Cathay Pacific Pier Business Class Lounge: I Demand First!

Cathay Pacific Pier Business Class Lounge Review is part of the TPOL Down Under Trip Report.

I flew first to Hong Kong on Cathay, wasn’t blown away by the New Year’s fireworks, and had a one night stophangover in LKF. From there, I was flying Sydney in business because there was not a plane with a first class cabin. I tried to plead with the check in agent to give me first class access to the lounge but failed. Since my flight was leaving from Gate 69, and the Pier was located at 65, I decided against trying to infiltrate The Wing first class lounge (see The Pier Vs. The Wing: Battle of Cathay’s First Class Lounges).  I took my substandard business class lounge in stride.

The drop off from first to business is remarkable. If I hadn’t been in the first class lounge, I would be mightily impressed with the business one. However, my eyes have seen too much at this point. Indeed, it’s as if Cathay wanted me to know that I wasn’t in first anymore. How so?

1. The Food
I’ve never been to a lounge that’s like a cafeteria. The food was not self-serve and people waited in line for an employee to prepare a plate. Since my food intake was being monitored, I could not have bottomless plates (see Are You the Fat Guy in the Lounge?). In the end, that didn’t matter because the food tasted like cafeteria cuisine.

To be fair, there was a Noodle Bar that prepared a decent bowl of wonton soup, offered Dan Dan noodles, and vegetarian Tom Yum. That was more on par with what I expect from Cathay. Still, it doesn’t compare with the a la carte options at the Pier or the Wing.

2. The Champagne
Where’s the Wing Champagne bar? The Pier business has an aesthetically nice bar but not one with a person on staff serving bottomless bubbly.

To be fair, there was a Tea House with a wide selection of tea. ‎That was something I needed more of at this point in my trip anyway.

3. The People
So many people! The place is a zoo. While it is massive, there were people everywhere, kids everywhere, and noise everywhere.*

To be fair, I found the quiet sleeping room and had a nice nap.

*I do my best not to be creepy and take photos of people in the lounge. These photos do not reflect the number of people who were present.

Overall
Cathay really knows how to spoil its first class passengers. The ultimate compliment of this is how unsatisfied I was with the business class experience.