Cathay Pacific » Business » User reviews

mayodave flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B747-400 (new product) (01/05/2012 13:01)

seemless as always - had the usual I fly twice a year with you moaners demanding everything from the crew, I just ate in first class lounge and then got on board and slept the whole flight, had to be woken up for landing

KDFAmsterdam flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B747-400 (03/01/2012 22:24)

I have flown Cathay business class from Amsterdam to Melbourne a couple of times in the last few months and have now experienced both the 'old' style angled seating arrangement and the newer, straighter version. I must admit that I was a little disappointed with the new version as at certain seat positions I couldn't get both arms comfortable on arm rests as there wasn't really anything to rest my arm on on the left side. That said - the new layout gives more surface for drinks/snacks and avoids the irritating little surface that juts out of the divider on the old style - avoiding the all to easily spilt drink scenario (which I did manage to do - blanket replaced in a jiffy thanks to the friendly staff).
All in all - I really like both versions of the business cabin and the flat bed is terrific. Just about makes the long trip down under bearable.
Top tip at CLK airport is the West Wing lounge that has spacious 'drench' showers that really make a difference.

jonknopp flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B777-300ER (02/11/2011 23:30)

Leejos123456 flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B777-300 (21/10/2011 04:31)

My first complaint relates to my flight CX548 (HKG to CTS) on 1 October 2011.  

Whilst I appreciated the free upgrade seat change from business class to first class seat 4D with meals remained as business, I was astonished to learn that the TV system in the whole first class cabin was malfunctioned.  

Your crew had tried to reset the TV system for 8 times but still failed to get it fixed. Finally, the crew suggested that all passengers to pick a program and have it sent to each passenger's TV set individually. Thus, after 2 hours of struggling and nuisance by the nonstop resetting, we finally got something to keep us entertained for the remaining 1.5hours flight.  

I was disappointed to learn that CX failed to test and maintain the function of a simple TV system on the aircraft before its departure. This gives me a BIG QUESTION MARK on the safety and maintenance checks of the aircraft itself before CX decides to take on board hundreds of passengers to fly miles across and the health and safety risk of these passengers?

Not only the TV system was malfunctioned, the passenger sitting next to me couldn't get his seat lay flat. My question here is how often does CX have the aircraft checked on the safety, operation and maintenance of all elements on board? Is it on a regular basis? Once a week, once a month?? Or once year??? Or checkups are only done when problems occurred???

That was not my first time on CX first class and my long haul flight from YVR-HKG had similar problems as well before landing when crew had to manually force the seat back to upright position.  Please understand that I chose to fly with CX for years because of its good reputation in safe flights and caring customer services. Yet, these repeating incidents make me wonder if the CX renowned service has now declined.

The 2nd complaint I am filing here relates to discrimination for my flight on CX233 (HKG-MXP) ETD 1am on 15Oct. I have confirmed economy class ticket with prebooked seat at 31H. As a staff of UBM Asia, I have an upgrade voucher for standby upgrades to business class. 

At 12:15am, I approached departure Gate 3 and successfully got the upgrade with an issue of business class boarding pass at seat 21D. When boarding began at 12:35am, I queued up like all other passenger. However, when my boarding pass got scanned, an alert popped up and I was told that my seat 21D had some mechanical problems and technicians were trying to get it fixed. So, I was escorted next to Gate 3 and was told to sit and wait. After waited for 15mins, I approached a supervisor alike ground staff and requested for an update. She simply told me to wait but she quickly hopped off to Gate 4 with no passengers there and disappeared
thereafter.

I was shocked by this irresponsible attitude and disappointing customer service. I then approached another ground staff named at Gate 3 and requested for an update and yet again I was told to wait.

This time, I did not sit but stood at the counters. At 1:10am, I noted that all passengers had boarded except me and an Italian guy. Italian guy asked me if my seat had problems and I responded yes.

At 1:15am, Katrina told me that the seat cannot be fixed and only upright position was allowed. Katrina then revealed the truth to us and told me that in fact the broken seat was 24K belonging to the Italian guy. She said since I am a upgrade business class passenger whilst he is a paid business class passenger, he has a higher priority. 

I was astonished and mad to hear this. This is the most ridiculous reason I have ever heard.  Does this mean upgraded passengers can be kicked out whenever accident occurs?

Does this mean upgraded passengers via voucher/mileage are inferior than full fare paid passengers? We both are business class passengers holding business class boarding passes. Since his seat 24K had the problem, he should be the one to wait for solution, not me.

