Review of Cathay Pacific flight Hong Kong → Jakarta in Business

Welcome to a series of flight reports around, you guessed it, the Asia Pacific. This series will contain reports on 6 segments and cover 2 airlines. The final leg on Delta PVG-LAX I will not report on as I have reported on that flight twice recently.

The carrier, route, equipment, class, lounge, and procurement method were as follows:

Cathay Pacific - LAX-HKG - 777-300ER - First - Qantas First Lounge - Alaska Mileage Plan
Cathay Pacific - HKG-TPE - 777-300ER - First- The Wing and The Pier - Alaska Mileage Plan
Cathay Pacific - TPE-HKG - 777-300 - Business - Cathay Pacific Lounge - BA Avios
Cathay Pacific - HKG-CGK - A330-300 - Business - The Bridge and The Cabin - BA Avios (This Report)
Singapore Airlines - CGK-SIN - 777-300 - First - Esplanade Lounge and a TPR "Arrivals" Lounge Experience - Krisflyer Miles
Singapore Airlines - SIN-PVG - A380-800 - Suites - The Private Room - Krisflyer Miles (Coming Sooner or Later)
Delta Air Lines - PVG-LAX - 777-200LR - Business - No Lounge - NRSA (No Report)

Arrival back to HKG is punctual. I'm starting to drag a bit at this point as I was up very early to maximize my ground time in the Hong Kong and walked a good distance. Of course the excitement of being in one of the worlds greatest travel hubs perks me up and I'm finding my stride again. I decided to pop in on the lounge that is nearest to my transit security location and this turns out to be The Bridge.

The Bridge

The lounge is one floor below the departure level, similar to The Pier, and is split into two parts separated by long connecting hallways.



Having never visited before I venture to the right at the split. The lounge is very crowded so my pictures have to be captured in a more incognito manner hence the low(er) quality.

Variety of seating.



Business center.



Dining room. The constant traffic made photographing the food offerings problematic.



Snacks on the bar.



I had a go at the samosa and satay. Not fresh.



My flight to CGK was showing a gate (21) so I decided to venture over to the J lounge nearest to my departure gate.

The Cabin

Again, one floor below the departure level.



And again a very crowded lounge. The midnight departure back for CX is a robust one with many regional flights and also long haul flights.



This was a very brief stop at The Cabin. I was impressed by the setup of someone making hot sandwiches.



While I didn't partake in a sandwich, they looked good. Boarding time was approaching so it was off to the gate.

CX753 HKG-CGK

Boarding was called more or less on time and judging from the assembled crowd there would be a light load.

I was the first to board in J and was enthusiastically greeted at the door. It turns out I was the only one seated in the smaller J cabin and they wanted me to move to the larger J cabin. Problem is, the seat they wanted me in doesn't have a window (18A) and also, I selected 19A specifically for the location and the quieter mini-J cabin. My resistance to move was met with disappointment but I stayed put.

My private cabin.



Seat 19A. A great space for work or sleep with ample storage and a sense of privacy.



Intuitive controls.



Decent headset.



Good foot space for reverse herringbone J class.



Water and fizz before we depart.




Boarding was complete quickly and we were off.



After the seat belt sign was turned off the crew came by to offer drinks and inquire as to whether I wanted to have a meal. The menu had been distributed on the ground and read like this.



To drink I requested a re-do of my PDB. This time with oshibori.




I took a meal for the purpose of a complete report. The cabin was so lightly populated the service was very fast and attentive.

The base tray is delivered and then the starter. The fruit was very good.



I selected the lamb chop which was delivered by itself rather than on a cart with all of the main course offerings. It was nicely cooked. I enjoyed a bite or two.



The toffee cheesecake with vanilla sauce was good in texture but far too sweet for my palate.



The meal service was quick and the service attentive. I half expected to be forgotten back there by myself but I was not.

The cabin lights were quickly shut off and I went to sleep using this pathetic bedding on offer. I borrowed from empty seats of course but still, for a 4+ hour overnight flight in business class this bedding is wildly insufficient.



Not wise to leave personal belongings out like that. you would think crew would know better.



I had a solid 3 hour nap. The cabin was warm so the lack of proper bedding was not as glaring. I woke up on final to CGK.



Our arrival was on time and I was off to the always odd Jakarta transit adventure.