A couple of weeks ago, I flew Emirates from London to Dubai to Singapore, followed by Cathay Pacific from Singapore to Hong Kong. It worked out best with my schedule to fly Cathay Pacific’s redeye flight from Singapore to Hong Kong, which I’d never flown before. I figured I’d dedicate a post to the odd flight time, as I kind of enjoyed it.
If you’re looking to get quality sleep and be bright and bushy-tailed at your destination, these flights aren’t great, and most people dread them (especially in economy class). However, I really enjoyed how smooth the airport experiences were on either side. I also felt like the onboard experience was sensible given the flight time, while still not feeling “skimpy”. For what it’s worth, I flew premium economy class (as I hadn’t checked out Cathay Pacific’s A350 premium economy in a while), though had a view of what economy was being served.
Cathay Pacific’s Long-Standing Redeye Shorthaul Flights
While airlines such as Hong Kong Airlines and HK Express operate random redeye flights based on aircraft utilisation and slot availability, Cathay Pacific has deliberately held onto their redeye flights on a few 4-5 hour long routes. Specifically, they’ve always operated a redeye flight in either direction to and from Singapore, they operate longstanding outbound redeyes to Tokyo Narita and Osaka-Kansai, and they operate an inbound redeye flight from Jakarta. Most of these flights are consistently operated by A350s with premium economy and lie-flat beds in business class (the Jakarta flight is the main exception, and I’ve seen a couple of regional A330s deployed on the Osaka route as well).
Contrary to what you’d expect, Cathay Pacific doesn’t price these flights lower or provide more award space on these flights. They’re very much seen as equally “premium” to the “standard” holidaymaker 8 AM flight times. The idea is that by having a night of sleep on the plane, you “gain” a day at your destination, without having to pay for that night at a hotel.
A bulk of Cathay Pacific’s redeye flights are operated by longhaul-configured A350s
For an idea of flight times, here are all the red-eye shorthaul flights that Cathay Pacific currently operates year-round:
Cathay Pacific 659 Hong Kong (HKG) – Singapore (SIN) dep. 01:40 arr. 05:30
Cathay Pacific 714 Singapore (SIN) – Hong Kong (HKG) dep. 01:45 arr. 05:50
Cathay Pacific 524 Hong Kong (HKG) – Tokyo (NRT) dep. 01:20 arr. 06:45
Cathay Pacific 566 Hong Kong (HKG) – Osaka (KIX) dep. 01:50 arr. 06:35
Cathay Pacific 798 Jakarta (CGK) – Hong Kong (HKG) dep. 00:05 arr. 06:05
These flights are great for aircraft utilisation as well, as it saves the aircraft from “sitting” at an outstation overnight. However, do note that as an outbound traveler going on holiday, your hotel room is unlikely to be ready so early in the morning, so you’ll most likely have to wait for your room to be ready (most travelers ask their hotels to keep their suitcases, before spending the morning exploring their destination).
Cathay Pacific’s Redeye Ground Experience at Singapore Changi
Singapore Changi always offers one of the world’s best passenger experiences, though this was made even better by how few flights were departing at this time. On this flight I had to check a bag (I only had a carry-on sized bag, but was bringing my parents a liquid souvenir from the U.S.), and despite arriving the departures hall a couple of hours before departure, the counters were more or less deserted and I was easily able to check my bag.
Cathay Pacific Check-in Hall at Changi Airport
I was flying premium economy, so I didn’t have lounge access (I could’ve used a Priority Pass lounge, though elected not to, as I have a yearly quota and figured Changi Airport wasn’t the best place to use it). Obviously there are fewer shops and restaurants open at 12-1 AM compared to during the daytime, though there were still a surprising number of stalls and shops open, including Changi T4’s 24-hour food hall and their Tiger Den pub.
Changi Airport at 12 AM
I can imagine that if I’m at an airport less well-known for its efficiency (such as Jakarta Airport), I’d appreciate the shorter queues and emptier airport halls.
Typically on Cathay Pacific half the plane has some sort of elite priority boarding status, especially on a high-yield flight between Singapore and Hong Kong. However, on this 1:45 AM flight, I could count on one hand the number of people that boarded before I did (and while I wasn’t the only person in premium economy, general boarding began as soon as I scanned my way through the electronic boarding gate).
