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I recently spent quite a few hours in Kuala Lumpur International airport and, as the Malaysia Airlines lounges in the satellite terminal are both currently closed for refurbishment, I took a look around to see what other options are currently available.
I’ve already posted details of the Malaysia Airlines C.I.P Lounge in the satellite terminal, which is where some Malaysia Airlines passengers are being sent but, as that facility is (a) temporary, (b) small and (c) not exactly impressive, you may want to know what the Cathay Pacific Lounge is like.
I didn’t spend much time in the Cathay Pacific lounge as I was only trying to get a feel for what it’s like and to see if it offers a viable option to the Malaysia Airlines C.I.P lounge – that’s why I’m not calling this a review and why I’m going to let the pictures do most of the talking.
Location
The satellite terminal has four “arms” reaching out from a central atrium…..
…and each arm has two levels. All the airline lounges are to be found on the second level so this is where you’ll find the Cathay pacific lounge.
The lounge is located at the beginning of the “east zone” (yellow/orange) where I have placed the red rectangle in the image above.
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
The reception desk is immediately inside the sliding glass doors and the entrance to the lounge itself is to the left of the desk.
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
The lounge is one long narrow rectangle stretching from right to left with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the airport apron.
The way the lounge is designed you enter in the middle of the rectangle and straight into a seating area with armchairs:
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
To the right is a high marble-topped table with stools….
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
…and, past this, the lounge ends with a small seating area with more armchairs:
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
To the left of where you enter is a large newspaper/magazine rack….
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
…and past this, the lounge opens up into its largest seating area:
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
This end of the lounge ends with a glass-enclosed business area compete with four iMacs, three PCs and a printer:
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
Lounge Food
I visited the lounge shortly after opening time (6:30 am) so breakfast was being offered.
All the food is to be found on the right side of the lounge and against the wall facing the windows.
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
The hot items on offer included:
- “Chicken ham with honey peach”
- “Stewed haricot beans with tomato sauce” (better known as baked beans!)
- Nasi Lemak with condiments
- Fried Imperial noodles
- Corn Congee
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
There was also the option to boil up some water for the “hot cup” noodles that were on the side.
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
The lounge also offered a selection of pastries….
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
…two cereals and bread for toast…..
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
…nuts and cookies:
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
There’s a chiller cabinet on the wall which holds sodas, beers and juices…..
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
…and there are tea & coffee making facilities too.
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
Four spirits with optics complete the drink selection (although presumably wine is put out at an appropriate time of day).
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
Things To Note
The lounge doesn’t offer shower facilities which, for a lounge with the word “First” in it’s name is poor.
I could only see a limited number of power outlets in the lounge and these were all of the UK variety so a lot of guests will probably need adapters.
The large windows of the lounge will almost certainly let a lot of light in during daylight hours….
Cathay Pacific Lounge Kuala Lumpur
….so the lounge shouldn’t feel too dark or claustrophobic once the sun is up.
Thoughts
Cathay Pacific needs to remove any reference to “First Class” from the name of this lounge as I didn’t see anything First Class about it at all.
The lack of shower facilities is disappointing and means that, while the Malaysia Airlines lounges are being refurbished (completion due 22 January 2018), oneworld passengers don’t have access to anywhere they can freshen up in the satellite terminal.
The seats on offer are perfectly comfortable but there really isn’t anything here to get overly excited about….it’s almost as if Cathay Pacific is doing the bare minimum required for its passengers.
This lounge is clearly better than the C.I.P lounge around the corner but I didn’t see anything in my brief visit that would tempt me to return once Malaysia Airlines opens its refurbished lounges less than a minute’s walk away.
