On The Road Again: Another Boring First Class Trip Report from Seat 2A
Mar 15, 2012, 12:43 am
#1
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: East Ester, Alaska
Programs: Alaska Million Miler, United Million Miler, Wyndham Rewards Diamond, Choice Hotels Diamond
Posts: 12,148
On The Road Again: Another Boring First Class Trip Report from Seat 2A
Three days ago I had just finished a plate of delicious Spicy Basil Chicken at Lin’s Asian Bistro in Fairbanks, Alaska. The check was presented and as always it was accompanied by a fortune cookie. Now I’ve eaten a lot of fortune cookies in my time, and most of them offer the usual pleasant platitudes such as “You will soon meet a new friend” or my personal favorite, “You will look as good in one hundred years as you do today thanks to recent advances in the field of taxidermy.”
On this day, the slip inside my cookie read as follows: “An airplane ride is soon in your future sending you to fun!” Of course, I just had to take a photo for posterity’s sake.
Happy Travels Ahead
This sweetly delivered prognostication hardly caught me by surprise since this trip has been in the planning stages for a good ten days now. Its timing however, coming just three days before my departure, gives me cause to revisit my faith in those fortune cookie predictions – at least the ones from Lin’s. Actually, if you’d asked me a month ago what I’d be doing in early March, I’d have told you that I expected to be down at Baylor Medical Center undergoing spinal fusion surgery. However, it was discovered shortly after I returned home from my most recent travels that I’d not be a candidate for any surgical procedure until at least June due to a supplement that I’d been taking (Krill Oil) which has an anticoagulant effect on blood. Thankfully I’m not in dire pain (yet), and putting surgery off until June or even September shouldn’t be that big of an issue. In the meantime, I’ve got a container half full of Vicodin that I rarely use, a bottle of Basil Hayden’s up on the shelf and a refrigerator full of beer. Those and the occasional Ibuprofen should tide me over nicely.
So – suddenly I’ve got this big block of unexpected free time until I return to work in early May. Well now, be it fifteen minutes or two months, free time is always great, isn’t it? This is especially true when you’ve got close to a million miles in your frequent flyer account calling ever so seductively out to you: “Use me!”
My first choice was Mauritius via Air France’s Business Class award. I’ve always wanted to visit Mauritius and/or the Seychelles Islands. Unfortunately, Business Class award space was not available in either direction. Perhaps the fact that March is spring break throughout much of America had something to do with it because I couldn’t find any Business Class seats on LAN down to my second choice, Brazil, either.
Well dang, I’m certainly not gonna use any of my hard earned miles on an Economy Class award to any of these places. After all, I’ve just spent the past month sat in Economy or U.S. style First Class. If ever there were a man ready for an upgrade to international caliber premium class services, it is I. Perhaps I’ll just have to go somewhere in First Class… (sigh…)
I’ve been a member of Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan frequent flyer program since 1984. As I’ve been living in Alaska since 1989, it’s made good sense for me to make Alaska’s Mileage Plan my preferred frequent flyer account. It’s a good program and for the most part I have been very pleased with every aspect of it. As a Super Duper Diamond Encrusted Kryptonite level flyer (MVPG75K), I enjoy oodles of benefits that make my everyday flying more efficient, comfortable and economic. If there is any downside to Alaska’s Mileage Plan however, it’s that international First Class award redemption is available only on British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and American.
Having flown International First Class on American between Los Angeles and London back in 2004, I won’t willingly do so again. American’s International First Class service is considered good amongst all except those who know better. Now if that sounds a bit pretentious and snobby, tough. I’ve logged almost two million miles in both domestic and international First Class and I’m here to tell you that the US carriers have got a long way to go before they even begin to approach the strata occupied by the likes of Singapore, Cathay Pacific, Swiss and a handful of other fine carriers.
I’d be more than willing to fly Qantas’ excellent First Class anywhere. The problem is that in ten years of casual checking I have never come across even a single First Class seat offered via Alaska’s Mileage Plan. And, as I recently discovered, even Business Class seats can be extremely difficult to come by and are practically impossible to book on short notice.
British Airways offers a superb First Class product most of the time. I’ve cashed in a total of 900,000 miles worth of First Class award travel with them since 2002 and for the most part I’ve been exceptionally pleased. I would love to check out BA’s new First Class cabins as well as spend a proper amount of time in the fabulous new Concorde Room in Terminal 5. The last time I was there was in 2008, only four days after the facility had opened. As many of you may recall, BA had a rough go of it during its first week or so at T-5. My visit to the new Concorde Room came to an ignominious end when sewage backed up into the lounge’s kitchen area and forced us to beat a hasty retreat down to the domestic Business Class lounge. But I digress…
As much as I’d love to fly with British Airways again, the unreasonably high fuel surcharges and other taxes imposed on award travel with BA have simply made doing so untenable to a cost conscious fellow such as I. An agent at Alaska’s Partner Desk recently told me of a couple who’d booked a pair of BA First awards from the U.S. to Cape Town and were assessed over $1000.00 in taxes.
