Cathay's redesigned The Wing, First is now the world's best first-class lounge, according to Skytrax

Cathay Pacific's flagship lounge in Hong Kong has a new look and a new trophy. At the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards on Sept. 18, The Wing, First was named the World's Best First Class Airline Lounge, Cathay announced. The airline also finished among the top three airlines overall and won World's Best Cabin Crew. Chief executive Ronald Lam collected the awards in London with chief operations and service delivery officer Alex McGowan and director of service delivery Mandy Ng.

The timing is no accident. The Wing, First reopened on April 22 after a long closure and a complete redesign, so the travelers who vote in the Skytrax survey were rating a lounge that had been open for only a few months.

What the redesign changed#

London design firm StudioIlse led the rebuild. Cathay describes the result as a residential space with more privacy than before. The signature material is green onyx, which shows up most prominently at the central bar. Walnut in several finishes and granite floors run through the rest of the lounge, and the furniture and lighting were designed for it, according to Cathay's announcement of the reopening.

The lounge is organized into named areas:

• The Atrium is the light-filled center of the lounge, with the onyx bar and a self-serve Pantry. Its menu changes through the day, from breakfast to afternoon tea to evening bistro dishes.
• The Dining Room does à la carte table service. The menu mixes international dishes with Asian ones, and the regional Chinese dishes come from a partnership with Hong Kong restaurant Mott 32.
• The Retreat has seven private massage booths for foot, neck and shoulder treatments.
• The Alcove holds five enclosed booths with tables and charging, for a meal, a book or a laptop.
• The Bureau is a fully closed-off workspace with two lighting settings, "Engaged" for calls and meetings and "Focused" for quiet work.
• The Shower Suite was redone with new water and lighting systems with mood-based settings.

Cathay hasn't published the lounge's size or shower count. Our directory lists 12 showers and room for about 150 people.

Who gets in#

The Wing, First is for Cathay Pacific First Class passengers and eligible members of the airline's lounge programs. Our directory, which checked Cathay's official lounge page on Sept. 27, records the current rule as Cathay First passengers with one guest, and Cathay Diamond members subject to their tier's guest rules. Other oneworld First passengers and oneworld Emerald members are, for now, directed to The Pier (First) instead, and business class alone does not qualify. Cathay's announcements don't say how long that restriction lasts. If you hold Emerald status through another oneworld airline, plan on The Pier, which our directory lists with ten showers and a 4.6 rating.

Where it sits#

The Wing is airside in Terminal 1 at Hong Kong International, on Level 7 in Zone A, immediately after security and immigration near gates 1 to 4. That makes it the natural first stop after security and the best choice for departures from gates 1 to 28, per our listing, while The Pier and The Deck sit farther out along the concourse. The lounge opens at 05:30 and stays open until the last Cathay departure, which falls between 00:30 and 03:20.

The business side of The Wing is a different story. Our directory lists The Wing (Business) as temporarily closed, and Cathay's announcements don't give a reopening date. Business passengers at Hong Kong currently split between The Pier and The Deck, both of which have showers and full bars.

The bigger picture#

Cathay says it has committed HK$150 billion to new aircraft, cabins, lounges and digital systems. The Wing, First is the showpiece of the lounge portion of that spending. The airline marked its 80th anniversary this year, and Lam said the lounge "has long held a special place in not only our hearts, but also our customers'."

The Skytrax first-class lounge award has a short list of regular winners, and it tends to recognize lounges with real dining rooms and spa treatments rather than buffet-and-armchair spaces. Cathay's win puts The Wing, First back in that conversation, alongside the other lounges in our Hong Kong listings that our users rate above 4.5.

Should you plan around it?#

If you're flying Cathay First out of Hong Kong, yes. The combination of table service, massage booths and private showers is hard to match, and the reopened lounge is new enough that the fittings are still pristine. I'd arrive early enough to use the dining room and The Retreat properly.

If you're in business class, the award doesn't change your options. The Pier (Business) remains Cathay's largest and best-equipped business lounge in Hong Kong by our listings, with 14 showers, and The Deck has eight. We'll update our listings for The Wing when Cathay confirms the business side's reopening. See all Cathay Pacific lounges.

Related reading#

• Cathay's rebuilt Wing First is five months old and oneworld Emeralds are still locked out
• The world's best first class lounges, ranked: 2026
• The 12 best Cathay Pacific lounges, ranked: 2026

{{cite news |title=Cathay's redesigned The Wing, First is now the world's best first-class lounge, according to Skytrax |url=https://www.loungefrog.com/news/cathay-pacific-the-wing-first-redesign-skytrax |work=Lounge Frog |author=Patrick Karsh |date=2026-10-06 |language=en}}

{
  "id": "https://www.loungefrog.com/news/cathay-pacific-the-wing-first-redesign-skytrax",
  "type": "article-newspaper",
  "title": "Cathay's redesigned The Wing, First is now the world's best first-class lounge, according to Skytrax",
  "URL": "https://www.loungefrog.com/news/cathay-pacific-the-wing-first-redesign-skytrax",
  "container-title": "Lounge Frog",
  "language": "en",
  "author": [
    {
      "literal": "Patrick Karsh"
    }
  ],
  "issued": {
    "date-parts": [
      [
        2026,
        10,
        6
      ]
    ]
  }
}

<iframe src="https://www.loungefrog.com/embed/news/cathay-pacific-the-wing-first-redesign-skytrax?theme=auto" title="Cathay's redesigned The Wing, First is now the world's best first-class lounge, according to Skytrax by Lounge Frog" width="100%" height="440" style="border:0;max-width:100%" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="font-size:14px">Cathay's redesigned The Wing, First is now the world's best first-class lounge, according to Skytrax by <a href="https://www.loungefrog.com/news/cathay-pacific-the-wing-first-redesign-skytrax" rel="nofollow">Lounge Frog</a></p>
<script async src="https://www.loungefrog.com/embed.js"></script>