Cathay First and Business Lounge SFO

Until it opened it's own lounge in December, Cathay used the British Airways Terraces Lounge. Although the food offerings were weak and access to the First Class room was not controlled, the direct and convenient boarding access to the jet bridge at Gate A6 was a big plus. In my opinion, Cathay fumbled the ball on the new SFO lounge. The new Cathay lounge is located with most of the other pier A lounges (except Emirates and British Airways who snagged the best locations) just inside security but a long trek upstairs and down a narrow corridor. Unfortunately, as the last one to build, Cathay got the furthest location from the gates.

 

 

 

A long, long walk down to Cathay...

 

 

 

 

 

While a separate lounge is a nice idea, IMO the lounge is a disappointment. Way too far a hike, lousy views and too small a space for the number of seats and a today's full complement of First & Business Class passengers. And the lack of a separate First Class lounge is a huge no-no. What were they thinking? As much as I complained about the British Airways lounge, I'd just as soon go back and use that, especially given the direct boarding feature. I think that Cathay would have been better served working a deal with BA to upgrade the Terraces lounge.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A rather basic selection of serve yourself food is available, including some made to order items from the kitchen... although the menu and protocol were unclear.

The eggs and sausage were actually quite good.

I didn't realize until I was doing the photo edit but, once again, I was on the receiving end of the "evil eye" as the chef was apparently none too happy that I was snapping pics.