So that leaves Cathay Pacific. Now Cathay is hardly a consolation prize – after all Cathay’s First Class service is generally regarded as being amongst the top five services in the world. The only downside to booking a First Class award on Cathay is that the destinations where First Class is offered are limited. From North America I can fly to Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore or Johannesburg. The total mileage redemption is the same for each of these destinations – 140,000 miles. Since I’ve already visited each of these cities in years past, my primary concern now goes toward getting the most bang for my First Class award redemption.
Where once my primary focus was on visiting a new destination, it now has become flying to wherever allows me the most time aloft. What an interesting turn of events and one I might add that is not unfamiliar amongst brethren in our select community here. Keep in mind we’re talking about Cathay Pacific’s First Class, not some rinky-dink Business Class product. Tokyo and Singapore are only about four hours from Hong Kong while South Africa is twelve hours distant. All but the most irredeemably pragmatic old farts would surely have to agree that flying long distances in First Class aboard an airline of Cathay Pacific’s caliber must certainly rank as one of life’s great pleasures, right up there with good sex, good steak, good bourbon and good whatever it is that rocks your world. So what if I’ve been to South Africa each of the past two years? I’d fly to North Dakota in the dead of winter and find a way to enjoy it if it meant I were able to revel in a combined sixteen extra hours of Cathay Pacific’s First Class. Oh yeah… I got it bad…
So it is that I am once again headed off to South Africa in style – aboard Cathay Pacific’s First Class. While I certainly have no complaint with my situation, it’s entirely possible that some of you may not be so enamored of reading yet another trip report on the subject. I suspect this is especially true for those FlyerTalkers who prefer the quick and easy gratification derived from a photo or video report as opposed to a long, boring written report. This might also be true for those under the age of say, 25, of whom I have perhaps four fans. One can hardly blame them as my style of writing and reminiscing on old flights from bygone days is probably better suited to those who are old enough to personally relate to some of my ramblings, most of which are as entertaining to FlyerTalk’s younger readers as a thesis on emerging wheat harvesting technologies in Central Saskatchewan.
Additionally, this is the third straight year I’ve reported on Cathay Pacific’s First Class – each time to South Africa. Boring… And, to be sure, there have also been quite a few other well written or photographed trip reports covering flights aboard Cathay’s First or Business Class over the past three months. Even as I sit here guzzling beer and pecking away, I can just hear the catcalls and cries of anguish out there: “Nooooo! Not another boring trip report on Cathay Pacific’s First Class service from Seat 2A!” I’m even picturing the scene from Young Frankenstein where the townspeople and their torches storm the castle. Good thing my lair is as yet undiscovered…
Through it all I remain irredeemably unrepentant. Any of y’all who can't stomach yet another report on Cathay Pacific's First Class need to suck it up or go hit the back button and find a different report. As for those of you who do want to fly to Africa with me - go fetch yourselves a nice drink and settle in for the ride. Alrighty then – enough palaver! Let’s get this trip on the runway!
On this day, the slip inside my cookie read as follows: “An airplane ride is soon in your future sending you to fun!” Of course, I just had to take a photo for posterity’s sake.
Happy Travels Ahead
This sweetly delivered prognostication hardly caught me by surprise since this trip has been in the planning stages for a good ten days now. Its timing however, coming just three days before my departure, gives me cause to revisit my faith in those fortune cookie predictions – at least the ones from Lin’s. Actually, if you’d asked me a month ago what I’d be doing in early March, I’d have told you that I expected to be down at Baylor Medical Center undergoing spinal fusion surgery. However, it was discovered shortly after I returned home from my most recent travels that I’d not be a candidate for any surgical procedure until at least June due to a supplement that I’d been taking (Krill Oil) which has an anticoagulant effect on blood. Thankfully I’m not in dire pain (yet), and putting surgery off until June or even September shouldn’t be that big of an issue. In the meantime, I’ve got a container half full of Vicodin that I rarely use, a bottle of Basil Hayden’s up on the shelf and a refrigerator full of beer. Those and the occasional Ibuprofen should tide me over nicely.
So – suddenly I’ve got this big block of unexpected free time until I return to work in early May. Well now, be it fifteen minutes or two months, free time is always great, isn’t it? This is especially true when you’ve got close to a million miles in your frequent flyer account calling ever so seductively out to you: “Use me!”
My first choice was Mauritius via Air France’s Business Class award. I’ve always wanted to visit Mauritius and/or the Seychelles Islands. Unfortunately, Business Class award space was not available in either direction. Perhaps the fact that March is spring break throughout much of America had something to do with it because I couldn’t find any Business Class seats on LAN down to my second choice, Brazil, either.
Well dang, I’m certainly not gonna use any of my hard earned miles on an Economy Class award to any of these places. After all, I’ve just spent the past month sat in Economy or U.S. style First Class. If ever there were a man ready for an upgrade to international caliber premium class services, it is I. Perhaps I’ll just have to go somewhere in First Class… (sigh…)
I’ve been a member of Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan frequent flyer program since 1984. As I’ve been living in Alaska since 1989, it’s made good sense for me to make Alaska’s Mileage Plan my preferred frequent flyer account. It’s a good program and for the most part I have been very pleased with every aspect of it. As a Super Duper Diamond Encrusted Kryptonite level flyer (MVPG75K), I enjoy oodles of benefits that make my everyday flying more efficient, comfortable and economic. If there is any downside to Alaska’s Mileage Plan however, it’s that international First Class award redemption is available only on British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and American.
