Cathay Pacific Airways

Hong Kong - Manila. Bumped the 4 of us from economy to Premium Economy since economy was overbooked. Seat was spacious and very comfortable (comparable to the business class seat of PR A320 business class seat). Food was okay (sandwich only since it's a 2 hour flight). Plane was a B777-300er. Transfer is a breeze. Inflight entertainment is very good (ranges from classical music to newest movies and concerts are also present including TV shows). CX is a benchmark of great airline service. Will definitely fly them again.

CX548 HKG-HND Premium Economy. This is a 777-300ER. I like this aircraft because it has a separate washroom in the Premium Economy Cabin. This is the second time that I have taken Premium Economy from HKG to HND. On ground welcome drink is nice. Food is ok but it can improve a bit. Cabin crews are nice and friendly. As usually Cathay Pacific flights on-time. If they add a mid-night flight from HKG to HND will be better just like CX524 HKG-NRT.

CX100 SYD-HKG in Premium Economy class. On ground welcome drink and hot towel. I took the first row window seat and it was nice that next to my seat was empty. The meal was great not worse than Business Class. Inflight snack you can choose noodles chips biscuit or apple. One thing is not good enough in PEY cabin is that they do not have a restroom on Airbus A330-300. The 773-300ER has one restroom. I am glad that they still provide Business class headsets in PEY cabin. It helps reduce engine sound. The seat was just like regional Business seats. Flight arrived 35 mins early.

CX170 9 Dec 2013. CX826 12 Dec 2013. CX829 6 Jan 2014. CX171 7 Jan 2014. Very disappointed with meal service and menu choices. From the 4 flights we took and only 32 seats in Premium Economy we could not get our choice of main meal 3 times out of the 4. Breakfast also had very limited choices. Some of the main meals seem to be served at strange times. Not enough toilets no separate toilets for Premium Economy on the aircraft we traveled on. Seats are comfortable and staff polite.

JFK-HKG-SYD in Premium Economy a very long flight with every seat filled JFK-HKG. The aircraft cabin was in excellent condition. The cabin crew were smiling and immaculately groomed which is more than I can say for Qantas with whom I usually travel. I pre-ordered a Lacto Veg meal. I was offered a glass of champagne prior to take-off but when I requested one with the meal service I was told there was none and I could have red or white wine no mention of what it was and it was served in a disposable plastic tumbler. The veg main course was good. The dessert on the tray was fresh pineapple which I cannot eat because of medication I take. When the standard meal ice creams were offered I requested one but was told I couldn't have one as it may not be vegetarian. A second meal was served a few hours later but to my surprise the main course on my tray was exactly the same as the previous one. Cups of noodles were offered once during the long night flight other snacks listed on the menu were not offered but had to be obtained from trays in the galley. If you are seated on the left side of the 777 to get to the lavatory which is on the right side at the front of the Premium Economy Cabin you need to go back through the E/C cabin cross over through the centre galley and then back up to the front and vice versa to get back to your seat. On the HKG-SYD sector I moved seats to enable the person next to me more room as he had to go straight to work on arrival. When breakfast was offered I told the cabin attendant I had moved and that I had ordered a veg meal. I did not want to leave them short a breakfast tray. I was told they that would get my meal. When it arrived what I think was an economy tray was put in front of me on which was a bowl with 5 cubes of melon half a plastic tumbler of apple juice a dry bread roll and a main course which did not appeal. There was no butter no jam no croissant no yoghourt all listed on the Premium Economy menu. In my opinion Cathay Pacific has a long way to catch up with their Premium Economy service.

SFO-DXB/SIN-SFO Our first time on CX Premium Economy. Seats are fairly comfortable with decent legroom and an excellent VOD system. Food not much different from that served in Economy and they acted surprised when we requested a cocktail before dinner. The much advertised "separate check-in and separate boarding lines" were available in SFO but nowhere else. All in all not a bad experience but they have a long way to go to match the Premium Economy of Air New Zealand and Qantas.

Flew LAX-HKG return in Nov 2013 in Premium Economy. Good value for money. Seats were reasonably comfortable with adequate leg room. An inflatable seat cushion made my bottom more comfortable. FA's were friendly and attentive. Food was decent for airplane food. A/V was excellent with high quality screens and a huge program menu. Would certainly recommend CX for transpacific trips. Only complaint would be that there are not enough toilets on this 777 aircraft.

JFK-HKG 17 Nov 2013. Premium Economy on 777-300ER featured not only more legroom and more deeply reclining seats but a wider arm rest between seats resulting in a sense of not crowding the passenger next to me (or vice versa!). Odd that dinner would be served at approximately 2.00 am when all I wanted to do was sleep. All-in-all a pleasant if lengthy trip and because of a small subsection of the cabin reserved for this class it provided a feeling of relative seclusion. Very attentive staff. Avoid bulkhead seats as people walking down the left aisle using restroom on right side of aircraft must walk across the outstretched legs of passenger reclining there.

BNE-HKG-LHR-HKG-BNE (with side travel to China on Dragonair on the way). Good usual Cathay service in Premium Economy I have found to be remarkably consistent over recent years (I tend to travel on Cathay to somewhere of other about once a month). Premium Economy is excellent if the smallish PE cabin is not full otherwise it can become rather claustrophobic. Cathay Pacific lounges are always first rate in my opinion - great for working or eating. Inflight food also seems to be improving. Only hassles I have is on very long sectors where I seem to have become the target of inconsiderate fellow passengers - getting kicked in the back every 20 minutes all the way from London to Hong Kong overnight is not much fun maybe a function of the seat pitch in PE. One can always pray for an upgrade!

Have flown 6 USA to Hong Kong round trips over the past 18 months. First time on Cathay Pacific. The economy premium is a great product. I was lured to it by the seat and by the reputation for great service. They only deliver on the seat. The seat is much nicer than the premium economy seat in any USA-based carrier. By a lot. More legroom more recline slightly bigger screen. But the service is marginal. The attendants are SUPER friendly. But they are never around. They huddle in the far back galley and you need to dodge your way to the back of the plane if you want anything. They make 3 runs through the cabin on a 15 hour flight. I have since read that this is by design. That CP believes that they are offering "privacy" by not coming through the cabin. They seem to want you to ring the call button and that they will handle your requests with friendly urgency. This approach might be appropriate for domestic Chinese flights. But it just doesn't work with flights to/from America where we have been conditioned by surly flight attendants to keep our hands off the button except in cases of extreme emergency. I found myself wondering if I preferred the grouchy but available service of USA- based carriers or instead preferred the friendly but absent service of Cathay Pacific attendants. In the end the seat wins. My observation is that CP really wants to be a great airline and I think they are sincere in trying. They just need to better understand the markets they serve. Food was ok not great. Entertainment options were ok not great. Beverage selection was very poor. Limited choices. Inadequate supply.