However, your ground staff had no integrity and lied to me about my seating having problem and tried to swap our seats behind the scene. I was furious by the lie and discrimination and refused to be downgraded due to such ridiculous reasoning behind.

Cx ground staff had no choice as both me and Italian guy refused to be downgraded and searched for volunteer in the cabin. By that time, it was 1:30am and we both refused downgrading doubting any volunteers could be found at this late night. Eventually, 
your crew found a volunteer and in return offered a goodwill to that passenger upon arrival in Milan.

As we were standing in front of the counters, I overheard the whole conversation and seemed an extra business class seat is released. I requested Katrina for boarding which I should have done so as soon as she revealed the truth that malfunction seat was not 21D.

However, to my surprise, she responded that the case is not yet solved as they need to make seats arrangements. I told her whatever seat arrangements they were making in the very beginning was none of my business as my seat 21D was performing properly. Eventually, at 1:35am, an hour after my supposedly boarding time, I was allowed to board CX233 and be seated at 21D.

How ridiculous is this arrangement? All passengers on board had their flight delayed for one full hour because of CX improper arrangement and malfunction of one seat, which should have been checked and fixed before boarding. I am demanding a full explanation on the following.

BensonSim flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B777-300 (12/10/2011 11:30)

benjigco flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B777-300ER (11/09/2011 03:44)

As I entered the cabin, it was the first time I had seen the new 777-300 configuration of Cathay Pacific's lie flat bed.

The regional flights on short hauls on CX uses the old 777 planes which left little to the imagination and little to desire for. But the new lie flat beds with a 1-2-1 configuration on a slant that faced two windows was astounding to say the least. It offered a lot of room and a large screen for AVOD viewing. The headsets with noise canceling device had a storage of its own and there was plenty of space for your handbags, shoes, laptops, magazine, water and other paraphernalia. It was also a smaller version of your private cabin in the sky. Food service and choices were excellent - as it came with the appetizers, three main course choices, excellent wine choices, fruits and cheese, HagenDaaz ice cream and Pralines with your coffee or tea. Now that's what I call relaxation at 36000 feet! It's time that even short hauls are made to impress and impressed I was!

maxdeer flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B747-400 (05/09/2011 20:21)

It was my 10th time on this business class with the new product and it was a good experience. Seats are good and comfortable and the entertainment was good. On my return flight that was a night flight i could sleep good in these seats. This is much better than in a normal business seat. Service was very good . The upper deck is very good, notice the crew there address me with my name. Good experience overall and i can recommend this airline to my friends and family.

thaheem flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a A330-300 (2 class with regional product) (17/08/2011 15:52)

This is from my two kids aged 14 & 12 about thier horrible experience with this so called best Airline.
-----------------

We two kids aged 14 & 12 travelled by Cathay form Osaka to Karachi in Business class. My father specially booked Unaccompanied Minor service for us. The flight from Bangkok to Karachi returned back to Bangkok because of bad weather. We were told that we will be taken care of during our stay at Bangkok as this was our first experience to travel alone and we already had some special service paid for. But we were shocked when at Bangkok airport we were thrown in the worst hotel we ever stayed. Cathay staff was no where visible and hotel room had neither a telephone nor internet so that we could contact our parents. Horrified and shocked, exhausted after almost 24 hours we spent 6 hours in complete horror, made several attempts to contact Cathay staff but no response received. At 12 the hotel asked us to vacate the room as airline has booked it only for 6 hours. We waited in the lobby for 90 minutes before Cathay ladies appeared and asked us that they are putting us on a Thai flight to Karachi but one has to sit in economy class. When we refused to sit separately they threatened us to leave us behind and then we are at our own. They also forced us to sign some paper and take a small amount of money that for accepting their terms. When we refused they put us both in economy class and threw our passports at our faces to be responsible for them from now on. Most horrible treatment to young kids, by this horrific Cathay staff at Bangkok. Never send your kids on this horrible airline please.

Maha Thaheem(14) Talal Thaheem (12)
PNR MR6P5 flight CX 703 BKK-KHI-BKK 13 AUG 2011

secblat flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B747-400 (10/03/2011 08:10)

I had not flown with Cathay Pacific for a long time, so the experience of flying two long haul sectors (Auckland to Amsterdam via Hong Kong) - one in Economy, the other in Business - this month was the opportunity to refamiliarise myself with an airline of which I have positive recollections. My memory had not let me down: from the check-in process to quality of food and inflight entertainment, the journey was a pleasure.

