Cathay Pacific The Wing, First lounge review

I’ve long said Cathay Pacific’s The Pier, First, is one of my favorite airport lounges, and it’s certainly one of the reasons I prioritize requalifying for Oneworld Emerald status each year. But after visiting the newly renovated The Wing, First, I might have a new favorite lounge at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG).

The renovated The Wing, First, doesn’t dramatically rethink the experience that makes Cathay’s first-class lounges so special. Instead, it offers many of the same strengths — like calm residential design, excellent dining and enjoyable wellness amenities — while making the experience more refined and a little easier to enjoy.

The result may be Cathay Pacific’s best lounge yet.

Access

The Wing, First, reopened April 22 following a major 11-month renovation. During what Cathay Pacific describes as the lounge’s “initial reopening period,” access is limited to passengers flying Cathay Pacific first class and Cathay Diamond members.

That means Oneworld Emerald members who aren’t flying Cathay Pacific first class and don’t have Diamond status with Cathay cannot currently visit The Wing, First. They can instead use The Pier, First, along with Cathay Pacific’s business-class lounges (such as The Bridge business-class lounge) and other eligible Oneworld lounges at HKG.

Cathay Pacific’s website says the restriction is temporary, though the airline has not announced when Oneworld Emerald members will gain access.

The lounge is near gates 1 through 4, shortly after security in HKG’s Terminal 1. If you’re not departing from a low-numbered gate, be sure to leave yourself enough time to reach your boarding area.

Dining

The Wing, First, offers three distinct ways to dine. You can:

• Order from an a la carte menu in the casual, light-filled Atrium
• Enjoy a more refined, multicourse meal in the Dining Room
• Pick up snacks and hot dishes from the Pantry and other self-service areas around the lounge

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Each venue has a distinct menu, so travelers with enough time may want to try more than one. For example, you might visit the Dining Room for dan dan noodles before heading to the Atrium for a lobster roll.

The Pantry, meanwhile, is better suited to travelers who want something quickly without committing to a sit-down meal.

Travelers can also snag Champagne from a cart near the lounge’s entrance and wellness snacks from a self-serve area near the Dining Room.

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Champagne cart. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY

We opted for a sit-down meal in the Dining Room. In addition to a standard menu, the Dining Room also offers separate menus featuring monthly specials, wellness selections and, during my visit, dishes from Mott 32. You can mix and match courses across these menus, which I did, opting for double-boiled chicken soup, braised cabbage and pan-roasted halibut.

The braised cabbage was deliciously tender, while the soup was surprisingly light. But the highlight was the halibut, which was perfectly flaky and delicately flavored.

Wellness

The popular cabanas that existed at The Wing, First, before the renovation are gone. In their place, Cathay has increased the number of showers and added massage booths.

The seven massage booths should make treatments easier to secure than at The Pier, First, which has just three. Best of all, eligible Cathay Pacific first-class passengers and Diamond members can reserve treatments before arriving at The Wing, First. Other eligible guests can inquire about availability once they arrive at the lounge.

Treatments include a signature foot massage, a neck-and-shoulder massage, a head massage and a “calm reset.”

The complimentary 15-minute treatments have long been one of my favorite features at The Pier, First. But they have also been one of its most frustrating amenities. I’ve arrived hours before a flight only to find that every appointment slot already booked. The additional capacity should give more travelers a realistic chance of securing a treatment, while reservations remove the uncertainty for those eligible to book.

My neck-and-shoulder massage was excellent. Despite lasting only 15 minutes, it was comparable in quality to some of the best massages I’ve had at luxury resorts and hotels, such as Six Senses Laamu and Conrad Bengaluru.

The formerly dark hallway leading to the cabana area is also much brighter after the renovation.

And, although many of the shower rooms look similar to how they did before the renovations, there are some differences to note. The shower suites now have three lighting presets — Cleanse, Refresh and Relax — and three water settings: Full Rain from the overhead rainfall shower, Cold Mist for a light spray and Aquapressure Flow from the handheld showerhead.

Ventilation has also improved significantly in the shower suites. On previous lounge visits, I’d noted the suites tended to trap steam. But on this visit, my husband and I both noticed that the shower suites we’d been assigned both remained much more comfortable during and after showering.

Working and relaxing

Beyond its dining and wellness facilities, The Wing, First, offers plenty of space to work and relax. Seating ranges from low armchairs and sofas to more traditional lounge chairs, with power outlets easily accessible from most — if not all — areas.

I gravitated toward the chairs overlooking the terminal, where natural light and minimal foot traffic created a particularly pleasant place to work.

You’ll also find two enclosed phone rooms near the entrance, each large enough to seat up to three people; they are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

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KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY

These phone rooms are especially useful for calls, since most of the lounge’s other work and seating areas are open.

Bottom line

The renovated The Wing, First, does not reinvent Cathay Pacific’s first-class lounge experience. It takes a formula that already worked exceptionally well and improves it through a series of thoughtful changes.

The lounge is brighter, offers more dining options and substantially increases massage and shower capacity. Enclosed phone rooms and advance treatment reservations for some guests also address practical frustrations I’ve encountered at The Pier, First.

The Pier, First, certainly remains one of my favorite airport lounges. But the renovated The Wing, First, delivers many of the same qualities I love while making the overall experience feel just a little more polished.