Cathay Pacific Airways

We have just returned from Australia, with all four flights on Cathay Pacific Economy Class. The leg room for economy is perfect and we would see no need to upgrade. Extremely comfortble seats - and we both suffer with our backs. I was concerned that by the time we got to Australia, our backs would be terrible. Amazingly, our backs were actually better than when we started! How did that work? We were provided with blanket, pillow, water, free alcoholic drinks. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff. The screen on the back of the seat in front provided everything you could possibly want - movies, games, TV, flight information and even a view through the forward facing camera behind the front wheels, USB power on the back of each seat. The cabin temperature was perfect on all the planes. The staff - four different teams on the four flights - were impeccable. What lovely people. How many airlines do you fly with, where they actually reverse their trolley if you want to get past? CP is the first we've ever seen do this. Toilets all worked and were spotless. The food we couldn't fault and coming back from Hong Kong, we even had noodles and curry. Maybe there are better airlines, but we dont see the need to try others.

Having previously flown with Cathay, I was impressed and decided to once again fly with this company even though the fares were slightly higher than other airlines. This time our flight from HK to New York (15 hrs 40 mins) was not a satisfying experience. Food was excellent service was great, but distance between our seat and the seat in front was restrictive my knees pressed the bar of the front seat. The passenger in front of me was in a exit row and had no seat in front. She kept her seat fully reclined throughout the flight except for take off or landing. Even when requested to put the seat upright it was back to reclined as soon as the attendant left. I realise this is probably her right but seems very unfair on the passenger behind, especially on this long haul. Tried to walk around or stand every hour or so but was told not to loiter and go back to seat. Is there any solution to these horrible seats.

I think Cathay Pacific Economy seats are comfortable and they are good even for long haul. I just wish they serve better meals than just a sandwich or a wrap for their short haul flights. I rode CX from MNL to HKG and back. It was a short 2 hour flight. I was expecting more food than that. I knew we were being served such so I tried picking a special meal. Take advantage of the service while you can. Also, I found it weird that they don't carry snacks. Not even peanuts! I like that you can check in at the Kowloon station ahead of time, that was very convenient so you dont have to drag you bags around. We only knew our gate 1 hr and 30 minutes before the flight. Also it was delayed for 1 hour. We were expecting a bigger plane, a B747 but they decided to change the aircraft.

HKG-YVR-JFK flight leaves HK at midnight. Welcome drinks after everyone onboard and hot towel too. There are dinner and lunch service from HK to Vancouver and both have three choices of the main course plus a Haagen Dazs ice cream. My seat was 31A, which is on the left side of the cabin also the first row of premium economy but it is a pity that seat 31A doesn't have a window. There are footrest for all passengers that sits at the first row of premium economy. The exit is in front of my seat so there are plenty of legrooms to relax. Catering service on this flight is fantastic, almost business class standard of Dragonair. The downsides, seat 31A and C doesn't have enough storage space. You will find that there are no space to put the amenity bags, slippers, and everything you will need. Overall I think that Cathay Pacific Airways premium economy is a successful product and worth to try.

Taipei to Hong Kong on a old A340-300 aircraft. The seats are in old version. The catering service onboard is quite simple, just a rice with minced pork and beverages. This kind of seats are now rare in Cathay Pacific Airways fleet. It won't be a good idea to travel on this aircraft for long haul flight.

I travelled to and from Hong Kong on the above aircraft and I found that the seats were extremely uncomfortable as they did not recline. As a result I would not travel with this airline again. This is disappointing as the airline flies my route to Europe.

Sydney - Hong Kong. Their service was excellent. The economy cabin on the plane was a comfortable 2x4x2. The seats were very comfy and reclined far enough to sleep. The legroom was very good as I am quite short. The entertainment is the best I have experienced, a good range of movies etc. The only downside was before every movie there were about 2 minutes of ads (although you can skip through them). Another downside was that there weren't many toilets on this plane as there are none at the back of the aircraft. Cathay's food was very nice and their service was very good as well.

YVR-HKG-BKK. The new B777-300ERs made the 13-hour flight a breeze. I was in the row in front of the galley so I could recline through the meal service without having to fear that someone would be kicking my back. I was surprised to also see the new seats on CX705 to Bangkok on the A330-300 as the route would normally have the older cabin (shellback seats). I love that Cathay is now using more of the newer seats on these regional routes.

HKG-SYD-HKG in Premium Economy and its a good product. Seats are comfortable, good width, storage space and the seat pitch is great. CX always has/had a good entertainment program, downside, the monitors are not as good as other carriers and the audio is a bit weak. Food and drinks are good and have a nice choice. I like that Premium Economy is in a separate compartment which makes the cabin much more relaxed and not so much "toilet traffic" (very good in particular on night flights). Overall a good product although the price difference between Economy and Premium Economy at CX is quite considerable and not quite in line with the offering.

Cathay Pacific have the best all round Premium Economy seat for the 8 hours from Australia. They offer the only Premium Economy seat direct from Brisbane to Hong Kong with 2 flights a day (day one stops in Cairns for an hour which is no deal breaker). Being a large guy these seat are really comfortable, armrests on aisle seats can be lifted, enough recline to sleep but not too much to trap you in. Food and service is good, not quite as good as Qantas, but more comfortable seats. Only drawback is there is no seperate toilets, you use the economy ones. Again, not a big thing and there is never really a big line up. Seats have good screens, plenty of movie choices, lots of storage in front of you, with USB charging at screen level. Keep it up Cathay