Once we got to Hong Kong Airport, there was also very little activity at the airport – so little, in fact, that the train between the further gates and the immigration hall wasn’t running! I sort of enjoyed a tranquil 20-minute walk from gate 71 to the immigration hall after a long flight, and still beat my suitcase by a few minutes.
Hong Kong Airport Arrivals Hall
Due to the lack of traffic during this time, operational reliability for this flight is also great, and weather permitting, this flight is almost never delayed (only 5% of these flights were over 30 minutes late according to Flighty, and no flights were over 45 minutes late in the past 90 days).
Cathay Pacific’s A350 Seats and Amenities
As aforementioned, a vast majority of Cathay Pacific’s redeye flights are operated by A350s. Most of them are operated with A350-900s. In business class you’ll find a large and plush Bamford pillow, though unfortunately they have no mattress pads on these flights, as well as the scratchier and thin blanket they use on regional flights.
Cathay Pacific A350 Business Class
Economy class also features a very good seat, and in particular the A350-900s feature headrests that fold outwards, so you can “lean” on the interior of the headrest. Unlike on daytime flights, a blanket is provided at each seat as well.
Cathay Pacific A350 Economy Class
Premium economy passengers were also provided with a blanket (not as plush as the duvet provided on longhaul flights, though still very good), as well as much larger pillow. Cathay Pacific’s A350s have one of my favourite premium economy seats in the industry, with good recline and lots of storage.
Cathay Pacific A350 Premium Economy
You won’t get an amenity kit on this short flight, though I certainly felt like I had enough to get comfortable.
A Full Meal Service In Cathay Pacific Premium Economy
Cathay Pacific offers a meal box in economy class on their redeye flights (Jason’s reviewed it here, during the days back when Cathay Pacific flew a redeye flight to Seoul Incheon – they don’t anymore). This speeds up service to maximise rest, as most people aren’t looking to eat a full meal at this time. The cabin lights were kept low, since most people skipped the meal and just went to sleep.
The meal box doesn’t extend to premium economy class – we were served a full meal on this flight. I had some pork spare ribs with stir fried vegetables (this was described to me – there was no menu), and it was fork tender and very, very flavourful. The other option would’ve been halibut with potatoes, which also sounded good.
Cathay Pacific’s Redye Service Premium Economy Meal
The Money Question: How Much Sleep Do You Get On These Flights?
On this 1:45 AM redeye flight from Singapore to Hong Kong, we had a 3h 20m flight time. We were wheels up at 2:10 AM at Changi Airport. In premium economy my meal was received at 2:30 AM, and economy class meals seemed to be handed out at about the same time.
My meal tray was collected at 2:50 AM, twenty minutes after the tray was passed out. The cabin lights were turned off at this time, and only turned back on at around 5:10 AM, during the “30 minutes until landing” announcement. The cabin was prepared for landing at 5:20 AM, ahead of our landing at 5:30 AM. As you’d expect for this time, this flight almost never experiences a holding pattern (this isn’t London Heathrow, where 5 AM is prime time for longhaul landings).
This is one of the shorter redeye flights that Cathay Pacific operates, and I’d say there wasn’t much activity in the cabin for about 2.5 hours. And that’s not to mention that the seat next to me was empty, so I could just chuck my meal on the tray table next to me before zonking out.
Good sunsets on redeye flights are a plus (during the summer months)
2.5 hours of sleep isn’t enough for anybody, though it’s better than nothing, and good enough for adrenaline to take you through the day if you have an early evening. I’d say that for a 3h 20m flight time, this is the absolute best that Cathay Pacific can do on a redeye flight on this route.
Conclusion: How Is The Cathay Pacific Redeye Experience?
I flew Cathay Pacific’s redeye flight between Singapore and Hong Kong, and enjoyed the experience. Now, obviously the cost is that you only get 2.5-3 hours of solid rest if you take part in the meal service (depending on the flight), which isn’t a lot if you’ve got a full-on day at your destination. You also will unlikely be able to check into your hotel upon arrival, so this could potentially be a recipe for an exhausting day.
However, I was glad to enjoy the upsides of this unconventionally-timed flight – operational reliability is excellent, the airport experience is as seamless as it gets, and Cathay Pacific has efficiency on these flights nailed to a T. If I’m transferring from another destination or know I can bank on some time to rest, these flights aren’t a bad option at all – and even if I’m on one of these flights for holiday, I’m sure I’d be a couple of coffees away from having a decently good time.
Have you flown one of Cathay Pacific’s redeye services before?