I arrived in Taipei with boarding pass for my connecting Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. I passed through security quickly as there was no one in line and headed upstairs to the departures level. I found the Cathay Pacific lounge where I was directed to walk through the lounge to the smaller First Class lounge at the back. The Business class lounge featured a noodle bar a bit like some of the lounges at HKIA. As the lounge was fairly full, I found a spot near the computers.
I checked out the offerings, but as I wasn't hungry at the time didn't pay too much attention to what was on offer.
After an hour or so, it was nearly time for boarding so I headed down to the gate.
Gate lounge
B-HND
After waiting for about 10 minutes, boarding was called with Business class, elite frequent fliers and families being called first. I entered the cabin to find the new regional business class.
16A
The seat itself is comfortable and more than adequate for the short flight to Hong Kong. However, I'm not sure it would be particularly comfortable on a longer overnight flight. Welcome drinks were offered and the cabin manager came around and introduced herself while handing out menus.
We started to push back on time and but had to wait a few minutes as another Cathay flight to Fukuoka was departing at the same time. We taxied out to runway 05L where we were greeted by a queue of departing and arriving aircraft. It took about 10 minutes before we made it to the runway.
Once we were in the air, the crew began their service. First coming around to distribute meal trays and then coming along offering a selection of mains.
Tray
I went for the Chicken in Hickory Sauce.
Complete tray
Main
Starter: Prawns and Papaya salad
Desert: Mango Mousse
Overall the meal was good. I felt that the desert was a big improvement than the ice cream I received on my flight the day before.
The rest of the flight proceeded without incident and before long, we were descending into Hong Kong. We taxied to the gate quickly and disembarking soon after.
Aircraft after arrival into Hong Kong
Europeans will never believe that you get this meal on a flight lasting 1h40' (according to the posted schedule), and actually 1h18' (according to my experience). Thanks for sharing !
PS1 : captions are more convenient when placed before (=above) the pictures
PS2 : the flight should be referenced CX511
Hi there. Thanks for sharing this new report with CX in Business. The new regional business looks like and the fixed shell keeps people from reclining into your space, which is nice. Getting a full meal on such a short flight is great. As Marathon sais, on this site, text is better above the photos your are desrcibing. Other than that, perfect report!
P.s. I added CX in front of the flight number for you.
Thanks for the report. I will be flying this flight in about 2 months time, albeit in economy.