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Overall, my experience with Cathay Pacific was good. There are some highlights and some odd downsides. The cabin is comfortable, although not in the greatest of layouts. The food is very good, and the staff is friendly and courteous, although service can sometimes feel a bit rushed. The IFE is really bad on their older 777 models, although itâs been improved on newer planes. They offer plenty of options on board for both food and drinks, all of them of great quality.
The departure time for the London-bound flight, combined with Cathayâs stingy food stock on board, certainly was a downside. While the food on offer is good, some points need to be deducted for the low supply during the westbound flight.
In This Review
Flight Summary
Since I flew the same cabin in both directions, the review is a mix of both my flights. Unless otherwise noted, the review describes primarily my experience on the LHR-HKG flight.
How I Booked This Flight
Since I had to travel on short notice, I purchased this flight as a revenue ticket. After comparing several options - including checking fares through tools I often use for quick price scans like Google Flights and Business-Class.com - Cathay came out as cheaper than most other alternatives. One good thing they offer is a mix of cabins to connect in Europe. As anyone who has flown business class within Europe can attest, the difference between business and economy is often negligible, so saving a bit of money by flying economy for a short flight is a good deal. In this case, it saved a great deal of money since the connection would have been about $1000 more expensive if I had flown business class.
Transit in London (Cathay Pacific Business Lounge)
I had heard good things about the food in the Qantas lounge at Heathrowâs Terminal 3; however, unfortunately, they closed at 8 pm, which was just as I was arriving at Heathrow. Instead, I went to the Cathay Pacific Business Lounge, which was quite a good one. The interior is very understated and elegant; they offer a full-service bar with a variety of cocktails and hot food made to order, of course, focusing on Chinese dishes. I opted for the dim sum and bao, the dim sum was quite forgettable, similar to what youâd find frozen in an Asian supermarket, but the bao was delicious. The cocktails were tasty, and the bartender seemed to make them with great care.
With the Qantas lounge closing and another two hours before my flightâs departure, I was expecting the lounge to be quite busy. Surprisingly, however, there were still a number of seats available, although the best window seats were all taken.
The lounge features a dining area, including some smaller tables, as well as a more loungy area with sofas, comfortable chairs, and some work desks; for longer layovers, there is also a shower available.
Boarding
While waiting in the lounge, one of the most mind-blowing things happened. The assigned gate was the furthest gate from the lounge, and I was just getting ready to start leaving when there was an announcement saying, âAs you might see, the departure board says âGo to gate,â but please be informed that we are not yet boarding our premium passengers, we expect boarding to begin in about 25 minutes. Please remain in the loungeâ.
A Premium Passenger Perk
This proactive announcement preventing a premature trek to the gate is a small but brilliant touch. It respects passenger time and enhances the lounge experience, something more airlines should adopt.
This is such a small thing, but it has always rubbed me the wrong way. With most airlines, you have no idea when boarding is about to begin, and it gets too early to the gate. You have to wait for a long time, get there too late, and boarding has already started, and you might get stuck last in the queue.
Seat and Cabin
The seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration. Iâve never been a big fan of this setup since it gives the worst of both being far from the window and close to the aisle. Additionally, since your back faces slightly towards the aisle, it feels like you have very little privacy, although when I looked around, this was more imagined than real.
The seats themselves are beginning to look a bit dated; in my case, the aircraft was about nine years old, but in spite of this, the cabin was quite worn. The seat was comfortable, although the padding was thin. I also found the seat to be quite narrow. Even though Iâm a fairly skinny guy myself, I struggled to move around, especially with the seat reclined. Itâs not great if youâre of a slightly wider stature. The new upgraded seat can not come soon enough!
However, the seat does have a lot of storage space, with a large cupboard for headphones or a water bottle and a side table. The seats on row 12 also have an extra space behind them that can be used as a shelf during the flight.
Key Takeaways: Seat & Cabin
- Best Seats: Rows 11 and 12 on the 777 are in a small, quiet mini-cabin right behind First Class, offering more privacy.
- Seat to Avoid: The rear mini-cabin (on the A350) sees a lot of foot traffic from Premium Economy and has inconsistent crew service.
- Good Storage: Despite its age, the seat offers a large cupboard and ample side table space.
- Narrow Feel: The seat is quite narrow, which can be an issue for larger passengers or when trying to sleep.
Iâd recommend picking a seat in the front part of the cabin. While the rear mini-cabin might seem like a cozy choice, this part sees a lot of traffic from premium economy passengers to the business class toilets, all with the crewâs blessing. If youâre a light sleeper, this wonât be very pleasant. Additionally, the rear galley on the A350 doesnât seem to be staffed consistently, and the crew call button doesnât seem to reach the front galley, meaning that if you want any additional drinks, you have to walk up to the front galley. The crew seems equally surprised each time I did so.
Bathroom
The bathrooms are standard for a business class cabin, a bit on the small side but on the other hand there were 4 of them close to the front ensuring there were no queues even shortly after take-off and before landing. There are no extra amenities in the bathrooms such as toothbrushes or mouthwash. They do however use some quite strong room fragrances which I appreciated and is not something Iâve noticed on any other airline.
