Review of Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to Nanjing in Business

return to asia

The second leg of my Cathay flight to China was booked separately as I couldn't decide whether I wanted to fly the smaller plane (and with only one flight) to Nanjing or a lie-flat seat to Shanghai PVG.  I ended up picking Nanjing as it is closer to my home city, but not sure that that was the correct decision.  One of the afternoon Shanghai would have let me hang out in Hong Kong longer (morning dim sum?), but get home quite a bit later.

hong kong international airport (HKG)

I got to HKG around 8:15am, a little less than 2 hours before departure.  I wasn't sure how much of a Christmas rush there would be nor how fast/slow immigration would be.

The premium Cathay Pacific counters were easy enough to find–and there were plenty of them.  I was quickly checked in and recommended to use the Wing lounge as that was closer to my gate (though there wasn't really anything close to the gate).

I ended up vastly overestimating how long it would take to clear immigration (only about 10 minutes) on Christmas Day.

As I made my way to the Wing, I passed the Plaza Premium lounge which was packed to capacity.  It looked like you had to take a ticket number and then were allowed in once the automated voice called your number.  Welcome to the Sky Clubs of Asia I guess?

cathay pacific - the Wing business class lounge

In any case, the Wing was easy enough to find, right across from Gate 2.

Upon checking in, the agent warned that it would be a lengthy walk to Gate 13.  Here's the map for reference.  No, those are not my nails.

A beautiful Christmas tree was set up in the check-in area of the lounge.

Upon going up and entering the lounge, I was surprised at how many people were here.  It wasn't packed by any means, but I didn't expect this many people to be traveling on Christmas Day.

The lounge itself is compromised of two large sections, with a variety of mostly chair/sofa seats in the first section. A long bar runs alongside the lounge where you can order a drink.  A small buffet food station is on the opposite side of the bar.  Cathay currently serves Ayala champagne in the lounge.

I ended up choosing to sit in one of these half-open booths.  Interesting design, not all that private, but decent for solo travelers.  Outlets can be found just under the table.

Going through a narrow corridor leads you to the second half of the lounge.  This is where the good food is.  You can see the seats are more restaurant/cafe style throughout this section.  There is another buffet setup at the end of this section.

You can look out over the terminal from this part of the lounge.

Immediately to your right after walking into the second section of the lounge is a coffee bar with proper barista-made coffee and pastries to order.

I had a cappuccino, which was a definite step up from the usual machine ones.

On the left after entering this second section is probably the highlight of the lounge: the noodle bar.  Apologies, but I forgot to take a picture of the different options.

After ordering, you're given a token that buzzes once your food is ready.  By the time I got back to my seat it had already gone off.

After receiving your food, there is a variety of condiments you can add at a self-serve station at the end of the noodle bar.

I opted for the won ton noodles.

I didn't need any more food, but here's a look at what the first buffet station offers.

sky deck

I left the lounge around 9:30am HKT in anticipation of 9:45 boarding.  The Sky Bridge that connects Gates 13-22 to the main terminal is easy enough to find–just follow the signs.

After taking two escalators up, you're on the new Sky Bridge.  Immediately behind you is a restaurant with views if you're so interested.

Here's the Sky Bridge:

You get a pretty great view of the tarmac from the bridge.

At the end of the Sky Bridge is a Skydeck.

Here you can see the plans for the new construction at the airport to add a third runway and new concourse.

From the Skydeck you can look out over New Territories in the distance.

Here's a look at the construction for the third runway and new concourse.  I should have realized it from here, but there was something missing from Gate 13.

cx356

As I approached Gate 13 right at boarding time, I noticed there was a remarkable lack of activity for a gate that should have been boarding or about to board.

That was promptly explained by the fact that we didn't have a plane.

There wasn't any notice of a delay (though it was obvious by now) until 10 minutes after the scheduled boarding.  This is quite bad form by Cathay as it could have saved me leaving the lounge early.  A plane didn't arrive until 10:14am HKT, 11 minutes before the scheduled departure time.

