B-HXB

Flight: CX250
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400, B-HOS
Departure time: 1805
Departure gate: 32
Sector: LHR HKG

Heathrow T3 was the usual mess as my taxi dropped me off outside. Cathay have shifted their check-in stations to the opposite end of zone B, and as I entered through the doors facing zone D, I walked smack into a line which was made up of 70% Chinese. My suspicions that this was the CX check-in line was confirmed as I followed it all the way up to the check-in area, cutting through it to access the First Class counter.

There was a short wait for the First Class counter to open. The agent was polite, friendly and efficient as she applied the baggage label and a Priority tag to my piece of luggage and leaned over the counter to give me my boarding pass and lounge invitation for this sector, and passed me a folder entitled ‘Transit in Hong Kong’ with my onward boarding pass, lounge invitation and ticket coupon inside. She informed me that the gate would appear on the TV screens prior to boarding – I seriously don’t understand this policy of not giving out gate numbers and suspect it has something to do with the fact all passengers have to wait in the area where the duty free shops are!

Someone finally wised up to the fact that having a long queue of passengers obstructing the entrance to other check-in desks wasn’t a good idea, and began motioning passengers forward into the AA holding area, which was empty. This helped ease the congestion in the main pathway a bit. Many of the passengers looked youngish, making me think that a lot were Hong Kong students returning home for Christmas. The later flight CX254 was overbooked and notices were placed on the check-in counter offering 150GBP compensation, overnight accommodation and meals, and a Business Class seat from Amsterdam the next morning with connection on British Airways provided for any Economy class passenger willing to give up their seat.

I headed up to the Fast Track clearance lane (why are the escalators hidden inside a check-in zone?!) which was pretty quick as was the security check afterwards. Went to grab a bite to eat at Friday’s before heading to the lounge, and watched as a SAS flight opened for boarding. Two agents at the door pulled what seemed like every fifth person for a handcarry inspection and patdown, which seemed to me to be a very strict check for a regional flight. I suppose the US flights undergo even stricter scrutiny.

Next stop was the AA Admirals’ Club lounge opposite gate 12B. The lounge is nothing special; the decorative theme appears to be ‘British Club’. Food was mostly snack-food variety, with a few finger sandwiches and cakes, and a decent supply of beverages. The lounge was bursting with passengers, however, and the facility itself is very small. I think there were something like three AA flights leaving, perhaps accounting for why there were so many people.

Flicked through a few magazines and strolled up to check the TV monitor inset opposite reception for the gate number. 32 rolled up on the screen at about twenty-five past five and I grabbed my roll-on and headed out of the lounge and began the trek down to the gate.

There was a fairly long queue as I don’t think boarding had actually started yet. I don’t know if a priority call had been made for First and Business Class but I, in the company of a few other passengers from the lounge, walked past and showed the agent our boarding passes, who processed us first.

Gate 32 is a single-airbridged gate and boarding today was through door 2L, which is unusual for me as I normally use 1L for boarding 747s (e.g. at Auckland, Sydney). Two senior pursers were at the door and one of them escorted me to my seat.

Crew had laid out newspapers on the workstation-table and I helped myself to a copy of the South China Morning Post. A First Class Purser materialised and asked me if I would like a drink. My glass of water was delivered with a savoury which didn’t look very appetising to me, but was beautifully presented on the plate.

Despite First Class apparently having been booked solid; in the end only ten passengers filled up the twelve-seat cabin. One fare-paying passenger in 4K indicated that he’d like to switch to 2K. After extensive consultation with the Inflight Service Manager, who liaised with ground staff, this was given the OK and he shifted. This set off a chain reaction. 4A asked if he could switch to 1K; a Customer Services Agent had to come on board to visually confirm 1K was empty before this change was approved. Then 3G saw 4K was empty and asked for a move away from his neighbour in 3D, which thankfully was okayed without the need for another CSA to come aboard.

The captain welcomed us aboard and informed us that we were, as usual, waiting on some late connecting passengers. The crew in the First Class cabin used the delay to distribute menu cards, hot towels, slippers and eyeshades, sleeper suits, and amenity kits with La Prairie products, and a neat little Cathay Pacific First Class pen/computer stylus. The passengers in the First Class cabin used the delay to change into their sleeper suits. Crew offered to hang clothing up in the cabinet. I fiddled with the remote in my armrest and brought up Airshow on the inset PTV.

Finally our late passengers boarded, bridge 32 withdrew and B-HOS pushed back. As we did, I caught a glimpse of the Virgin A340-600 at gate 34. I was rather lucky on this trip; having also managed to see the Cathay Pacific A340-600 in Hong Kong a few times. The safety video began playing on the screen – I noted with interest that the new cabins were shown in the video, even though this aircraft didn’t have the new Business Class.

