The lounge reopens after nine months of upgrading works.

Cathay Pacific has reopened its lounge at Shanghai Pudong International Airport earlier this week (18 July), offering an upgraded lounge experience for its customers.

The new space, located near gate D69 in Terminal 2, can seat up to 305 customers. Opened from 0530H to 2100H, it primarily caters to the Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon flights, although eligible frequent flyer members of other oneworld carriers may also use it.

This is what the PR promises out of the new lounge:

Cathay Pacific is “moving beyond” for its customers with a superior experience at every stage of their journey. The new Shanghai Pudong Cathay Pacific Lounge will be another reason for customers to arrive early, rest and recharge in the welcoming atmosphere of comfort and wellbeing before their flight.

Cathay Pacific press release

What can you expect out of the new lounge?

The marketing photos honestly look amazing, and one should expect no less from a Cathay Pacific lounge. This is what you can expect from the new Shanghai CX lounge:

Feels like home

If you have been to Shanghai Pudong airport, let’s call it – it’s not the best airport experience you can get. What Cathay Pacific promises with this new lounge is that you will be “transported to an oasis of serenity designed to reflect the comforts of a modern apartment.”

Perosnally what I love about Cathay’s lounges is the fact that they use a lot of wood and earth tones, which calms the mind either in the day or at night.

The Noodle Bar

This is a perennial favourite and arguably Cathay Pacific’s best selling point of its lounges. Of course, the Shanghai lounge must have one of these, given that Shanghai is also home to some of the best noodles in the world.

You can expect Cathay Pacific’s signature wanton noodles, as well as a rotation of other options and dimsum choices too, including Shanghai’s very own xiao long baos!

The TerraceThe Terrace

The Cathay Pacific Shanghai Lounge will also feature a quasi-outdoor seating area, with a good view of the apron and runway. There will be a selection of seating, and I’ll imagine this area will be quiet than the indoor areas.

There will be self-service food and beverage options available at The Terrace, including international hot and cold dishes, freshly baked treats, cheeses and cold cuts, as well as a selection of wines, spirits and other non-alcoholic options.

Unfortunately, as with many other Cathay Pacific lounges in Asia, the lounge does not have showers, although I’ll be hard-pressed to understand why you will need one for a two-hour flight to Hong Kong.

Access

As with other Cathay Pacific lounges around the world, access to the lounge is limited to:

• Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon business and first class passengers
• Marco Polo Club silver members and above travelling on Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon services
• oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members travelling on oneworld member services
• Passengers holding an eligible lounge pass

Given the lounge operating hours of 0530H to 2100H daily, this lounge unfortunately will not be able to cater to some of the red-eye oneworld services, including Qatar’s services to Doha and Finnair’s services to Helsinki. There are also a handful of oneworld carriers, including Qantas, that operates out of Terminal 1, so passengers will not be able to access this lounge given the terminals are not linked.

Final thoughts

China is a critical market for Cathay Pacific. After all, it is in direct competition with the big three Chinese carriers, particularly in the mid- and long-haul markets.

The Chinese traveller has become more and more sophisticated over the years. While airlines in the past could get away with a subpar lounge experience, the travellers have become more discerning over the years, and this investment is definitely well-timed for Cathay Pacific to provide an edge over its competitors.

The lounge is definitely a step up for Cathay Pacific in serving the Chinese market, and also in line with keeping the lounge experience consistent across the world. The offering is definitely one of the best in class, and I’m expecting that the other lounge operators in Shanghai Pudong to step up their game at some point.