Opened in February 2023, the Cathay Pacific Lounge replaces an older and smaller iteration of the airline’s Tokyo Narita Airport lounge offering. Despite being ‘new’, the lounge takes the old space of the American Airlines Admirals Club, retaining much of its look and furniture.

Lounge Access Rules

Passengers with a same-day reservation on Cathay Pacific and oneworld First Class and Business Class flights are eligible for access. Passengers connecting to a oneworld flight from an international oneworld First Class and Business Class flight are also eligible for entry. When accessing by status, passengers holding at least Cathay Silver status are eligible for access. This also extends to Sapphire status holders with oneworld carriers, such as JAL Global Club Sapphire, AAdvantage Platinum, or BA Executive Club Silver. Of course, access is also permitted to oneworld Emerald card holders. Refer to the Cathay Pacific website for specific details.

Location

The Cathay Pacific Lounge is located towards the direction of Gate 71 and is one floor down from the Departures Level. Located just behind the Chanel fragrance store is a pair of escalators going down to Level 2. On the escalator landing on Level 2 is the prominent entrance to the Cathay Pacific Lounge, opposite the China Airlines Lounge.

Cathay Pacific Lounge

An impressive stone reception desk is set against the entrance, in the surprisingly spacious foyer. Since I visited in between the Cathay Pacific departures, the lounge was largely devoid of people. Still, the friendly Cathay Pacific-uniformed lounge agent happily scanned my JAL boarding pass and invited me in. Although I was flying JAL Economy Class, I had access thanks to my oneworld Emerald status.

Lounge Area

Directly past the reception is the main seating area, which consists of seating spread between two aisles. Most of these seats consist of sofa chairs set in rows facing each other or the aisle. The lounge also has the benefit of having spectacular views of the apron, with the main seating area circled by huge windows on two sides.

The majority of the seats are divided by a console table, on which you’d find two Type A power outlets. Although I can’t excuse the out-of-trend design, I was happy to see that the chairs were comfortable. Towards the back of the lounge, you’ll even find a nice-looking row of Eames chairs, alongside a row of desk seats overlooking the window.

You’ll notice that, unlike most Cathay Pacific Lounges, the Narita lounge does not have Studio Isle’s signature boathouse look. Instead, the space retains the look of the American Airlines Admirals Club it replaced. Despite the borderline outdated look, the lounge remains very well-maintained and comfortable. It has been reported that the airline intends to fully renovate the lounge to match the look of its Hong Kong lounges, though no timeline has been set.

Dining

Located next to the main seating area and to the right of the reception area is the dining area. Located here are a bunch of densely-arranged swivelling leather chairs. Each pair shares a small granite table more suitable for drinks and snacks rather than a full meal. Running along the interior wall is also a banquet bench with a row of high-top tables and seating. Another row of dining tables is also available, sharing a banquet bench facing the main corridor of the lounge.

There is a second dining area located behind the food buffet, featuring several couple’s dining tables along the walls as well as two communal tables, each seating ten people. Funnily, the two seats on each end of communal tables consist of a stool, which looked quite out of place. In any case, this dining room looked a lot more modern compared to the main dining area.

Food

The food offering in the Cathay Pacific Lounge consists solely of a buffet located in the area next to the seating area. The selection includes a standard choice of a salad bar, cold cuts, cheeses, and sushi rolls. This is in addition to the hot dishes served in bain-maries.

In terms of hot food, on offer were stir-fried udon noodles, steamed broccoli, and Japanese-style chicken curry. This selection was accompanied by a side of rice, alongside miso soup and pumpkin soup. Despite the absence of a noodle bar, I found the food to be pretty good in terms of quality.

There were also baked goods like bread rolls, banana cake, and chocolate cake, in addition to the savoury items on offer. Whole fresh fruits like apples, oranges, and bananas were also available in the spread during my visit. ice cream is also available on request.

Drinks

Behind the food spread is a wide choice of beverages, which includes an array of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Available in the chillers were the usual suspects, like Coca-Cola, Sprite, Schweppes tonic water, Canada Dry ginger ale, and soda water. There is also a dispenser for filtered water and sparkling water. What caught my eye, however, was the espresso machine. While the choice of coffee and tea seemed normal enough, the espresso machine also brewed matcha-based drinks. That’s the first time I’ve seen that!

Compared to the JAL Sakura Lounge, the selection of liquor here is a lot more modest. Available on my visit were Absolut vodka, Bacardi rum, Gordon’s gin, Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky, Suntory VSOP brandy, and Sapporo Shirokaga plum wine. Both Kirin Ichibanbori and Asahi Super Dry beer were on offer, dispensed by a set of beer machines. There was also a choice of two red wines and two white wines.

Amenities

Business Centre

A modest business centre is available in the Cathay Pacific Lounge, featuring an ensemble of twelve semi-private desk cubicles. Each cubicle is equipped with two Type A power outlets, along with an ergonomic work chair. In addition, a range of magazines are available in front of the business centre.

Showers

Tokyo Narita is the only outstation Cathay Pacific Lounge in Asia that features showers. This is no coincidence since the facility is inherited from the lounge’s days as an American Airlines Admirals Club. In particular, five showers are available, located behind the food buffet.

You can get a shower by requesting the reception staff, who will lend you a keycard to enter the shower suites. Although the space verges on being outdated, I found the shower suite to be clean and impeccably maintained. I appreciate that a toilet and a sink is available in the shower room, along with a small luggage rack.

The shower stall itself only has a small shower head, which is the norm with showers from 20-30 years ago. Notably, however, the shower stalls do not feature the Bamford amenities you’d find at other Cathay Pacific Lounges. In its place are shower amenities in non-descript containers.

Toilets

The toilets are located across from the showers and are gender-segregated. Despite looking outdated, I found the toilet to be clean and well-kept, as expected from an airport lounge in Japan. While nothing has been changed from its days as an Admirals Club, I appreciate that the toilet stalls are equipped with bidets, at the very least.

WiFi

The Cathay Pacific Lounge has its own WiFi, separate from the network offered in the terminal. Fascinatingly, the network setting is identical to any other Cathay Pacific Lounge in the world. As such, if you’ve been to a Cathay Pacific Lounge (even if not this one), chances are you would be connected to the network automatically.

Overall

In all, I found the Cathay Pacific Lounge Narita to be a pleasant place to spend several hours before your flight. Although I wouldn’t put it remotely on the same level as the excellent JAL Sakura Lounge, I do appreciate how empty the Cathay Pacific Lounge can be (in comparison to the JAL Lounges). Additionally, I’m sure Cathay Silver members flying with the airline will appreciate access privileges to this lounge. With relatively good food and well-maintained showers, this is a solid lounge offering on the part of Cathay Pacific.

Read more from this trip here!