Review of Cathay Pacific flight Hong Kong → Newark in Business

Hi, everyone! Welcome to Part 2 of the final leg of my holiday of the Christmas season from 2014-15! This trip report is in continuation from Part 1 where I showcased the flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong where I took flight CX614, and now I'll finally be flying back to New York. Now that I think of it, I sure did make the most of my holiday out of these three weeks. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy reading this report! :)

Winter 2014-15 Trip Report Index:
1) 13 December 2014: CX845 JFK-HKG, B777-300ER, Business
2) 15 December 2014: CX685 HKG-BOM, A330-300, Business
3) 22 December 2014: CX684 BOM-HKG, A330-300, Business
4) 5 January 2015: CX653 HKG-BKK, A330-300, Business
5) 6 January 2015: CX614 BKK-HKG, A330-300, Business
6) 6 January 2015: CX890 HKG-EWR, B777-300ER, Business

Pre-flight:
After a short 2-hour flight from Bangkok and bypassing security at the transfer area, I was already at the departure area near gate 47. I eventually found out from the FIDS that my flight to EWR was departing from gate 3.


Without the help from the automated people mover (since it only goes one way), I had no choice but to take the long walk towards gates 1-4. It's about a 10 minute walk, which is not that bad. By that time, I finally made it towards the duty-free shopping area located not too far from the gate. In fact, the closest lounge from gate 3 would be The Wing, located throughout gates 1-4 at HKG.


The Christmas tree, which is still hanging around at the airport


Duty-free area


Gates 1-4 area


The Wing - Business Class entrance


Lounge invitation


Some shots of The Wing


Right off the bat, I must say that The Wing is one of my all time favourite lounges at HKG and I absolutely look forward to coming here whenever I get the chance!

There are two areas of the business class lounge, one being one the main floor and the other being on the balcony level. I personally prefer being on the balcony level as there is a ton of variety in terms of seating as well as catering. In fact, one thing that I'd like to mention about the lounge is that there is a Noodle Bar, which is a comfy and inviting area where you'll get a huge assortment of noodle dishes and other delectable items such as dim sum. Also, there is another Coffee Loft which I've previously reviewed at The Bridge. However, there are assorted sandwiches and pastries to choose from which I haven't seen in The Bridge. So, that's definitely a plus!


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


Overall, The Wing is an extremely comforting and inviting lounge with tons of amenities including showers (which are on the lower floor) as well as a variety of catering options.


I must have been there for a good 45 minutes before I then proceeded to the gate in order to get ready for secondary security, which is a standard procedure for flights departing for Australia and the US.


Gate area


Well, time for me to head back home after an amazing holiday!


Down the bridge


Before I get to the inflight experience, here is some of the flight info for those who are interested :)
Date: 6 January 2015
Airline: Cathay Pacific
Flight Number: CX 890
Route: Hong Kong (HKG) - Newark (EWR)
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Registration: B-KQF
Distance: 8061 miles
Scheduled Departure Time: 6:20 PM
Actual Departure Time: 6:41 PM
Scheduled Arrival Time: 9:00 PM
Actual Arrival Time: 8:09 PM
Flight Time: 15 hrs 40 mins
Departure Gate at HKG: 3
Arrival Gate at EWR: 55

Inflight:

Main business class cabin on the 77G (sadly, there is no first class)


My seat, 18K with the inflight controls


For a pre-departure drink, I chose orange juice, as always!


View from my seat: a Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER B-KPE, which would be serving as CX846 to JFK. One drawback about the 77G is that most of the seats in the main business class cabin are pretty far from the windows, so I had to stretch my back while taking photos of the view outside. Hence, there is a reflection from the television at the upper-left corner of the photos.


Once boarding was complete (which did not take more than 25 minutes), the captain came on with his pre-flight welcome, advising us that due to favourable tailwinds (which was my misfortune, of course), we would be arriving into Newark ahead of schedule with the flight time of 14 hours and 22 minutes


Oh, how I've missed the legroom on the 77W!


Hot towel


Flight route


By around 6:30 local time, the cabin doors closed, giving the cue of the safety video as well as pushing back from the gate


Cabin view with mood lighting in preparation for takeoff


Taxiing towards Runway 25L


We then took off after 6:40 PM, making a turn before heading east towards Taiwan


See you later, Hong Kong!!!


Now, with 15 hours of flying time, I can do basically whatever I want, whenever I want! My plan for this flight was to eat a good dinner, watch a movie, and then sleep for the majority of the flight, which was exactly what I did!


