FLIGHT BOOKING: To book this leg of the journey, I used 55,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles for the flight to Hong Kong. I booked this flight in December of the previous year, so availability was not an issue for us. After the 10 percent mileage credit for being a BarclayCard Aviator cardholder, the net price was 49,500 miles and $5.60 per person.
We woke up on Thursday, October 20 and headed to the airport. Kansas City International Airport (located in the state of Missouri) is north of the entire metropolitan area and is about a 35-minute drive for us. Upon arriving at the terminal we entered the line for Priority Check-In and checked our bags through to Hong Kong. From there, it was a short walk to the security line for our gates.
For those who are not familiar with the Kansas City airport, it was designed in the 1960s and, depending on who you ask, is either completely awful or perfectly serviceable. The original design of the terminal allowed passengers to be dropped off and have less than 100 feet to walk to be in the gate area. Post-9/11, gates became clustered into groups of 3 or 4 and TSA checkpoints are located at each cluster, meaning that when several flights are all leaving at once, the line can get quite long. Only certain checkpoints are certified for PreCheck, but generally, the lines are so short, you’re through security in a matter of minutes.
There was no one in the line at our checkpoint, so we were in the boarding area about 5 minutes after arriving at the terminal. Awaiting us was our ride to Chicago O’Hare.
AA 3237 (Operated by Envoy Airlines)
MCI -> ORD
Miles: 406 miles
Duration: 58 minutes
Seat: 2C
CRJ-700
As is to be expected, everyone gathered around the gate agent about 10 minutes before boarding began, jostling for the best position in Group 4. When first class was called, we stood up to board, but thanks to the horde, it took us a few minutes before we were finally making our way down the jet bridge. We were pointed to our seats and offered pre-departure beverages and a newspaper.
Opting for some apple juice from a real glass, we settled into our seats and enjoyed what would be our first of many hours that day in a sealed tube! Boarding was completed quickly and on-time (due to everyone being ready to jump on the plane) and after a quick taxi to the runway, we were off.
The flight was uneventful – drinks were offered, along with a snack from the AA snack basket. A little more than an hour later, we were on the ground in Chicago.
Coming from an airport that almost exclusively features regional jets and 737s, seeing widebodies abound always piques my interest, and my eyes are generally glued out the window the entire taxi to the terminal.
We pulled up at the gate and were quickly off the plane. However, my carry-on had been gate-checked, so I had to wait for it to be removed, which took about 10 minutes. Heading into the terminal, we walked straight toward the Admiral’s Lounge in Terminal 3, Concourse G. It may not be the largest or most spacious, but it was the closest, and we had a four-and-a-half hour layover to kill.
After a bowl of the coconut curry chicken soup and a cocktail, I was ready to wander O’Hare. With the exception of the international terminal, all other terminals are now connected at O’Hare, so it’s easy to move between them while staying airside. Given the large presence of United and American at O’Hare, I went for a walk to see what I could.
While walking around, I took a peek at a nearby departures board to see where some of the planes nearby were traveling. Reading down the board, I noticed an ominous sign: that day’s United flight 895 to Hong Kong was cancelled. Pulling up my phone, I searched Google for CX807 and saw the dreaded: CANCELLED. At this point, I learned that a typhoon was on track to hit Hong Kong right around the time our flight was scheduled to arrive. After calling my wife and informing her of this unpleasant news, I began the trek back to the Admiral’s Lounge. We then collected our carry-on bags and headed for the international terminal to see what news awaited us there.
That would be no news. Or bad news. Our flight, along with a number of other flights were cancelled. There were about a dozen Cathay Pacific staff members at the check-in desks assisting passengers, but since we had arrived more than 3 hours before departure, we seemed to miss the crowd. We were informed the flight was cancelled until at least tomorrow, and that the flight on Friday had a 90 percent chance of departing on-time. Since we had checked our bags through to Hong Kong, the staff offered to retrieve them for us since we would be spending the night in Chicago. However, our carry-ons carried a change of clothes, and we weren’t looking forward to lugging them around for an extra day.
Annoyingly enough, our flight still showed as On Time on the Departures board, even when we left the airport. Cathay Pacific never called or emailed or texted to tell me the flight was cancelled and American didn’t either. I was surprised that this fell through the cracks, but it didn’t change the outcome of the situation.
