The waiting area was sparsely populated and the loads on the plane would mirror this. Prior to boarding, one of the gate agents walked around with a sign that said “54-70” and verbally notifying passengers that those seated in any of those rows could go ahead and lineup in the economy line to the right of the boarding door. This led to an orderly boarding process devoid of the gate lice that is all too common in the USA. Granted, the plane would only be about 60% full, but anyone who was standing around near the lines, but not actually in a line, would be engaged by one of the CX employees and directed to the desk, a line, or to a take a seat.


The plane for CX888


Clear boarding lines

I was one of the first to board and was so excited to be walking down the jetway in anticipation of experiencing Cathay’s new C product. Once onboard I made a left turn toward the mini cabin behind F class and started to settle in to my seat 12K. The seat provides a high level of privacy for each passenger, the seat design extends out a bit at the head line so you can lean against it if you want too, but more important it adds a small privacy screen from the aisle.


New CX C Class


My seat, 12K

Cathay stores C/F headsets in the overhead bins in the mini cabin and it takes up two full bins, so I had to, shockingly, share my huge bin with another passenger. Can you believe that Cathay would do such a thing?!


Headsets for the premium passengers

Lukewarm towels and a beverage were offered pre departure. I went with some champagne to kick off the trip back home. Throughout the flight I would be referred by name which was a pleasant surprise in C class. I played around with the IFE and it took quite a long time for me to scroll though all the Movies and TV shows offered. Cathay offers a huge selection and if you’re at all interested in watching something, you can bet they’ll have something for you in their library. The headset for my seat would occasionally screech and I identified the problem as the connection of the headset into the jack. Occasionally moving the wires in some fashion would lead to a screeching sound. It wasn’t a big deal to me, but it was a slight nuisance.

When dinner service started, the FA’s wheeled around a cart with drink options and almonds in ramekins. I noticed the meal manifest with the last names of C passengers (I’m guessing so they can remember our names), but I also noticed that my name was the only one circled on the list from the list I could see. The only seats I could see were the ones for the mini-cabin, and my guess is that it noted who was continuing on to New York as the other mini-cabin passengers disembarked at Vancouver, though it doesn’t make sense why that should matter. Or maybe they knew I was on an award ticket and circled my name so that they knew this guy wasn’t worth their time. If it was, their impeccable service didn’t show it!


Apple juice and almonds to start

Or if you prefer....

Meal service was efficient and at a nice pace given the late departure. The light load in C class made service feel First Class-esque with the attention received. Water bottles were handed out prior to the meal service in case anyone wanted to head to sleep immediately, but the FA also asked us if we would be having dinner or if we preferred the light meal that could be served quickly.


Starter tray with signed(and much appreciated), but preprinted, welcome


Starter Salad

I especially like the cart that Cathay rolls around in C class so you can take a look at the main dishes before selecting one. Forget what’s on the menu, our eyes will make the choice for us in an instant! I went with the lamb and it was mediocre, not too tough, but just a slight step up from Y. The salad was great and the garlic bread is to die for.


Lamb, not a fan of prawns so this was by default


Fruit and Dessert

After dinner I quickly changed into PJ’s I brought with me and headed to sleep. I prefer the bed to be slightly elevated so I left a slight elevation to my seat. It was comfortable, private, and quiet. I was able to get 6 hours of sleep on the trip over the Pacific. While not offering quite as much space as F seats such as the Lufthansa old F or the Swiss F seat, the comfort and privacy of these new Cathay seats is pretty much on par. The hard product is absolutely spectacular and I’m sure the Envoy seats on US airways are similarly amazing. I do like the new C products on my primary carrier, UA/CO, but those are like child’s play compared to the new Cathay seats.

I did get up once to use the lavatory once and saw the galley was setup with some self serve snacks and drinks but I was too tired to indulge. The Haagan-Dazs was so tempting, but sleep won out.

So called "Brunch" service, which really was just Breakfast and an option of dim sum, started about an hour or so before landing.

Breakfast was excellent, I selected the Apple pancake and it was a great breakfast dish. The steaming hot croissant was a perfect start to a long rest period 38,000 feet in the air. Though the menu didn’t list it, cereal was offered in between the fruit and the main dishes and I gladly accepted some good ole corn flakes.


Fruit starter


Coolest salt/pepper shakers ever


Apple Pancake Main Dish

We landed without incident to some light rain in the Vancouver area. At the end of the jetbridge a Cathay agent had a sign and was directing terminating passengers one way and NYC passengers straight into the holding area. Only about 30 passengers continued on to NYC, that seems like low percentage so I wonder if that is typical?