Cathay Pacific Airways

Manila-Hong Kong flight left on time from Terminal 3 of Ninoy Aquino Intl Airport. Breakfast/snack was served. Not much but satisfying (hot sandwich and some mango juice). Flight was smooth and the crew was great. Hong Kong to New York : Great food and drinks, legroom was enough. Toilet was clean. For an economy class seat was excellent. Entertainment systems were perfect (many movies, modern music, etc.) New York to Hong : crew was more friendly, welcoming and at your service. At the airport, even though we were there 5 or 6 hours before our flight, the check-in kiosk was already open. The food was excellent. The two in-flight meals were very delicious. I requested some cup noodles for free and some juice. The toilets were clean. Onboard entertainment system was well-supplied with modern movies, shows, and music. The flight HKG to MNL was like my previous three. Food was excellent. I wasn't even expecting food because the flight was just a little under 2 hours. In-flight entertainment system was good (I was able to continue my tv show marathon of How To Get Away With Murder from the flight from New York). For a short flight, Cathay still provided excellent service.

A very positive experience with Cathay Pacific this round trip to Nagoya. CX 530, HKG-TPE-NGO on 4/7 and CX 539, NGO-HKG on 8/7. The flight to Nagoya was great with very helpful cabin crew, who helped searching for my charging cable after all passengers left the aircraft at Taipei for the second leg of the flight. An incredible range of inflight entertainment. The aircraft was less than two years old and was comfortable. Return flight was great as well on another new aircraft less than 3 years old. The cabin was comfortable and food was delicious, though not outstanding. Cabin crew were fairly helpful but cabin presence could have been more frequent. The flights were on time with very little problems.

CX714 from Singapore to Hong Kong and CX635 return. My first experience with Cathay Pacific was brilliant. The check in agent guided me on the self check in procedures and helped me in registering for the marco polo club (Cathay's frequent flyer program). Despite a 55 minute delay, boarding commenced quickly. Warm smiles greeted you as you enter the aircraft. One of the crew guided me to my seat. The seat itself has generous legroom and is very comfortable with a nose wheel camera view in the InFlight Entertainment. Despite being served a cold sandwich and some drinks during the flight, the inflight service was excellent as the crew efficiently distributed the cold sandwiches, as well as offering a few drinks. The flight came to an end with a sunrise and a touchdown in Hong Kong.

Overall a great airline. The check-in process is my only complaint after may years of flying with them. I carry an instrument with me when I fly that is oversized. It fits in the overhead bins and does not take up more room in the end than your average suitcase but the dimensions are odd. The last time I flew the check-in staff said there was absolutely no way I could bring it on board. We argued back and forth, got managers involved, threatened to change our flights. Eventually we got approval. A previous time I flew Cathay I booked my ticket at the last minute due to a medical emergency with my wife. I had a 50 minute layover in Tokyo, but that was the best I could do. I went to the airport the night before to try and be put on standby on a flight that evening so I would certainly make my connection. I have never been treated so poorly. Nobody would listen to what was going on. Everyone just said no and walked away. Turns out the flight was not even full, they were just not willing to help. The flights are wonderful however. The planes are well-maintained and seats are comfortable. Staff are quite attentive and friendly. The food was decent for airplane food. In-flight entertainment was as good as any I have experienced. In the end I highly recommend Cathay Pacific but they need to work on their ground staff as they were rude and inattentive.

Hong Kong to Zurich and return from Heathrow to Hong Kong, booked in Premium Economy but very fortunate to receive an upgrade on the HKG-ZRH leg. The fish dinner in business out of Hong Kong was so fresh and simply superb, as was the service. Unfortunately we ran through a lot of clear air turbulence during the night but we need to be reminded that this is not the fault of the airline that such meteorological phenomenon occur. The return flight in PE out of Heathrow was jammed packed but the cabin crew did their best, despite annoying fellow travellers who think it fun to recline their seats during the take off roll. On this flight, I thought again that its time passengers were allowed to tip cabin crew for good service. One again wonders why this is not allowed? It may just make a huge difference to our travel experiences, on some airlines. I recommend the HKG-ZRH run on Cathay for a good convenient service into Europe.

