Review of Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to London in Economy

Background 
Chinese New Year 2023.

During the CNY break, I decided to visit my younger sister studying in London. Since my parents were long-time Marco Polo members of Cathay Pacific, I would be flying CX to London from Taipei, with a stopover in Hong Kong. Now, here goes.

Earlier shorter review of CX495 (HKG-TPE):  https://flight-report.com/en/report/60799/cathay-pacific-cx495-taipei-tpe-hong-kong-hkg/

After landing in Hong Kong from Taipei, the first thing I did was to make my way to the Transit area. Before hand, here is a pic of the 777-300ER that I flew earlier:
 

Security Check

I expected the queue to be longer, but it turned out that, there were one or two other passengers before me. Hence, I passed the security check in no time. Everything was extremely efficient, and the security staff were nice. 

HKIA Departures

Because of the pandemic, many of the shops were closed, because they reduced their operating hours. Knowing that I would have limited choices to sit down and have a proper bite, I decided to book myself into a Plaza Premium lounge by Gate 60. 

Plaza Premium Lounge

Helpful and friendly staff. They were very accomodating, and the food options aplenty. The lounge eventually became crowded during the late afternoon. The best item is the fishball noodle; had one bowl after I sat down, and a second bowl a few hours later, shortly before making my way to the gate. 

Boarding

I left the lounge around 8PM, but not without a shower.  Several shops were still closed, and the airport is still less populated than before. Such is the impact of the pandemic…

My flight, CX251, is on time. The distance between my boarding gate and the lounge is a bit of walking distance. 

Walking through the conveyor belt to my boarding gate. Almost there…

CX289 to Frankfurt. During my visit to the UK last year, we took this flight because all of the direct flights from HKG to LHR were fully booked. TPE-HKG-FRA-LHR was our alternative :/

Praise God though, that I secured myself a seat directly from Hong Kong to London for this trip :D 

The Boarding Gate

I made it to one end of the departure hall, where gates 7, 8, and 9 are located. 
 

Three of the UK-bound flights all depart here. BA32 to LHR from Gate 7, CX251 (my flight) from 8, and Manchester-bound CX219 from 9.

British Airways B787 (BA32) bound for LHR. Departs 45 minutes after my flight.

I have finally made it. At the beginning, the waiting area was not very crowded…

My ride for the night: CX251, another B777-300ER.

The boarding gate. 

Boarding  

More and more people eventually gathered around Gate 8, and the flight was full! My original flight was CX255 on January 21, but the flight was cancelled, so I was put on CX251 for 1/20.

Boarding time was 9:35, but because of the high number of passengers, it took us a 20-minute delay before boarding the plane.  

The Flight
 

  The cozy Economy Class seats

IFE. A few games of Solitaire and 2048 kept me entertained before falling asleep.

We took off around 10:30PM or so. 

The in-flight menu.

As usual for any long-haul flight, I always like to get the vegan option. Shown above is pasta with mushroom sauce and brocolli. Pretty delicious :P

Supper time ended, and all lights went off. Good night everyone!

Morning! The lights went up shortly before our descent into London, and here's my breakfast. The presentation looks good, and it tastes fine, like the standard of any other restaurant.

Almost there!

London during the early morning.

Arrival 

And so we have landed after a good 14 hours! The arrival gate to the passport control was a long and winding road. I passed the passport control and got my luggage, quicker than I once thought. 

Heathrow Express

Paddington Station during the early hours. From there, I took the Tube and settled down in my sister's place before my first day of sightseeing.

That's all guys! Thanks for reading :D!