So what do you do when you’re stuck in Chicago for 27 hours and the Cubs are in the NLCS? You call your friends to see what they are doing. Not wanting to stay in the hotel near the airport, we declined the offer of accommodations from Cathay and boarded the CTA into the city. A very well-known brewery in Chicago is Goose Island, and their taproom was extremely accommodating for two travelers in need of some beer.
After the brewery, we met up with our friends at their apartment in the River North area and had a few pre-game drinks before heading to Wrigleyville to watch the game. *Important note: I’m a fan of baseball, in such a way that if the Kansas City Royals are playing in the playoffs, I’m hooked.* Watching two teams play that I have no rooting interest in is much less interesting. However, drinking beer was much more fascinating. As such, I enjoyed several local IPAs and in no time was finding myself cheering along with a crowd of Cubs fans.
After the Cubs won, we made the infamous “one more stop” on our way back to their apartment. A few final beers and some board games later, we made it home, much later than we should have been on the night before a transpacific flight and much less hydrated.
Fast-forward to late the next morning and the instant regret from the previous evening’s transgressions. Although slow, we stumbled to our feet and headed back to the airport to find out if we would be heading to Hong Kong that day or not. Arriving at the check-in desk, we found out that in rebooking our flights, our separate reservations had been split onto two flights – I was supposed to leave October 21, but my wife’s flight had been moved to October 23. Fortunately the agent was able to move her to the same flight as I, although our carefully chosen seats on the plane had been completely reshuffled. However, given the circumstances, we were happy to be on the plane at all. We ended up switching seats with a woman so she could be closer to her husband, and in the end our seats were 18D and 18G.
CX 807
ORD -> HKG
Miles: 8,180 miles
Duration: 15 hours 12 minutes
Seat: 18G
777-300ER
This was it. My first true international business class experience on a well-renowned carrier. All the anticipation from 10 months of planning and a day’s worth of delays was worth it as we boarded the plane and were pointed to our seats. As soon as we stepped on board, I could tell it was going to be an amazing experience. Flight attendants were passing around champagne and I opted for a glass of Deutz. After settling into my seat, the crew began distributing menus and amenity kits.
The amenity kit contained the following items and came in a nice bag that I found useful for storing future toiletry items.
Our taxi was short and after a long takeoff roll, we were bound for Hong Kong! As soon as we were high enough, I kicked back in my seat and browsed the entertainment selection. I watched “The Angry Birds Movie,” which is worth its comedic weight in gold, along with a documentary called “The Last Man on the Moon.”
I wasn’t too hungry during the on-board meal service, and the options I was interested in were gone by the time the wheeled entrée cart came to me, so after dozing off for a while, I ordered a cheeseburger from the on-demand menu.
The flight was blocked at 15 hours and 50 minutes, but landed almost 40 minutes ahead of schedule (although a day behind). This allowed me to catch up on some sorely missed sleep from the night before and enjoy the amenities that Cathay Pacific’s business class had to offer. I found the lie-flat seats to be quite comfortable, with a number of options for reclining and watching a movie. Additionally, the bedding and pillow were sufficient, with the duvet keeping me from getting cold, but not being hot, either.
Prior to the flight I was concerned about the cabin temperature being too warm and hindering my ability to sleep. However, the temperature was never an issue, and I think that sitting in the middle of the larger business class cabin aids in the circulation of air. Additionally, any concerns about turbulence were mitigated by the smooth flight conditions we had for 99 percent of the trip.
Several hours before we landed in Hong Kong, the flight attendants began coming through the cabin to offer meal service.
I had the vegetarian lasagna and the lemon meringue with raspberry sauce, which was delicious. As expected, the crew on this flight was excellent, responding to any requests quickly and courteously. Unlike certain US airlines, where the call button is forbidden territory, our flight attendants were happy to help in any way possible.
After a smooth landing we taxied for about 15 minutes before arriving at our gate. Exiting the cabin, I got a sneak peek at the mini-cabin (where our seats were originally) and a glance at the vaunted first class section. The friendly crew bid us goodbye and we took our first steps into Asia!
Apologies for not documenting the bedding or food options very well. Stay tuned, as there's much better photographic evidence to come in future segments!