As the aircraft bumped its way out to the runway, one of the First Class Pursers began taking the meal and drinks order but was interrupted before she could complete the entire cabin. She finished this task immediately after take-off. The menu was fairly comprehensive:

DINNER

Caviar and Balik Salmon Delight
Oscietra Caviar

and

Balik Salmon “Tsar Nicolaj”
served with Warm New Potatoes and Crème Fraiche


Soup
Cream of Leek Soup

Salad
Autumn Salad with Thyme Infused Feta, Red Peppers and Fennel
with Verde Dressing


Main Courses
Braised Rump of Lamb on Barley Risotto with Green Beans and Natural Gravy

Stir-fried Pork with Chilli Sauce
served with Steamed Rice, Pak Choy and Carrots

Seared Fillet of Cod with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Broccoli
served with Spring Onion Mash and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Pappardelle tossed in Red Pesto Sauce, Artichokes, Olives and topped with Vine Tomatoes


Cheese Board
International Cheese Selection

Dessert Selection
Fresh Fruit Salad
Chocolate Orange Brioche Pudding
Vanilla Ice Cream with your choice of toppings

Bread Basket
Assorted Bread and Rolls served with Butter
A touch of the Mediterranean: On this flight, we are delighted to offer you extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar as a healthier alternative to butter.

Tea and Coffee
Decaffeinated coffee and artificial sweetener are available on request

Pralines and Cookies


REFRESHMENTS

To meet the individual tastes and preferences of all our passengers, we have a selection of refreshments as a complement or as an alternative to our regular meals. The following selection is available at any time on request.

Savoury Puff Pastry with Ham and Cheese

Noodle Soup
Noodles with Wonton in Soup

Rice
Rice with Barbecued Pork

Congee
Minced Beef Congee

Ice Cream

Tea and Coffee

Soya sauce is available on request

The Inflight Service Manager, Sandra, came around to introduce herself to the First Class passengers and to pass out arrival cards for Hong Kong. I took this opportunity to ask what the registration of the aircraft was as I didn’t get a chance earlier to look at it while boarding. She said she’d get back to me and she appeared by my seat ten minutes later, and politely interrupted my peaceful contemplation (read: idly staring at the Airshow channel): “Mrs B-HXB? The aircraft registration today is HOS”. I thanked her and she enquired if she could ask why I wanted to know. I laughingly told her I kept a record of each aircraft I travelled on, to which she smiled again and moved on, repeating that if there was anything I needed to know, to just contact her.

I’m sure she thought I was nuts, but was far too experienced and skilled in the art of customer services to show it.

Anyway, the crew began their dinner service with the laying of tablecloths, salt and pepper shakers (shaped like two halves of an egg), plastic cutlery (as this was a UK flight), bread plate and butter knife, dish of butter, toothpick and dental floss, napkin, two empty glasses and a tall tumbler with my apple juice.

I had declined the starters, opting instead to begin with the wonton soup from the 'Refreshments’ section followed by the stir-fried pork. My original combination of the wonton soup and the BBQ pork rice was stymied after the purser informed me that the caterers had only loaded one on board, and that had already been taken by the “gentleman across the aisle”. I did catch the ISM later in the flight to say that loading only one serving on board was rather ridiculous; she was very prolific in her apologies and promised that she would include it in her write-up.

Anyway, the wonton soup was served in an attractive red bowl, with chopsticks, a ceramic ‘Chinese’ spoon and a small dish of Guilin chilli sauce. The flight purser also came around with the bread basket; I chose a soft roll which was nice and warm.

After I had finished with the noodle soup, there was a ten-minute gap before the pursers brought the pork. I used this time to catch the attention of the Senior Purser to ask her about the Cinema on Demand feature. B-HOS was not equipped with AVOD in StudioCX; instead First Class passengers could choose from around 20 tapes in the video library, and play it on their PTV. Movies ranged from the new (e.g. The Bourne Identity) to the old (my choice, From Russia With Love) and a wide range of short features. I much prefer the new AVOD feature as there is a wider selection to choose from and no need to bother the crew. The headsets were already plugged in and are kept in a storage compartment in the armrest.

My main meal was delivered and following that, the desserts trolley. I opted for the fruit salad, which was very refreshing. The crew were fairly attentive in cleaning up, and some passengers began reclining their sleeper seats for the night. Such passengers were handed duvets by the crew, who had taken advantage of the empty 4A to put them upon. The cabin lights were dimmed and crew came around to offer pralines to those who were still awake. The box of chocolates were left on the workstation (which is located between 2A and 2K, backed up onto the PTV console for 3DG), along with glasses and a bottle of water should anyone feel peckish during the night.

