Review of Cathay Pacific flight Hong Kong New York in Business

Airline Cathay Pacific
Flight CX840
Class Business
Seat 22K
Aircraft Boeing 777-300ER
Flight time 16:00
Take-off 01 Sep 15, 16:10
Arrival at 01 Sep 15, 20:10
CX   #2 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 509 reviews
rbix
By 3684
Published on 26th June 2018
Hi, everyone! Welcome to Part 2 of the final leg of my holiday of the summer 2015 series! This is in continuation from Part 1 where I showcased the flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong, taking flight CX616 which departed very early in the morning. Despite waking up super early for that flight, it did allow me to have 6 hours to kill before heading back to New York.

So, I ventured out to the city in order to catch up with some of my family and friends before I headed back to the airport. I thought that this was going to be a normal flight like always, but in this case, there were several factors such as delays and other last-minute changes which somewhat disrupted the experience. Nevertheless, at least I was able to make something out of it. I hope all of you enjoy reading this report! ;)

Summer 2015 Trip Report Index:
1) 27 June 2015: CX899 EWR-HKG, B777-300ER, Business
2) 22 August 2015: KA633 HKG-PEN, A330-300, Business
3) 28 August 2015: KA692 PEN-HKG, A330-300, Business
4) 31 August 2015: CX701 HKG-BKK, A330-300, Business
5) 1 September 2015: CX616 BKK-HKG, B777-300, Business
6) 1 September 2015: CX840 HKG-JFK, B777-300ER, Business

Pre-flight:
There's nothing much I can say regarding this part, except I had fun catching up with some of my family and friends, and then joining my parents for lunch prior to my departure. Anyways, I made it to Hong Kong Station in Central in order to head to the airport at around 1:45 PM, which was just walking distance from where I was having lunch. Prior to venturing out into Hong Kong, I dropped off my belongings for storage in the same building where the Airport Express station is, which is pretty much a shopping mall. Once I retrieved my bag and after a quick farewell to my parents, I was all set to head back to the airport since I already had my onward boarding pass and my bag was checked-in straight to JFK. So, I was good to go!
photo dsc06536photo dsc06537

The trains to the airport are a few levels below the check-in area
photo dsc06538

The usual Airport Express platform
photo dsc06540photo dsc06541

Interior
photo dsc06543

I made to the airport at around 2:30 PM, giving me enough time to go through security, immigration, plane spotting, and hopefully some lounge-hopping!


HKG Check-in area
photo dsc06557photo dsc06558

Passing through security and immigration
photo dsc06561

Post-security:
So, I found out from the FIDS that my flight was departing from gate 1 today, which gave me the obvious choice but to go to my favourite CX lounge in HKG, The Wing since it's right across from each other. However, this was prior to finding out the many changes that affected this flight which I'll explain further.
photo dsc06566photo dsc06567

Going through the duty-free area
photo dsc06572photo dsc06575

Gates 1-4 area
photo dsc06576photo dsc06580

The usual scenery at HKG, with a Finnair Airbus A340-300, OH-LQD, right in front
photo dsc06629

The Wing - Business Class entrance
photo dsc06579

Lounge invitation
photo dsc06585

Shots of the lounge from the main floor
photo dsc06604photo dsc06613

The first thing on the agenda was to take a nice, refreshing shower prior to boarding the flight. I have to say, I found the showers in this lounge to be impeccable as always!
photo dsc06608photo dsc06611

Once I was done with my shower, I headed to the balcony level, which is my favourite area of the lounge and relax there for a bit!
photo dsc06607photo dsc06612

Balcony level shots


Then, I went up to the Coffee Loft to get myself some pastries
photo dsc06598photo dsc06621

The view from the balcony, which is always a site at HKG
photo balcony

After a while, I headed out to see if I could spot some planes. However, I found out that there a lot of changes to my flight. For example, I found out that it was delayed along with further delays which extended for a certain amount of time. Also, there were changes to the gate and the aircraft! In terms of the gate re-assignment, it wasn't far from the lounge since it was only at gate 19. In normal circumstances, I would usually move to the closest lounge in order not to have any delays going to the gate. So, in this case, it was not a problem as I've dealt with the distance before.