Having flown International First Class on American between Los Angeles and London back in 2004, I won’t willingly do so again. American’s International First Class service is considered good amongst all except those who know better. Now if that sounds a bit pretentious and snobby, tough. I’ve logged almost two million miles in both domestic and international First Class and I’m here to tell you that the US carriers have got a long way to go before they even begin to approach the strata occupied by the likes of Singapore, Cathay Pacific, Swiss and a handful of other fine carriers.
I’d be more than willing to fly Qantas’ excellent First Class anywhere. The problem is that in ten years of casual checking I have never come across even a single First Class seat offered via Alaska’s Mileage Plan. And, as I recently discovered, even Business Class seats can be extremely difficult to come by and are practically impossible to book on short notice.
British Airways offers a superb First Class product most of the time. I’ve cashed in a total of 900,000 miles worth of First Class award travel with them since 2002 and for the most part I’ve been exceptionally pleased. I would love to check out BA’s new First Class cabins as well as spend a proper amount of time in the fabulous new Concorde Room in Terminal 5. The last time I was there was in 2008, only four days after the facility had opened. As many of you may recall, BA had a rough go of it during its first week or so at T-5. My visit to the new Concorde Room came to an ignominious end when sewage backed up into the lounge’s kitchen area and forced us to beat a hasty retreat down to the domestic Business Class lounge. But I digress…
As much as I’d love to fly with British Airways again, the unreasonably high fuel surcharges and other taxes imposed on award travel with BA have simply made doing so untenable to a cost conscious fellow such as I. An agent at Alaska’s Partner Desk recently told me of a couple who’d booked a pair of BA First awards from the U.S. to Cape Town and were assessed over $1000.00 in taxes.
So that leaves Cathay Pacific. Now Cathay is hardly a consolation prize – after all Cathay’s First Class service is generally regarded as being amongst the top five services in the world. The only downside to booking a First Class award on Cathay is that the destinations where First Class is offered are limited. From North America I can fly to Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore or Johannesburg. The total mileage redemption is the same for each of these destinations – 140,000 miles. Since I’ve already visited each of these cities in years past, my primary concern now goes toward getting the most bang for my First Class award redemption.
Where once my primary focus was on visiting a new destination, it now has become flying to wherever allows me the most time aloft. What an interesting turn of events and one I might add that is not unfamiliar amongst brethren in our select community here. Keep in mind we’re talking about Cathay Pacific’s First Class, not some rinky-dink Business Class product. Tokyo and Singapore are only about four hours from Hong Kong while South Africa is twelve hours distant. All but the most irredeemably pragmatic old farts would surely have to agree that flying long distances in First Class aboard an airline of Cathay Pacific’s caliber must certainly rank as one of life’s great pleasures, right up there with good sex, good steak, good bourbon and good whatever it is that rocks your world. So what if I’ve been to South Africa each of the past two years? I’d fly to North Dakota in the dead of winter and find a way to enjoy it if it meant I were able to revel in a combined sixteen extra hours of Cathay Pacific’s First Class. Oh yeah… I got it bad…
So it is that I am once again headed off to South Africa in style – aboard Cathay Pacific’s First Class. While I certainly have no complaint with my situation, it’s entirely possible that some of you may not be so enamored of reading yet another trip report on the subject. I suspect this is especially true for those FlyerTalkers who prefer the quick and easy gratification derived from a photo or video report as opposed to a long, boring written report. This might also be true for those under the age of say, 25, of whom I have perhaps four fans. One can hardly blame them as my style of writing and reminiscing on old flights from bygone days is probably better suited to those who are old enough to personally relate to some of my ramblings, most of which are as entertaining to FlyerTalk’s younger readers as a thesis on emerging wheat harvesting technologies in Central Saskatchewan.
Additionally, this is the third straight year I’ve reported on Cathay Pacific’s First Class – each time to South Africa. Boring… And, to be sure, there have also been quite a few other well written or photographed trip reports covering flights aboard Cathay’s First or Business Class over the past three months. Even as I sit here guzzling beer and pecking away, I can just hear the catcalls and cries of anguish out there: “Nooooo! Not another boring trip report on Cathay Pacific’s First Class service from Seat 2A!” I’m even picturing the scene from Young Frankenstein where the townspeople and their torches storm the castle. Good thing my lair is as yet undiscovered…
Through it all I remain irredeemably unrepentant. Any of y’all who can't stomach yet another report on Cathay Pacific's First Class need to suck it up or go hit the back button and find a different report. As for those of you who do want to fly to Africa with me - go fetch yourselves a nice drink and settle in for the ride. Alrighty then – enough palaver! Let’s get this trip on the runway!
Last edited by Seat 2A; Apr 5, 2012 at 1:01 pm
Mar 15, 2012, 12:44 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: East Ester, Alaska
Programs: Alaska Million Miler, United Million Miler, Wyndham Rewards Diamond, Choice Hotels Diamond
Posts: 12,148
This journey actually started with a ride on the Alaska Railroad’s Winter Train from Denali Park up to Fairbanks. It was a beautiful late winter day in Alaska’s interior – sunny and about 5°F – perfect for the scenic four hour train ride up to Fairbanks.
