Cathay Pacific Airways

HKG-CMB-HKG (via BKK). B777-300. Business Class Regional Product. Boarding at HKG could be improved and the flight departed 45 minutes late and also landed late in CMB. Service food and beverages very good and the new regional business class seat is a huge improvement in comfort practicality features and style. However it lacks a privacy screen between seats and jumping over the sleeping aisle seat passenger's feet is more difficult due to more legroom under the seat in front. A one hour stop each way in BKK where passengers to CMB or HKG must remain on board per Thai government regulations. Baggage delivered promptly in CMB. Business Class check-in staff member in CMB was outstanding. The Araliya Lounge that is used by all airlines except Emirates and SriLankan Airlines continues to be a disappointment. Return flight departed CMB on time but was delayed at BKK. Overall CX is a great option in this region though the new seats are not as good as SIA's regional product. CX also has a HKG-CMB-HKG flight via SIN and that's a better route as passengers are allowed to wait in the lounge during the one hour stop.

DME-HKG-DME. Fully satisfied with the flight. Check-in was very efficient staff very professional and polite. No delays both flights arrived actually 15 minutes earlier. Well-balance food on board. Excellent entertainment system with vast selection of movies & music. Great in-flight magazine with lots of useful tips on Hong Kong and interesting articles about other countries. The seats are a little bit funny but when you get used to them they are pretty comfortable indeed. Great value for money and comfort.

NRT-HKG. Departed on time quick boarding arrival on time good service. seat was comfortable and I felt rested by landing.

CX711 HKG-SIN. B777. Unimpressed with boarding procedures. Cathay staff all over the place and did not direct passengers to correct queues especially after call to gate was issued late. Design of Hong Kong Airport doesn't help as queue snaked all the way to the next gate (and thankfully that gate was not open otherwise it would have been a complete mess). Flight departed 20 minutes late. I think Cathay's on ground service at their hub can be so much better if there's better co-ordination between Cathay and HKIA. Anyway once on board the service was much better. Attentive cabin crew served drinks promptly after takeoff and decent early dinner was served one hour into the flight. Seat was good with decent legroom and once again the IFE was also good. Would fly Cathay Pacific in future and hope their service at HKIA can be improved.

CX714 SIN-HKG. Arrived at Changi and found myself pleasantly upgraded to Business Class as Economy Class was full. Service was excellent all round - champagne and juices before take off and supper service was prompt. Aircraft was an A330 with new regional product I believe. The seats were lovely just what you need when your flight departs at 1am but alas could only take forty winks and not a proper night's rest especially during such a short flight. IFV was good and easy to use. Once off the plane bags were swiftly delivered. Good service overall would definitely use Cathay Pacific in future.

KUL to Nagoya via HKG in early Dec on new regional business class. It was an excellent flight on both outbound and return legs. The new regional business class on the A330 is outstanding and almost like a mini-suite. The seats were comfortable IFE excellent and food also very good. This is probably the best business class product around for the Asia region.

I went from Hong Kong to Jakarta. They used an A330 plane with a seat config of 2-4-2. The flight was full. The food served was not good especially for a five-star airline. The plane was supposed to leave the airport at 19.10 but was in the air at 19.45. As we boarded there was an overhead cabin which opened up. 3/4 way to Jakarta one of the toilets went out of service. This was not the service I expected from Cathay Pacific and travelling from Hong Kong! The IFE was not good and the safety tutorial was not clear.

NRT-HKG-SYD very pleased with the service. Food and beverages always come at the best of times. Requested a drink a few times without any trouble. HKG to SYD new A330 with good cabin overall and great leg room although NRT-HKG old 777 with very old in-flight system and minimal leg room. Overall very happy as usual when flying with Cathay. Certainly one of my favourite airlines to fly with.

JFK-HKG-CMB 12/18. We purposely like to fly out of JFK to catch Cathay's afternoon non-stop to HKG vs. flying out of LAX (plus get a couple of nights in NYC). Check-in at JFK is with BA. They don't offer any of the special services you find at JAL FC check-in or AA Flagship (an airline employee walks you counter check-in through Security to the Lounge). Priority TSA is not available at the early afternoon hour. Luckily regular security did not have long lines. Cathay uses the BA FC Lounge which is not special and needs a major refurb. The 777-300 had Cathay's new refreshed FC cabin. The flight is so special it makes up for the mediocre airport experience. The FAs are simply the best. Lunch and dinner meal services on this 16+ hour flight can't be beat. The menu has a wide variety of choices. I had the lamb which was perfectly cooked to my requested preference medium rare. Turn down service PJs (an upgraded PJ very comfortable) and inflight entertainment are the best of the Asian carriers. Simply the best choice to Asia.

CGK-HKG CX 776 HKG-SFO CX 872. Requests were treated as a big nuisance for the flight attendants. When water was politely requested the FA said "later I'll come back to you" but never did. Overall CX failed to represent its status as a five-star airline.