Review of Cathay Pacific flight London → Hong Kong in First

return to asia

Part of my convoluted routing was motivated by a bunch of Cathay Pacific Asia Miles I had transferred before the pandemic.  Under the new Cathay rules, miles "earned" before January 1, 2020 had a 3-year expiration date without any way to extend them.  Mine were due to expire at the end of November.  I could not find any US availability to HKG on the dates I needed (and I was unfortunately not very flexible on dates), but at the end of October, first class popped up on LHR-HKG for 100k miles.  I booked it immediately figuring that if anything ex-US came up I'll just pay the change fee.  

Like I mentioned before, there were many firsts on this flight: this would be my first flight ever on Cathay Pacific and first time flying a non-Star Alliance first class.

As always, I caution that cpp is a very imperfect indicator of value, but it's always fun to look at some of the ridiculous one-way first class prices had I bought this ticket.  Of course, if I were paying, I would have gotten a much more direct routing from the US to China via a different airline (and also bought round-trip).

london heathrow airport terminal 3

I was staying a lovely hotel in central London, so I was just a few minutes walk from the Piccadilly Line.  This was easily the cheapest way to Heathrow T2-5.  However, I made the mistake of leaving around rush hour and the train was packed for the first 7-8 stops.

After a trip of just under an hour, I got off at the Heathrow T2-3 stop and it was fairly easy to follow the signs to T3.

Terminal 3 primarily serves a number of Oneworld airlines and Virgin Atlantic.  A bunch of other carriers, such as Emirates, also call T3 home.  In any case, all of the airlines and their check-in counters are clearly labeled.  This is a useful and needed part of any departures terminal.  Sometimes I am walking for a while trying to figure out where exactly my airline check-in is.

The Cathay Pacific check-in was easy enough to find, it sits right across from their baggage drop.  I was quickly helped out and checked in.

To go through security, you have to go upstairs from the elevator opposite the Cathay check-in.  The fast track entrance can be found to the right of the security lanes immediately after exiting from the elevator.

LHR's T3 lounges can be found beyond the various shops in a long corridor.  All of the OW lounges are here: BA, Qantas, AA, and Cathay.  I'm sure there are constraints due to available space, but it seems to be it would be better if the lounges were all allocated further apart so that some lounges would be closer to certain gates.

cathay pacific first class lounge (LHR)

It's fairly easy to find the signs pointing you to the Cathay Lounge and you'll find smiling attendants ready to check you in.  A bright Christmas tree was lit up for the season.

The First Class Lounge is down a narrow corridor.

This lounge serves any Oneworld First Class and Emerald members.  It's not a very big lounge, but it was never very crowded in the 2.5 hours I was there.  There's a variety of seating, including these lovely spots overlooking a few BA gates.  I grabbed one of those after dinner and stayed there for most of my time in the lounge.  I didn't look very carefully, but there seems to be decent availability of outlets.  All of these chair side tables have little drawers that pull out with the outlets.

I went first to the dining room though, to eat before 

It's a small dining room, but there was only one other guest there the whole time I ate.

Here's the menu:

I was originally just going to have one of the noodle soups, but I was curious about the Christmas special, so I ordered that.  It was decent, but the turkey was really dry.  

I returned to one of the window-facing seats, each of which has its own ottoman and sits adjacent a drawer that pulls out with the outlets, as previously referenced.

Wifi in the lounge was decent.

I didn't have any of the buffet items, but here's a look.  It's a reasonable selection to snack on, but if you're looking for a meal you should go to the dining room.

Immediately outside of the dining room was a bar area facing the central seating area.  All beverages are self-serve here.

Here's a look at the wines, there wasn't anything I thought was worth the calories before the flight.

After eating I made my second order of business to find the showers.  Wandering around London all day (even if it was windy) and taking a packed Piccadilly Line train for nearly an hour to LHR meant a shower would do some wonders for me.  Both the showers and restrooms are shared with the business class lounge and can be found down the main corridor from the entrance.

There are also some luggage lockers before the showers.  There was no wait to use a shower.

Here is the shower room, reasonably spacious with Bamford amenities.  Water pressure was great.

Here's a look at the men's room–similar decor to the shower room, with the same Bamford amenities.

I received a text around 9pm GMT that there was a 40-minute delay.  Around 10 minutes later the lounge made the same announcement, instructing passengers to stay in the lounge until boarding call.  I had been told it was roughly a 15-20 minute walk to the gate (this turned out to be an excessive estimate).

After staying for a while, I left the lounge around 9:50pm figuring that a 40-minute delay meant the regular boarding time would move from 9:25pm to 10:05pm (there was no announcement in the text or otherwise about a new boarding time; in fact, the monitors still said go to the gate).  My efforts to time it out perfectly didn't work because it didn't take nearly as long to get to the gate.  There was no sign of activity when I got to the gate around 10pm.