The Alaska Railroad is owned by the State of Alaska and is the last full service railroad in the U.S., providing both passenger and freight service year round. From mid-September to mid-May, the ARR’s Aurora Winter Train operates between Anchorage and Fairbanks on weekends only. The schedule offers northbound service from Anchorage on Saturdays and southbound return from Fairbanks on Sunday. Unlike the daily summer service which makes scheduled stops only in Wasilla, Talkeetna and Denali Park, the winter train will pick up just about anywhere simply by flagging down the engineers. With all the four-wheelers and snow machines up here, there doesn’t need to be a road for some folks to get to the train.
Although there is a train station at Denali National Park, it’s not open during the winter months and the access road to it is not plowed. Instead I met the train where the tracks cross the park road by the Horseshoe Lake trailhead pullout. The park road is maintained up to headquarters at mile 3.5 and the trailhead pullout offered a nice wide area to sit and wait.
A good place to meet the train
A schedule is posted for the winter service, but it can vary a bit depending upon how many enroute stops are made and how long they’re for. For example, some people may be getting off in the woods out by Trapper Creek with a load of wood they purchased down in Anchorage or they’ve got something bulky they need to load onboard that needs to go in the baggage car. Today however the train was right on time. The whistle sounded as it passed Denali Park Station a half mile up the tracks and shortly thereafter the engine came into view with four cars in tow.
Here comes the train!
Unlike freight trains which can require a mile or more to bring to a complete stop, our little passenger train was able to stop in a much shorter distance. That’s because the Winter Train doesn’t require many cars since ridership is usually limited to a few locals and an occasional tour group. Today’s consist was led by the ARR’s flagship locomotive, an SD70MAC followed by a GP-40 locomotive, a cafe/lounge car, two flat top coaches and a baggage car. Once I’d climbed aboard, the conductor radioed an okay to the engineer who dialed up the significant locomotive power at his command and we quickly resumed our northward journey.
Regular readers of my trip reports may recall I reported on this train trip back in December when it was substantially darker. Indeed I did the entire trip in darkness despite the 3:55pm departure time. Now, three months later, we Alaskans are gaining an impressive seven minutes of sunshine each day. Today that meant that most of this trip was done under sunny skies. I think at this point I’ll let pictures tell the rest of the story.
Heading north out of Denali Park
The Alaska Range towers overhead
Entering the Nenana River Canyon
Is that a Dall Sheep up there?
Following an on time arrival into Fairbanks, I returned home to my cabin in the woods. Snow started falling that night and by mid-afternoon the next day it looked like this:
Winter’s not over yet
The next morning, the taxi driver got stuck getting out to my place. I still don’t understand how because the roads were in pretty good shape, but either way I now had no ride to the airport and my plane was leaving in an hour and fifteen minutes. I ended up driving myself to the airport and leaving an envelope with $40.00 and a spare key on my neighbor’s porch so that he could grab a cab to the airport, pay the day’s lot rent and drive my truck back home. He’s a great neighbor!
The Alaska Railroad is owned by the State of Alaska and is the last full service railroad in the U.S., providing both passenger and freight service year round. From mid-September to mid-May, the ARR’s Aurora Winter Train operates between Anchorage and Fairbanks on weekends only. The schedule offers northbound service from Anchorage on Saturdays and southbound return from Fairbanks on Sunday. Unlike the daily summer service which makes scheduled stops only in Wasilla, Talkeetna and Denali Park, the winter train will pick up just about anywhere simply by flagging down the engineers. With all the four-wheelers and snow machines up here, there doesn’t need to be a road for some folks to get to the train.
Although there is a train station at Denali National Park, it’s not open during the winter months and the access road to it is not plowed. Instead I met the train where the tracks cross the park road by the Horseshoe Lake trailhead pullout. The park road is maintained up to headquarters at mile 3.5 and the trailhead pullout offered a nice wide area to sit and wait.
A good place to meet the train
A schedule is posted for the winter service, but it can vary a bit depending upon how many enroute stops are made and how long they’re for. For example, some people may be getting off in the woods out by Trapper Creek with a load of wood they purchased down in Anchorage or they’ve got something bulky they need to load onboard that needs to go in the baggage car. Today however the train was right on time. The whistle sounded as it passed Denali Park Station a half mile up the tracks and shortly thereafter the engine came into view with four cars in tow.
Here comes the train!
Unlike freight trains which can require a mile or more to bring to a complete stop, our little passenger train was able to stop in a much shorter distance. That’s because the Winter Train doesn’t require many cars since ridership is usually limited to a few locals and an occasional tour group. Today’s consist was led by the ARR’s flagship locomotive, an SD70MAC followed by a GP-40 locomotive, a cafe/lounge car, two flat top coaches and a baggage car. Once I’d climbed aboard, the conductor radioed an okay to the engineer who dialed up the significant locomotive power at his command and we quickly resumed our northward journey.
Regular readers of my trip reports may recall I reported on this train trip back in December when it was substantially darker. Indeed I did the entire trip in darkness despite the 3:55pm departure time. Now, three months later, we Alaskans are gaining an impressive seven minutes of sunshine each day. Today that meant that most of this trip was done under sunny skies. I think at this point I’ll let pictures tell the rest of the story.
Heading north out of Denali Park
The Alaska Range towers overhead
Entering the Nenana River Canyon
Is that a Dall Sheep up there?
