All my experiences with Cathay Pacific have been great. Their level of refinement when it comes to in-flight service is top notch. I've flown with other Asia based airlines and by far CP is tops in their game. If you are flying to Hong Kong I would highly recommend them. They will typically cost more than other airlines but with anything in life you get what you pay for.
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This review is to monitor Cathay Pacific's flight arrival and departure between LAX and HKG.
The website CathayPacific.com is so easy to navigate. It also shows the flight departed status and actual arrival time.
Well, CX880 arrived early today. Fantastic.
The website CathayPacific.com is so easy to navigate. It also shows the flight departed status and actual arrival time.
Well, CX880 arrived early today. Fantastic.
Due to a combination of personal and business obligations, I've depended on Cathay Pacific to get me to Hong Kong and SE Asia more times than I can count. After having flown on most of the Asian carriers, I'm going to rank CX as the most consistently good of the bunch.
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For instance, Singapore Airlines - the other SE Asian powerhouse airline - will sometimes wow you: Sorta like the crazy 9.5 knockout you met in Punta del Este who has all your friends asking you, "dude, how'd you land that shit?"... but then occasionally, she'll do something shockingly disappointing like clip her nails at the dinner table or relay your embarrassing sexual kinks (babe, you said you liked it!) to heretofore shell-shocked friends after having a few too many cocktails with those tiny umbrellas.
Cathay on the other hand, is like that elegant, really sweet, appropriate girl that you've been dating for a reasonable amount of time. Your folks think she's top of the pops, she says all the right things at dinner meetings with clients and she's never going to embarrass you in front of your friends. Still, you can't help but yearn for her to occasionally be a little more flashy and ditch the sensible Miu Miu cardigan/pencil skirt combi for one of those ridiculously sexxxafied bandage/bodycon dresses from time to time. *cue every pic of SGV girls clubbing in Vegas*
Still, for the most part, I think I've come to the realization that consistency is king, especially when it comes to shuttling your ass at 600+ mph in a metal tube across thousands of miles, and so I've made my peace with CX's sensible elegance.
Cabin: 1st Class (mostly) on the 777
Food/Wine: Calvisius caviar is a nice touch, although they got rid of the balik salmon accompaniment which kinda was my favorite part of the dinner service. Krug is a solid champagne choice and I like their Bordeaux program, where they cycle different wines from that famous area. Because your humble author is an unholy combination of both Korean greed and American boorishness, I routinely try to drink at least two bottles of the Krug and 4-6 glasses of the red during the 12.5 hour flight to HKG. Both Western/Chinese food options are solid and feature steak, lobster and all the other goodies.
Service: CX flight attendants are warm and friendly without being obsequious. I've noticed that instead of proactively asking you for things, they're instead blazingly quick to react whenever you press the call button. Nice for both the passengers and FA's, I think. Of course, this is in direct contrast to the harried looks in the faces of the FA's working the back of the plane as they constantly address Chinese passengers demands for instant ramen as they shuffle off while muttering under their breaths, "Jeezus, how much cup-o-noodles these fuckers gonna eat??"
Hard Product: CX's seat is extremely comfortable and the seats are ridiculously wide which make for great lounging and 180 degree sleeping. Entertainment system is great with lots of Western/Asian movies and TV shows. I also particularly enjoy the option of dining with a companion at one seat: 2nd diner sits on the opposing ottoman and the FA's bring out a table extender to provide more space for the dishes. On my last HKG-JFK flight, I looked over at the attractive South Asian woman in 2K and invited her to dine with me but she just scoffed and mouthed "not a chance" in response... *sigh*
All the other stuff: CX used to have Shanghai Tang pajamas - my all time favorite - but recently switched up to PYE, another local HK brand. Incredibly, the PYE pajamas are even better than the previous iteration and increase my sleep enjoyment factor by at least 15-20%. (Yes, I quantified) The amenity kit was also upgraded to Aesop, a snooty Australian brand that's shockingly hard to find here in LA. Bose noise cancelling headphones were distributed in-flight and provided a serene, mostly noise-less environment so that I could blast Tupac's "Hit em up" without subjecting the FA's to my curious tastes in music.
TLDR Summary: Consistently excellent without ever being flashy (just wait for my Emirates review) Cathay Pacific really holds it down as one of the premier carriers in the world. 9/10 WB
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For instance, Singapore Airlines - the other SE Asian powerhouse airline - will sometimes wow you: Sorta like the crazy 9.5 knockout you met in Punta del Este who has all your friends asking you, "dude, how'd you land that shit?"... but then occasionally, she'll do something shockingly disappointing like clip her nails at the dinner table or relay your embarrassing sexual kinks (babe, you said you liked it!) to heretofore shell-shocked friends after having a few too many cocktails with those tiny umbrellas.
