CATHAY PACIFIC review : 4 November 2007 - by C Price  (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

HKG-TPE in economy. Very short flight - 90 minutes - and a half empty 747 used, presumably for the much busier TPE-Tokyo log. New economy seats were comfortable with great leg room, although they're still a bit narrow. The whole experience would have been slightly cramped had there been someone next to me. AVOD was faultless with a 9" personal screen and loads of choice. Crew perfunctory but pleasant which is to be expected when you're barely in the air.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 31 October 2007 - by G Naughton  (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

LHR-HKG-LHR 747 both ways. On the way out we had the new seats, which we thought were the best economy seats we have used. However, on the way back the old seats were almost the worst seats that we have encountered. I had a box under the seat in front of me, old controls for the TV/Video for both seats were faulty, the screen was poor. The guy next to me was an average medium/large guy, but he encroached into my seat with his shoulder or arm frequently during the flight, due to the lack of space. The service on both flights was good and the food was okay.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 31 October 2007 - by Don Belcher  (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

LHR-HKG-Toyko return. Far too little leg room because on well worn aircraft seat pocket sags against knees reducing room by at least three inches. Throwing all flight magazines on floor helps a bit. Liked the bucket seats only found on one leg as the seat in front cannot be pushed back so you can't see the movies with bifocals. Very few trips with soft drinks so we all helped ourselves from the galley whilst the crew slept, but when the time came they appeared and were up to scratch serving reasonable meals efficiently. Thought telephone check in guaranteed seat but found you have to join the 'club' for that. Can't see the point otherwise, as every time we were just given random seats when we arrived at check in on all four legs.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 28 October 2007 - by Bill Atkins  (USA)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

First

SFO-HKG - new First seat much more private and spacious, though cabin seems more crowded even though only 9 seats now- one seat is an island in the middle of the cabin, Crew charming as usual and nothing too much trouble, though a little slow off the mark with drinks, which is often the case with Cathay. Very little choice of food for such a long flight and no Krug any more - I guess the cost cutting even shows in First Class.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 28 October 2007 - by Justin Edmonds  (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

LHR to HKG return. There were two things that make Cathay stand out in my book. Firstly we were given a menu in economy and a choice of three main courses. The second thing was that I had my foot streched out a little in the aisle & partly tripped the stewardess. After she had delivered the drink to wherever she came back and apologised for kicking me, to which I wouldn't have it & apologised to her for being in the way. The cabin crew made this flight, working tirelessly delivering drinks & snacks after lights out instead of hiding away. The return journey came with the same courteous service but unfortunately the plane let the flight down. We had to suffer an Airbus A340-300 which felt more cramped than the outward journey.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 28 October 2007 - by S Giordano  (USA)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

LAX-MNL-LAX. Outbound my Gold status got me upgraded to Business. A very late flight, leaving at 2am. Attentive service but food could be improved. Slept for most of the flight. HKG-MNL on a 744 with new seats, which seem fine but I want to try them on a long flight. Return in economy, the flight supervisor came and introduced herself and wished me an enjoyable flight. Cathay is the only airline I was called by name in economy on 4 different flights, which makes you feel special. Now, if only they could upgrade the food.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 28 October 2007 - by E Campbell  (Australia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Sydney to Hong Kong. Service good, but inflight movie system had to be rebooted part way into the flight. The whole system then broke down so I missed the end of my movie. Staff supplied magazines and were very good about it Pilot said on landing "sorry about the dreadful state of affairs with the system and thank you for not taking it out on the cabin crew" - made me wonder what does go on! Received a $US50 voucher on landing which was great to spend on the next leg of the journey to Paris. All in all - okay to travel with, but Emirates has a much better in flight system in terms of choice of movies.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 19 October 2007 - by John Edwards  (Australia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

CNS-BKK Economy class. CNS-HKG HKG-BKK and HKG-CNS all in the old A330, which has seen better days. The economy cabin is extra cramped and you should avoid bulkhead seats which offer poor legroom, and a MUCH narrower seat. BKK-HKG was in a 777 which felt like stepping up a class compared to the A330. FA's do their best, and work through out the flight. Food is ordinary as you'd expect in economy, and alcoholic drink choices are quite limited. I doubt I'll fly them again until they retire the A330's and get a more comfortable plane flying this route.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 19 October 2007 - by L Ryan  (Australia)

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Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Melbourne to Hong Kong in Economy Class. Check-in was quick and efficient, boarding orderly, FA's were excellent. Flight very comfortable and as it was a daylight flight sleeping facilities were not required. Meals very good for economy class in quality and quantity. Had previously travelled on same route 12 months ago and would have rated that trip at about 3 stars. The improvement this time was quite marked.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 18 October 2007 - by B Teo  (Hong Kong)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Cathay Pacific Economy Class couple days ago. Seated in 31K on A330, very uncomfortable seat, had IFE box in the way of my legroom. FAs forced me to put my carry ons on the top bin, where there was no space. Announcements too soft, I could not hear it. IFE ran in 3 hour cycles, which meant boredom for the last 1 hour of the 4 hour flight. Cathay could do better. Food provided was tasty, but without a menu and in a tiny portion. Singapore do a better job than this.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 18 October 2007 - by Louis Chong  (Hong Kong)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

