Review of Cathay Pacific flight Bangkok → Hong Kong in First

Airline Cathay Pacific
Flight CX708
Class First
Seat 1A
Aircraft Boeing 777-300ER
Flight time 02:40
Take-off 12 Dec 15, 17:40
Arrival at 12 Dec 15, 21:20
CX   #2 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 510 reviews
socalnow
By 2949
Published on 6th February 2016
Hello Flight Report community and thanks for stopping by this review.

This report series is book-ended by flying the two Japanese carriers in the USA-HND market, ANA and JAL. I have always been keen to try the Thai 747 in first so long story short I managed to add ANA HND-PEK in J on the 787-9 (new type for me) and PEK-BKK on TG in the 747 in F(or so I thought, the Thai operations folks had other ideas). For the return I pulled off a fantastic (for an airline nerd) routing of CX BKK-HKG in F(overnight at HKG), CX HKG-HND in F and JL HND-SFO in F.

The reports will be broken down as follows:

LAX Star Alliance First Class Lounge and ANA LAX-HND (First)http://flight-report.com/en/report-13078.html
ANA Haneda First Class Lounges and ANA HND-PEK (Business)http://flight-report.com/en/report-13099.html
Getting TG'd by Thai Airways PEK-BKK (Business) http://flight-report.com/en/report-13146.html
Cathay Pacific Bangkok Lounge and CX BKK-HKG (First) (This report)
Cathay Pacific The Wing and The Pier and CX HKG-HND (First) http://flight-report.com/en/report-13195.html
JAL Haneda First Class Lounge and JL HND-SFO (First) http://flight-report.com/en/report-13216.html

I returned to Suvarnabhumi Airport by taxi at around 14:45 for the 17:45 departure. The taxi at this time of day was the fastest way to the airport from the Chao Phraya River area of town. They are quite affordable as well.

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There was an F desk for CX where I was quickly check in and given a boarding pass and lounge invite.

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I was off to the premium immigration line and into the airport quickly.

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I was eager to visit the recently remodeled Cathay Pacific lounge. The nondescript entrance belies a lovely and spacious lounge.

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There was a substantially delayed CX flight so the lounge was quite crowded when I arrived. From the crowd at the counter I assume there were going to be some missed connections.

To the left of the entrance is the dining area. Here you will find the noodle and cooked to order food.

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The opposite end of the lounge has seating in the style of The Pier lounge in HKG.



Separating the dining area from seating area was a beverage and light buffet area.



I wasn't terribly hungry having been on somewhat of an eating tour of the Chatuchak Market earlier in the day but I sampled a couple of items. They were satisfactory and the presentation of everything was excellent.

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The lounge also had a great bar with a very talented bar tender and a fun cocktail list. I took advantage of this and tried 3 of her offerings. I wish I had paid closer attention to the names but suffice it to say everything was had made with fresh juices and quality booze.

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Eventually Cathay got caught up and the lounge emptied out. Soon thereafter it was time for me to leave as well. I started the sufficiently booozy walk to the gate.

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There was something odd about boarding the CX 777-300ER for a short two hour flight. The familiar cabin was full for this segment.

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Champagne was promptly offered.

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There was an abbreviated menu for the short hop to HKG.

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The did offer a wine from the monthly promotion. It was the Pessac-Leognan region this time.

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We pushed back on time and enjoyed some lovely sunset views on taxi.



Up into the dusky Bangkok sky.

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I really appreciate the high quality headsets.

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Beverages were offered and I selected the Duetz.

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Nothing on the menu was appealing to me but for some reason I ordered the beef option. The table is set with the usual Cathay Pacific precision.

The meal started with what the menu describes as duck carpaccio.

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Then the main dish. I only managed a bite or two. There was nothing wrong with it I just wasn't in the mood.

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Another reason for not taking much of the on board cuisine was that I planned to visit The Pier on arrival so I preferred to take a meal there.

I tasted the mascapone mousse and it was very rich but rather uninspired. The JW Blue was excellent as always.

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I was impressed at how well the crew performed a 3 course meal for 6 guests in 2 hours without ever seeming rushed. The service was impeccable. Beverages were consistently topped up and dishes were cleared promptly when finished. Well done Cathay Pacific.

We landed on time and were at the gate around 21:20. I was staying at the Regal Hotel attached to the airport as I had an early flight to HND. Rather than head to the hotel I decided a stop at The Pier for a nightcap and a snack would be appropriate. I was in possession of my onward boarding pass so I went through transit security and proceeded to the lounge.