Our ride was to be on B-HPH, a one year old A321-200neo.

There were further issues such as the plane needing to be cleaned.  The A321neo had been in HKG overnight, so I was perplexed as to why there was such a delay.  The Captain later explained that due to congestion at the airport, it took much longer than expected to tow the plane over from the hangar (after whichever plane was occupying the gate initially vacated it).  Then cleaning took a while.  I noticed the crew boarding around 10:34am.  Preparation for boarding began shortly thereafter.  Cathay enforced the business class/premium line rather strictly, with an agent checking boarding passes and sending off anyone who didn't have access.

Boarding commenced at 10:45am HKT, but there was another delay of a few minutes on the jet bridge. 

Cathay has 3 rows of regional business class recliner seats arranged in a 2-2 configuration on its A321neo.

I was seated in 12K, the starboard window seat in the third row.  A pillow and blanket are waiting for you at your seat.

It's a fairly sleek seat and quite new.  It was a fairly well thought out seat. You have a small compartment right below the right armrest for documents.  USB power ports on each side of the center compartment for water bottles.  The overhead has your usual reading light and air nozzle. Another small compartment in the center armrest has headphones.  Seat controls are also found on this armrest.  The foldout tray table is also easy to operate and folds down from the seat.  Not seen from these pictures, but a foot rest folds out and extends out when reclining the seat, offering a good bit more support and recline than the recliners we see in the US.  All in all, a good recliner seat.

One unusual thing I noticed was that there was a shoulder strap for take off/landing.  I've never seen this outside of lie-flat products before, but I also don't fly premium economy much.

There is a center privacy partition that can be extended.  It does a fairly nice job when you're seated back into the seat.

The IFE was new, crisp, and responsive.

No free WiFi on this flight, but here are the prices.  I did not buy WiFi on this flight.

The Cathay branded headphones were okay, not as good as the Bose headphones the day before.

The menu was waiting on the armrest, let's take a look.  The only choice is which main you'll have and what beverages you want with your meal.  Orders were taken before takeoff.

I had a glass of orange juice for my predeparture beverage.  The Captain came on before pushback to apologize for and explain the delay.  He warned there was going to be a good bit of turbulence on this flight, but that he will try to make up as much time as possible.  The flying time was estimated at 1:55.

Doors closed at 11:04 and the captain warned there may be more delay because of how many planes were in line for takeoff before us.  We ended up pushing back at 11:09, 44 minutes behind schedule.

On our way, saw a Hong Kong Express A321.

Here's a Greater Bay Airlines 737-800.  I've never heard of this airline before.

We took off at 11:28am HKT.

You can see Cathay Pacific City directly below after takeoff and Tung Chung in the distance.

The new Caribbean Coast development:

Hong Kong Disneyland below:

We flew over Hong Kong Island on our way out, you can see Lamma Power Station in the far right.

Service began around 15 minutes after takeoff.  Everything was served all at once.  Despite the appearance, my choice of lamb loin wasn't bad.  I wouldn't have picked champagne to go along with it, but I didn't realize everything was going to be served together.

We polished off the meal with some Christmas-themed chocolates, which were pretty good.

I'm not sure where this picture was taken, but we followed a path along the Southern coast of China for a while before turning slightly left towards Nanjing.

I rang the flight attendant button and asked for a cappuccino to help with any jet lag.  It was powdered, but to be expected on a narrowbody.

After coffee, I checked out the lavatory.  It was very simple, not much to say other than I wish they had moisturizing lotion.

I had a cup of green tea afterwards.

By this point we were flying by Dongyang with approximately 33 minutes left inflight.

Here is the route we took.

As we prepared for landing, I asked if I could get immigration cards, but Cathay had none onboard.  I'm not sure if it is a Chinese immigration policy to not provide these in advance (I remember they used to) or Cathay policy, but by not being able to fill these out in advance made things much slower for the already slow immigration queue.

We landed at 1:28 and reached Gate 210 5 minutes later, a little more than half an hour late.