So… We just got dropped off at the airport. We were about to embark on our first big trip with our first son who was just 4.5 months old. It felt completely overwhelming the day before to pack for us and for our first ever child. What would he need? One pacifier? Two? Five? How many diapers per day does he go through exactly? Which toys should we bring? The list went on, but we finally got all packed up, and we were off to SFO!
After checking our bags with Cathay Pacific at the airport, we realized that we were now, all of a sudden, traveling pretty lightly. Katy and I were both wearing backpacks. Katy was pushing Z in our travel stroller, which folds up to fit in the overhead bin, and I was pulling a roll-aboard carry-on. Things were all of a sudden seeming a bit more manageable. Furthermore, Z was in a generally great mood. There were plenty of distractions around to stimulate him.
Security took a while, but after security, we had about 90 minutes to kill, and we decided to check out the Cathay Pacific Business Class lounge, which is accessed by making an immediate left after security. You take the elevator up a floor, and there are a bunch of other lounges up there as well. We walked down the long hallway to the Cathay lounge, of course marked by a mannequin.
We were nervous about getting dirty looks with our little man, but the opposite turned out to be true. The little guy quickly made friends with all of the lounge attendants, and they all seemed more excited about his first transpacific flight than we were!
The lounge is split in half at the entrance. You can go right. You can go left. If you go right, you’ll pass a couple small lounging areas, which are followed by a dining area. During our visit, this dining area was stocked with a variety of cold sandwiches, vegetables, and a small selection of warm food. Just to the left of this is a make-to-order noodle station. It’s pretty neat. You choose between a few different types of noodle dishes (wonton noodles, dan dan noodles, or vegetarian noodles), and then they give you a buzzer to let you know when the noodles are ready. I had a bowl of noodles and some other snacks.
I also grabbed myself a beer. I generally prefer self serve alcohol, and this is how the Cathay lounge was setup. There was a good selection of beer, wine, and champagne. For beer, you could get Tsing Tao, Bud Light, GB Marzen, and another variety or two. The selection was weak compared to the Centurion Lounge’s awesome tap of great local beers.
We found a spot in the corner that we could section off with our stroller, just in case our little one got unruly. He never did, though, and I got Katy and I some food while she stayed with the baby.
In terms of food options,
The lounge had more than enough seating for everyone. The lounge was divided into sections with different styles of seating. For example, you could find standard lounge seating.
Just beyond that, there were some modern, innovative individual couch / chair / desk combo pods. I liked these a lot… If I were here for business travel, I’d probably set myself up in one of these.
And then they had another section of chairs that must have been designed for baby photo shoots…
In my mind, lounges are divided into two categories: lounges that are good enough to pop into during a layover and lounges that I actually make a point to visit. The SFO Cathay Pacific Lounge is in the latter category. It’s a great spot, and it’s a nice place to hang out before you embark on your next journey to Asia!