As a European, I had almost forgotten the joy of being greeted on board by an Asian crew who have an innate sense of quiet, friendly service that has all too often been dulled to the point of bluntness on European (and even more so, American) airlines. It makes such a difference when a passenger feels welcome rather than an inconvenience to be tolerated. Cathay Pacific do this well, both in Economy and Business class.

As for the food, I might have guessed the Business Class offerings would be excellent, and indeed they were; a nice touch is added by the availability of one alcoholic and one non-alcoholic cocktail, which changes monthly. I was therefore more impressed to discover that the dishes available in Economy far exceed the quality of anything I have eaten in Economy class on the airlines I have frequented recently (KLM, Lufthansa, BA): for lunch, a tasty starter featuring prawns, tempting choice of 2 main courses, and a simple but delicious dessert, all of which I ate with relish. There was then a lighter supper served before landing, which again was of a very high quality.

Since my first flight was a daytime one, I was planning to see a film or two, so was delighted to discover that, even in Economy, the choice is very wide - far wider in fact than the magazine suggested. Even better, the flight was already showing "The King's Speech", a film which I was keen to see but has not yet reached the cinemas where I live, so I was more than satisfied!

Do I have any criticisms? It is hard to think of any. I guess I was a little disappointed at my choice of seat on the Economy leg as the rear of the plane is quite noisy; but that was my choice. As for the Business Class seating, the "fishbone" style individual cabins, I have read criticisms of these from passengers who find them claustrophobic and unfriendly if travelling with a companion; but, while I can see the point, they suited me very well and the fact that the bed folds completely flat is a huge advantage, permitting me to enjoy 4-5 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

In summary: I would go out of my way to fly CX again.

spidergirl flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B777-300ER (26/12/2010 17:03)

The flight was delayed for one hour which was unusual of CX as its flights are usually punctual but there was announcement immediately that they need to change plane. Flight was smooth and I felt asleep immediately after takeoff. I slept for 5 hours and got myself a dan dan noodle (spicy shangainese noodles with mince pork) which was quite tasty. Breakfast was served 2 hours prior to landing and there were choices of dim sum (Chinese) American breakfast with sausage and scrambled eggs or cold cut. I chose Chinese dim sum and it was good. The captain made up for the delay and we arrived at 7:30am. Definitely great to be on CX flight as service is always consistent.

rainbowrunner flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a A330-300 (2 class) (13/12/2010 11:58)

This was my first time to try the fully-flat bed in a herring-bone set-up on CX’s A330-33B from Hong Kong to Bali’s Denpasar. I found it a little claustrophobic, as the space is rather narrow and the panels on both sides completely cut one off from the rest of the cabin, although it feels a bit more spacious in the fully flat position. I was watching people stretching their necks to exchange a few words with their travel companions. A couple, who probably thought they would be sitting next to each other in the same row, were actually cut off by the aisle. The windows being at the back of one’s window seat one cannot enjoy the view and the whole cabin is darker. On a long haul flight, it is surely quieter and easier to fall asleep then on the regular business class where alcohol-induced chatting can stretch into the night, but it is less fun.

tim.6789 flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B747-400 (21/11/2010 14:17)

Having retired in 2004 after 30 years of business travel in Business & First I was really looking forward to my business class CX flight from HKG to SFO as part of my £5000 RTW ticket with my partner. My first trip in CX's new business class. I thought I had done everything right!

Seatplans.com told me the upper deck business class seat was longer and quieter! I booked seat number 81K the second from the front.

It was a DREADFUL flight. 80K is a flight crew seat. Every two hours or so a different crew member would land (heavily) in the seat (with boots on!) and watch a movie, fidget & move. Why can't they sit still?

I slept really badly and jet lag was particularly bad for a few days later. I was awakemost of the flight despite having taken a sedative. On writing to Cathay I received two anodyne standard responses apologising but not even mentioning the incident itself.

No real apology, no compensation. CX has one of the BEST reputations.

This seat should not even be sold to passengers in my view.

