After a quick tour of Taipei, I started heading home in the “wrong” direction to complete the circle. I flew in from the east, which meant continuing to fly west. For my first leg, I flew Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, which meant a visit to the Cathay Pacific Lounge Taipei before boarding. For an outstation lounge, this is a solid offering, with plenty of space and a good food selection.
Note: this is part of my trip report series covering my around-the-world trip to Taiwan in January, 2024. Click here for the trip report index and introductory post.
Cathay Pacific Lounge Taipei
Location
In Terminal 1, just past security, and before the passenger gates. After passing security, first look for the sign for the A & D gates, along with the “VIP Lounges”.
Head up the stairs, then continue straight through the corridor to the lounges.
Access
The following passengers may access the Cathay Pacific Lounge Taipei:
- Cathay Pacific First Class passengers (plus one guest)
- Cathay Pacific Business Class passengers (no guests)
- Cathay Gold and Diamond members on any Cathay or Oneworld-operated flight (two guests for Diamond and one for Gold)
- Cathay Silver members on Cathay operated or codeshare flights (no guests)
- Oneworld Sapphire and Emerald members (plus one guest)
Operating hours are 5:20 am until 8:50 pm daily. Yes, those really are the posted operating hours.
Review
Date of visit: January 28, 2024
Despite its status as an outstation, the Cathay Pacific Lounge Taipei was one of the first to receive the airline’s new lounge design. The renovated lounge reopened in November, 2015. It also reopened after a lengthy pandemic-related closure in August, 2023. This lounge is a large one for an outstation, with 245 total seats. Cathay currently operates up to 12 flights per day to Hong Kong, so I suppose the space is warranted.
Anyway, upon entering, I found no line, and the agent checked me in quickly. The lounge is essentially one large rectangle, with a single long corridor from one end to the other. Immediately near the entrance is a small self-service food and drink area with some dining tables. There’s only some minimal cold Western snack items here. Instead, I recommend heading a little further down the hall to the main food station (more on that later).
This section also gives you a good taste of the lounge’s design. If you’ve been to a Cathay Pacific lounge, you’ll recognize the now standard “home away from home” look. Overall, I like the Asian minimalist look, though you’ll notice a recurring theme throughout. That’s the lack of windows or ramp views; the front of the lounge feel especially dark as a result. Anyway, while the lounge wasn’t crowded during my midday Sunday visit, this area consistently remained the least occupied. If you want a quiet space, you’ll probably find one here.
Also in this area is a small business center with computer terminals.
Continuing farther into the lounge is the main dining area and kitchen. Like other Cathay Pacific lounges, this isn’t a buffet, but a full-service noodle bar. This variation includes several Taiwanese specialties, including Dan Dan noodles, beef noodle soup, and braised pork rice. You order at the bar, and the server provides you a buzzer that alerts you when your order is complete.
I really wasn’t hungry (ate too much breakfast at the hotel), so I just ordered a spring roll. It was quite good, crispy with a nice duck sauce.
These noodle bars really set Cathay lounges apart from many others. It’s much better quality food than you get in most lounges.
There are a few seats available at the bar itself, or you can sit in the larger dining area across the hall.
The seating is mostly a bunch of dining booths, with a large brown communal table in the center. One problem with this setup – there’s a dire shortage of plugs if you want to eat and work. I’d think they would put a wider variety of seating options, such as a communal desk with power ports. A few windows would also be nice.
Next to the bar, you’ll also find self-service soda, beer, and coffee. The lounge doesn’t offer barista-made coffee beverages.
From the kitchen, continue down the hall to the main lounge area. Though the dining area was pretty busy, the lounge itself had very few occupied seats. At the front of this section is a partially enclosed section with solo chairs and mini tables. They sort of resemble a Cathay Business Class seat. I found these solo chairs quite comfy, and decided to hang out here. Each chair comes with its own USB and power port.
Across the way is a self-serve soft drink/beer/coffee station with a communal dining table. Note the unique light fixtures over the dining table. These were made to resemble the Shifen sky lanterns, released during the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival.
Past this area is the large, open lounge area. There’s a variety of seating options, and the open layout makes it feel especially spacious. The windows on both sides also let in plenty of natural light, unlike the dining area. Unfortunately, though, the windows don’t provide any useful ramp or runway views. The various seating types also seemed rather haphazardly arranged, with no apparent rhyme or reason to their placement. But there’s plenty of seats, which is the most important part. It’s also still remarkably well maintained, 9 years after its last refresh.
At the very back of the lounge is the bar. The bar contains a decent selection of beer, wine, liquors, and even mocktails. Also on the menu is Taiwanese bubble tea (I’ve read it’s pretty good here). Although there are espresso-based drinks on the menu, these come from a push-button machine, not an espresso maker. There is also another self-service soft drink station to the right of the bar.
I decided to try the “Cathay Delight” mocktail, which is a concoction of coconut milk, milk, kiwi juice, and mint. Yeah…not my thing. I dislike both kiwi and mint, so I didn’t like it. Oh well, at least now I know not to order it on board.
Wifi is free but password protected, with password cards located throughout the lounge. Speeds seemed pretty fast. Unlike in the dining area, the seating area does contain plenty of plugs and USB ports to charge your devices. The lounge does not have showers, which seems like a missed opportunity here given its size.
Cathay Pacific Lounge Taipei – Final Thoughts
Cathay did a really nice job with this lounge, especially for an outstation. It’s spacious, the noodle bar is a cut above most lounge food and features local Taiwanese specialties, and the design has held up well even after 9 years. The lack of showers seems like a missed opportunity, though, and the lack of runway views is a bummer. Overall, though, it’s a solid option to spend a couple of hours.
