Shanghai is a major market for Cathay Pacific, as they often operate over a dozen flights from there to Hong Kong, given how connected the cities are. Up until now Cathay Pacific has had a rather lackluster lounge at the airport, which I’ve reviewed before.
In October 2018 I wrote about how Cathay Pacific closed their lounge at PVG for renovations, and there’s finally some good news on that front, about nine months later.
Cathay Pacific’s new Shanghai Pudong Airport Lounge is now open. The lounge is:
- 970 square meters (~10,440 square feet), and has seating for 305 people
- Open daily from 5:30AM until 9PM
- Available to all oneworld first and business class passengers, as well as all oneworld Sapphire and Emerald members traveling on a oneworld flight same day
- Located in Terminal 2, near gate D69
Cathay Pacific has used their signature lounge design for this space, developed by London-based Studioilse, and it looks beautiful.
The lounge has a terrace, which is L-shaped and there’s also an open-ceiling verandah that offers views of the apron and runway.
There’s also an open-ceiling food fall, with a selection of self-serve international hot and cold dishes, freshly baked treats, cheese, and cold cuts. Then there are a variety of self-serve drinks, including beer, wine, spirits, and cocktails.
The lounge also has a noodle bar, which is a staple in Cathay Pacific lounges. This offers a communal long table and private booths, and guests can order everything from wonton egg noodles to dan dan noodles to xiao long bao dumplings.
Cathay Pacific’s Chief Customer and Commercial Officer, Paul Loo, had the following to say:
“We are delighted to bring our signature lounge design to mainland China, ensuring our customers traveling through Pudong Airport have an even more enjoyable experience when they fly with us. Shanghai is one of our most popular destinations for business and leisure, and a favourite among our most loyal customers. Our premium passengers can now look forward to a multitude of new and improved features at the lounge, especially when it comes to the F&B options they can enjoy.”
Bottom line
Shanghai Pudong Airport is an airport that mostly lacks great lounges, and prior to these updates, the Cathay Pacific lounge was exceedingly mediocre. These changes to the lounge look awesome, so if you’re flying a oneworld airline, this is definitely the lounge to visit going forward.
I absolutely love Cathay Pacific’s new lounge design, and it ranks among my favorite of any lounges out there. I love seeing it introduced at more airports.
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