Cathay on the other hand, is like that elegant, really sweet, appropriate girl that you've been dating for a reasonable amount of time. Your folks think she's top of the pops, she says all the right things at dinner meetings with clients and she's never going to embarrass you in front of your friends. Still, you can't help but yearn for her to occasionally be a little more flashy and ditch the sensible Miu Miu cardigan/pencil skirt combi for one of those ridiculously sexxxafied bandage/bodycon dresses from time to time. *cue every pic of SGV girls clubbing in Vegas*
Still, for the most part, I think I've come to the realization that consistency is king, especially when it comes to shuttling your ass at 600+ mph in a metal tube across thousands of miles, and so I've made my peace with CX's sensible elegance.
Cabin: 1st Class (mostly) on the 777
Food/Wine: Calvisius caviar is a nice touch, although they got rid of the balik salmon accompaniment which kinda was my favorite part of the dinner service. Krug is a solid champagne choice and I like their Bordeaux program, where they cycle different wines from that famous area. Because your humble author is an unholy combination of both Korean greed and American boorishness, I routinely try to drink at least two bottles of the Krug and 4-6 glasses of the red during the 12.5 hour flight to HKG. Both Western/Chinese food options are solid and feature steak, lobster and all the other goodies.
Service: CX flight attendants are warm and friendly without being obsequious. I've noticed that instead of proactively asking you for things, they're instead blazingly quick to react whenever you press the call button. Nice for both the passengers and FA's, I think. Of course, this is in direct contrast to the harried looks in the faces of the FA's working the back of the plane as they constantly address Chinese passengers demands for instant ramen as they shuffle off while muttering under their breaths, "Jeezus, how much cup-o-noodles these fuckers gonna eat??"
Hard Product: CX's seat is extremely comfortable and the seats are ridiculously wide which make for great lounging and 180 degree sleeping. Entertainment system is great with lots of Western/Asian movies and TV shows. I also particularly enjoy the option of dining with a companion at one seat: 2nd diner sits on the opposing ottoman and the FA's bring out a table extender to provide more space for the dishes. On my last HKG-JFK flight, I looked over at the attractive South Asian woman in 2K and invited her to dine with me but she just scoffed and mouthed "not a chance" in response... *sigh*
All the other stuff: CX used to have Shanghai Tang pajamas - my all time favorite - but recently switched up to PYE, another local HK brand. Incredibly, the PYE pajamas are even better than the previous iteration and increase my sleep enjoyment factor by at least 15-20%. (Yes, I quantified) The amenity kit was also upgraded to Aesop, a snooty Australian brand that's shockingly hard to find here in LA. Bose noise cancelling headphones were distributed in-flight and provided a serene, mostly noise-less environment so that I could blast Tupac's "Hit em up" without subjecting the FA's to my curious tastes in music.
TLDR Summary: Consistently excellent without ever being flashy (just wait for my Emirates review) Cathay Pacific really holds it down as one of the premier carriers in the world. 9/10 WB
These days, my motto for a good international flying experience: Just put me on anything better than United, please.
So it was my first time flying Cathay but heard a lot of good things from family and friends. A flight from LA to HK would take 15 hours. Check-in at LAX was pretty smooth and uneventful. Boarding was relatively orderly and timely. The flight attendants throughout were friendly and accommodating, unlike the crews of a lot of US air carriers. Okay, okay, fine, I'll admit: the Cathay flight attendants were aesthetically pleasing as well.
The food wasn't too bad but not excellent. I think Korean Air is a bit better, but Cathay's offerings were pretty good. However, I did find mold in my roll, which I reported to the flight attendant. She apologized and noted the mistake. Both breakfast and dinner had Western and Chinese offerings and generally the latter was better. I enjoyed the braised pork with pickled vegetables the most. Having Haggen-Daz ice cream for dessert can't be a bad thing, too.
The galleys had snacks throughout the flight, such as dried fruit, chips, crackers, and chocolate. I loaded up on the Toblerone like a pig for sustenance.
The seating areas and the lavatories were generally clean. Definitely much cleaner than United or Air Canada. Plus the lavatories worked too, unlike said airlines. I know, the little things...
The entertainment system, overall, was sufficient. I did see a few movies and a few television shows on the flight over. It was nice having a mix of Asian and Western entertainment.
Unfortunately, the crew didn't have nearly enough landing cards so I had to fill out mine on the ground. I mean, I know a lot of the passengers will be transiting elsewhere, but don't you think some of them would actually be staying at your most major hub???
So it was my first time flying Cathay but heard a lot of good things from family and friends. A flight from LA to HK would take 15 hours. Check-in at LAX was pretty smooth and uneventful. Boarding was relatively orderly and timely. The flight attendants throughout were friendly and accommodating, unlike the crews of a lot of US air carriers. Okay, okay, fine, I'll admit: the Cathay flight attendants were aesthetically pleasing as well.