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My affection for this lounge is well documented so I'll just show a couple of pics of tonight's food. I enjoyed a seared tuna starter and a cheese board.



I then retired to the seating area for a digestif of whiskey.

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When I was ready to retire to the hotel in I went to the front desk and explained that I would like to go to immigration and enter Hong Kong for the night. While they were not thrilled with my presence I was assigned a staff to walk me to the proper location and place me in the queue to go through immigration and customs. I still had to wait in the long line for immigration but the entire process of leaving The Pier to stepping into my hotel room was about an hour.
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Verdict

Cathay Pacific

8.1/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew8.5
Entertainment/wifi8.5
Meal/catering7.0

Cathay Pacific Lounge

8.0/10
Comfort8.0
Meal/catering8.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Services8.0

Bangkok - BKK

7.9/10
Efficiency7.5
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0

Hong Kong - HKG

7.2/10
Efficiency5.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0

Conclusion

I enjoyed another great experience with Cathay Pacific.

The lounge at Bangkok is really nice. It has a great aesthetic similar to The Pier. The food and beverage are great and the bar tender was exceptional.

On board the airplane the seat comfort is fantastic for a flight of hours or 16 hours. The catering was somewhat disappointing but for a two our flight it was fine. The service from the crew was stellar.

I enjoyed the bonus of some time in one of my favorite airline lounges on arrival. What a great evening.

Thank you for coming along and happy flying.

Information on the route Bangkok (BKK) → Hong Kong (HKG)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 54 avis concernant 7 compagnies sur la ligne Bangkok (BKK) → Hong Kong (HKG).

Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Emirates avec 8.4/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 2 heures et 44 minutes.

  More information

8 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 157036 by
    Aubin 231 Comments
    Well documented FR, thank you.
  • Comment 157041 by
    beijinner 157 Comments
    Thank's for the great FR!

    Indeed, it's amazing to see how the crew managed to make a 3 courses meal in 2 hours (plating everything). I hope you enjoyed your restaurant hop in the sky :)
    • Comment 334269 by
      socalnow AUTHOR 976 Comments
      Hello Beijinner and thanks for the comments.

      I hope you enjoyed your restaurant hop in the sky :)
      -Very much indeed. It's always a treat to fly F and with Cathay it's even more special as they are so consistently good.

      Thanks again and happy flying.
  • Comment 157075 by
    indianocean SILVER 7573 Comments
    The newly designed CX lounge in BKK is indeed very nice.

    Even if it's a short hop, it's always nice to travel First Class. One can never get enough with getting spoiled by the cabin crew.

    Wasn't the staff at the The Pier Lounge surprised with the fact that your flight to Tokyo was scheduled the following day when you got in?

    Thank you for sharing.
    • Comment 334270 by
      socalnow AUTHOR 976 Comments
      Greetings Indianocean and thanks for commenting on this FR.

      Wasn't the staff at the The Pier Lounge surprised with the fact that your flight to Tokyo was scheduled the following day when you got in?
      -I really doubt they even noticed. They're all chatting and it seems like an inconvenience to even have to admit a customer. They scan the boarding pass and if it doesn't beep at them they're back to their conversations.

      Thanks again and happy flying.
  • Comment 157163 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6744 Comments
    Thanks for another beautiful report! The lounge does indeed look quite nice and is reminiscent of the Pier, although it is a Business class lounge. It is crazy to me that CX runs low density 77Ws with F in a historically low-yielding market like BKK, but send high density regional 773 to SIN, a world Financial capital that has a much higher demand for premium travel.

    The onboard experience looks great for such a full flight, with full First class service. However, it's too bad there isn't anything to elevate the ground experience for F pax.

    Thanks for sharing!
    • Comment 334404 by
      socalnow AUTHOR 976 Comments
      Greetings KevinDC and thank you for the comments.

      It is crazy to me that CX runs low density 77Ws with F in a historically low-yielding market like BKK, but send high density regional 773 to SIN, a world Financial capital that has a much higher demand for premium travel.
      -I could not agree more. I will add that regional F service to BKK, or any other destination other than TYO, is sporadic at best. I would think that in addition to TYO the SIN market warrants a consistent F offering. Perhaps it's just utilization flying and the airplane can get form HKG-BKK-HJG in between long hauls where HKG-SIN-HGK would cut it too close?

      Thanks again for the comments and happy flying.

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