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510 reviews
Sorry for the big delay… This is the last sector of my Vietnam trip which I published in 2017. The last leg was on flight CX524 business class, from Hong Kong to Tokyo Narita. This was a red-eye flight scheduled to take off from Hong Kong at 1:05am, and arriving at Tokyo Nartia 6:10am. Usually CX assigns regional config aircraft for this red-eye flight to Tokyo, but I was lucky to have a flat bed seat on this flight, with Boeing 777-300(ER) aircraft.
I had about 10 hours between my previous flight CX766 from Vietnam and this flight. I sneaked out and had a quick dinner with my family. Then I took airport bus back to the Hong Kong Airport. Night views in Hong Kong, colorful as always.
Arrived Hong Kong Airport at 11:10pm. The business class queue was so long and I waited for about 15min. What's wrong with Cathay?
Got my boarding pass and lounge invitation
Time for lounge hopping. I have covered The Pier for an afternoon flight in my report on CX542 to Tokyo. So in this report, we'll take a look to see any differences on food provided in the buffet area at night time.
Once stepped into the lounge is the Food Hall providing Western selection.
Examples of food selection at night, ranging from hot sandwiches topped with cheese, bacon tarts, mashed garlic potato, fried fish…
If you want some alcohol, the bar is your place
And you guessed it, maybe getting bored with me, dandan noodle again from the noodle bar.
Behind the noodle bar is the tea house. Sip a cup of tea whatever you want from here. Cathay have partnered with JING to bring a collection of Asia's greatest teas and herbal infusions from China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka…
No staff here, self-service…?
Here's the tea menu
Relaxation room and more sitting area. You can take a nap here but be careful not to miss your flight… No boarding announcement will be made here
More sitting area next to the window side, good for plane spotting
Work space with plenty of Mac computers, catch up your work or print something here
Hit the washroom before leaving the lounge. Funny hand dryer embedded on the wall
Time to move my step to the gate. Gate 41 which is not far from The Pier Lounge.
Boeing 777-300(ER) a.k.a. 77W is not always used on CX524. CX scheduled long-haul config A330 and A350 on this flight as of Dec 2018 but scattered and subject to equipment changes. My friend have just flown on CX524 before the day I wrote this report and he was one of the victims. The scheduled aircraft was A350-900 when he made his booking. Just the day before his departure, the scheduled aircraft was changed to A330 in regional config. That means he bought a flat-bed seat (what he expected) but got regional product finally (and that was a red-eye flight!). He grumbled for the whole day and I could just express my sympathy to him lol.
The reverse herringbone seat is always lovely.
A glass of champagne first
And a little bit delay, I was asked if I want some more drink. I requested the Cathay's signature drink 'Oriental Breeze', which is a mix of sour plum tea and cranberry juice. Interesting fresh taste.
Soon we took off from Hong Kong while most passengers just didn't bother the food and having their nice dreams. Business class menu for a red-eye flight is rather simple, comparing the day time flights.
I don't know if the cabin crew tried to let passengers to finish their meal earlier and allow more sleeping time, starter and dessert were put on my table together. I don't mind at all though. I like the berries in ginger syrup. The peanut butter cake was tasty too.
For the main dish, I opted for the steamed pork rib in onion sauce, which jasmine rice. It was very, very good! Fabulous! The meat was tender and the onion sauce is a perfect match to it! The famous 'Lee Kum Kee' chili sauce together brought the main dish to another level up!
After the meal, try to get some sleep before landing. A bit shame to say, I went to my workplace directly after a red-eye flight without taking a rest. It sounds crazy but I didn't want to be absent from my company's new year party.
After a light sleep, the flight touched down at 6:05 am local time. A beautiful morning in Japan.
Thank you for flying Cathay Pacific, and that's the end of my Vietnam trip. Again, sorry for the big delay of the last report ?
The reverse herringbone business class seat is always my favorite. I didn't expect such a tasty meal on a red-eye flight so I marked the catering part for 8.5/10. The Pier Lounge was also very cozy and still my favorite lounge. Thank you for stopping by and reading! Have a great day!
Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 19 avis concernant 6 compagnies sur la ligne Hong Kong (HKG) → Tokyo (NRT).
La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Cathay Pacific avec 8.4/10.
La durée moyenne des vols est de 4 heures et 7 minutes.
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6 Comments
The Pier is a good and cozy lounge.
The Asian food is clearly the best food offer of the lounge.
One day I must taste the dandan noodle ;)
You were lucky to have a flat-bed seat.
CX is famous for its aircrafts swapping :(
Your main looks very appetizing
A flight way too short to have a real rest.
See you soon
"And you guessed it, maybe getting bored with me, dandan noodle again from the noodle bar."
-Ah but you didn't add the wonton dumplings this time!
The Pier J lounge is really very nice.
"The reverse herringbone seat is always lovely."
-Good luck to you getting a proper bed but you decided not to sleep.
The meal looks nice for a short overnight flight.
" It sounds crazy but I didn't want to be absent from my company's new year party."
-Never miss a party ;)
Thanks again for sharing and happy flying.
I've only been to the First side of the Pier, but the Business class side looks really nice and the food offering is quite good for a Business lounge. It was a nice touch by the cabin crew to offer another pre-departure drink with the slight delay.
The Zodiac Cirrus reverse herringbone seats are always nice, and especially comfortable on a short red-eye flight like this. It seems to be standard these days for the dessert to be served at the same time as the starter on late night departures. The catering looks good--as you know, it can often be hit or miss on CX J.
Thanks for sharing!
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