Cathay Pacific Review Business Class New York, JFK to Hong Kong, HKG – CX845
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I booked this flight as part of my one-way journey from San Francisco to New York (via Dallas) to Jakarta. American Airlines allows one-stop at the point of departure for an international award - that was New York for me. I paid a total of 55,000 miles for the one-way in Business Class. A couple of month out only few business class seats were available on Cathay to Asia - I only saw the flight from Newark. 22 days before my flight date I changed flights to give me a better connection - this change was free according to the American Airlines award rules :)
Boarding in New York was quick - I was the last passenger in Business Class coming on-board. Most passengers had already settled in. Departure was 30 minutes late but the short flight time (for this flight) with 14h 45 minutes would put us into Hong Kong early. I wasn't really tired and decided to watch a movie and shoot the supper service for you guys.
This flight would go all the way up North over the North Pole. West Coast flights don't go so far north - they usually go over the Bering strait. So it was exciting but there was nothing to see - it was dark all the way into Hong Kong!
The cabin crew was very friendly and attentive this time (compared to my last Cathay Pacific flight) and after the pre-flight champagne the crew prepared dinner just 30 minutes after take off.
The food was good - better than my memory of Cathay Pacific flights before. I really enjoyed it. After finishing my movie it was about 4 Am Eastern time and it was time to go to sleep. 11 hours later I woke up and just in time to see the breakfast service getting under way.
I really like the Business Class mini suite - for me it's the best Business Class seat to sleep on besides Singapore Airlines and - wait for it - United airlines. It could be a tad longer and wider - but hey there needs to be a difference to First Class!
The CX entertainment system works well and it actually registers the controls without seconds of delay (try that on Thai Airways!).
The breakfast was pretty good too. Not restaurant quality but food that I'd be able to eat more often. I rarely drink coffee (I really Espresso though) but they brewed some really good coffee for me as well.
Hong Kong had some bad thunderstorms when we came in - so we got into a holding patterns for 20 minutes but still managed to arrive in time.
In conclusion - Cathay Pacific delivers a great product with a high consistency. One of the best seats, well trained and friendly crew, good to very good food and a punctual flight. I'd certainly look forward to fly them again anytime!
Book your flight on Cathay Pacific here.