Inside Look at the New Cathay Pacific Lounge at London Heathrow

Cathay Pacific recently overhauled their First and Business Class Lounges at London Heathrow, and the new lounge just re-opened the other day.

On Sunday, I just so happened to be flying back from London, so had a chance to look around the new lounge.

How Can I Access the Lounge?

• For the First Class lounge, you must either be in First Class on Cathay Pacific or a oneworld Emerald departing on a same day oneworld flight.
• For the Business Class lounge, you must either be in Business Class on Cathay Pacific or a oneworld Sapphire departing on a same day oneworld flight.

The Cathay Pacific lounge is in Terminal 3. Once you go through security, go straight past the shopping toward the lounges, and you’ll see it in the corridor to your far left. You’ll need to take the elevator up to the second floor.

Once you’re off the elevator, you’ll be greeted at the lounge check-in desk. The attendant will scan your boarding pass and/or verify your status, and you’ll be directed to the appropriate lounge.

Since I’m a oneworld Emerald, I started off in the First Class lounge.

First Class Lounge

The lounge is actually rather small, and has less seating from what I remember in the old lounge, though it’s far more modern now, and the windows bring in some terrific sunshine.

There’s a fair amount of seating options, and behind the couches is a beverage station for coffee.

Closer to the windows, there’s a self service bar.

The real highlight of this portion of the lounge is the sit down restaurant, just off to the side.

There, you can order off of a menu, and a waiter or waitress will bring out your food. As with most lounges, this food is complimentary.

Since I was there in the morning, I decided to have breakfast.

I ordered the traditional English breakfast, apropos for London. 🙂

Breakfast was very good, though on the smaller side. One of my friends had pancakes and they were only served two small ones, but nonetheless, the food was terrific.

Business Class Lounge

If you leave the First Class lounge, turn right and you’ll walk down the corridor to see the Business Class lounge. The Business Class section is much more open and spacious than the First Class section.

As you walk in, there’s a dining area with self service buffet.

To the right is a noodle bar.

Just past the restaurant style seating you’ll see a large family style table and drink stations.

Walking further down, you’ll reach an open seating area.

To the left is the bar.

This lounge was far more “open” than the First Class section, though rightfully so since there are more oneworld Sapphires and Business Class passengers.

My Take

Overall, the lounges are a huge improvement over the older ones. For onewold travelers, you currently have a choice between the American Admiral’s Club/Flagship Lounge, the British Airways Galleries/First Lounge and the Cathay Pacific Business/First Lounge in Terminal 3. The new Cathay Pacific lounges are arguably the best oneworld lounges there are in Terminal 3 at the moment.