Anyways, I ventured out and attempt to spot some planes!
photo dsc06637photo dsc06638photo dsc06639

Singapore Airlines Airbus A380-800, 9V-SKK, serving as SQ861 back to SIN
photo dsc06646

The FIDS again, this time with the revised changes to my flight
photo dsc06640

I couldn't really find any good planes to spot. So, I decided to head back to the lounge
photo dsc06647photo dsc06650

I eventually found out that gate 1 (my original gate) was going to be used for CX846 departing to JFK at 6:45 PM
photo dsc06658

Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER B-KPD, which was supposed to be my original bird, but instead, is going to serve the JFK route on the later flight
photo dsc06582

It was surprising to see how the weather was able to change so fast. Yet again, it is quite normal for these things to happen in Hong Kong especially during the summer

I found this interesting concept once I re-entered the lounge!
photo dsc06661

Anyways, I was back at the lounge for about 20 minutes before I headed to gate 19 in order to board the flight not realising that there would be even more delays


Gates 15-19 area
photo dsc06679photo dsc06682

I remember that we were waiting for a good half an hour for the gate to open, which added for even further delays
photo dsc06685

Time to head back home!
photo dsc06686

Waiting for all these delays to get over with!
photo dsc06690

Going through secondary security
photo dsc06692

Fun fact: Gate 19 is another one of those "long" bridges at HKG
photo dsc06693photo dsc06695

Plane to JFK: B-KPL. This is the first time I'm taking the special Oneworld livery plane
photo dsc06694

Time to board!!
photo dsc06696photo dsc06697

Before I talk about the inflight experience, here's the basic information!
Date: 1 September 2015
Airline: Cathay Pacific
Flight Number: CX 840
Route: Hong Kong (HKG) - New York (JFK)
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Registration: B-KPL
Distance: 8066 miles
Scheduled Departure Time: 4:10 PM (delayed to 4:35 PM)
Actual Departure Time: 5:32 PM
Scheduled Arrival Time: 8:10 PM
Actual Arrival Time: 8:33 PM
Flight Time: 16 hrs
Departure Gate at HKG: 1 (changed to 19)
Arrival Gate at JFK: 4

Inflight:

First class
photo dsc06698

Mini-business class, which consists of only two rows. Personally, I'm not really a huge fan of it.
photo dsc06699

Main business class cabin. The last time I was on the four-class 77W was about a year ago, and I was glad to be back!
photo dsc06700

My seat, 22K, along with the inflight controls and headset
photo dsc06701photo dsc06702

The legroom which I've always loved on the 77W
photo dsc06705

View from my seat:
Korean Air Boeing 777-200ER HL7714 and Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER B-KQD
HL7714 will head back to ICN as KE602 and B-KQD will operate as CX890 to EWR
photo dsc06710

Flight route
photo dsc06714

Once boarding was completed, the captain came on with his pre-flight welcome apologising for the late departure and for the delays that ensued today such as the aircraft change due to some maintenance issue which would be resolved later on. However, he did advise us that he and the rest of the flight crew would do the best they could in order to get us into New York just a few minutes behind the scheduled arrival time, which isn't that bad at all, with the total flight time of approximately 14 hours and 55 minutes
photo dsc06717

Settling into my seat quite nicely! ;)
photo dsc06719

Pre-departure drink: Orange juice
photo dsc06720

Hot towel
photo dsc06721

As soon as we were pushing back, I caught a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER, 9V-SWL, which just arrived from SIN as SQ866
photo dsc06722

North satellite concourse
photo dsc06723

Dragonair Airbus A320-200, B-HSU
photo dsc06724

Etihad Airways Airbus A330-200, A6-EYL, which will serve as EY833 back to AUH later this evening
photo dsc06731

Taxiing towards Runway 07R
photo dsc06732

Well, after the many delays which lasted for more than an hour, we finally took off!
photo dsc06734

I'll be back soon, Hong Kong!
photo dsc06737photo dsc06742

After about 20 minutes, the crew started to come around the cabin to distribute menus
photo dsc06748

Menu for today's flight
photo dsc06749photo dsc06750

Time to discover the inflight entertainment!
photo dsc06756photo dsc06757

Mineral water bottle and amenity kit
photo dsc06766

At this stage of the flight, the crew started with the usual drink orders as well as the meal service
photo dsc06768

For drinks, I went with my usual: Perrier!
photo dsc06770

Table setup including the appetiser and garlic bread
photo dsc06782

The crew came around for second drink rounds. Of course, I couldn't resist!
photo dsc06783

The main course: Wok-fried seafood with pak choy and steamed rice. It was average, but I think the chilli sauce was the saving grace
photo dsc06784

Once I was done, the trolley with fruit and cheese plates came through. I just asked for some fruit along with the dessert that followed
photo dsc06787

