Cathay Pacific has unveiled details of the newest lounge in its network at Changi Airport’s new Terminal 4 as it prepares to move into the Singapore airport’s soon-to-open terminal from its current home in Terminal 1 at the end of this month.
The Hong Kong carrier will be the first to shift its operations to the new terminal, starting October 31, and its new lounge is designed similarly to that of it’s The Pier first class offering in Hong Kong [Business Traveller has reviewed this lounge previously]. However, unlike its lounges in Hong Kong that each bear unique names in order to differentiate them, the sole Terminal 4 lounge will simply be dubbed the “Cathay Pacific Lounge” and also won’t feature separate areas for first and business class passengers.
This is claimed to be the airline’s largest lounge outside of Hong Kong, with seating capacity for approximately 200 people. Located on the Mezzanine Level, the lounge will offer what has been described as a “living room” environment. As with The Pier in Hong Kong, natural woods and greenery are a focus of the new space along with artwork from local artists.
Fans of the airline’s popular Noodle Bar need not fret, as there will be a branch offered at the new Terminal 4 lounge. The bar’s signature Dan Dan Noodles will be offered, as will Singapore Laksa.
According to chief operations and service delivery officer, Greg Hughes, the lounge “echoes the warmth, natural features and array of amenities that have proved so successful in many of our other lounges around the world”.
Cathay Pacific will be joined in the new terminal by Korean Air on October 31, with low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific and Spring Airlines joining on November 2, followed by Vietnam Airlines and all four AirAsia carriers on November 7.
A key feature of Changi’s Terminal 4 is its end-to-end fully automated passenger processing, which includes the use of biometric scanning alongside self-service check-in, bag-drop, immigration and boarding.
Business Traveller was given a preview of the new facility in July.
[embed]https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2017/07/28/first-look-changi-airport-terminal-4/[/embed]Not all airlines at Terminal 4 will be initially capable of offering self-service options, though Cathay Pacific will be able to. “The benefits that result from adopting advanced facial recognition technology and other automated systems are going to make a real difference and we’re excited to soon be providing our customers with increased options and greater convenience,” added Hughes.
Cathay’s first flight to the new terminal will be its flight CX659 on October 31 – the airline’s schedule has this as an Airbus A330-300 flight on this day, rather than the A350 that also operates this flight. CX659 departs Hong Kong at 0150 and arrives at 0540. The returning CX650, which is an A350 flight, will be the first to fly out from Terminal 4, departing at 0645 and arriving in Hong Kong at 1045.
While Cathay Pacific passengers between Hong Kong and Singapore can expect to see improvements in their overall experience, those heading to the US are not so lucky. Due to increased security measures by the US government, Cathay Pacific recently announced it is no longer enabling travellers on US-bound flights to make use of its in-town check-in or bag-drop services at the airport.
