Review: Cathay Pacific Lounge Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND)

During my trip to Japan via Mongolia, I had the chance to check out a few lounges at Tokyo Haneda Airport Terminal 3, prior to my Japan Airlines A350 first class flight to New York. One of those was the Cathay Pacific Lounge, which I’ll be reviewing in this installment.

Cathay Pacific is known for its amazing lounges, which are among my favorite in the world, thanks to their elegant, residential feel. I had never been to the Tokyo Haneda location before, which is actually where the carrier’s new design concept was launched back in 2014. A decade later, this lounge is still going strong.

The Cathay Pacific Lounge Haneda Airport has an excellent selection of food and drinks, and is a very comfortalbe place to hang out. Best of all, it’s often quieter than the other oneworld lounges in the terminal. The only slight downside to the lounge is that it doesn’t have showers, and doesn’t have much in the way of exciting amenities.

Cathay Pacific Lounge Tokyo Haneda location

The Cathay Pacific Lounge Haneda Airport is located in Terminal 3, which is where all international oneworld flights depart from. The lounge is housed in the same complex as several other lounges, near gate 114. To find this, just turn left from the central security checkpoint, and walk for a few minutes. Then on the left you’ll see signage for lounges.

In this complex, the All Nippon Airways lounge is located on level four, the Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge is located on level four and five, the Delta Sky Club is located on level five, and the Cathay Pacific Lounge is located on level six. So you’ll need to go up three levels, either via elevator or escalator.

Once up there, you’ll notice Cathay Pacific’s distinctive lounge facade.

Cathay Pacific Lounge Tokyo Haneda hours

The Cathay Pacific Lounge Haneda Airport has limited hours compared to the other lounges in the terminal. It’s currently open daily from 7:30AM until 5PM, meaning it’s always open at least a couple of hours before Cathay Pacific flights. The schedule isn’t quite as well suited for those traveling on partner airlines, where early morning and late night flights are more common.

Cathay Pacific Lounge Tokyo Haneda entry requirements

The Cathay Pacific Lounge Haneda Airport follows standard oneworld lounge access policies. This means that the lounge can be accessed by all departing oneworld first and business class passengers, as well as the alliance’s Emerald members and Sapphire members. Everyone can bring one guest with them, except business class passengers, who aren’t allowed guests.

While this lounge is primarily intended for Cathay Pacific passengers, those traveling on other oneworld airlines are warmly welcomed as well. If you’re in business class or are a oneworld Sapphire member, I think this is an excellent alternative to the Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge, as the Cathay Pacific Lounge tends to be much quieter.

Cathay Pacific Lounge Tokyo Haneda seating & layout

The Cathay Pacific Lounge Haneda Airport is 990 square meters (~10,700 square feet), and can accommodate up to 190 guests. Unlike some of Cathay Pacific’s other lounges, there’s no dedicated first class and oneworld Emerald section, but rather everyone has access to the same space.

The lounge is primarily one, large rectangular room, with floor-to-ceiling windows, letting in lots of natural light. The space is broken up into several distinct zones, so let’s start at one end of the lounge.

The largest part of the lounge also has the most residential feel, and boasts all kinds of seating options that will make you feel like you’re in a swanky living room rather than in an airport lounge — it’s quite the contrast to the nearby TIAT Lounge.

I particularly love the chairs with ottomans by the windows, affording stunning views of the apron.

Tucked away behind this section of the lounge is the bar area, which has high-top seating, as well as some other options for lounging around.

Next to the bar is a business center, with a few iMacs, plus a workstation where you can use your own computer.

Moving toward the center of the lounge, you’ll find some more seats by the windows (this time without ottomans), as well as some semi-private seats facing in the direction of the apron.

This is adjacent to an area that has some communal tables with stools, as well as some tables that seem designed for just standing around (which I’m not sure I totally get, in the context of how people usually use lounges?).

Next to that is the other end of the lounge, featuring Cathay Pacific’s iconic noodle bar, which you’ll find at just about all of the carrier’s lounges. This includes a bunch of booths seating two people each, plus some communal tables.

Cathay Pacific does a breathtaking job with its lounge aesthetic, and the Haneda location is no exception.

Cathay Pacific Lounge Tokyo Haneda food & drinks

Personally I love the food selection in Cathay Pacific lounges around the globe, though the airline takes a bit of an unconventional approach. Unlike some other airlines, Cathay Pacific doesn’t have some massive buffet with every food imaginable. The airline very much emphasizes quality over quantity.

The most exciting part of the dining experience of any Cathay Pacific lounge is the noodle bar, where you can order from a selection of freshly prepared dishes.

The menu was a bit more varied than I’ve seen at some other Cathay Pacific lounges, with the choices of a Japanese breakfast, Chinese breakfast, dan dan noodles, won ton noodles, and french toast.

I of course had to indulge in the dan dan noodles… yum!

Back near the center of the lounge, you’ll find more of a cafe-style concept, where there’s a staffed station where you can select from a variety of options, ranging from cold cuts, to quiche, to salads, to croissants, to pudding, to fresh fruit, and more.

Many will also appreciate the staffed bar, where you can get anything from a cocktail, to a glass of wine, to a barista coffee.

There’s also a self-serve drink station with some water, soda, an espresso machine, and a beer machine.

While I spent most of my time at Haneda Airport in the Japan Airlines First Lounge, there were two major advantages to the Cathay Pacific Lounge. First of all, I got to enjoy an excellent barista made cappuccino, as there’s no barista coffee in the Japan Airlines Lounge. That’s something I really value.

The other thing I really appreciated is the bottled water. This probably sounds silly, since usually I’m someone who avoids bottled water, and is happy drinking filtered water. But one thing that frustrates me about the Japan Airlines First Lounge is that the drinking glasses are tiny, and you have to pour water out of a pitcher each time. It’s damn near impossible to stay hydrated there, so I downed a couple of bottles of water in this lounge.

The staff in the Cathay Pacific Lounge were also excellent, and were extremely friendly. Interestingly they were almost exclusively Filipino, which is quite the contrast to the Japan Airlines Lounge, where everyone is Japanese.

Cathay Pacific Lounge Tokyo Haneda bathrooms

The Cathay Pacific Lounge Haneda Airport has bathrooms, which are elegantly appointed. These have three sinks, three stalls, and three urinals.

Unfortunately the lounge doesn’t have any showers, but if you need one, you can visit the Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge one level down.

Bottom line

The Cathay Pacific Lounge Tokyo Haneda is excellent, which is no surprise. Cathay Pacific has phenomenal lounges, and this location has beautiful decor, a high quality selection of food and drinks, and friendly service.

If you’re flying oneworld, and especially if you don’t have access to the Japan Airlines First Lounge, I’d highly recommend visiting this lounge. The only catch is that the lounge doesn’t have showers, in case that’s something you value.

What do you make of the Cathay Pacific Lounge Tokyo Haneda Airport?