Following an on time arrival into Fairbanks, I returned home to my cabin in the woods. Snow started falling that night and by mid-afternoon the next day it looked like this:
Winter’s not over yet
The next morning, the taxi driver got stuck getting out to my place. I still don’t understand how because the roads were in pretty good shape, but either way I now had no ride to the airport and my plane was leaving in an hour and fifteen minutes. I ended up driving myself to the airport and leaving an envelope with $40.00 and a spare key on my neighbor’s porch so that he could grab a cab to the airport, pay the day’s lot rent and drive my truck back home. He’s a great neighbor!
Last edited by Seat 2A; Mar 15, 2012 at 6:58 am
Mar 15, 2012, 12:45 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: East Ester, Alaska
Programs: Alaska Million Miler, United Million Miler, Wyndham Rewards Diamond, Choice Hotels Diamond
Posts: 12,148
Fairbanks – Seattle
Seattle – San Francisco
Alaska Airlines Coach Class
Boeing 737-400 N795AS
Boeing 737-400 N756AS
845am – 805pm
Even though I am traveling on a First Class award, there was no First Class award space available on any of Alaska’s flights out of Fairbanks today. Nor were there any revenue seats available in either class. There were none yesterday and there’ll be none tomorrow either. It’s spring break and all of these seats have been booked for some time now. How the agent at Alaska’s Partner Desk miraculously found me a seat ten days ago is a mystery to me but for what it’s worth I am extremely grateful, even though I’m sitting in Coach.
I wish I could say it was a nice flight but it wasn’t. For some odd reason no hot breakfasts were catered and by the time the cart made it back to me at row 17, there weren’t even any snack boxes available. Breakfast was a bag of snack mix and a cup of coffee.
In Seattle I feasted on stir-fried chicken, veggies and brown rice at Waji’s, then repaired to the Boardroom for a couple pints of Manny’s Pale Ale and an electrical outlet so I could get started on this report. One thing I won’t ever do is start writing a report before I’ve actually started traveling. For whatever reason I just seem to write better when I’m in the moment.
The flight down to San Francisco was also completely sold out. I had a thoroughly enjoyable time chatting with the couple sat next to me though. They’d noticed that I was booking a trip on a South African bus line and it just so happened that the lady was originally from Durban. The two of them were headed down to Palm Springs to watch the professional tennis tournament being played at Indian Wells. The weather was forecast to be excellent over the weekend and I envied them their good fortune to be able to visit Palm Springs in such marvelous circumstances. They of course envied me my journey to South Africa in such marvelous circumstances. We parted in San Francisco with good byes and good wishes while I trundled off to my hotel for the night.
The hotel’s name is the CitiGarden Hotel. I booked it through Hotwire and after this night I won’t be staying here again. My guess is this property was an old Holiday Inn at one time, and it’s probably hosted two or three other hotels as well before finally being passed down to become the CitiGarden Hotel. What kind of a name is that, anyway? Red flags were raised when the front desk clerk put a $30.00 hold on my credit card for potential damages to the room.
“You get a lot of that here, do you?” I asked.
There was an onsite restaurant as advertised but it was this huge, brightly lit Chinese Buffet that charged $14.95 a plate. It was close to 9:00pm by the time I checked in and I just wasn’t hungry enough for a full on buffet experience. Besides that, we’ve got a perfectly good Chinese buffet in Fairbanks for just $8.95. The hotel website indicates that Denny’s and IHOP restaurants are nearby, and indeed they are - if you’ve got a car. I ended up walking across the highway to a gas station where I bought a couple of tamales and a bottle of water.
Back at the hotel, a loud argument had ensued amongst the youthful occupants in the room behind mine. They didn’t sound like they were close to resolving their differences anytime soon, so I asked for and received a new room. It was quieter but the television didn’t work. This was no big deal as I was primarily interested in peace and quiet but still…
The next morning I showered, grabbed a cup of coffee from the rather limited continental breakfast buffet, and then caught the shuttle van back to SFO. Breakfast could wait until after I’d checked in.
San Francisco – Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific First Class
Boeing 747-400 B-HKT Seat 2K
11:50am – 6:35pm Flight time: 13:58
I love flying out of San Francisco International Airport. On one side are the low hills of the Coastal Range, on the other the broad blue expanse of San Francisco Bay. Terminal 1 where Alaska flies out of still retains the funky charm and architecture of the 1970s while the more modern International Terminal is beautifully designed and a joy to travel through. The concourses are wide and airy while the large windows let in lots of natural light. The only downside to the airport are the restaurants which offer good but extremely overpriced food. Regardless, SFO is definitely one of my all-time favorite airports.
Check-in was a breeze, and so was security. I would guess that it was only about twenty minutes from the time I entered the terminal to the time I strolled through the doors and into Cathay Pacific’s new First and Business Class lounge. The receptionist accepted my lounge invitation card and graciously welcomed me into the lounge. She explained that both First and Business Class passengers shared the same lounge and then pointed out the food area and the restrooms.
