|
THE ALVIATOR'S VERDICT
It's a treat to get Cathay Pacific's longhaul business class seat on a shorthaul flight, and the food and service on this flight were very good as well. |
5.0
|
This was the last time this year that the flight number CX 596 was being used, which was pretty cool in and of itself.
Cathay Pacific Flight 596
Friday, March 25, 2016
Origin: Hong Kong (HKG) Gate: 2 Dep: 08:00 (08:00)
Destination: Osaka Kansai (KIX) Gate: 2 Arr: 12:25 (12:10)
Duration: 3 hr 25 min (3 hr 10 min)
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300 Reg: B-HLR
Seat: 15A (Business Class)
I was the first onboard the business class cabin and seemed to take the cabin crew by surprise. I took my first photo of the cabin, then told the purser I’d arrived (she seemed to be giving a pep talk to the rest of the crew and didn’t realise I was there). The purser was unnecessarily apologetic about not seeing me first and led me to my seat 15A.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class
Cathay Pacific’s longhaul A330 business class consists of two cabins: a bigger cabin, which is better if you want a better boarding experience, and a smaller cabin, if you want some more privacy throughout the flight. I’ve found myself to love whichever cabin is further forward for short flights, as there’s literally zero foot traffic apart from those wanting to get to their seats. In economy, though, I do like sitting near the back of the plane where the fuselage tapers (this is where people don’t like to sit, so I have a bigger chance at an empty seat next to me).
Cathay Pacific Airbus A330 Business Class Seatmap
Really, the cabin is stunning, especially with the green mood lighting thrown in giving the cabin a loft-like feel.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class
My seat 15A was in the middle of the cabin, which worked well as it’s away from both the toilet and the galley. It’s one of many websites’ top picks, and I liked my seat very much for the duration of the flight.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Seat 15A
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Seat 15A
While I’ve had my complaints with the seat regarding the padding, there’s no denying that reverse herringbone seats are my favourite business class seat layout. The seat’s incredibly spacious, and there’s enough space for everything.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Seat 15A
The seat is also amply wide, so even if there’s not enough padding, there’s definitely more than enough space.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class
There is legroom for days in reverse herringbone seats, and the seat cubby isn’t restricted. I have one of the biggest feet in the family, and I was able to sleep comfortably no matter what position I was in.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Legroom
I’m not as much of a fan of the polishes of the seat as I am with the actual structure, as I find some of the features to be clunky. I’ve never been a fan of the seat controls, which look weird, and also aren’t “one touch” – fortunately the new ones are, in the sense that you don’t have to hold down the “bed” function to turn it into a bed.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Seat Controls
I like the adjustable reading light – there’s really no better way for it to be mounted. While the remote control is getting a little old, the new remote controls are a LOT better.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Side Panel
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Reading Light
By the left of the seat is a side table, which is great for drinks, glasses and phones.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Side Table
There’s also a USB plug and a few other plugs, to finish off the seat’s features. They worked well during my flight.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Plugs
The seat also features a big tray table that you can’t pull towards you – I’ve heard a lot of complaints regarding that, though I didn’t find it to pester me too much.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Tray Table
My favourite thing about the seat is its versatility – those who value more space get more space, and those who value more privacy get more privacy, simply by moving the armrest up or down. Being short and privacy-wanting I keep the armrest up basically at all times.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Armrest
And while the seat isn’t necessarily the most comfortable in the world, there’s definitely an enhanced sense of space with all those storage nooks the seat has, in the sense that I don’t need to stash all my stuff randomly around the seat.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Side Storage
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Side Storage Cubby with Mirror
The TV doesn’t tilt down, which is one of the negatives that the seat has (so you can’t watch TV while you’re fully reclined). However, it was touchscreen and large enough, which I appreciated.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class TV (folded)
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class TV
The ottoman is supposed to be an extension to the bed, but I used it to place my computer when I was eating.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Ottoman
This was a 14-year-old A330 that featured the old Airbus interiors. While I didn’t mind, I still hope to take a Cathay Pacific business class flight featuring the new Airbus interiors.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Overhead Panel
Row 15 also offers a pretty nice view of the cabin – while you don’t get a view of the whole cabin, you can get a nice sense of its ambience, which I enjoyed.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Cabin
Located in the side storage cubby were a set of headphones, which were noise cancelling and perfect around the ear. This isn’t featured on flights with the regional seats, where instead, cheaper economy-style headphones are used. Ouch.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Headphones
The purser came to introduce herself with juice, and asked for my name, a nice touch (she addressed me as Alvin throughout the flight, and not Mr. Tse, much to my relief). I elected to have orange juice.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Drink – Orange Juice
She also had a hot towel with her, which she presented to me alongside the drink.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Hot Towel
Soon the safety video played. Cathay Pacific has a new safety video that was featured on a prior flight from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur (as well as the inbound). I like it – it’s cleaner and more creative, though isn’t totally out there like some other safety videos.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Safety Video
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Safety Video
The American captain came on the PA. He wished us a safe flight and anticipated a flight time of two hours and 50 minutes. It was a terrible day in terms of the weather, but nonetheless we slowly pushed to 07R, where we would be taking off.
Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER Hong Kong Airport
Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER Hong Kong Airport
Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER Hong Kong Airport
While I didn’t see any passenger aircraft in the new livery, the new Boeing 747-8F in the new livery caught my eye.
Cathay Pacific Boeing 747-8F Hong Kong Airport
I caught an A340 in the oneworld livery. While A340s used to be the backbone of Cathay Pacific’s fleet, they, much like the 747s, are starting to disappear.
Cathay Pacific Airbus A340-300 Hong Kong Airport
China Airlines Airbus A330-300 Hong Kong Airport
By the time we reached runway 07R, visibility was remarkably low.
Runway 07R Hong Kong Airport
China Airlines Airbus A330-300 Hong Kong Airport
The takeoff roll was long, as expected by a plane with two tiny engines and a full load. Nonetheless, we made it up.
Takeoff Hong Kong Airport
Takeoff Hong Kong Airport
Takeoff Hong Kong Airport
Takeoff Hong Kong Airport
Up in the sky it was a beautiful day, as always.
Takeoff Hong Kong Airport
I tested out the bed position, which I used later in the flight. While the bed isn’t the best in terms of padding alone, it’s one of the widest, longest and most comfortable business class beds in the sky, so I had no problems sleeping in it. It’s also a pretty enclosed space with adequate privacy, especially if you put the armrest up.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Bed
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Bed
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Bed
I accidentally kicked the shell of the seat in front several times, which mildly shook the seat in front of me. It turned out that there was an old man in 14A who had just recovered from cardiac arrest days ago – he was very gracious when telling me his situation and asking me to watch out, which genuinely made me feel bad. He had my promise that I wouldn’t be touching the seatback again.
Soon we jumped into the meal service. The menu read as follows:
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Menu
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Menu
The meal service started with drinks, in which I chose orange juice, which is great as always in the air.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Orange Juice
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Appetiser – Fresh Fruit Selection
The flight attendant came with a bread roll, which was warm and flaky. While I can’t stand those that are crusty both inside and outside, I always love a warm fluffy bread roll with a slightly tougher exterior.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Bread Roll
The main course soon came. While this was an 8AM breakfast flight, there was a “legitimate” Japanese lunch-style option, which consisted of chicken teriyaki, spring vegetables and rice. The rice was perfectly cooked and seasoned, all of the vegetables (especially the yam) were really well cooked and glazed, and the chicken was incredibly succulent. Shame that there was a piece of paper below the rice that was soggy and didn’t seem to be thought through, or else this would be one of my favourite dishes that I’ve had in the air.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Main Course – Chicken Teriyaki, Japanese Spring Vegetables and Japanese Rice
I mean, just look at the perfection inside. The chicken was moist, juicy, flavoursome and so perfectly cooked. What a stark contrast to another notable chicken breast that I’ve had on Cathay Pacific less than a year ago.
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Main Course – Chicken Teriyaki
Service on the flight was great, and I was addressed by name (“Alvin”) throughout the flight. While one of the Hong Kong-based flight attendants was indifferent at best, the Japanese purser and inflight service manager were all very sincere and genuine. I got pretty tired after breakfast, so they took care of my sister while I slept.
Y’all know about the complaints I have of the actual bed, which isn’t particularly soft. Still, even with one of the regional blankets offered, I managed to get really good sleep all the way from after the meal service until our initial descent, partially because I woke up early at 4:30AM. I woke up to some interesting scenery, including some mountains (which were lovely). Also, unlike back home, it was a beautiful day here…
Views upon Descent Osaka Kansai
Views upon Touchdown Osaka Kansai
We found ourselves beside the longest airport terminal in the world at a little past 12, and we made our way around the other side, eventually parking next to a V Air A321 in their mysterious V Bear livery.
V Air Airbus A321 Osaka Kansai International Airport
V Air Airbus A321 Osaka Kansai International Airport
We disembarked at around 12:15, and all gates at the airport require a train ride to the main terminal. During the ride we got some interesting scenery, including views of our own aircraft.
Cathay Pacific A330 Osaka Kansai International Airport
Bottom Line: Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class
You can’t beat a reverse herringbone seat on a three-hour regional flight in the morning out of Hong Kong, especially at the rate we got for this flight. The food and service on this flight were also great. Overall, if you manage to snag a seat, the experience is pretty flawless (yes, the padding is hard, but it’s not like you’ll get that great of a nap anyway in this amount of time). I wouldn’t hesitate to fly Cathay Pacific on a regional flight again if seated in their international business class product, and would go out of my way to try and fly an internationally-configured aircraft.
Hi alvin, great review again!
I just wanted to ask whether they use two boarding bridges for an A330 or not?
As i see you entered from the first front door so if they are only using one bridge, does that mean all econ pax goes through the forward cabin as well? I have an upcoming flight to seoul on an a330 and noramlly i fly longhual to LHR and they always use two birdges. As if they do board with only with one bridge, i rather go last!
On this particular flight they used two bridges, but I can recall some flights where they only used one bridge. We boarded through gate 2, so while I’m not sure which gates use one bridge and which use two bridges, I think that gates 1-4 all use two bridges.