I went to the bathroom which was well-stocked with the usual creams, and a single flower in the vase above the sink. A little sticker on the back of the door informed that me that it was “Cathay Pacific’s aim to keep these toilets as clean as possible” and to “please inform the cabin attendant if they require attention”. However, the toilets were already very clean.

On my way back, I noticed that the crew were heating up their dinner in the galley and rather than disturbing them, grabbed a duvet from 4A as I headed back up to row 2. I reclined my seat to the sleeper position, brought the legrest up, adjusted the pillow and lumbar and settled in, fastening my seatbelt over my duvet as instructed by the ISM in her after-takeoff announcement. I suppose the reason for this is so if the seatbelt sign comes on, flight attendants can check the belts are fastened and hence “minimise interruption of your rest”, even though the persistent donging of the seatbelt sign and the obligatory “Please sit down or get thrown into the ceiling” announcement by the crew kind of tends to defeat that purpose. Indeed, the only time I woke up during the night was due to the seatbelt sign chiming.

When I woke up, crew had already begun the breakfast service, the chocolates on the workstation having been replaced by cutlery and linenware. I brought my seat back up and switched on the reading light which attracted the crew’s attention. One of the First Class pursers came by to take my order for breakfast.

BREAKFAST

Juices
Fresh Orange Juice, Fresh Grapefruit Juice or Fruit Smoothie Drink

Appetiser
Fresh Seasonal Fruits

Yoghurt Selection
Natural, Fruit or Low Fat Fruit flavoured

Cereals
Corn Flakes, Muesli or Rice Crispies

Main Courses
Eggs – Freshly Scrambled, Boiled or Fried
Omelette with Cheddar Cheese
Chinese Dim Sum with Stir-fried Noodles
Poached Smoked Haddock

Accompaniments
Breakfast Sausage and Kassler, Fried Potatoes, Grilled Tomato and Button Mushrooms

From the Bakery
Croissants, Danish Pastries, Bread Rolls and Fresh Toast
served with Preserves, Honey and Butter

Tea and Coffee


My request for toast was met with a prompt enquiry from the purser: “White or grain?”

Soon the ritual of the laying of the table began and my orange juice was delivered at the same time. The fresh fruit dish followed shortly after, consisting of a slice of grapefruit, orange, pineapple, melon and some blueberries.

This was then replaced by my fried eggs with the accompaniments. I channel-surfed the 9 options the inflight entertainment system had and settled for Spy Kids 2 which was about halfway through.

The toast arrived somewhere between the fruit and the main, accompanied by a small plate which three tiny pots of strawberry jam, honey and marmalade. I had no sliced open the seal of the strawberry jam pot when the other First Class purser appeared with a small dish of preserves and asked me if I would like some. I indicated that the other purser had brought them, to which she smiled and moved off again. Slight breakdown in communications but nice to see the crew are on the job!

Dirty dishes were whisked away and duvet collection followed shortly after.

ISM Sandra announced over the PA system that a pair of glasses had been found in Economy Class and for the owner to contact the crew. A video about Hong Kong International Airport was played and the IFE system wound up, even though Airshow was still accessible on the PTV screen. As we were now near Hong Kong, the map and flight details displays alternated with information for connecting flights, as well as details of our arrival gate, listed as 63. A hot towel service ran as we descended into Hong Kong.

I handed the tape back to one of the First Class pursers as they began preparing the cabin for landing. Today, approach was over water and we bumped down on to 07L about ten minutes late, having made up some time inflight.

We left the runway on the exit directly at the end of the Southwest Concourse (gates 60-71) which is virtually Cathay Pacific’s second wing at the airport. Our gate was obstructed by a United Airlines 747-400 readying for pushback; however it was obviously decided not to wait for it as we swung into gate 61 instead.

The crew said their goodbyes and I was off to the nearest transfer point for a seven-hour layover in their lounge complex ‘The Wing’. As it turned out, I should’ve picked ‘The Pier’ as my Auckland flight ended up leaving from 65!


Summary and Scorecard
(Revised: Scores now out of different totals to reflect their weighting).

