hopping brigade.

" this loophole is being abused by these folks - who appear to be leisure traveling award travelers, in my observation"

You're coming aross a bit DYKWIA there mate. Anyone in the lounge has a right to be there, and frankly it's none of your business whether they're there on business (yes, I know your business is terribly, terribly important) or leisure, and whether they're paying in award points or other people's dollars (or do you pay for your own flights?)