Hello everyone! Welcome to another one of my travel series where I'll be covering flights during the summer of 2019. As always, I'll be heading back to Hong Kong for the summer holidays, and I was honestly looking forward for a vacation along with my "traditional" pit stop in Bangkok on none other than one of my favourite airlines, Cathay Pacific!
I know that I'm writing this not at the best of times given the current situation, but I thought I could brighten things up a bit with a flight report. Also, I know that I did take a hiatus from FR as I've been extremely busy over the past several months, but I'm back and now getting the time to start writing them up again.
Anyways, without further ado, let's get on with the flight! ;)
Flight routing
- 121 May 2019: CX899 EWR-HKG, A350-900, Business
- 2
- 315 July 2019: CX656 BKK-HKG, A330-300, Business
- 417 July 2019: CX846 HKG-JFK, B777-300ER, Business
Pre-flight
When I booked this flight back in July 2018, I honestly didn't know what would happen while purchasing a redemption ticket with my miles. The reason why I said this was because I wasn't sure of when exactly I was planning on going to Hong Kong that summer, and I thought that I would book myself on any date on the end of May/beginning of June. However, after a phone call with CX, it turns out I couldn't do anything about the flight and had to take it regardless.
On the bright side, I was making good use of my miles and spending them wisely. Also, prior to the flight, I found out that CX is offering a new style to their meal services, in which is on-demand compared to the past where they would be served at a certain time. So, I was really looking forward to trying it out for the first time and compare it to the other times I've flown on the airline.
I arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport a few minutes before 11:30 PM
Terminal B Departure Lobby
As expected, the terminal was quite empty at this time of night
Check-in counters for Cathay Pacific. The process was smooth as always as the only thing I had to do was just drop off my bag since I already checked-in online.
The dragon never fails to impress me!
Heading towards security
Post-security
I got through security at approximately 11:45 PM and made it towards the airside.
Duty-Free area
Terminal B Gate Area
FIDS
Once I was done, I headed to the British Airways Galleries lounge, located one level above the main departure area
The lounge can be accessed through taking the stairs or elevator
Lounge invitation
Hallways
Lounge entrance
Few shots of the lounge
This lounge never fails to impress me!
Some of the lounge offerings
Boarding pass
View from the lounge, spotting two Porter Airlines Bombardier BHC-8-400s: C-GLQJ and C-FLQY, both bound for YTZ in the morning
I decided to spend the rest of my time to sit back, relax, and surf the web using the free WiFi until it was time for boarding
Before I knew it, I realised it was time to board the plane
Heading towards gate 55
The boarding process didn't take long at all
Time for a well-deserved vacation!
Heading towards the aerobridge
Our ride to HKG: B-LRO
Well, time to board!
Some pre-flight information:
Date: 21 May 2019
Airline: Cathay Pacific
Flight Number: CX 899
Route: Newark (EWR) - Hong Kong (HKG)
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900
Registration: B-LRO
Distance: 8061 miles
Scheduled Departure Time: 1:55 AM
Actual Departure Time: 1:52 AM
Scheduled Arrival Time: 5:30 AM
Actual Arrival Time: 4:31 AM
Flight Time: 15 hrs 35 mins
Departure Gate at EWR: 55
Arrival Gate at HKG: 2
Inflight
Main business class cabin
My seat, 17K, along with the inflight controls. One of the first things I noticed upon arriving at my seat were that the amenity kit, water bottle, and menu were already there!
Legroom
Pre-departure drink: Champagne
The menu resembles a newspaper, which definitely caught my attention! Time to check out what's offered on this flight!
Menu Options
Drink Options
Other pages from the menu
View from my seat
Storage areas
A breakfast pre-order form, which I thought was a nice touch! I think a majority of airlines are practicing this new technique
Cabin view
Hot towel
Checking out the entertainment system
Time to see what I can watch for today's flight!
Flight route
Oh, how I've missed the legroom!
I even tried to load the view of the tail camera. However, it showed a blank screen once I opened it up. So, that was a bit of a disappointment.
It wasn't long before the captain came on the PA for his pre-flight announcement and welcome, advising us that we would be arriving into Hong Kong earlier than expected with the flight time of approximately 14 hours and 48 minutes.
Before I knew it, the doors were closed, the safety video was playing, and we already pushed back from the gate!
It was quite a short taxi to the runway
The cabin lights were then dimmed in preparation for takeoff
We took off earlier than the scheduled time, at 1:52 AM. I love departing from EWR mainly because of the on-time departure as well as with the takeoff giving me the opportunity to view and take pictures of the Manhattan skyline, which is amazingly beautiful as always!
Our location, 10 minutes after departure
Somewhere over Connecticut
See you soon, America!!
After approximately 15 minutes, the seat belt signed was turned off. Afterwards, was time for me to execute my usual late-night departure plan, which was to enjoy a light meal, watch a movie or TV show, and sleep for a good few hours! I was even looking forward to trying out the "new" business class service, which I've heard a lot about.
