Cathay Pacific First Class LAX-HKG
- Badger
- Aug 12, 2018
- 6 min read
Updated: Sep 21, 2018
I was very excited to finally be trying CX F! After wrapping up my phone call with MsFlamingo and The Chairman before they went to bed, it was time to get on CX 883 to HKG.
Our gate agents getting ready to try and manage the crowds.
They did overall a good job of organizing lines of First, Biz and economy pax into different lines and waiting areas.
But then we had to board all the kiddies. I don't understand why airlines do this instead of boarding your at most 6 F pax, then the kiddies.
After waiting for that commotion to calm down, we boarded through 1L.
The crew welcomed each of us and escorted us to our thrones.
There she is, the famous CX F seat/suite.
The cabin is arranged in two rows of 1-1-1, so despite not having doors, there is still incredible privacy and you don't see anyone else unless you're walking through the cabin.
It's hard to explain exactly how wide the seat is, pictures don't do it justice, I'll put it this way, you can fit 3-people side by side in the seat or two people comfortably.
This aircraft hasn't been retrofitted, but even still the cabin was very pleasant and elegant.
Showing the armrest pulled down.
Looking forward from 2A.
The ottoman is large enough for two people to join each other for dinner and face each other.
The IFE remote and seat control monitor along with a small storage compartment.
Not the updated HD screen, but fine enough. The screen slides out in flight to be more directly in front of you.
I think it's better to fly in 1A or 2A because there is a dividing wall so you literally don't see anyone else.
Looking to the right from 2A.
Kudos to Cathay for upping their champagne game and serving Krug 2004 and opening it on the ground. The purser was half joking asking me how many glasses I think I can have and she said the record is 8x, game on!
After enjoying glasses 1 and 2 of Krug, they distributed pajamas and headphones. Kudos for not cheaping out and giving proper Bose headphones.
Unpacked the pajamas, they're not the Shanghai-Tangs anymore, but still very comfortable. Biggest win were slippers that came in different sizes and actually fit!
No problem spending 13hrs+ here.
Next up the amenity kits were distributed.
But really meh and basic, disappointing for first class when you compare it to AF, LX or EK.
Pushback was quick and next to CX881 departing about an hour later.
The mood lighting gets my thumbs up!
One minor area of improvement CX can do as they retrofit their planes is have their F cabin windows have inner shades. While not an issue for a redeye flight, if it were a day flight, it's nice to have light from the exterior without the glare of the windows being completely open. In addition to that, it helps reduce cabin noise and with a 77W not being known for being quiet, everything that can be done enhances the passenger experience.
Always love the sound of the GE90 startup roar.
Really appreciate how CX has outside facing cameras.
Soon lining up for takeoff and a long, but smooth roll.
Up we go to start our approximately 14-hour flight.
Lucky for me, we ended up taking longer than the initial time estimate.
The seat controls, simple enough. The massage feature was for the lumbar area, nice but not intense.
Let the party begin, more champagne and warm nuts. The Krug 2004 is fantastic, it's very fresh with vibrant acidity, lemon-citrus, nuts like cashews and almonds, some brioche but not as much as the Krug NVs - overall fantastic!
Catching up on some Top Gear.
The menus were distributed as well.
Some good options and a definitely debate between the beef filet from the western menu and wok fried lobster from the Chinese favorites.
A decent wine list, besides the excellent Krug 2004, the rest was fine, but nothing special.
Table setting for dinner was elegant on the large tray table.
The famous Cathay caviar service. I love caviar so was excited to see how good this would be.
As it turned out, it was fantastic. The caviar itself was fantastic, perfect balance of salinity, texture and freshness. The blini were excellent and it was easy to build the perfect bites. Super well done!
The bread basket was warm and the garlic bread wins for the best garlic bread in the sky, I purposefully turned down more so I didn't fill up on it.
After the fantastic caviar course, next up was the watercress soup, it was superb, excellent flavor yet light at the same time.
I tried the salmon course next, it was fine but I just wasn't in the mood, plus I don't like quinoa in general.
When we took off I asked the crew to open the 2006 Chateau Branaire-Ducru. The wine was surprisingly open even without a full decant. It wasn't overly exciting, but it was full bodied with dark fruits, some classic Bordeaux earthiness, well integrated tannins and a medium finish. A solid wine that worked well with the meal. Another area of improvement is have larger wine glasses, especially for the red wines, you need a larger glass for the aromas to be more apparent.
I ended up going with the wok fried lobster which turned out to be fantastic. The lobster itself was fresh, flavorful and even had a bit of crispness from the pan fry.
The dish worked great together, especially with some chili sauce, totally hit the spot. The Bordeaux also paired perfectly with it.
Next up was the cheese course, after having become spoiled by the LX and AF cheese presentations, this one didn't have the same pizzaz, but the cheeses were fine.
To go with dessert, went with some Warre's Otima 2006 tawny, it's a fine port with an amber color, roasted figs, good acidity and some nuttiness.
I went with the sticky toffee pudding and ice cream, not as good as BA's, but still hit the spot and with the port was a great way to cap off the meal service.
The dinner service was completed about 2.5 hours after takeoff. The cabin lights were dimmed and I watched more TV before getting ready for bed.
After an hour I was definitely ready for bed and asked for turn down service as I went to the bathroom. When I got back, my amazingly large and comfortable bed was ready. This is something that Cathay has over every other F product I've tried so far, the biggest bed. The mattress pad was thick and the duvet the perfect balance of weight and lightness so you don't overheat.
I slept for a solid 7-hours (I think a new record for me on a plane) and when I woke up could use a bit of snack, plus wanted to try the shrimp wonton noodle soup.
Great presentation and really good for an airplane with fresh dumplings, a broth of chicken and shrimp stock that I could tell were real, combined with some chili paste it was the perfect snack.
I did my end to end cabin walkabout, through the fantastic business cabin with the 1-2-1 seats.
Through premium economy (I think the best premium economy seats of any airline) and the economy cabin which lucky for those pax, was still 3-3-3 and not the dreaded new 3-4-3 cabins.
I watched more TV, lounged and napped until we were about 2-hours out of HKG when I decided to have the breakfast service. Things kicked off with a fresh fruit plate, this was one of the best with actually fresh and sweet fruit.
Then I asked if I could do another caviar course and they were happy to oblige, it was as fantastic as the first time - always happy to QA caviar ;)
I went with my usual tea on the airplane to start waking up.
The warm bread basket was excellent with a croissant, bagel and pastry.
I usually detest airplane breakfasts and especially the eggs. In general I'm extremely picky with my eggs and only eat them at home when I can do it, watch Gordon here explain one of the better ways to scramble eggs. Anyways, I figured since the eggs could be prepared fresh, I'd have a go. I requested the eggs be soft scrambled and amazingly they came out near perfect, way better than most restaurants - big kuddos! The portion was huge and I could only eat about 1/3, but I was definitely impressed.
After the meal service just lounged for the remaining part of the flight.
And soon enough were on our descent for our 5:30am landing.
Right down the center.
A quick taxi and we parked at our gate.
The sun ever so slightly starting to light the sky.
Overall I had a great time flying Cathay First. The service was fine, but not great - it could have been due to the full 6-pax load, but I know CX crews from flying J on them before and this one just didn't have that super warm aura. The food was good, seat and bed incredibly comfortable. It's a solid product, not quite the refinement of Swiss or Air France, or the party of Emirates, but it's incredibly solid and I'm excited to fly them again soon and see how consistent the F product is.
Trip links:
- Colombo
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