Dessert: Sacher cake with whipped cream along with a cup of Hong Kong styled milk tea
photo dsc06789

Cabin views
photo dsc06790

View of my seat
photo dsc06791

Hot towel to end the dinner service
photo dsc06796

Subsequently, the mood lighting changed before it ultimately led to complete darkness
photo dsc06797photo dsc06798photo dsc06801

I decided to check the flight map to see where we were at this stage of the flight. It turned out that instead of taking the Pacific Ocean route, we were going above China and Russia eventually heading towards the Arctic Ocean
photo dsc06802photo dsc06803

Currently near Mongolia
photo dsc06809

Filling out the US Customs form
photo dsc06812

I started to feel exhausted after some time and wanted to get some good quality sleep since I got up extremely early in Bangkok.
photo dsc06827

Location before I started to feel tired and eventually head to bed
photo dsc06820

Within five minutes, I was ready for bed with the seat fully flat and the duvet all nicely spread out.
photo dsc06830

I don't know why, but I felt very groggy once I woke up even though I slept for the majority of the flight
photo dsc06831

Waking up over Canada
photo dsc06833

Cabin crew preparing for the breakfast service
photo dsc06832

Orange juice for starters
photo dsc06834

Table setup including fruit and a croissant
photo dsc06850

I got another orange juice since one simply wasn't enough! ;)
photo dsc06851

Apricot yogurt
photo dsc06852

For the main entrée, I went with one of my favourite dishes, assorted dim sum!
photo dsc06861

Almost there!
photo dsc06854

Cabin views from the back of the main cabin
photo dsc06863

Afterwards, I headed to the bathroom with the standard J sink
photo dsc06865

Once I got back to my seat, the captain immediately came back on to announce that we were already starting the descent into New York and had the usual 30 minutes prior to landing
photo dsc06871photo dsc06872

I then checked the map only to realise that we were already near JFK
photo dsc06879photo dsc06880

Final shots before landing
photo dsc06877photo dsc06874

Surprisingly, there was no mood light change during the landing
photo dsc06881photo dsc06882

Anyways, we landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport at around 8:33 PM, which was about 25 minutes from the scheduled arrival time

Actual flight route
photo dsc06886

The taxi to the gate took quite a while, primarily due to the distance between the terminal and the runway we landed on. So, we ended up waiting for an additional 20 minutes until we were given clearance to taxi to the terminal.
photo dsc06888

Taxiing to Terminal 7
photo dsc06889

Docking at gate 4
photo dsc06890

Disembarking/Arrival into JFK
photo dsc06891photo dsc06892

Post-flight:
It took an hour to clear immigration and customs due to long lines at the airport and with the extended wait of getting our bags, which is not unusual but as I have stated previously, there can be many changes to ease the arrival process. As soon as I was able to collect my bags, I breezed through customs and was on my way to the arrival hall where I met my private cab driver, and then headed on home.
photo dsc06895photo dsc06896

Terminal 7 Arrival exterior
See more

Verdict

Cathay Pacific

9.1/10
Cabin10.0
Cabin crew8.5
Entertainment/wifi9.5
Meal/catering8.5

Cathay Pacific The Wing - Business Class Section

9.8/10
Comfort10.0
Meal/catering9.5
Entertainment/wifi10.0
Services9.5

Hong Kong - HKG

9.6/10
Efficiency9.5
Access9.0
Services10.0
Cleanliness10.0

New York - JFK

8.1/10
Efficiency7.5
Access8.5
Services7.5
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

Overall, I would say that this was an average flight on Cathay Pacific. As always, CX always have an outstanding seat onboard business class along with the other features such as the inflight entertainment and the meals for the most part. The only drawbacks I would remark were the crew service (which was average) as I felt they were less interactive with passengers as I've experienced on previous flights. Also, the main course during the dinner service did not seem appetising as I thought it would be, especially with the size of the meal. Yet again, catering has been quite an issue for CX over the past few years. I just hope that it eventually improves at some point in the future. Anyways, thanks for reading this trip report as this is the end of the Summer 2015 trip report series. I hope you enjoyed them. I will be posting more trip reports in the near future such as the return flight to Hong Kong a few months later. Stay tuned for more!

Information on the route Hong Kong (HKG) New York (JFK)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 7 avis concernant 1 compagnies sur la ligne Hong Kong (HKG) → New York (JFK).


Useful

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

La durée moyenne des vols est de 15 heures et 58 minutes.

  More information

0 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !

Login to post a comment.