Cathay Pacific Airways

CX888 HKG to YVR. The HKG flight to JFK via YVR leaves at 1 am. So if you are on holiday and even if you leave your baggage at the hotel for the day it makes for a very long stay at the airport. The lounges are excellent (the Wing is very good the Bridge is excellent the Pier very dated-try to find e.g. a USB port) unlike American business lounges they have hot food some to order champagne and several staff cleaning and tidying the lounges. Our flight was delayed. The excuse was "late towing." I've never heard that excuse. Apparently the plane was there all along but ground staff had neglected to tow it to the gate. When it finally showed up they promised us a 1.50 a.m. departure. At 2.20 we were still on the tarmac. On the plus side the cabin crew were excellent they whipped into action once we were airborne and for those of us still wanting to eat they provided a great meal in no time. Drink service was a little tight; if you asked you got it and they were generous with pours but there was no e.g. pre-flight drink orders or refills without asking. The newish biz class seats are very comfortable and I really liked the storage areas. Their night masks have velcro. Sounds petty but a comfortable night mask really helps you sleep on a long haul. Their large AV screens offer a great range of movies and TV shows. The second meal was decent but no alcohol on offer (even though you arrive at YVR at 8:30 p.m. if on time). I would fly Cathay again in a heartbeat and think their air crew did a standout job but there is still room for some polish on service.

NRT to HKG. Even though this is an international flight Cathay uses their "regional" 777 craft with the 2x3x2 config in business. My partner and I had the middle three the middle seat empty which is common on e.g. Lufthansa within Europe. Service was excellent. Food was very good. Flight was on time pleasant no issues. The NRT business lounge is nothing to write home about very basic needs an update. The regional biz seats do not fully recline. In fact if you're six feet (or taller) you will find in the recline position they are actually a little uncomfortable. I found it impossible to doze off even though with the early departure I was tired and ready for a snooze as you're lying in a sort of zig-zag pattern. Still the cabin seemed brand spanking new everything was in perfect order and there was much more leg room than a regional biz class flight in the US or Europe. Cabin crew offered prompter more attentive service than on our long haul a few days later. For a flight of less than five hours faultless.

Flew Cathay to New York via Hong Kong in business economy. Was nervous at downgrading after reading all the comments. Could not have been more pleasantly surprised. Food excellent cabin staff most courteous and friendly seat comfortable all good from me. Inflight entertainment excellent. Going to fly again.

ORD-HKG Oct 10. First Class on Cathay commands a premium but in the end you get little more than a bigger seat. Consistency and orientation seem to be big problems. For example they seem to offer some F passengers an escort through security while others (like me) do not get one. They offered a padded mattress (duvet) to some passengers but not to me. For the most part I was ignored. The Inflight Service Manager introduced herself at the beginning of the flight then disappeared for the remainder of the flight. The cabin crew delivers the meal then hides in the galley. They ran out of Heineken beer about 2 hours into a 16 hour flight. Don't get me wrong… the flight is not awful. The seat really is big. They serve 1 can of caviar Krug champagne Johnny Walker Blue and so on but how much of that do you really consume? But it is a HUGE premium and from my limited experience the Business Class is a better value assuming you can get accustomed to the Cathay service. They are really very friendly but they basically ignore you.

Travelled business from Paris to Brisbane with Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong. The flight from Paris to Hong Kong was very poor. Business was full and staff didn't seem very friendly. They ran out of meal options and they couldn't find anything for me to eat for the main meal - very bad. The seat was comfortable and spacious enough but the service was like being in economy - cattle class with a bigger seat. I rang the buzzer but no ever came. The flight from Hong Kong to Brisbane was marginally better crew did seem more attentive but food was average booked these flights with FF points would have been absolutely livid if I had paid for the flights.

CX903 MNL-HKG and CX904 HKG-MNL. Main gripe is they don't serve proper hot meals. Not even coffee. Even Philippine Airlines serves hot meals on the way to HKG. Early morning flight outbound. Online check in meant shorter queue and a chance for breakfast in the airport (which is essential since CX starves its passengers on this leg). I think breakfast should at least have been served. Seats on the older 777-200 was wide and comfortable but IFE non existent. Flight crew attentive and friendly. Mid-afternoon return flight on 777-200 with new configuration. More IFE options but food service basically non existent. Not even ice for the water was provided! My wife's monitor conked out 30 minutes after StudioCX was turned on and couldn't be addressed by the apologetic staff. I think CX should improve its regional service. Unless your tickets are on discounted economy (as mine was) you'd feel cheated flying CX MNL-HKG-MNL.

Flew EWR-HKG in October2014. The lounge was shared with BA. No proper catering instead chips and semi-lousy sandwiches as well as beer and soft drinks. The flight itself was a hurried affair as everyone wanted to sleep. The FAs seemed angry and couldn't wait to deplane. They didn't crack a smile and didn't want to be bothered with questions. The EWR catering was awful. The food service (dinner and breakfast) was for the most par inedible.

Flew Business class from SYD to JFK via HKG on Qantas points - a long trip but easy HKG connection and comfortable seating on both sectors particularly with the new 1-2-1 configuration. Service was pleasant and efficient and good food quality although limited IFE options detracted from overall experience. Very pleased to avoid LAX even if a few hours longer and evening HKG departure made for a restful evening sleep. Great way to get to North America from Australia.

LHR-HKG-LHR. Service orientated with smiles in abundance. Food refreshments and snacks where all good quality. I felt looked after and arrived at both destinations on time. Fantastic airline others can learn a lot from Cathay Pacific.

CX 198 5th Oct. CX 253 7th Oct. CX 234 23 Oct. CX 197 26th Oct. Traveled from Auckland to London return from Milan to Auckland all flights in October - premium economy. Seating disappointing foot rest hopeless. Food strictly average as was service on all sectors. Inflight entertainment also strictly average - films not current. Cathay needs to up its act in premium economy if it is to compete.