JFK-YVR. CX offers regular promotions on this route between New York and Vancouver. Both onward and return flights on time. Cabin crew attentive to customer needs. I agree with the other travellers that CX used to be better previously. They need to upgrade their planes because the seats are rather uncomfortable. Other than this, the food and service is excellent. IFE not working well for my seat. I will consider again when flying from New York to Hong Kong or anywhere beyond.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 18 October 2007 - by B Fruin  (China)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Return Hong Kong to Rome on 747-400 both ways. Check in at Hong kong smooth and efficient. We had reserved seats and 12 hour overnight flight to Rome was excellent. Flight attendants there when you needed them. Food great and seats ok. Check in at Rome was its usual slow self again, but the 11 hour flight back was a breeze. The inflight movies are probably the only thing that need attention. It is not AVOD but good enough to keep you entertained.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 18 October 2007 - by L Campagna  (China)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

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Cabin Flown:

Business

HKG to LAX Compared to the AA flight I took 3 weeks earlier, this was like night and day. The lounge at the HKG airport is phenomenal! Great internet access, high quality food and drink. The flight was a 747 in business class. The service was friendly, polite and as interactive as you wished. The food and wines were top notch. The seats seemed to be of the older variety but did lie angled-flat if not horizontal. Still, good for a sleep. Breakfast service was efficient, but somehow less friendly. Getting a bloody mary proved difficult. The entertainment was perfect. A huge variety of TV, music and movies which could be started at any time, rewound or fast forwarded. The noise cancelling headphones worked well and you had them for the entire flight.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 11 October 2007 - by Saul Robin  (Australia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

HK-PER Economy A330. I was impressed with the check in, it was efficient, polite & fast. Full flight not a seat to spare. The food service was very slow - food was terrible and in small quantity. I have watched the food quality lowered on each flight on CX and quantities become more meager. No menus, no hot towels and tasteless food. On the 7 hour flight we were served 2 meals - dinner and continental breakfast which consisted of soft sweet pastries and fruit salad which was the saviour- refreshing & tasty. The inflight entertainment and lights did not work on 8 rows of seats and unfortunately I was in a non working seat. I must compliment the chief stewardess for the nice way in which she apologised to each and every passenger involved individually and offered us a $50 gift voucher to compensate us. The seats were fairly comfortable and leg room was standard for economy. The aircraft was showing its age but everything was clean including the toilet. Drink service could have been better. Altogether the meals were the major negative. Next time I think I will give Qantas a go on this sector.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 11 October 2007 - by P Willcox  (Australia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

SYD-LHR via HKG with 2 kids. SYD to HKG good - kids slept. Arrived LHR in afternoon. Good flight with only 4 hour wait in HKG for run around. Came back with 1 hour dash to next plane - then delayed 2 hours. Meal service delayed due to turbulence so cabin lights not dimmed until much later. Tip - have a stopover! As other reviews mention, the planes are tired. Expected new seats, though after reading sleep comments about those, maybe a good thing to have old style. FAs very attentive due to children. Flexible with meals etc. Food good. Bulkhead seats a bonus - bassinet shelves good for keeping things to hand and more leg room. Downside - next to toilets - bright lights and noisy doors. PTV not really used, though one controller not working.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 11 October 2007 - by Ian Jones  (Australia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

BNE-HKG in A330. Arriving aircraft was late so we left 1.5 hrs behind schedule. The in flight entertainment system was broken so everyone received a $25 USD service voucher to spend on Cathay Pacific inflight duty free. The staff were friendly, but became very busy as everyone wanted to buy inflight duty free!

POSTED : 9 October 2007 - by Roger Hyde  (Australia)

SYD to HKG on the new config A330. Economy seats new hard shell which means the seat back does not move. Nice not having the seat in front move back into your face but unfortunately the seats are very uncomfortable. For an overnight flight it was impossible to sleep and usually I sleep fairly well. The seat simply slides down so does not recline at all. Should have done more research on this Cathay. Try and avoid this new reconfigured economy class for overnight flights.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 5 October 2007 - by Nick Fortuna  (Australia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

BNE-HKG-SYD in Y-Class. I'm a gold member on their program - on the whole, they're OK. To get more, they need to get better ground staff. Onboard, things improved, though they used to greet their Marco Polo members individually. Not any more, it seems! The return flight was in the new- config A-330. Word of warning - stay away! While it has some useful new features like AVOD, a new- improved floppy footrest, it does not have much else going for it. The new seat back slides down in a shell to recline, rather than leaning back. While this is commendable (no more seat backs in your meal), the actual headrest part only slides down. THis creates an unnatural angle between seat back and headrest. The feeling is a bit like slouching in a high-back chair. OK for 15 min, but impossible to sleep in because I found the angle was headache-inducing. The seat bolsters were quite thin and lumpy in places - the backrest has this lumbar lump which was OK when sitting up but in the wrong spot when reclined (slouched). The winged headrest is now made from a leatherette material - sweaty! And they only had 5 toilets for the whole economy class. The service was exemplary, toilets cleaned hourly on this overnight flight, food edible, good announcement from cockpit. THis time, the intangibles were fine, though the seat (for me) was very uncomfortable.

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 5 October 2007 - by Eric Bateman  (UK)

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Recommended:

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Cabin Flown:

Business

Flew Singapore - HK J class on 1 October. Everything was fine. But Cathay used to mean a lot more than just fine. The 777 had clearly seen better days too. I would have thought that Singapore Airlines would be killing them on this route with their new business class. Generally good, but not great.
 

CATHAY PACIFIC review : 5 October  2007 - by Steve Lewis  (New Zealand)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

I flew AKL HKG LHR return in economy and I must say that I was very unhappy with all sectors to and from LHR. The only reason I feel that Cathay deserve a 5 star is because of the great service the flight attendants provide. On our HKG LHR sector my PTV didnt work and all I go was a "very sorry". Space is very tight especially when you have the seat that has the small metallic box underneath the seat in front so I was unable to stretch my legs fully under the seat under me. The box also gets quite warm so you had to move my feet away. Studio CX (PTV) isn't on demand which is annoying.