- Introduction: An Aria Suite Adventure To Hong Kong
- Review: Capital One Landing Washington National Airport (DCA)
- Review: Capital One Lounge Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
- Review: Etihad & Chase Sapphire Lounge Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
- Review: Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
- Review: Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
- Review: Lufthansa Business Lounge Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
- Review: British Airways Lounge Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
- Review: British Airways Club Suites Business Class Boeing 777 (IAD-LHR)
- Review: Qantas Lounge London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
- Review: Cathay Pacific Business Lounge London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
During my Aria Suite Adventure to Hong Kong, I had an extended layover at London Heathrow Terminal 3, as I was arriving in British Airways business class, and connecting to Cathay Pacific business class. After checking out the Qantas Lounge, my next stop was the Cathay Pacific Lounge.
In this installment, I’ll review the Cathay Pacific Business Lounge, and in the next installment, I’ll review the Cathay Pacific First Lounge.
The Cathay Pacific Lounge London Heathrow is simply phenomenal, and such a treat for any oneworld flyer. There’s so much to love about this space, from the gorgeous design (Cathay Pacific has the best lounge aesthetics of any airline in the world), to some of the airport’s best views, to delicious food (including a noodle bar), to great drinks (from cocktails to barista coffee). If you’re a oneworld flyer passing through Terminal 3, this lounge should be on your list.
In this post:
Cathay Pacific Business Lounge London Heathrow location
The Cathay Pacific Lounge London Heathrow is located in Terminal 3. Once you clear security, walk through the duty free “maze” and follow the “Flight Connection” route in the direction of the “Lounge C” area. It’s only a few minutes walk from the security checkpoint.
The Cathay Pacific Lounge entrance can be easy to miss, given the limited branding, plus the lounge being one level above the terminal. So your best bet is to just look for the bright yellow “Lounge C” sign.
There are two sets of elevators, which will take you up to the lounge.
Cathay Pacific Business Lounge London Heathrow hours
The Cathay Pacific Lounge London Heathrow is currently open daily from 5:30AM until 9PM, though you can expect that the schedule will vary over time, so check the Cathay Pacific and oneworld websites for full details. This lounge isn’t just intended to serve Cathay Pacific passengers, but it also acts as a contract lounge for other airlines, ranging from oneworld partners, to China Airlines.
Cathay Pacific Business Lounge London Heathrow entry requirements
The Cathay Pacific Lounge London Heathrow follows standard oneworld lounge access rules. The business class portion of the lounge is open to oneworld business class passengers and oneworld Sapphire members on any oneworld flight. Business class passengers can’t bring guests, while Sapphire members can bring one guest.
Then the first class section of the lounge (which I’ll be reviewing in the next installment) is open to oneworld first class passengers and oneworld Emerald members, with all passengers being allowed one guest.
Note that at times there might be capacity controls put in place on lounge access, given that the lounge can get very crowded over certain hours. Furthermore, sometimes access will be granted through other reciprocal arrangements outside of oneworld.
Cathay Pacific Business Lounge London Heathrow layout & seating
The Cathay Pacific Lounge London Heathrow is roughly 1,200 square meters (13,000 square feet), but that includes the business and first class section. As you enter the lounge, the business class section is straight ahead down a long hallway, while the first class section is to the right.
Cathay Pacific is consistent with its lounge design, and this outstation is no exception. As you enter the lounge, you’ll first find yourself in the noodle bar area, which has tables with booths, plus communal tables with stools. There’s also some high-top seating at the noodle bar itself, should you prefer to sit there, and watch the action.
Just past that is the main buffet area, which also has a long communal table, with seating for around a dozen people.
Past that is the main room of the lounge, with several clusters of seating. I love the style, comfort, and variety of seating options, which is consistent across the carrier’s lounge network.
Along the windows there are rows of seating — some are just chairs with side tables, while others are loungers with ottomans.
There are great views from this part of the lounge, though frankly, the first class section offers an even better vantage point.
As you go deeper into the lounge, you’ll find even more seating, in a similar arrangement to the main part of the room.