The food wasn't too bad but not excellent. I think Korean Air is a bit better, but Cathay's offerings were pretty good. However, I did find mold in my roll, which I reported to the flight attendant. She apologized and noted the mistake. Both breakfast and dinner had Western and Chinese offerings and generally the latter was better. I enjoyed the braised pork with pickled vegetables the most. Having Haggen-Daz ice cream for dessert can't be a bad thing, too.
The galleys had snacks throughout the flight, such as dried fruit, chips, crackers, and chocolate. I loaded up on the Toblerone like a pig for sustenance.
The seating areas and the lavatories were generally clean. Definitely much cleaner than United or Air Canada. Plus the lavatories worked too, unlike said airlines. I know, the little things...
The entertainment system, overall, was sufficient. I did see a few movies and a few television shows on the flight over. It was nice having a mix of Asian and Western entertainment.
Unfortunately, the crew didn't have nearly enough landing cards so I had to fill out mine on the ground. I mean, I know a lot of the passengers will be transiting elsewhere, but don't you think some of them would actually be staying at your most major hub???
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ehhhh. CP branding used to be that it was the BMW to all the other East Asian airlines' toyota. Now it's not even the Audi. No wifi on planes, seat booking system that didn't work, and limited in-flight media selection. Food was pretty solid, and the service is always great and A+, but if you're thinking of dropping the "CP premium" and think you'll get anything return, think again! I only chose them because they could get me in and out at an opportune time.
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Flown Cathay Pacific (CX) from LAX to HKG, HKG to PEK, and HKG back to LAX. Also flown its subsidiary Dragonair (KA) from PVG to HKG. I can't really compare CX to other Asian airlines because I haven't really flown with others before. Overall, I had a great experience with CX and it's probably my choice of airline when traveling to Asia.
Economy seats are decent. I guess it depends if you get a new seat or an old seat. The new seats are pretty comfortable while the old ones are not. The seats recline pretty far back but for some reason it's not really comfortable at the bottom. Maybe it's my posture, but I could definitely not sleep at all on the old seats. Every seat has an entertainment screen and they have pretty good stuff on it. They have pretty recent movies as well as good music. Lots of EDM such as Kaskade and Above & Beyond. It also comes with a USB port where you can charge your phones and stuff.
On my flight that lasted 15 hours, LAX to HKG and back, we were served two meals. They were pretty tasty to be honest, I didn't expect to like some of their stuff that much. For dinner they gave Haagen Daz ice cream so that was a plus even though they only had vanilla flavor. There is also snacks such as cup noodles and chips and water at the back for you to get any time. My complaint is that they don't come around to offer us these things because I sat at the window seat and I didn't want to wake up the people next to me. Service is pretty standard though, they serve and collect and also come if you press the button. They were all friendly and also attractive haha.
KA has got to be the best domestic flight I've taken in China. It is so much better than Air China and other airlines for sure. They give everyone a bottled water at their seat and for their Haagen Daz ice cream you get to choose what flavor you want. My only complaint is that we didn't exit at a terminal but rather on the airstrip with a bus taking us to the terminal.
You do pay more for CX but I'd say it's worth it. I will probably choose to fly with Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines when going to Asia.
Economy seats are decent. I guess it depends if you get a new seat or an old seat. The new seats are pretty comfortable while the old ones are not. The seats recline pretty far back but for some reason it's not really comfortable at the bottom. Maybe it's my posture, but I could definitely not sleep at all on the old seats. Every seat has an entertainment screen and they have pretty good stuff on it. They have pretty recent movies as well as good music. Lots of EDM such as Kaskade and Above & Beyond. It also comes with a USB port where you can charge your phones and stuff.
On my flight that lasted 15 hours, LAX to HKG and back, we were served two meals. They were pretty tasty to be honest, I didn't expect to like some of their stuff that much. For dinner they gave Haagen Daz ice cream so that was a plus even though they only had vanilla flavor. There is also snacks such as cup noodles and chips and water at the back for you to get any time. My complaint is that they don't come around to offer us these things because I sat at the window seat and I didn't want to wake up the people next to me. Service is pretty standard though, they serve and collect and also come if you press the button. They were all friendly and also attractive haha.
KA has got to be the best domestic flight I've taken in China. It is so much better than Air China and other airlines for sure. They give everyone a bottled water at their seat and for their Haagen Daz ice cream you get to choose what flavor you want. My only complaint is that we didn't exit at a terminal but rather on the airstrip with a bus taking us to the terminal.
You do pay more for CX but I'd say it's worth it. I will probably choose to fly with Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines when going to Asia.
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