Contents of the amenity kit since I didn't open it up before takeoff
I went back to browsing through the inflight entertainment, and I immediately started off the flight with one of my new favourite shows, Brooklyn Nine-Nine!
Before I knew it, the crew came towards the cabin taking orders as well as setting the tables for the dinner service. I think this was a small improvement for CX to take menu order as many airlines are using this practice, which is definitely a positive aspect!
After about 15 minutes, the main course was served. I chose the noodles with roasted duck in chicken broth, along with my usual drink, Perrier!
Cabin with mood lighting
Enjoying my noodles while watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine!
Once I was done, the crew courteously cleared the table for us and then distributed hot towels as an end to the dinner service
A few minutes later, the mood lighting switched again until it led to complete darkness, making it the perfect environment for passengers to rest
I then thought this would be the perfect time to switch to the inflight map to find out our current location and play around with some of the features
Making it in good time over Quebec, Canada
Midnight sunrise
It wasn't long before I decided to call it a night, with approximately 13 hours left before we land in Hong Kong
Within five minutes, I was ready for bed with the seat fully flat and the duvet all nicely spread out. Like I've said on my trip report from HKG-EWR, the seats on the A350 are quite comfortable!
The next I remember is that I slept for about 8 hours, only to feel slightly hungry. However, since I already had noodles earlier, I didn't feel like having it again. So, I ended up getting some savoury snacks from the galley, which were able to satisfy my hunger.
Dozing off again
I woke up just in time for the breakfast service, and for the cabin lights to come back on
Before the actual breakfast serviced commenced, I decided to head to the bathroom
Seat views
Above central China
I pre-ordered the seafood congee with stir-fried rice vermicelli, together with fruit and orange juice. I'd have to say, I was impressed with not only the meal, but how quickly it was delivered. Instead of waiting 20-25 minutes, it was only a 10 minute wait. Also, I was not always a huge fan of the congee served on CX. However on this flight, it was actually pretty good.
Time to continue where I left off
Overall cabin view
I checked the inflight map again only to find out that we were already starting the descent towards HKG
After some time, the captain came back on with his pre-arrival announcement, saying that we were now starting the descent towards Hong Kong International Airport and that we had 30 minutes until we landed. Suddenly, the seat belt sign came back on giving the indication that we had to prepare for landing, which didn't take long.
Approaching HKG
Final shots before landing
Mood lighting in preparation for landing
We landed at 4:31 in the morning, and I was surprised since this was probably one of the earliest times I've arrived into HKG!
Actual flight route
Taxiing towards gate 2
Post-flight
Disembarking/Arrival into HKG
The walk to immigration was quite short
As always, I breezed through immigration, got my bag, and made it to the arrival hall within 15 minutes
Baggage claim area
As always, I was able to get my bag within 10 minutes
Making my way towards the arrival hall
Arrival hall
By the time I got to the arrival hall, it was about 5:00 AM, and Airport Express doesn't operate until 6:00 AM. So, I decided to take an Uber and then made my way towards one of the parking lots where I met my driver and then headed back home!
The soft product seems to be excellent on your flight and the 350 is probably one of the better aircraft to fly on for longhaul for several reasons and by far more superior than it's counter plane, the 787. Though I must say that I, myself am not impressed with BA's lounge and find the way it's decorated quite hurtful to my eyes.Thanks for sharing your report :).
Thanks for the comment! Overall, I've been quite impressed with Cathay Pacific's serviced on their A350 aircraft especially on their long-haul flights like this one. Although I haven't tried out the Boeing 787, it would really be nice to compare both aircraft in general. It should be interesting.
In regards to the BA lounge, I can understand that. However, from my perspective at least, there were factors that stood out such as the comfort and the catering which made up for mostly everything.
Thanks once again for reading my report. I'm glad you enjoyed reading it! I'll be posting more very soon!
Hi Rbix!
Yay, we missed you, welcome back!
The 350 cabin looks great and the catering looks very tasty. It will be interesting to compare airlines pre and post-Covid. In CX's case, I've commented several times that they've appeared to maintain high levels of services in these times of crisis. I feel like they deserve a lot of praise, especially considering the political unrest and general malaise in HK in the months leading up to the Covid crisis--through all this Cathay have maintained an excellent reputation and service level. Bravo to them!
Thanks for sharing and glad you are finding a bit of time to post reports lately. There's a bright side to everything, and a bit more time is the bright side to lockdowns.
Welcome back!
Thanks for the comment, KévinDC!! It's always nice to hear from you too!
I definitely would agree that CX knows how to handle operations in times of crisis, especially with the current situation of COVID-19 along with political unrest without any changes in terms of service. No matter what happens, Cathay Pacific always manages to hold an excellent reputation through both good and difficult times.
I couldn't agree more!
Once again, I'm so glad you enjoyed reading this report! I'll be posting more very soon!!