Pat_travels flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B777-300 (24/02/2010 13:11)

BKK/BOM - Check in was a free for all and little order or control. As a premium passenger with a Gold card I did expect better. CX lounge in BKK - is dull and uninspiring, lucky with the Gold card I was able to go to the BA/QF lounge which is much, much better with a nice selection of food, wine and champagne. Boarding the flight was woeful and yet again no priority boarding. The cradle seat is uncomfortable and lacks a great deal of adjustment, so a comfy sleep is not possible! The flight had a delayed departure of over one hour, little explanation for this and a cursory apology upon arrival in Mumbai. Yet again an unimpressive show by CX - next time I will try Jet Airways, Kingfisher or Thai

Pat_travels flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B777-300 (24/02/2010 13:01)

BOM/BKK in Business class. Prompt and efficient check in with an invitation to the 'Clipper Lounge', since I have a BA Gold card I was invited into the First Class part of the lounge. Not a particularly good lounge at all with no facilities, a few tatty magazines, only local papers and a food selection which was poor. The wine offering is local stuff and not to be recommended! Boarding was a frenzy of madness and clearly Business Class passengers were given no priority. The seat, was the cradle type seat, looked dated and felt uncomfortable - it was terrible to try and sleep in this seat and given the flight had an 05:15hrs departure sleeping was the priority. So not a comfy flight and certainly not value for money on a four hour flight. Service was polite, nothing more, nothing less than that.

Overall - uninspired by the product and service

allanhildon flew Cathay Pacific Business (22/01/2010 15:03)

I have flown London to Sydney via Hong Kong 6 times in the past 10 years, twice with Cathay Pacific. My recent flight (Jan 2010) was the most comfortable long haul flight I have experienced in 20 years of long haul travel. The new herringbone seat arrangement with a fully flat bed is superb, and a major improvement on the older "lie flat" beds that are still standard for most airlines' business class seats.

The new seat offers excellent privacy, unrestricted aisle access, a good work space, convenient power source, a large video screen, and a permanent footrest. The seat was slightly better in flat mode than in the seating position, but it's the bed comfort that counts most for long haul flights.

Perhaps the best feature of Cathay's new business class arrangement is the low level of cabin background noise due to the partitioning of the cabin area. Air travel is noisy enough without the incessant droning of passengers who seem to think they are in a competition to see who can drown out the noise of a Rolls Royce jet engine! While passengers travelling with a friend or partner may initially feel "cut-off" from their companion I expect most people will accept this small inconvenience for the wider benefits offered by the herring bone arrangement.

The meal service is standard for most major carriers, and a single tray option is available for travellers who do not want the full meal service. The in-flight entertainment is the best I have used - over 100 movies and dozens of TV programmes on offer. I appreciated that films with adult themes had not been sanitized as is the habit of most American carriers.

In my opinion the new Cathay business class is a winner in the areas which count most on a long haul flight.

frustratedflyer flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a A330-300 (2 class) (13/01/2010 08:17)

Was expecting to be in economy but got a surprise upgrade to business. This was the old style seating fitted in a 2-2-2 configuaration and I was sitting in seat 19D at back of the business class cabin. Not such a good seat as it is right next to the toilet which if the curtain is not drawn is a bit of a nuisance.

Looking across at seats 19 A&C I was not sure they would recline fully as there was not as much space behind the seat to the bulkhead as there is on the other seats in row 19. I would suggest sitting as far forward in the cabin as possible as there is no shortage of legroom.

This was a short flight of three hours and there was one rotation of films on the AV system. The only frustration was that the controls are fitted into the top of the centre armrest which resulted in me changing channels every time I rested on them. Food and Drink was of good quality although my choice of main course was gone when they reached the back of the cabin. It was better food that I have experienced on a lot of long haul flights.

Survivor flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B747-400 (new product) (13/10/2009 07:06)

The new business seat does not get more comfortable. Always a disappointment on a short flight as the space does not allow you to work comfortably.

After flying with the airline many times within a month, the choice of in-flight entertainment becomes too limited. I feel they need to put on more choices for the frequent travellers.

Survivor flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B777-300ER (13/10/2009 06:59)

It is always a disappointment to go onboard and find the old seating but at least it is more comfortable to sit and read on a short flight than the new seats which is only good for sleeping. In-flight entertainment is also old so there is no function to fast forward the ads.

Promporn flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B747-400 (new product) (05/05/2009 03:42)

The flat bed is very comfortable and allow for good sleep. However, it felt a little claustophobic because of the high partitions on both sides. It is great if you are travelling alone and don't want to have to be friendly with your seat mate, but doesn't allow for conversations if you are travelling with someone. Also, be careful of the storage area behind the seat, because things can fall down when the seat is upright, and difficult to retrieve. Great big TV screen.

HenryBanson flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B777-300ER (30/03/2009 08:43)

I have been on the new Business Class few times and I like it more than the conventional Busienss Class becuase I have 100% privacy and my seat can recline to 180 degree. Dunno why there are so many negative comments on this new product.

HenryBanson flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B777-300ER (30/03/2009 08:43)

I have been on the new Business Class few times and I like it more than the conventional Busienss Class becuase I have 100% privacy and my seat can recline to 180 degree. Dunno why there are so many negative comments on this new product.