One of three seating areas in the Cathay Pacific Lounge
This is the second time I’ve flown Cathay out of San Francisco and I’m pleased to see that they now have their own lounge. In years past they used the British Airways’ Terraces Lounge, itself a nice facility that is located down on the concourse only a short walk from any gate. In terms of overall ambience, I’ve actually got to give the nod to BA’s Terraces lounge which just seemed a bit brighter and cheerful to me. Otherwise, Cathay’s lounge is a perfectly comfortable and functional facility. I also like that it has showers available.
Not having eaten breakfast yet, I headed over to the buffet area to inspect the offerings. Hot items included scrambled eggs, sausage, potato cakes, wontons and noodles while a selection of wrapped sandwiches and yogurt were available for lighter appetites. I believe there was also a pot of congee. The liquor offerings were limited to gin, scotch, rum, vodka and two bottles of wine. Still, it was 9:30am and perhaps a greater selection of sprits would be available later in the day. A refrigerator was stocked with a decent variety of beer and soft drinks. I was looking for coffee to wash down my plate of sausage and eggs and found some fairly potable stuff being dispensed by the coffee machine nearby.
Hot breakfast items
Sandwiches and yogurt
Morning Liquor Supply
A small bank of work stations was available at one end of the lounge, so I tried to print up some documents related the travel insurance I purchased for this trip. Not only were the computers extremely slow but a problem with the browser inhibited their use on many web pages including the one I needed. The gentleman next to me complained that he just absolutely had to have something printed before he got on the airplane. I took him downstairs with me to Delta’s Sky Club where as my guest he could copy to his heart’s desire. By the way, Delta’s International Terminal Sky Club is the old Northwest World Club. As a World Club this facility benefitted from a complete facelift that transformed it into the new style of World Club as seen at MSP, DTW and MEM. It is truly a beautiful lounge.
Boarding for Cathay Pacific flight 879 to Hong Kong was called at 11:15am. It was perhaps a five minute walk from the lounge down to the gate and I stopped for a quick photo of the aircraft before proceeding into the gate lounge. A large crowd had lined up behind the Economy Class side of the podium, but the Business and First Class side was wide open. I love it!
My chariot awaits
Seattle – San Francisco
Alaska Airlines Coach Class
Boeing 737-400 N795AS
Boeing 737-400 N756AS
845am – 805pm
Even though I am traveling on a First Class award, there was no First Class award space available on any of Alaska’s flights out of Fairbanks today. Nor were there any revenue seats available in either class. There were none yesterday and there’ll be none tomorrow either. It’s spring break and all of these seats have been booked for some time now. How the agent at Alaska’s Partner Desk miraculously found me a seat ten days ago is a mystery to me but for what it’s worth I am extremely grateful, even though I’m sitting in Coach.
I wish I could say it was a nice flight but it wasn’t. For some odd reason no hot breakfasts were catered and by the time the cart made it back to me at row 17, there weren’t even any snack boxes available. Breakfast was a bag of snack mix and a cup of coffee.
In Seattle I feasted on stir-fried chicken, veggies and brown rice at Waji’s, then repaired to the Boardroom for a couple pints of Manny’s Pale Ale and an electrical outlet so I could get started on this report. One thing I won’t ever do is start writing a report before I’ve actually started traveling. For whatever reason I just seem to write better when I’m in the moment.
The flight down to San Francisco was also completely sold out. I had a thoroughly enjoyable time chatting with the couple sat next to me though. They’d noticed that I was booking a trip on a South African bus line and it just so happened that the lady was originally from Durban. The two of them were headed down to Palm Springs to watch the professional tennis tournament being played at Indian Wells. The weather was forecast to be excellent over the weekend and I envied them their good fortune to be able to visit Palm Springs in such marvelous circumstances. They of course envied me my journey to South Africa in such marvelous circumstances. We parted in San Francisco with good byes and good wishes while I trundled off to my hotel for the night.
The hotel’s name is the CitiGarden Hotel. I booked it through Hotwire and after this night I won’t be staying here again. My guess is this property was an old Holiday Inn at one time, and it’s probably hosted two or three other hotels as well before finally being passed down to become the CitiGarden Hotel. What kind of a name is that, anyway? Red flags were raised when the front desk clerk put a $30.00 hold on my credit card for potential damages to the room.
“You get a lot of that here, do you?” I asked.
There was an onsite restaurant as advertised but it was this huge, brightly lit Chinese Buffet that charged $14.95 a plate. It was close to 9:00pm by the time I checked in and I just wasn’t hungry enough for a full on buffet experience. Besides that, we’ve got a perfectly good Chinese buffet in Fairbanks for just $8.95. The hotel website indicates that Denny’s and IHOP restaurants are nearby, and indeed they are - if you’ve got a car. I ended up walking across the highway to a gas station where I bought a couple of tamales and a bottle of water.
Back at the hotel, a loud argument had ensued amongst the youthful occupants in the room behind mine. They didn’t sound like they were close to resolving their differences anytime soon, so I asked for and received a new room. It was quieter but the television didn’t work. This was no big deal as I was primarily interested in peace and quiet but still…
The next morning I showered, grabbed a cup of coffee from the rather limited continental breakfast buffet, and then caught the shuttle van back to SFO. Breakfast could wait until after I’d checked in.
