We hop on board a Cathay Pacific flight from Sydney to Hong Kong in seat 21G. It may sound far back but it is definitely business class.
Check in:
Smooth and efficient. A tour group is a little lost and blocking the line, and staff muster them to the right place quickly. The flight is delayed, and that is explained at the desk as well as in an email that was sent at midnight local time for the 7:30am departure.
Welcome:
Formalities kick off with a cool towel, rather than a hot one. Then it’s the drinks round (breakfast, so no mimosa’s or champagne… yet) and the immigration landing card. Once we are in the air around comes the thick and textured menu, with six pages devoted to drinks. Then it’s the amenity kit filled with Jurlique goodies.
Food:
Breakfast starts with Greek yoghurt, fruit compote and fresh fruit. Then it’s the option of a western breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon et al or noodles with beef and spinach or a prawn and fishcake congee, assembled from the trolley.
Lunch is served four hours prior to landing, which is ideal as the stretch in the middle is when hunger often strikes. A feed just before landing can feel redundant given the food options you have upon arriving in a new city. Lunch is a decadent four-course affair. First is a fillet of smoked salmon on a bed of fennel, onion and broad beans. There’s a green salad to accompany. Then it’s mains, with a choice of pork, chicken, barramundi and linguine. The chicken comes with green beans, potatoes and quarters of squash. Then it’s cheese and fruit course, served from the trolley. And, while we should have refused, dessert is a square of hazelnut and chocolate cake with a chocolate arch and a gold hazelnut on top.
Service:
It’s not hyper-personal or chatty but it is fast, efficient, thoughtful and professional. The Cathay service is unobtrusive and pre-emptive.
Drink:
Yes, this deserves a section all to itself. The champagne Deutz is delicious and comes with tasting notes. As a special, there’s an insert devoted to a range of organic wines offered on the flight. There are four organic wines to be rotated every three months.
Entertainment:
It’s a huge screen that pulls out to slant toward you given the angular seat shape. There is a wide selection of western and Asian cinema, and the playlist option is easy to navigate.
Cathay Pacific’s brand is all about travelling well, so it’s good to see videos on how to be healthy when travelling, as well as three meditation videos. There’s also TED talks for in the air inspiration.
Extras:
The blanket is a cream textured thin doona with green piping. The headphones are extreme noise cancelling and are already set up in a little cabinet to the left of the seat. There are several compartments for storage. There is also a tray table as well as a side table, great for working on a laptop and small plate eating or drinking at the same time.
Seat:
Business class is in a 1-2-1 configuration and with angled seats privacy from your neighbour is guaranteed, without having to pull up a partition. The footrest at the far corner of the compartment is reached when the seat lies flat. It’s comfortable, without the rivulets often found in business class seats – this makes a mattress seat topper superfluous, although always welcome.
Cathay Pacific has over 70 flights a week to Hong Kong from six major Australian cities, offering a choice of flying in economy, premium economy or business class” (or, space permitting, mentions at that Cathay has at four flights daily from Sydney, three flights daily from Melbourne, 11 flights a week from Brisbane, four flights weekly from both Cairns and Adelaide, and ten flights weekly from Perth.)
For more information on flights to Hong Kong, visit www.cathaypacific.com.au
