Introduction: Mission Cathay Pacific A350
This will (hopefully) be a quick one, as my Europe trip report (consisting of, literally, flying from London to Zurich through Hong Kong) is coming up, and I want to get everything done before school starts.
The inspiration of the trip was to try the new Cathay Pacific A350, as I really wanted to have a go at what it was like. Really, it started off as an idea featuring Jason and I on a day trip to Taipei in economy around with the A350 to see what it was like – it wouldn’t cost us many miles, and it would be worth it.
Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-900 Hong Kong Airport
This quickly blossomed into a three-day trip I was taking with my parents, and Jason said he would be out due to other commitments he had in Bangkok (which you’ll be hearing about after this – mainly something that led into his Finnair experience). Taipei is a city I haven’t been to since 2013, and kind of missed at the time, so it worked for me.
Taipei, Taiwan
In addition to that, my mother’s travel agent found a dirt cheap business class package that went from HK$4,000/person (for the seat and two hotel rooms), which we gladly took. (By “dirt cheap”, I don’t actually mean that I found it affordable for myself or anything, but rather that business class seats alone retailed from HK$9,000, so in comparison it was a deal.)
While the original plan was just to have the A350 on the return sector, the timing was perfect for us to have the A350 on the flight there, too, so I was looking at an itinerary with two legs on the A350. While I was half ready for an equipment swap, it happened just once, so I was fine.
Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-900 Business Class
The equipment swap was on the way there, to one of Cathay Pacific’s regional 777-200s. I haven’t reviewed the 777-200 either, even if it’s no different from the 777-300 I’ve just reviewed, so that’s something I’ll cover in the course of the report.
Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-200 Business Class
This would also allow me to try two gorgeous lounges on both sides, the new Cathay Pacific The Pier Business Class Lounge Hong Kong and the Cathay Pacific lounge in Taipei.
Cathay Pacific The Pier Lounge Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific Lounge Taipei
The full flight itinerary was as follows:
Cathay Pacific 400 Hong Kong to Taipei A350-900 [Business]
Cathay Pacific 409 Taipei to Hong Kong A350-900 [Business]
In terms of the hotels, while I would’ve wanted to go for a cheaper option, my parents both really wanted to try the new Mandarin Oriental in Taipei, which took the package deal up to HK$5,500 per person. No objections. 😉
Mandarin Oriental Taipei Deluxe Room
Bottom Line
While the trip was just three days long, it hooked me up long-term to the A350…the few of you reading this really should stay tuned!