The gate agents made an announcement for pre-boarding, but in contrast to the usual scene in the US, very few people came forward.  Regular boarding did not begin until 10:20pm GMT, 55 minutes behind schedule.  First class and OW Emeralds (including Cathay Diamonds) were called forward.  One interesting thing I noted was a mother-daughter couple: mother went to the first line and daughter went to business (though I didn't see the mother later in first class so I assume she was a Oneworld Emerald).  Aren't you supposed to get companion boarding privileges as an elite member?

There didn't seem to be too many first class or OW Emeralds, so I was scanned through fairly quickly and turned left to take the first class jet bridge.

cx254

My ride to Hong Kong was on B-KPW, a 12-years old Boeing 777-300ER.

Walking onboard, I was warmly greeted at the door and directed to 1A, my home for the next twelve or so hours.  I've seen this seat on many reviews/blogs, but it's always a great feeling to board a first class product I haven't tried before.

Cathay arranges its first class in two rows of 1-1-1.  The starboard and center seats share an aisle while the port side seats has its own aisle.  The load in F today was 4/6.

Another look at the seat, showing just how ridiculously wide it is.  Note that the top pillow is affixed to the seat.

Three windows for 1A; I do wish there was automated control for all of the windows though.  I also vaguely remember in pre-pandemic reports there being a flower in the holder, is that not the procedure anymore?

Checking out the seat itself, there are two pillows already waiting for you atop the extra-wide seat.  Immediately to your left are the remote control, seat control, and a small storage compartment.  Across is the ottoman, with a seat belt in case you have a companion that wants to dine with you.  It's also where you storage any carryons that do not fit inside the closet.  I was a bit confused at first wondering where I should store my bag before directed to place it here.  Underneath the IFE screen is another storage compartment, I used this area to put the amenity kit.  Note there are reading lights on both sides and on the overhead.  Outlets are set alongside the seat slightly in front of the ottoman, which I thought was actually a somewhat inconvenient location in terms of reach.

The closet comes with two hangers for your coats/suits and can store smaller carryons like backpacks.

Here's the view while sitting down from my seat.  Even though the shell of the seat is exposed, because there is a wall dividing the center seats from 1A and 2A, these two seats are quite private.

The IFE screen can slide out during flight making it easy to view/navigate.  As I understand it, Cathay has refreshed these and they were quite crisp and responsive throughout the flight.

You can also set something on the remote, which I had playing the flight map the entire flight.

Pillow mist (which I always forget to use) and the pillow menu are waiting on the seat when you board.

Sahlee, the FA working my side of the plane introduced herself and brought me pajamas, the Bamford amenity kit, and headphones.

Cathay offers Bose headphones in first class, which are great and what I have personally.

Sahlee suggested medium even though it would be a bit large for me as "pajamas shouldn't be a tight fit." I agree, though the medium was somewhat too big for me. Maybe it'll shrink a bit after wash.

The Bamford amenity is fairly stylish and had the usual amenities, nothing special here.

No need for WiFi vouchers this flight as you can connect to WiFi for free in first class just with your name and seat number.  For purchase, you can also buy as follows.  I thought $19.95 for a full flight pass was a very reasonable price.

Catering was still loading the plane, so Sahlee suggested we start with a drink because the usual regular welcome wasn't ready yet.  Well, I certainly won't complain about getting vintage Krug early.  2004 is quite a magnificent vintage and certainly a welcome luxury.

When I asked if I could take a video of the pour, Sahlee made a joke that she was glad she just did her nails.  You can tell from the joke that Sahlee was going to be a great FA for this flight.

Upon inspection, I was surprised to realize that Cathay uses Riedel glassware in first–quite impressive given they are delicate and pricey.  I wonder how much goes into replacing these glasses each year.  Before you mention that it was somewhat of a low pour, fear not, Sahlee was great about refilling my glass regularly.

A few minutes later Sahlee brought the formal welcome: hot towel, note, and JING tea (that's what it said on the Cathay menu, but I really don't know what it is, some sort of carbonated tea).

Here's a lovely welcome note from Sahlee and Amy, the two FAs working first class this flight.  I wouldn't get to meet Amy until later.

The pillow menu explained the teas and Cathay's bedding.

I was also offered some warmed nuts to go with my second pour of Krug.

Around 10:40pm GMT, I overheard a conversation between ground staff and the captain that it seemed like 3 passengers might be missing.  The captain simply said, "well I need to push back, find these people now."  He seemed quite determined to make up for lost time.  In any case, these passengers were found promptly.  Cabin doors closed at 10:47pm and we pushed back at 10:51pm, 46 minutes behind schedule.  Sahlee and Amy were rushing around getting everything prepared and still managed to take orders before takeoff–they were in the cabin to the last minute getting everything done.  I was impressed by the effort–it took two "flights attendants be seated for takeoff" before they ran back to their jumpseats.