IFE and WIFI
This category simultaneously represented the worst and the best part of the flight. The IFE on the 777 is terrible to be perfectly frank. Youâd better enjoy the word âLoadingâ because youâll see a lot of it. The system is slow and unresponsive, reminding me of car infotainment systems from 15 years ago. Additionally, since the screen is the type that swings out in front of you, itâs not held in place, making the touch screenâs responsiveness even worse. The remote is slightly better, but only by a little. The selection of movies and TV shows is quite good, though, with many new releases and classics.
The return leg of the trip however was on the A350-900 which has a significantly improved IFE which is much more responsive. It also features one of the greatest views Iâve ever seen, the combination of the front camera and instruments meaning it almost feels like looking out the cockpit window. I also appreciate the Wi-Fi icon which shows if Wi-Fi is available or not in every view.
IFE & WiFi: A Tale of Two Aircraft
- The Bad (Boeing 777): The IFE is extremely slow, unresponsive, and dated. Prepare for frustration.
- The Good (Airbus A350): A vastly superior experience. The system is responsive, the screen is sharp, and the tail/cockpit camera view is fantastic.
- The Excellent (WiFi): The free WiFi for business class passengers was fast and reliable for the entire flight. A huge plus for anyone needing to stay connected.
The Wi-Fi on the other hand was some of the fastest and most reliable Iâve experienced on a long haul flight. It was free for business class passengers and I was able to work and upload images without any issue throughout almost the entire flight. Absolutely stellar and more airlines should take note, especially when it comes to including it for free.
Amenity Kit
The Amenity Kit comes in a nice leather bag, a very muted and understated design much like other parts of the Cathay branding. It contains the usual things one would expect: toothbrush, toothpaste, etc. It is, however, missing socks! While I understand the environmental reasons for not including them, they are after all primarily one-time use, they could have taken the opportunity to be the first airline to provide slightly higher quality socks that can actually be reused.
The Menu and Onboard Snacks
The menu was extensive, featuring a selection of both Western and Chinese dishes, a three-course meal for dinner, and a breakfast menu. The wine selection is decent, with two options for red and white wines and champagne, as one would expect. The beer selection is also unusually good, with two craft beers from Gweilo Beer, a small craft brewery in Hong Kong. SAS famously has its collaboration with Mikkeller, but sadly, it has been scaled back in recent years, so Cathay now offers the best beer selection in the sky.
Heads Up: Limited Food on Westbound Flights
On daytime westbound flights (e.g., HKG-LHR), there is a 12-hour gap between the main meals. The snack selection is limited and runs out quickly. If you want one of the few hot on-demand meals, order it very early in the flight before they are all gone.
During flight, a few snacks are offered. However, itâs quite a small selection compared to, for example, SAS Business Class. This isnât a problem on a nighttime flight like LHR-HKG, where most people will probably spend much of the flight sleeping. However, in the opposite direction, flights to London depart in the morning, serving a brunch shortly after take-off with the second meal served 2 hours before landing, or 12 hours later! Thatâs quite a long time to survive on chips and cookies, which became quite clear as the snacks cabinet was almost empty about 6 hours into the flight. While there are a few on-demand meals on offer, make sure to grab these early since Cathay seems very stingy with the amount loaded, and by the time I wanted to have dinner, the only thing left on offer was instant noodles, perhaps not the type of meal one would expect in business class. If youâre flying this route, try to get to the dinner early!
Meal 1 (Dinner)
The meal service was very high class over all, even featuring a small amuse bouche reminding me of First Class service. All food was excellent in its taste, my only complaint would be that the service was incredibly slow, it took almost 2 hours after take-off until the first dish was served, and with a 10 pm departure this meant a very late dinner. Additionally the crew felt like they were very rushed each time they came by, which I guess is understandable when trying to serve a full cabin so late.
The food itself was absolutely delicious though, and with everything being served on individual plates as opposed to a prepared tray this further added to the feeling of a high class restaurant. The pavlova dessert was a particular highlight, light and fluffy with a nice crunch from the meringue and went really well with the fruit.
Meal 2 (Breakfast)
The breakfast was also very good; I opted for the feta cheese omelet, which honestly was delicious, one of the best omelets Iâve had on a plane. The fruit was fresh as well. However, the bread was a bit stale, and the croissant was served without jam. They may have forgotten to serve it as the breakfast service again felt rushed. It was also strange to have breakfast at about 5 pm local time, but that was entirely on me as there were other options available.
Final Verdict
Cathay Pacific Business Class is a solid product that delivers in key areas like food quality, lounge experience, and connectivity. However, the experience is inconsistent. The older Boeing 777 feels its age with a worn cabin and a painfully slow IFE, while the Airbus A350 is a significant step up. Service, while friendly, often feels rushed, and the poor meal planning on westbound daytime flights is a major flaw. Itâs a good, but not great, way to fly.
Cathay Business: Pros & Cons
- The Good: Delicious, restaurant-style meal service, an elegant and well-serviced lounge in London, fantastic free WiFi, and an excellent craft beer selection.
- The Bad: The Boeing 777 cabin and IFE are very dated. Service can feel rushed and impersonal. The food provisioning on long daytime flights is inadequate.
