Welcome to my second trip report on Cathay Pacific – CX717, from HKG to BKK! This will be my first time on CX since 2023 January and I will provide my own opinion on whether CX has made any improvements post COVID. Happy reading and I hope you find the review useful!
(I also apologise for any mistakes in advance – at the time of writing I was just settled in my home and most of the content was written in Thailand on my mobile notepad… CX654 review also coming soon, which I just took 4 hours ago)
Flight routing
- 1CX717 HKG-BKK (no SIN)
- 2CX654 BKK-HKG
Getting to the airport
My journey starts off early amidst some heavy rain. This would drench my shoes as I made my way to the closest MTR station near my home to bring me to Tung Chung Station, where I then boarded the airport bus S1 to get to the airport.
If you are looking for a cheap alternative to get to HKG, taking the MTR to Tung Chung Station then boarding the bus can cost half the fare of the Airport express (depending on where you depart from) and takes up to an hour.
Check-in
Online check-in for CX flights is available up to 48 hours before departure via their website or mobile app. You can also preprint your boarding pass there but I found that unnecessary.
Check-in for my flight was to be conducted at aisle E today, where only self check-in is available. The aisle is shared with MH, EVA, and ANA (which cancelled their flight today). The process was smooth and we were able to drop our 2 checked bags within 10 minutes. The ticket class that I purchased allowed for 2 checked bags of up to 23kg per person.
Security was as smooth as usual and I was at airside within 5 minutes. HKG is also progressively rolling out new scanners on selected lanes, which will let passengers avoid the hassle of taking electronic devices out of their bags.
Airside
Unfortunately, the bad weather ruined my planespotting so no pics (Also, I couldn't get good pictures of my aircraft yet again, you will see why later.) I made my way towards gate 60 quickly while taking photos that I need for projects. If you are not an avgeek like me, you can opt for the train which brings you to gates 40-80 in 2 minutes.
Here is the departure board for my flight.
The A350 bringing me to BKK today will be B-LRK I apologise for the picture quality but the weather is really bad :(
It will go on to SIN as CX717 is a fifth freedom flight, which I will not be taking.
Flight was fully booked today on the HKG-BKK sector and the boarding area was flooded with people.
Boarding began at roughly 0830, 10 minutes behind the scheduled time listed on the ticket.
Boarding the CX A350-900 and delayed..
Welcome abroad the CX A359! It has been a while since I have been on one of these beautiful birds. My fare class also includes seat selection which allowed me to preselect 64A for today.
Unfortunately, we pushed back 50 minutes late due to traffic control. During the delay, the crew offered cold water which was a nice gesture.
Starlux A321neo and Singapore Airlines A359 can be seen parked next to my flight (I guess I did achieve my goal of spotting a Starlux plane somehow…)
Oh, and I did some gambling as mahjong was offered on the IFE system – more on that later.
The brand new safety video which just released this August. The new boarding music was also played too if I recall correctly. Cathay is progressively rolling these out on aircraft along with a new UI featuring minor changes to enhance the user experience.
As we reached the end of the runway, air traffic control decided to change the active runway which resulted in the need to backtrack to the other end of the runway and we finally took off at 1028, 88 minutes behind schedule. No pictures since it was still raining outside.
The seat and WiFi
Lets now take a look at the seat features. Cathay opted for the Collins Aerospace Pinnacle seat in the economy section of the A350, which has an adjustable headrest….
A coat hook….
IFE screen…
A small platform which can act as a cup and phone holder when deployed….
Bifold and extendable tray table…
And a seat back pocket, where you will find the Cathay Shop magazine, air sickness bag, headphones and safety card. For some reason, I also found an extra headphone and sickness bag on my seat.
Recline is available but I did not utilise it on my flight.
Reading lights are present, but no air vents.
Legroom is very generous. Overall, a solid and consistent hard product for which I appreciate Cathay for the most.
Wifi pricing is as below.
In-flight meal: Breakfast
Meal service began ~30 minutes after takeoff. 2 choices of breakfast were offered, which were dimsum with congee or egg fritatta and chicken sausage. Both choices came with a fruit platter, Nestle yogurt and a cold bread roll. Drinks were also offered shortly and I went for a cup of apple juice. I wasn't able to verify whether hot drinks were offered but the crew never mentioned it.
Although CX does have a bad reputation with its breakfast catering, I hit the jackpot because both meals were tasty and the dimsum was delicious! I finished my whole meal.
Other miscellaneous stuff: IFE, Toilet and crew
Cathay's IFE system is known to be one of the best out there and I found that to be the case too. There is also an option present to skip the advertisements now which is always nice.
Cathay's toilets in economy are fairly standard but the offerings of hand cream and some basic amenities are appreciated. However, the toilet wasn't exactly the most clean, which brings me to my next point….
The crew on the flight were… alright I guess? They didn't do anything wrong, but I don't think they are passionate about their job, such as the lack of personal touches or proactive service during the flight. I think I didn't see most of the crew during the later half of the flight (this also gets more apparent on my return flight)
Landing at BKK
We landed roughly 40 minutes behind schedule on a beautiful day in Thailand. However, the taxi to gate g4 took quite a bit which didn't help with the delay.
Welcome to BKK! Only 3 or so passengers in economy will stay on the plane for the next leg of this flight to SIN and here's a quick peek of the gate area, which didn't seem as full as the first leg.
Security was fast for me but other passengers that didn't have a Thai passport or priority have to wait - a Scoot 787 has landed near the security area too and the queue for international pax was long.
We also got our checked bags quickly and made our way out of the airport to get picked up by my relatives, concluding my flight. Say hi to my extra headphones :))))
(Tourism bonus features some coverage and food pictures at a new market in Thonburi, Bangkok – don't read it if you are feeling hungry :)