San Francisco – Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific First Class
Boeing 747-400 B-HKT Seat 2K
11:50am – 6:35pm Flight time: 13:58
I love flying out of San Francisco International Airport. On one side are the low hills of the Coastal Range, on the other the broad blue expanse of San Francisco Bay. Terminal 1 where Alaska flies out of still retains the funky charm and architecture of the 1970s while the more modern International Terminal is beautifully designed and a joy to travel through. The concourses are wide and airy while the large windows let in lots of natural light. The only downside to the airport are the restaurants which offer good but extremely overpriced food. Regardless, SFO is definitely one of my all-time favorite airports.
Check-in was a breeze, and so was security. I would guess that it was only about twenty minutes from the time I entered the terminal to the time I strolled through the doors and into Cathay Pacific’s new First and Business Class lounge. The receptionist accepted my lounge invitation card and graciously welcomed me into the lounge. She explained that both First and Business Class passengers shared the same lounge and then pointed out the food area and the restrooms.
One of three seating areas in the Cathay Pacific Lounge
This is the second time I’ve flown Cathay out of San Francisco and I’m pleased to see that they now have their own lounge. In years past they used the British Airways’ Terraces Lounge, itself a nice facility that is located down on the concourse only a short walk from any gate. In terms of overall ambience, I’ve actually got to give the nod to BA’s Terraces lounge which just seemed a bit brighter and cheerful to me. Otherwise, Cathay’s lounge is a perfectly comfortable and functional facility. I also like that it has showers available.
Not having eaten breakfast yet, I headed over to the buffet area to inspect the offerings. Hot items included scrambled eggs, sausage, potato cakes, wontons and noodles while a selection of wrapped sandwiches and yogurt were available for lighter appetites. I believe there was also a pot of congee. The liquor offerings were limited to gin, scotch, rum, vodka and two bottles of wine. Still, it was 9:30am and perhaps a greater selection of sprits would be available later in the day. A refrigerator was stocked with a decent variety of beer and soft drinks. I was looking for coffee to wash down my plate of sausage and eggs and found some fairly potable stuff being dispensed by the coffee machine nearby.
Hot breakfast items
Sandwiches and yogurt
Morning Liquor Supply
A small bank of work stations was available at one end of the lounge, so I tried to print up some documents related the travel insurance I purchased for this trip. Not only were the computers extremely slow but a problem with the browser inhibited their use on many web pages including the one I needed. The gentleman next to me complained that he just absolutely had to have something printed before he got on the airplane. I took him downstairs with me to Delta’s Sky Club where as my guest he could copy to his heart’s desire. By the way, Delta’s International Terminal Sky Club is the old Northwest World Club. As a World Club this facility benefitted from a complete facelift that transformed it into the new style of World Club as seen at MSP, DTW and MEM. It is truly a beautiful lounge.
Boarding for Cathay Pacific flight 879 to Hong Kong was called at 11:15am. It was perhaps a five minute walk from the lounge down to the gate and I stopped for a quick photo of the aircraft before proceeding into the gate lounge. A large crowd had lined up behind the Economy Class side of the podium, but the Business and First Class side was wide open. I love it!
My chariot awaits
Last edited by Seat 2A; Mar 24, 2012 at 7:40 pm
Mar 15, 2012, 12:46 am
#4
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A dedicated jetway was available for premium class clientele, so I turned left there and proceeded down it towards the aircraft door. This is always an exciting time for me. After all the anticipation that comes with having booked passage aboard one of the most luxurious and highly regarded services aloft, here I am now at the threshold of that most rarified of realms known as the First Class cabin of a Cathay Pacific 747. It’s one that comparatively few people ever get to experience, but for those that do it’s an experience that will never be forgotten.
Two flight attendants were stationed at the door to greet passengers. Those traveling in Business Class were welcomed warmly and given directions toward their assigned seats. As a First Class passenger, I was greeted by name and escorted directly to my suite. There I was assisted with my carry-on luggage and offered a welcome aboard drink. Might I care for some Champagne, perhaps? Would I ever!! (Yes, please.) Moments later another flight attendant appeared, introduced herself as Jackie, and presented me with a set of pajamas and an amenity kit.
Cathay’s First Class Suite
The First Class seat
There’s plenty of room to stretch out
The amenity kit
As I was settling in to my home for the next fourteen hours, the Champagne arrived with a flourish. Whereas some airlines will simply bring you a glass of Champagne, the ladies of Cathay Pacific offer a proper presentation. After all, we’re talking about Krug Grande Cuvee here, one of the world’s premier quaffs. Both the Champagne and the moment are deserving of the ceremony. It starts with the bottle of Champagne and a fluted glass, both of which are presented on a lacquered tray. The glass is set down and the bottle presented with the label facing me. Once I’d nodded my approval, the Champagne was carefully poured and the welcome aboard was official.
Ahh… It’s good to be back in Cathay Pacific’s First Class.
Krug Champagne ~ Welcome Aboard!
The aircraft operating this afternoon’s 6,870 mile flight along the Pacific Rim to Hong Kong has had quite an interesting history. It was delivered fresh from the factory to Singapore Airlines back in 1993. Following eight years of faithful service it was sold to El Al for whom it toiled until September of 2005 when it was parked for the winter in the Sonoran Desert at Marana, Arizona. In March of 2006, Cathay Pacific showed up, kicked the tires and decided to buy it third hand. Today this nineteen year old airplane looks a bit worn on the outside, but inside she looks as fresh and vibrant as the day she was delivered to Singapore. I am happy to be logging my second flight aboard her, the first having come two years ago between Johannesburg and Hong Kong.