In the very back right corner of the lounge are some semi-private seats, also with great views. If you ask me, these are the best seats from which to work, while the chairs with ottomans are perhaps better for relaxing.
The very back of the lounge has a business center with workstations, including PCs and printers.
What a lovely lounge design. There’s not another airline that has lounges that are simultaneously so elegant and cozy, where you really feel like you’re in someone’s very nice living room. It really transports you away from the airport.
Cathay Pacific Business Lounge London Heathrow food & drinks
The Cathay Pacific Business Lounge London Heathrow has a main buffet past the noodle bar area on the left. I’d describe the buffet as being quality over quantity. There are a variety of pastries, croissants, cereal, cheese, cold cuts, fresh fruit, yogurt, muesli, chia pudding, and more.
Then the hot selection includes omelets, sausage, bacon, hash browns, grilled tomatoes, baked beans, and oatmeal.
There’s a self-serve selection of espresso-based drinks, tea, soda, water, and juice.
On top of that, there’s a full bar, where you can order everything from a glass of wine, to a cocktail, to a barista coffee.
To drink, I had an excellent cappuccino.
Of course the best aspect of the food in any Cathay Pacific business class lounge is the noodle bar, where you can get everything from wonton noodle soup, to dim sum, to fresh bao, to ham and egg fried rice. Usually I’d always get something from here, but I primarily used the first class section and had a full meal there, so I couldn’t bring myself to order even more.
However, you can get a sense of what’s available from my reviews of some other Cathay Pacific lounges, like the one at Tokyo Haneda (HND).
Huge kudos to Cathay Pacific on its lounge catering. While the airline doesn’t necessarily have the biggest buffets in business class lounges, the excellent drink selection and made-to-order Asian specialties more than make up for it.
Cathay Pacific Business Lounge London Heathrow bathrooms & showers
The Cathay Pacific Lounge London Heathrow has bathrooms along the main hallway near where you enter, and these are shared between first and business class passengers. The men’s room has a nice design, with around half a dozen sinks, toilet stalls, and urinals.
The airline does a great job keeping the bathrooms clean, and I also appreciate the Bamford toiletries.
The lounge also has eight shower suites. I took a shower here, and found the shower suite to be both luxurious and functional. Each shower suite has a sink, walk-in shower, and toilet.
Toiletries are in wall-mounted containers from Bamford, and there are also all kinds of basic toiletries that you may need, like a dental kit, cotton swabs, etc.
Bottom line
The Cathay Pacific Business Lounge London Heathrow is about as good as outstation business class lounges get. The lounge has beautiful decor, nice views, delicious made-to-order food, bartender cocktails, and barista coffee. Premium travelers on oneworld airlines really are spoiled for choice when departing Terminal 3.
What’s your take on the Cathay Pacific Business Lounge London Heathrow?
Cathay has consistently great lounges. However a lot of that has to do with their locations.
The SFO Cathay lounge is arguably the worst one because it's based in the US. Compared to cities/countries that actually care about service, like HKG/SIN/BKK, where they can provide proper service.
Spent a few hours at the CX First Class lounge on Sunday.
I really enjoyed the shower, the water pressure and temperature were excellent.
And the views are avgeek-friendly.
The difference in lounge decor, staffing, and general level of elegance seems to be something that is so different by airline. I wonder, does it happen (in the good way) because someone in the executive team or someone who is an institutional "steward" who makes the look, feel, and operation of the lounge system their passion and ensures it keeps on being operated the "proper" way?
Versus at some other airlines, someone comes in...
The difference in lounge decor, staffing, and general level of elegance seems to be something that is so different by airline. I wonder, does it happen (in the good way) because someone in the executive team or someone who is an institutional "steward" who makes the look, feel, and operation of the lounge system their passion and ensures it keeps on being operated the "proper" way?
Versus at some other airlines, someone comes in with a concept, then drops it on the floor and assumes it gets done but doesn't linger to make sure it does? And then the lounge is a sad barely-maintained, outsourced-to-whatever-local-labor-can-be-scrounged, cost center?
