Off to The London Palladium? You can use the new free Cathay lounge

Cathay, the Hong Kong-based leisure group which includes oneworld airline Cathay Pacific, has unveiled an interesting partnership with West End theatre group LW Theatres.

The most relevant part for HfP readers is the launch of the Cathay Lounge at The London Palladium.

This intimate space, seating just 8-10 people, will be available before and during every performance at the theatre, and you can book yourself in for free.

You can find out more on the Cathay website here.

What will the new Cathay / LW Theatres partnership offer?

In what is described as ‘one of the most significant investments in West End history’ (ie it wasn’t cheap), Cathay will get a promotional presence at all six LW Theatres venues in Central London. These include His Majesty’s Theatre, Theatre Royal Drury Lane and the Gillian Lynne Theatre.

Cathay members will soon be able to redeem Asia Miles via the Cathay website for show tickets as well as exclusive packages such as backstage tours and ‘meet the cast’ dinners.

As Asia Miles is a 1:1 transfer partner with American Express Membership Rewards in the UK, we will flag up interesting packages as they go live to allow you to redeem.

Use the Cathay Lounge at The London Palladium

This is very interesting. Cathay has taken over a small room inside the theatre for a dedicated Cathay Lounge.

The London Palladium is a good choice for this because, unlike most London theatres, it does not dedicate itself to month-long (or often years-long) bookings for the same show. It is mainly used for short runs, often one night events, which means that Cathay can appeal to a far broader audience.

I was there on Thursday night for the opening and it is very smart – a vast improvement on spending pre-show and interval time in the crowded bars.

There are no free drinks in the lounge, but there will be a dedicated waiter who will bring you whatever you want from the theatre bars. Nibbles will be provided.

ANYONE can book seats in this space if they are a Cathay member. You do NOT need to have any Asia Miles in your account – in fact you don’t need any activity on the account at all. Simply sign up at the Cathay website and you’re in.

If you have tickets for an upcoming event at The London Palladium you can give it a go now. As long as you booked directly via the LW Theatres website, you can go to https://booking.lwtheatres.co.uk/order/manage and you should see an option to reserve seats in the Cathay Lounge.

All you need to do is add your Cathay membership number and your place is guaranteed.

Let us know if you try it out in the coming weeks. We will keep an eye on upcoming events at LW Theatres which can be redeemed for Asia Miles.

You can find out more on this special page of the Cathay website.