Lounge Access on Arrival/Transit Complicated
 

My wife and daughter will be transiting Hkg in CX F for about two hours. I will be transiting for 18hours and staying overnight at the Regal. We will all be arriving together on the same flight. On arrival, can I go to the Wing/Pier and hang out with them until their flight leaves or do I have to go straight to immigration? I will be checking my bags through to their final destination. Thanks in advance.

I believe it has been discussed before...basically it can be done, but you need to make a special request to exit from the departures area.

Honestly I think its a bit troublesome, which is why people don't do it often.

No, it isn't possible since you don't have a same-day transit flight. What the poster below is referring to is possible, but can only be done same-day. Without a same-day BP you will not be permitted through transit security, and hence your only option is to exit immigration. Your bags are irrelevant to the equation.

Indeed correct, provided on the same day. In the specific case of the OP, not possible due to his/her lack of same-day boarding pass.

I had a feeling it might not be possible. Singapore for example would not be a problem since arriving and departing passengers can co-mingle.

I wonder if anyone has been successful getting through transit security with a non same-day boarding pass? I have read reports of people spending 20 hours in transit at HKIA which would imply they most likely overnighted in the terminal.

It isn't applied to this case, but I had experience of going thru a checkpoint without same day BP.

My CX flight to HKG delayed. So, I lost my onward CX connection.
At that point, CX could not assign new flight for me.
(Initially, CX assigned EK flight, and my bag was tagged accordingly. But magically that flight was overbooked, and things became complicated)
So, no BP available.
Then, I said CX staff I wanted to wait at a lounge.
A CX staff at connection counter of airside arrival level (near W1) gave me a special slip for entering security check.
After spending in a louge, I came back to the arrival level, and got new BP, went thru security check again.

There are ways, as Wasabi Tofu mentions above, generally related to delays, tech issues, weather, etc. But no, it is not possible for Average Joe to just chat his way through transit security without a same-day BP.

Another more devious way is to buy a fully refundable ticket, get your BP and cancel in the lounge. Pretty shady if you ask me, but some travel bloggers seem to do it. LH and China Southern famously have sued people doing this, and I *think* I recall someone at CX mentioned to me they've done the same to abusive pax, although it wasn't printed up in the papers.

In HKG, a two hour transit can easily leave very little lounge time anyway, so I wouldn't bother jumping through hoops for this. Give them a kiss and tell them you'll see them soon.

There is a decent cafe where you can hang out with your family before you clear customs and they head through transfer.

I have done this (although not for lounge access) when I wanted a backup flight on CX for a delayed flight from another carrier. I was completely upfront about the situation, they called over the supervisor, and he said "no problem" - very little drama when you are honest about the situation.

You can enter the departure area as long you've got a valid boarding pass. I have done that with arriving 9pm and connecting flight 9am next morning without a problem.

However, you are not allowed to use the lounge by rule by yourself. But since your family is flying in F, that would not a problem either.

You can enter Hong Kong later, check with the ladies at the lounge and since you've got more than whole day, it will be alright.

Can you confirm when you did this? Any old valid BP doesnt cut it....a valid same day BP is what I thought....I've been denied with a next day BP, so I'm curious to your flight details. Maybe we're wrong or there is some nuance to the policy like hours before next day flight? Or else are you possibly mistaken?

This is actually the first I've ever heard of this. You'll frequently see people sleeping in the transit area, presumably for precisely this reason.

I wonder why people want to be so 'ma-fun'.... :p

I agree with @LondonElite. If the flight lands at gate 18 and your connecting flight is at gate 69, good luck.