Sometimes you can tell when a place is really looked after with hour-by-hour consideration versus just left on autopilot, so to say.
@Eric Schmidt - I watched a documentary a while back on Cathay Pacific's team when designing the updated logo and livery, as well as the overall updates to the brand. You could clearly see the passion in the eyes and from the words of the director of that project, especially as he explained the thought process of designing and creating the new brand updates. I believe that passion and commitment to the brand and product...
@Eric Schmidt - I watched a documentary a while back on Cathay Pacific's team when designing the updated logo and livery, as well as the overall updates to the brand. You could clearly see the passion in the eyes and from the words of the director of that project, especially as he explained the thought process of designing and creating the new brand updates. I believe that passion and commitment to the brand and product is from the company culture, and/or the airline hires directors/managers/executives who have that passion and level of commitment and attention to detail.
Either way, I believe it is part of something bigger in the company than just the person who oversees the lounges.
That's an absolutely beautiful lounge. Honestly, I can't see too much difference from The Pier. Maybe you don't have a few items on the food and drink menu that you'd get flying F through HKG. But ze ambience and the furnishings look very similar.
I am super excited to see the renovations to The Wing and what they do there, since the whole white marble and burgundy leather look was getting a dated. If...
That's an absolutely beautiful lounge. Honestly, I can't see too much difference from The Pier. Maybe you don't have a few items on the food and drink menu that you'd get flying F through HKG. But ze ambience and the furnishings look very similar.
I am super excited to see the renovations to The Wing and what they do there, since the whole white marble and burgundy leather look was getting a dated. If it's in the direction of The Pier and outstation lounges, it's gonna be pretty awesome.
Anyways, this is a standard-bearer for business class.
JB - A slightly different take:
Airlines that truly care about the concept and value of lounges most often engage a series of external contractors to realise their 'corporate' vision.
- DESIGN / IMAGE: Cathay LHR (among other destinations) designed, outfitted and furnished by Ilse Crawford from Studiolise (London).
- Qantas regularly uses Woods Baggot (SYD) for the same design functions
- AIRLINE F&B (food and beverage): concepts usually designed / curated by...
JB - A slightly different take:
Airlines that truly care about the concept and value of lounges most often engage a series of external contractors to realise their 'corporate' vision.
- DESIGN / IMAGE: Cathay LHR (among other destinations) designed, outfitted and furnished by Ilse Crawford from Studiolise (London).
- Qantas regularly uses Woods Baggot (SYD) for the same design functions
- AIRLINE F&B (food and beverage): concepts usually designed / curated by the particular airline's celebrity chefs, with knowledge of the local markets and their cultural reach / requirements.
- SERVICE / STAFF: are often contracted to major (significant) hotel groups ie. QF outsourced the 'operation' of it's SYD First Class Lounge to the Sofitel Group (part of Accor) on a multi-year contract. This ensures that quality service reflecting the airline's image is a necessary, measurable and critical element of their appeal.
You will generally find that in the above situations, there will be only 1 or 2 senior (airline) staff managers to ensure consistency of experience in each lounge - and they provide regular feedback on suggested improvements, renewal of of worn / damaged items for replacement and maintenance issues. They also evaluate contractor performance on a 'live' basis while acting as the airline liaison point between the airline and contractor(s).
Other airline groups - where lounge facilities are less 'desirable' or more ordinary in scope / offering - are often directly run by their own airline staff staff. But eventually, they learn the lesson and value of running an sub-optimal operation vs improving appeal. Points in case would be the old DL Crown Room at FRA, BA's woeful TXL lounge in Berlin and some of the SkyTeam out-station lounges recently reviewed (a few months ago) by Ben. This is why we are seeing the 3 major alliances stepping up their game. Of course, 'budget' is always a significant determinant too.
So, while airline execs may have the original 'vision', putting it in place and gaining accolades for superiority, is determined more by how *well* those execs actually execute it.
Please note: the post above SHOULD have been posted as a reply to the SANTOS / JB post above (which was the reply' location clicked on).
Not sure how it ended up in it's current location. Apologies.