Elite status: none
Aircraft type:
B777-300ER
Seat: 23K (window with direct aisle access)
Padding:
Padding on the seat is very soft and comfortable. Great for a long haul flight.
Recline:
Seat reclines all the way down to an 180 degree flat bed. The recline positing is also great for working or watching video entertainment.
Pitch:
The pitch is great in this business class seat. There were 38 inches from my knee to the seat in front. The living space was 69 inches from the seatback to the back of the foot rest. The width was 24 inches between armrests.
HKG-JFK
March 19, 2019
Distance: 8,072 miles
Schedule:
Depart: 6:55PM
Arrive: 10:35PM
Scheduled: 15h 40m
Push back: 7:22PM (27 minutes late)
Touch down: 10:52PM (17 minutes late)
Arrived at gate m later
Actual duration: h m
Cost:
Paid with: miles
Prices at time of booking:
Miles: 70,000 American AAdvantage miles (part of a one way BKK-ATL award ticket)
Cash: $
Payment method reasoning: I don’t chase airline status. Flying from Asia to USA I wanted to go in business class. Miles were a far better option than a $5,000+ ticket.
Boarding:
I arrived at the gate from the lounge and boarding was already in progress. There was no line for business class. I got right through quickly.
Once onboard I was greeted several times. I was given a pre-departure beverage (juice selection) and a hot towel. There was plenty of space for my carryon bag.
The crew was busy helping customers get to their seats and handing out extra blankets and pillows.
Service:
The captain announced we would have a flight time of 14 hours and 51 minutes once airborne. He also described the route and weather on the way with some light turbulence.
Shortly after the safety demonstration began during pushback.
Once in the air the crew handed out amenity kits and a bottled water in business class. Shortly after we were given menus and addresses by name. A nice touch!
Next came the table cloths and drink service.
IFE and power:
The IFE was a stowable 15.5 inch touchscreen. The touch was responsive for the most part.
Entertainment included: movies, TV shows, explore Cathay Pacific, music, games, kids menu, moving maps, and shopping.
The movie and TV selection were decent with some new and some classic options for both western and Asian themes.
The headset is noise canceling and worked well.
Every movie and show started with 3.5 minutes of (the same) ads that were annoying. As much as tickets cost it should be ad free.
Every business class seat has a standard and USB power outlet above the armrest.
WiFi:
None offered on this flight.
On Board Menu Photos for this flight:
Food:
The menu (photos below) has 3 options: chicken, beef, seafood, and a pasta dish.
Appetizers were Parma ham and melon and a salad. I also had garlic bread. They were all quite good. I wanted more of the Parma ham. It turned out to be the best part of the dinner meal.
I chose the chicken main course. I was very disappointed that the beef main course ran out as it was the only one that sounded good to me. The chicken dish was just ok. I ate a third of it.
Next we were offered fruit and cheese. I chose to have only the seasonal fresh fruits. The serving was a bit small.
Finally we were given dessert options. Decided to pass on it as I was tired and unhappy overall with the meal.
For “breakfast” (at 10:30PM?) I had the burger off of the snack menu. I didn’t want breakfast food at 8PM local time. It was excellent. The best burger I’ve had in the air.
Drinks:
Pre-departure beverages included: water, cranberry juice, orange juice, and champagne.
I had an orange juice.
In flight we had a full drink menu. With dinner I had a champagne and water.
With breakfast before landing I had a Coke and water.
Best seats:
All seats are good and have direct aisle access. Window seats feel more private for solo travelers. The seats away from the lavatories and galley will be more quiet for sleeping.
Pros:
Good service in the air and helpful crew are common for Cathay Pacific. Good drink selections and anytime snack menu are a bonus as well. Fully flat seats help with better sleep.
Cons:
The foot well is a little cramped. No WiFi on board and not having the only meal option that appealed to me available are a let down. I was quite disappointed in the food on this flight except the burger.
Would I fly again?
Yes. Cathay Pacific has always had good service and a flat bed on an 16 hour flight makes for a much better experience.
Special Note: It turned out that my seat was sort of broken. The bottom seat cushion had been replaced with one for wrong side. This means that when the seat is put into the flat bed position one side of the cushion gets pushed up severely. This makes it very uncomfortable to lay on.
I notified the crew and soon had 4 of them working on my seat. The solution ended up being using a spare seat cushion from economy, a first class mattress pad, and some extra pillows to make the bed useable. The flight was full so no extra premium seats were available for me to switch to.
A broken seat is annoying. I was very impressed with the crew doing the best they could. I was able to get some rest comfortably and wrote a compliment to Cathay Pacific for them.
