The opening of The Cabin at Hong Kong International Airport marks a step change in the airline’s lounge development in its hongkong hub. The 1,339-square-metre space has not only introduced a range of new features, including innovative seating and new food and beverage concepts, but also enables the airline to begin a revamp of its signature lounge in Hong Kong, The Wing. As The Cabin opened its doors to specially invited passengers on 30 September, before the official opening on 11 October, Head of Product Alex McGowan revealed that a plan is already in place to begin refurbishing The Wing. “We will begin work later this month – a phased refurbishment that will begin with Level 6. The complete programme, including Level 7 Business and First Class, is expected to take around 20 months,” says Alex. “This will put further pressure on lounge space at peak times, making our investment in The Cabin all the more timely and important.” Cathay Paci c passengers now have access to four lounges at HKIA and Alex says there is an ever-increasing demand for lounge space. “Our premium passengers really value the sanctuary of our lounges. Given that both frontend passenger numbers and toptier Marco Polo Club membership are growing, we need more lounge seating,” says Alex. “We planned the facilities in The Cabin as part of a portfolio of lounges, and we consider The Cabin to be ‘twinned’ with The Wing in a complementary way as they are only a short walk apart.” As a result, The Cabin doesn’t feature showers or the signature Cabanas, but “the refurbishment of The Wing will see a signi cant increase in the number of showers in First and Business Class,” says Alex. “This will ensure passengers departing from this part of the airport will be well catered for.” Also absent from The Cabin is the famous Noodle Bar, but again Alex says that this is part of the overall plan. “When we refurbish The Wing we plan to expand both the Noodle Bar and The Haven, so in planning our food and beverage approach for The Cabin we wanted to add new features that complement those already available,” he says.
The Cabin is the latest CX lounge at HKIA,the most striking is the Cathay Solus chair. This exclusive creation first glimpsed by passengers in the reception but also featured in the IT Zone and the Relaxing Zone – is a chair like no other, specically designed around the needs of individual passengers. “With its generous space, table, power socket, coat hook and transparent privacy screen, the Solus provides the ideal environment for passengers. It is designed to provide a private space to eat, drink, work on a laptop, make a phone call, read a paper or simply relax.” The chair, with its distinctive contoured white shell and red leather seating, was jointly created by Cathay Pacific and Foster + Partners . The Product team went through multiple rounds of trials with Marco Polo Club members – and the CX Rome team
The long, elegant space features floor-to-ceiling windows along its entire length, giving extensive views over the airport apron. Divided into five zones, all linked by a strip of plush red carpet, the IT Zone connects passengers to the world through iMacs, PCs and 20 Wi-Fi-enabled iPads pre-loaded with apps. For the hungry and thirsty, The Deli serves freshly prepared food to suit the international tastes of premium passengers, the Health Bar has Chinese herbal teas and juices, smoothies and alcoholic drinks
No comments:
Post a Comment