It's not the first time I flew on CX889 YVR-HKG (originating from JFK). It was no different. We were informed that the flight was delayed 2 hours in which originally would not allow me to connect to my connecting flight CX705 to Bangkok. Upon check in, the handling was great and they moved my Bangkok flight to CX713 which leaves 40 minutes later. We were also given a 10$ coupon for food as a result of the delay. We left Vancouver at 4.05am local time (originally should be at 2.00am) and we hit some turbulence near the Hokkaido region of Japan and again off-coast Japan to the south. We arrived at 8.15am+1 (should be 7.40am+1 after delay or 5.40am+1 originally). A ground staff was waiting for me and assisted me to my connecting CX713 flight. I was the last person on board but did make it safely through the crowd. We arrived Bangkok early just to find out that my luggage wasn't successfully transferred from the Vancouver flight and that it would arrive around 2.00pm on CX653. Therefore, I contacted the Thai Airways office to deliver my luggage to my house and it arrived at 8.45pm. In-flight service was excellent on both flights, even though we had unexpected issues come up.

Excellent service from courteous and attentive crew. Comfortable and spacious seat with plenty of space for bags and bits and bobs. Lots of privacy. Food was excellent, particularly the lunch service. Latte, cappuccino and Hong Kong milk tea on offer. Digestifs could have been offered at the end of the meal. The amenities kit was great, it even included a glasses/screen wipe cloth. Lovely big touch screen (at least 13") and of course Cathay's IFE is excellent no matter what class you are in.

The flight departed late as the incoming arrival from HKG was late. The staff were indifferent: few similes, unlike on Philippine or Singapore Airlines, or Cebu Pacific, where looking passengers in the eye and smiling are the order of the day. The flight was also close to full so there was little chance of having an empty seat next to a traveller. The baggage allowance for check in is only 20 kilograms: on some other airlines, it is 23 or even 30kg. Overall not particularly impressive and a case of living on their laurels. The inflight entertainment lacked a 'hits and memories of the 60s, 70s and 80s' channel.

I had high expectations for this return flight to Melbourne based on previous reviews and for the most part Cathay didn't disappoint. I really liked the seat space and privacy. The Boeing 777 version is better than the A330 because the seat storage unit is bigger and the bed position felt wider and softer. I liked it better than BA's business class seat - especially when travelling solo. The catering was a bit hit and miss. The chilli prawns and rice out of London were excellent but a Western style chicken dish from Hong Kong was bland. In general, I think they create better Asian dishes. I've not experienced a business class meal service from a trolley before, and I'm not sure I like it. What I did find odd is that they never provided salt and pepper to season the meal. As a pre dinner drink I enjoyed trying a couple of their signature cocktails (different option on different routes). Boarding was easy, once you found the right line. The lounges in Hong Kong were good but busy. I especially liked the shower facilities and the made-to-order catering. But signage for the lounges was dire, so I struggled to find the one I was looking for at times. The lounges in London and Melbourne are also very small with no views, so I found them quite boring. Of my 4 flights, only 1 actually left on time, which was poor. The choice of inflight entertainment was a bit limited but the screen size was good (although it wasn't possible to tilt the screen for a better viewing angle). The staff were quick to respond to any requests. However, they tended to do things by rote. Once I was asked if I'd like more cashews, but that kind of spontaneity was mostly absent. But they were all very pleasant and welcoming.

The service was satisfactory and the seat was comfortable. There were no problems handling of delays (we were promptly notified of our 1 hour delay in Hong Kong), and the entertainment system was activated to compensate the time lost. The only flaw was the food, which was bland or overcooked on our flights to and from Kuala Lumpur. It was decent, but not great.