Sometimes it feels like I am working my way through the entire range of airline brands in an effort to find a company who actually deliver what they promise.
And Cathay Pacific may be the one…
In my opinion airlines are pretty much the only business model who charge you for a service that you have no guarantee of actually receiving or getting what you pay for. Think cancelled flights, delayed flights, and luggage that goes missing enroute. A clear case of ‘all care, no responsibility’.
Definitely not part of my recent Cathay Pacific experience.
Check In
I chose to check in online the day before departure and this was a good choice as I wanted an aisle seat to allow easy access. I had aspirations of changing my seat selection to an exit row seat when I got to the airport and dropped off my bag, but that came at a hefty $200 price tag per flight and that cost made it easy to stick with my original selection. Perhaps the price got cheaper as the check-in proceeded, but I wasn’t hanging around to find out.
I understand the Seat Guru website is very handy for understanding the seat layout of any plane on any flight. Unfortunately I learned about this website after I left Australia, but I will definitely be checking it out next time I fly.
Bag Drop
Again, a very straight forward process at Sydney airport, although with only one counter open, it would have been quicker to wait and go through the normal check-in line.
Seating Configuration
3 seats x 3 seats x 3 seats and happily, I had an empty seat next to me on the way to Hong Kong.
Leg Room
Standard leg room and another benefit of an aisle seat is the ability to stick your legs out into the aisle – definitely not advised during food service. In Economy, the seat pitch is 81cm and width of around 46cm.
Food
The quality of the food was good as far as airline food goes. Choice of three mains and Movenpick ice cream for dessert. Yum! Also plenty of snacks available when your stomach tells you you are starving at some ungodly hour of the morning! Nuts and chips may not be the healthiest option for midnight munchies, but they do fill the gap.
Service
Very friendly and efficient. I always try to be extra polite to the flight attendants as they have a bugger of a job.
In-Flight Entertainment
The inflight entertainment was probably the most disappointing aspect of the whole flight. They had a very diverse range to choose from including a large international section, but overall it was quite dated and only 2-3 relatively new movies. Thank goodness I had plenty of e-books to dive into.
Yep, First World problem!
Punctuality
Excellent! We were only five minutes late landing at Hong Kong and ten minutes early at Zurich.
Comfort
The trip was probably the bumpiest flight I have ever experienced and I needed no encouragement to keep my seat belt ‘securely fastened’. Nothing the crew could do about this other than to hang on too!
Overall rating: 8/10. I will be flying them again in the future.
What airlines would you recommend?
The Basics
What: Flight number CX100 – Monday 6 August. Flight number CX383 – Tuesday 7 August. Plane Type: Boeing 777 – 300ER Jet.
Where: Sydney to Hong Kong then Hong Kong to Zurich.
When: Outbound in early-August and inbound in late September.
Why: Because they are on time and on budget.
How: Economy seating with aisle seating.
Who: Myself and about 300 of my closest friends.
Related Posts: To read more about where I was going on Cathay Pacific, have a look at my post written in the planning stages.
Related Blogs: To preview your next airline, have a look at TripAdvisor.
#cathaypacific, #airlinereview, #internationaltravel
Life...one big adventure 