After a short but enjoyable flight from Kota Kinabalu to Hong Kong on Dragon Air, followed by a short connection in Hong Kong due to a delayed departure from Kota Kinabalu, I ran across the Hong Kong airport to make my connection to Narita. My overnight flight from Hong Kong to Japan was scheduled to be on a B777-200 with the older regional product. I wasn’t overly excited for this flight, as it was overnight in a dated seat, but I was excited to fly on a flight that gave me a long enough layover which allowed for me to take the train into Tokyo and explore the city for the day before continuing my flight on to San Diego.
Boarding Process
After landing in Hong Kong, I was so nervous I was going to miss my flight so I ran as quickly as I could through security. About half way through the arrival hall I found a representative from Cathay Pacific holding a sign with my name on it. She welcomed me to Hong Kong and informed me that they were expecting me. She informed me I had plenty of time to re-clear security and make it to the boarding gate as the plane was leaving from one of the forward most gates after security. She then thanked me for flying Cathay Pacific and continued, more slowly and calmly towards the boarding area. To my surprise, by the time I reached the gate, the plane was still not boarding!
I had rushed and worried for nothing! Not a big deal, I thought. In fact, it allowed me time to quickly check out the Cathay Pacific flagship lounge, The Wing. I pushed my time as long as possible, gobbling up little snacks and downing a drink before heading back to the gate. By the time I returned to the gate, the boarding process was almost completed and I went to the priority boarding gate and was welcomed aboard the aircraft by very friendly gate agents. I boarded through the door L1 on the B777, and to my surprise the airplane featured the new Cathay Pacific regional business class product!
The configuration was still 2x3x2, but featured large advanced reclining instead basic domestic first style seats. The seats also had on demand IFE and more personal pace than the seats I had experienced on my way to Kuala Lumpur from Hong Kong. I found my seat, after being greeted by at least three flight attendants and then was brought a welcome drink of my choice. Before departure, the flight attendants provided customers with landing documents for Japan, dinner menus, a hot towel service and the purser greeted each passenger by name and welcomed each person aboard.
warm olive green and orange seat
Cathay Pacific Regional Business Class Inflight
The flight between Hong Kong and Narita was very short and my only chance to rest. Since I needed my sleep, as I had an excited day planned in Tokyo, I dozed off before we even took off from Hong Kong. I woke up when the flight attendants were in the aisle and was offering passengers macadamia nuts and beverages of their choice. At this time we were about 45 minutes into the flight. I took part in a drink and the nuts and then dozed in and out for about another 20 minutes until dinner service began. It’s hard to call it dinner service, when by this time it was almost 3 in the morning, but the meal was more dinner themed then breakfast so I’m running with it. The crew had the typical clasping Cathay Pacific food and beverage carts with the three dinner items on top and beverages below. I opted for the fish, ate my meal quickly as on this flight everything is severed at once and then fell back asleep to enjoy another short nap before landing in Tokyo.
ling cod dinner and cheese plate for dessert
Regional Business Class Seat, IFE, & Amenities
The seat on this plane, as I mentioned before is the new regional product that is being rolled out on Cathay’s regional wide body fleet. Although the seat is not anything special, it kills any domestic seat offered by US Airlines (not including transcontinental flights from JFK) and is a huge upgrade from their old regional product. Each seat is angled, with a 120 degree recline and includes a 15 inch personal TV with on demand programing. The seat lacks space for personal items, such as small bags, but there is always a ton of room in the overhead bins (VERY different than flying US Airliners). There’s a small cubby built into the seat divider that can hold a cell phone, wallet, passport, etc, along with a cell phone holder next to the TV screen. Each seat was equipped with a universal power port, had plenty of elbow room, featured an extendable arm rest for drinks and the tray table was placed on the back of the seat in front of you. The tray was folded in two and spring loaded. By pressing firmly on it, the table popped out and offered a table with a cup dimple which could then be unfolded and pulled towards the passenger. This table is perfect for passengers of size or pregnant woman, as I found it more adjustable than tray tables that are built into arm rests of seats. All in all, the seat was comfortable, but not recommended for long haul flights, although perfect for what it was designed for. No extra amenities other than blankets and pillows were provided as this was a shorter regional flight.
back of seat, and seat in rest mode, more recline then domestic First in the USA, but not my much Plus a small foot rest that tucks into the cubby of th seat on front of you, reducing storage space for personal items
simple and easy to use electronic controlls
expandable armrest perfect for drinks
remote controll for IFE is hidden in the arm rest
small personal IFE and spring loaded tray table. Slides in under the tv and then unfolds and pulls towards the seat.
Final Thoughts
Cathay Pacific is a phenomenal airline and I can clearly see why it’s considered one of the world’s best airlines. All three of my flights on CX were nothing short of spectacular, with my favorite flight being the longhaul flight from LAX, and I definitely look forward to flying Cathay Pacific again! Service was top notch, food was good, lounges were all clean, crisp and had great offerings, and crew were professional and always on their game! If you’re traveling to Asia or within Asia, I’d highly recommend checking out Cathay Pacific!