Mixing-with-the-best flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a A330-300 (16/03/2009 10:45)

CX724 - KL - HK. Check in prompt and efficient. Comp upgrade to business - very well recieved. CX lounge bit tatty but comp wireless and power points. Boarding on time - in flight service very good - food passable.

Would most certainly choose CX on this route - flight times are good and well worth the $$.

Braveheart flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a A330-300 (2 class) (01/02/2009 16:08)

Jakarta-Hong Kong Seat 16A I arrived on a domestic flight at Soekarno-Hatta airport around 4 hours ahead of departure time. Cathay doesn’t have any desks open until noon. I wasn’t the only one waiting for more than an hour. Can’t Cathay arrange to have at least one desk open for early arrivals? In any case, check-in in was fairly smooth. Cathay lounge invites offer a choice of two lounges and I took the Purah Indah option, which was fine, food not too bad, a waiter hung around the drinks section. Entrance includes complimentary wifi. Flight was called in the lounge in good time and I headed down to the gate for the final security check. We kicked away from the gate on time and were airborne soon after. 16A is a window seat pretty much in the middle of the business class cabin. This time the power socket did work so I managed to get a couple of work items out of the way early in the flight. Drinks service was very swift and starter satays were served barely 30 minutes into the flight. FAs were great, but yet again the IFE system is a bit of a let-down. As a frequent flyer, I noticed that the selection hasn’t really changed in a couple of months. Despite the quibbles, a great flight and happy with the selected seat.

Braveheart flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a A330-300 (2 class) (01/02/2009 15:53)

Hong Kong Jakarta 18D It was Chinese New Year and Hong Kong airport was predictably packed, so check-in took forever. Got an upgrade and my first chance to sample the new Business Class offering. After all the hype and flak, I was intrigued. Boarding was pretty orderly but we still left half an hour late. 18D is a centre seat on the port side. Upside: I have to say I loved the herring-bone seats. Privacy is great, seat itself is comfy and cosy. Listened to some great music on the IFE system and watched a documentary or two. Downside: Maybe just my imagination, but I found it much more difficult to catch the eye of the FAs from this angle. The power socket didn’t work but the space was great to work in. The IFE choice is adequate but it needs to be updated a little more often. Overall, definitely one of the best Cathay flights I’ve had in a long time.

Braveheart flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B777-300 (01/02/2009 15:47)

Route: Manila-Hong Kong Seat 17C Very busy flight and was upgraded in the lounge. The Manila CX lounge is pretty tired and dated for such a busy route but the staff are always friendly. I was guided into the First Class lounge here but the only advantage I can see is that it is less cramped than the Business Class lounge. Unexciting in terms of food and beverage. FAs were helpful. Flight was delayed by about 10 minutes but we managed to make up the time and landed more or less right on schedule.

travelman flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B747-400 (new product) (10/12/2008 20:50)

First time on this business class with the new product and it was a good experience. Seats are good and comfortable and the entertainment was good. The flight from Amsterdam to Hong Kong did feal shorter as there was many good movies to choose from. On my return flight witch was a night flight i could sleep good in these seats. Much better than in a normal business seat. Service good and on upper deck the crew always adressed me with my name. On the way back i didnt get upper deck but i did notice the crew there didnt adress me with my name like they did on upper deck. Good experience overall and i can recomend this airline to anyone!

spidergirl flew Cathay Pacific Business (26/11/2008 02:48)

My flight on business class on CX from Rome to HK this July had problem with the entertainment system, though the stewardess had been kind enough to reload the system, it was not very successful. It is frustrating especially for a 14 hour flight! But worst of all, out of 4 luggages, 3 were late for 2 days, 3 luggages wheels were broken (got compensated with new ones or fixed the wheels) and 2 golf clubs were broken! CX baggage claim dept has been very helpful though and had refund part of the value while my travel insurance covers the remaining value.

slinky09 flew Cathay Pacific Business, on a B747-400 (new product) (02/10/2008 09:35)

Admittedly I only have one experience, HKG to LAX, on Cathay's new business class. I loved the service, thought the food was great, but was totally underwhelmed by the Pier at HKG (not a patch on VS clubhouses) and the narrow, poorly fitted seat without air vents made for an uncomfortable and hot journey. Further, try putting a laptop and a glass on the rickety table while watching TV, no chance, bang your elbows while working in the tight width, yup ... and why are the drinks served in thimbles? Overall, a poor experience compared to the class leaders.