I decided at that point to scroll down the entertainment system and see what movies and TV shows were on board


Menu for today's flight


Evian water being handed out


Amenity kit designed by Seventy Eight Percent. To be completely honest, I'm not a huge fan of the overall design


Duvet provided on long distance flights


I must say, I was quite impressed with the choices of entertainment for the flight. I immediately started my flight with the movie, Begin Again. It's a movie that I wanted to see for a long time, especially with the fact that one of the songs in the movie "Lost Stars" sang by Adam Levine (lead singer of Maroon 5), had been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2015. Sorry that I was going a little off topic over there. Let's get back to the flight!


Soon, the dinner service started with the cabin crew taking drink orders. Like always, I got a Perrier, which is my usual drink on long-haul flights


Just as I expected, there was bound to be some turbulence on and off during this flight. The first round occurred while we were heading towards Taiwan


Table setup with the appetiser and garlic bread


For the main course, I got the chu chee prawn curry with rice and assorted vegetables. I actually think that this dish is one of the best in Cathay's catering.


Enjoying my prawn curry while watching Begin Again


Soon after, I finished the main course and that was when the trolley with fruit and cheese plates passed by. I wasn't in the mood for cheese so I just asked for some fruit.


After 20 minutes, the trolley with the dessert came along with the choice of either a blueberry or raspberry tart. At first, I wasn't sure which one to get, and I asked one of the cabin crew what she would recommend, from which she advised the raspberry tart. From then on, I accepted it with no further thought!


Once the dinner service was over, I headed on to the bathroom by the front of the plane. As expected, I was met with the "first class" sink, which I would definitely expect from a business class bathroom


Hot towel to officially end the dinner service


Soon, I walked around the cabin to take some photos. I eventually found out that the main business class cabin was completely full, which was something that I didn't initially expect.


Afterwards, I headed on to the front economy class cabin to see what the situation was like. I was quite stunned that even the front section was filled to capacity!


I then headed back to my seat just in time to see the mood lighting change until it turned into complete darkness, making it the perfect environment for passengers to rest.


Filling out the US Customs form


At that point, I made the decision to open up the inflight map to find out our current location. We were currently above the Pacific Ocean just passing Japan with approximately 11 hours remaining. That was where the second round of turbulence took place. It was expected for it to happen at this stage of the flight.


Afterwards, I headed on to explore what else was there on the IFE. I thought maybe this time I should watch something new. Upon scrolling through the comedy TV shows, I discovered this show called 2 Broke Girls. I've heard of it before, so I thought I'd give it a try. After watching a couple of episodes, I thought it was quite funny and entertaining. However, I was getting rather tired so I decided to call it a night.


Within a few minutes, I put the seat on the fully flat position and had the duvet all nicely spread out. I somehow missed the business class flat beds on the Boeing 777-300ER, which it is quite spacious compared to the Airbus A330-300.


I slept for a good 8 hours only to wake up just in time for the breakfast service


I woke up above Ontario, just passing Lake Winnipeg


Cabin view


Orange juice for starters


Fruit platter along with a croissant and yogurt


For the main entrée, I chose the assorted dim sum as well as a mini chicken glutinous rice (wrapped in lotus leaf). I have to admit, it was one of the best meals I've ever had on a plane.


It took approximately 25 minutes until the crew cleared all of the tables and distributing hot towels, giving only an hour and a half until we landed. I travel frequently between Hong Kong and New York and I'd usually find the flight quite short. I'm basically used to this route.


Cruising above Canada


View of my seat


Since there was not much to do at this point, I reclined my seat a little bit and continued to watch a couple more episodes of 2 Broke Girls. It was about 10 minutes later when the captain came on again stating that we are starting the descent into Newark and that we would be landing approximately 45 minutes ahead of schedule.


I then realised we were already over upstate New York and almost approaching EWR


Final shots before landing


Cabin with mood lighting in preparation for landing


Immediately afterwards, we landed at Newark Liberty International Airport at around 8:10 PM. However, it took a long time to taxi to the gate since it was snowing earlier on during the day and there were some planes that were taking off from the opposite runway. So, we had to wait for 10 minutes until we were able to approach the terminal


Actual flight route


Docking at gate 55 in Terminal B


Disembarking/Arrival into EWR


Our aircraft viewed from the terminal


Post-flight:
It took approximately an hour to clear immigration and customs due to long lines at the airport, which is not unusual but there can be major improvements to ease the arrival process at most major US airports. As soon as I collected my bags, I was on my way to the crowded arrival hall where I met my private cab driver, and then headed on home.



I have to admit, I did miss the cold weather of the East coast while being in tropical conditions for the past three weeks. Even though it was time for me to head back to reality, I must say that this holiday has been a blast!