In any case, I was told I could mix and match between the Eastern and Western menus, so I did.  Here is the full menu below.  All in all, a fairly decent menu with an impressive wine list.  The option of 2004 Krug and 2006 Piper-Heidsieck Rare is more than a match for Singapore's Taittinger and Krug combo (I can't remember the third prestige champagne, but Taittinger and Krug are the two better ones).

We took off at 11:06pm.

After takeoff, Claris, the inflight service manager came by to introduce herself and apologize for the delay.

Service began 27 minutes after takeoff with the amuse bouche, another pour of Krug, and water.

The amuse was a soy-marinated smoked salmon–quite good.

Next was the beautiful caviar course.  Each F passenger gets their own tin of 20g of caviar, with blinis and the usual accompaniments.

Instead of selecting from a breadbasket, each passenger just get their own breadbasket.

Next I had the prawn tartlet with green pea puree and double boiled porcini mushroom soup with pork shin.  I also had my fourth glass of Krug at this point.  The tarlets were just okay, but the soup was excellent.

Around 1:10 after takeoff, an announcement was made urgently requesting a medical doctor.  This was the first time I had come across this in my own flight (though I've had a flight met with medical personnel before).  We never diverted so I assumed that whoever was in need was helped adequately.

I ordered the veal next and switched to the 2006 Chateau Montrose.  Of the left bank, St. Estèphe is not something I have often, so a great opportunity for me to try 17-year old Bordeaux.  I don't think it would benefit much from further aging as the tannins were resolved, it was a well-rounded wine, but could have been a bit more powerful–I think maybe it was the altitude that affected my taste at this point.

The veal course itself was beautiful, but unfortunately overcooked.  I'd say it was a medium well.

I had the cheese plate next: Somerset brie, Mayfield cheddar, and Yorkshire blue.  Given that I was feeling pretty full by now, the portions were perfect.  I skipped any sweet dessert course.

Ending the meal were two chocolates, both of which were great.  I finished my meal almost exactly 2 hours after takeoff.  Impressive pacing given how much there was; I've had business class transatlantic service take longer before (KLM, I'm look at you).

I went to the lavatory to get changed at this point.  I primarily used the larger lavatory this flight.  The basin is quite large, it's more spacious, and has the mini towelettes.  The smaller lavatory lacks the towelettes and has a much smaller sink basin.

I also realized at this point that slippers were in the same bag as the pajamas.  You can tell from this picture that the pants were indeed too big for me, but not so large I couldn't wear it.

One thing I forgot to ask for was selecting from the pillow menu.  I think I ended up with the soft one by default, but would have preferred the medium firmness.

When I returned to my seat, my bed was already beautifully made.  Before I went to bed, Amy stopped by to introduce herself and ask if I wanted breakfast.  I made my breakfast selection at this time and she said that I could have breakfast whenever I wanted.

Sleep was a difficult conundrum on this flight.  On the one hand, I wanted to take full advantage of this wonderful bedding to sleep (and I had been up for nearly 20 hours at this point).  On the other hand, it was already morning time in Asia and if I slept too much I would have a hard time adjusting to the time zone once I arrived.  In the end I settled for mentally waking up early (which usually works for me–I almost never use an alarm clock).

As for the bedding, this was honestly one of the most comfortable beds I've slept in on a plane.  I passed out quickly and slept for about 5 hours before half waking.  I could have slept on without any problems, but it was time to get up or else jet lag was going to be impossible the next day.

I noticed when I woke up that a bottle of water had been placed bedside.  

With about 3.5 hours left inflight, I pressed the FA button and asked for a cup of tea.  I opted for 铁观音 (Iron Buddha).  It was served with a small cookie.

I probably didn't need more food, but I'll make some sacrifices for you, dear readers.  I had the crab and prawn egg noodle soup.  It was pretty good, with a very light broth.

With about 2 hours left in flight, I switched over to Japanese Sencha and requested breakfast.  It was served on a tray alongside a hot towel

Breakfast began with a fruit tray and bread.  I only asked for a croissant to go with breakfast, but you could have asked for more from a decent selection.

Next I had coconut yoghurt and chia seed pudding.  I wasn't a fan of the pudding, but the yoghurt was fine.

For the breakfast entree I had seafood congee with fried noodles.  Honestly, each could have served as its own breakfast, but they were served together as one dish–a bit too hearty to be honest.

In all, breakfast took about 40 minutes from start to clean up.

As we approached Hong Kong, the Captain announced our descent with roughly 35 minutes left inflight.  10 minutes after that he asked cabin crew to prepare the cabin for landing.

On approach to HKG, here's the famous Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge lit up at night.

We landed at 6:32pm HKT and arrived at our at 6:46pm–1 minute behind schedule.

It was an easy walk over to the trains that take passengers to immigration and customs.  I was lucky to snag a train right as I came down the escalators.  The line for immigration was fairly deep, but it moved really fast.  It probably took me around 20 minutes go through.