First Class Seat and Product (20)
Score: 19
Cathay Pacific have created a spacious and elegant First Class cabin. The centrepiece is the sleeper seat, which is upholstered in green and offers comfortable position in upright, flat and anything in between. There is ample storage space for those little things like amenity kits and toothbrushes, with a side bar between the window and seat, and plenty of storage compartments and seat pockets in the seat itself. Little touches like the CX brushwing at the back and the picture at the front of the cabin only add to the overall feel. The PTV is mounted on a retractable arm and the tray table is big enough for everything to fit on to it. The privacy divider is useful when in the sleeping mode as is the push-down armrest for when the tray table is deployed. Top marks to CX’s interior designers.

Inflight Entertainment (20)
Score: 15
The fact that this aircraft was not equipped with built-in AVOD was disappointing but this feature should be incorporated as the New Business Class cabins are fitted. However, the IFE cycle offered a standard experience, boosted up by the First Class Cinema on Demand option.

Ground Service and Lounge (15)
Score: 10
Check-in was very good but I did not like the AA lounge. As CX will shortly be operating three flights a day into Heathrow I think they should consider their own lounge facility such as Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines. Boarding was disappointing as there should be an exclusive queue for premium passengers which avoids them having to duck under, over and around obstacles such as other passengers, seats and those portable stringy-cloth-barrier things. I also prefer the double-bridge boarding system, although it was nice to board from the new pier which does not have enclosed gate lounges.

Service and Cabin Attendants (25)
Score: 24
The crew did their job excellently, and with what seemed to be genuine warmth. Touches like addressing you by name, and picking up on when you wake up so they can take your breakfast order are what set the good from the excellent. I was lucky enough on this flight to get a top-notch crew which thankfully, given my experiences, are the norm rather than the exception at Cathay Pacific.

Catering (20)
Score: 17
The only thing to complain about here is the plastic cutlery (which CX has absolutely no control over) and the fact that only one BBQ pork rice was loaded. Other than that, the food was very tasty and served hot.

This gives Cathay Pacific a score of 85 out of a possible 100. It is a shame that their ground handling in London was marred by Heathrow’s limited facilities. However, where it counts, i.e. in the air, the service was truly first-class.

[This message has been edited by B-HXB (edited Dec 05, 2003).]

NickP 1K

Good report... I did this run (and continued to TPE) in F in Nov last year.

I concur on the facilities shared with AA. The lounge used at T3 with AA is the pits when you compare it to CX lounges in Asia (the Wing, the Pier and even the TPE lounge)

francophile

Great report. Isn't there an AA Flagship lounge at T3?

JohnG

Great Report Mrs. Steele, welcome to Flyertalk, can't believe that was your first post ! Well done !

tfung

great report.. interesting about the pen/stylus thing they gave out.. I've never received this before... hopefully on my next flight, they'll give it out to me to add to my collection of in flight gifts, etc..

pjytraveller

B-HXB,

Have been following your CX reports closely over at airliners.net, I'm glad you've decided to contribute to FlyerTalk as well. Always loved your eye for detail and style of writing.

Welcome Aboard.

pallensf

B-HXB -

Greetings & Aloha & Welcome to the Flyer Talk family...

I hope that you find our community healthy and a great retreat for your passion: aviation.

I look forward to reading your posts as well as exchanging aviation thoughts.

Once again - Welcome, you'll love it here.

:-)

Peace and blessings to you.

------------------
Patrick A. Inouye, CMT
volunteer trip reports moderator

number_6

I haven't either ... could this be CX's Chinese New Year present this year? Was it wrapped in red paper?

JHIN

Great report...I have thought of taking this flight...but opted instead for YVR - HKG..anything CX does is superior to all other carriers in my mind so 82% sounds fine but the on board services in my book carry more weight.

B-HXB

Nope, came inside the amenities kit. Thanks to everyone for their comments.

daniellam

Thanks B-HXB!!

I didn't know that CX had a stylus inside the amenities kit until I check the ones I got from my flights. (I don't usually bother opening them because I assumed it would be the same stuff every time)



[This message has been edited by daniellam (edited 01-28-2003).]

miki13331

the current gifts in the amenity kits are:

for women:
make up brush
mirror compact with oil blotting paper

for men:
pen/stylus
shoe horn

they are usually at the bottom of the amenity kits so it is easy to overlook them.

[This message has been edited by miki13331 (edited 01-28-2003).]

B-HXB

Hmmm, how did I end up with a pen/stylus in mine then?!

Seat 2A

Welcome to FlyerTalk, B-HXB! Both you and your high quality trip reports are most welcome here.

Thanks again for a First Class Trip report!

Swanhunter

There is - it's pretty unexciting. Reasonable booze selection (you have to ask for the champagne though), poor selection of food, just lardy snacks, cheese and fruit. A look in the visitor's book last year showed lots of negative comments from CX pax!