As I savored the crisp effervescence of the Krug, the lead flight attendant stopped by to introduce herself as Nancy along with Jackie and Patsy who would be working with her in the forward cabin this afternoon. She then inquired as to my plans and/or needs once we arrived in Hong Kong. “I’m transiting.” I replied. “I’ll be connecting to the 11:45pm to Johannesburg.” She looked a bit surprised at this and for good reason I’m sure as very few people (other than the odd FlyerTalker or two) would ever choose to travel between North America and South Africa via Hong Kong. I explained that very few people traveling to Africa by whatever route would have the good fortune to be ensconced in Cathay Pacific’s First Class suite while being wined and dined like plutocrats. I then expressed my fervent desire that we might encounter strong headwinds to further extend the experience. She had a good laugh at this and then went back to the galley to inform the crew that I was to be cut off from any further alcohol. Truth be known, my glass was soon refilled and shortly thereafter we began our pushback from the gate.
It was a beautiful day for flying with nary a cloud in the sky. We took quite a long and stately taxi out to the south end of the runway before commencing a 43 second take off roll. One thing I really miss on the 747s is the camera mounted on the bottom of the fuselage just back from the nose wheel. This is standard equipment on the triple sevens and watching the takeoff from that vantage point is quite exciting.
We were still climbing when Patsy stopped by to inquire as to my drink selection. It was only a little after noon and, with fourteen hours of sheer bliss ahead of me, I decided to go easy and start with an Oriental Breeze, one of Cathay’s non-alcoholic Signature Drinks. After all, there’d be plenty of time to check out the various whiskeys and wines available, including the MaCallan 17, a new addition to the list since my last flights with Cathay. Let’s have a look at the wine list for today’s flight:
WINE LIST
Champagne
Krug Grande Cuvee Champagne
White Wines
Estancia Reserve Monterey Chardonnay 2007
Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes 2008
Red Wines
Sauvion Dilection Chinon 2010
Finca El Origen Gran Reserva Malbec 2009
Chateau Lynch Bages 2004, Grand Cru Classe Pauillac 5th Growth
Port
Ramos Pinto Quinta da Ervamoira 10 Year Old Tawny Port
Aperitifs and Cocktails
Campari, Martini Rosso, Martini Extra Dry, Tio Pepe Sherry,
Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sweet Sherry, Tanqueray Ten Gin, Bacardi Rum,
Belvedere Vodka, Bloody Mary, Screw Driver
Whiskies
Chivas Regal 12 Years Old, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Canadian Club,
Gentleman Jack Bourbon, MaCallan 17 Fine Oak Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Cognac
Tesseron Lot 76 XO Tradition
Liqueurs
Cointreau, Drambuie, Kahlua, Bailey’s Irish Cream
Beer
International Selection
Oriental Breeze
A sour-plum tea and cranberry juice based non-alcoholic drink
with honey and fresh lemon juice and a hint of rose water
The luncheon service began soon after we’d leveled off. That is to say it began for all of the passengers except for me. Having just eaten breakfast only three hours before, I elected to hold off until 1:30 before commencing with the culinary festivities that make up the main meal service aboard Cathay Pacific’s First Class. There’s a lot of food involved and I was in no particular hurry to get started. Of course this was not a problem since on Cathay the First Class meal service is tailored to the passenger’s wishes. The crew will happily serve you luncheon at 1:00am if you so desire.
However, since we were on the subject of luncheon, I decided to peruse the menu selections and at least place my order now. Here’s the menu. What would you order?
LUNCHEON
San Francisco to Hong Kong
Caviar and Balik Salmon Delight
Oscietra Caviar and Balik Salmon “Tsar Nicolaj”
Served with Warm New Potatoes and Crème Fraiche
Soup
Fennel and apple soup with caramelized fennel and dill
Salad
Mesclun salad with king crab, tear drop tomatoes and cranberries
Served with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette
Bread Basket
Assorted Bread and Rolls
** ***** **
INTERNATIONAL FAVOURITES
Grilled U.S. Wagyu Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce
With parsley potatoes, asparagus and baby carrots
Lobster and Crab Ravioli
With roasted red pepper coulis and grilled baby zucchini
CHINESE FAVORITES
Starters
Double boiled conch and mushroom soup
Cold Plate ~ Marinated gluten with cucumber
Kung Po Chicken
or
Stir-fried Sea Bass with Sweet Wine Sauce
Served with steamed rice and stir-fried mixed vegetables
** ***** **
CHEESE AND DESSERT
Camembert, Yellow Cheddar, Danish Blue and Herb Goat Cheese
Fresh seasonal berries with cream
Bread and butter pudding with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce
Black sesame sweet soup
TEA and COFFEE
Pralines
Well now, it all looks so good! Only on Cathay Pacific have I ever started a meal with caviar and salmon. It’s a tradition I’m only too happy to continue, so we’ll start with that please, followed by a salad. For the main course I’ll have the beef tenderloin, cooked medium rare please. As for cheese and dessert, let’s address those after the meal.
My selections were dutifully noted, after which more ice was delivered for my drink. I then spent the next hour or so comfortably reclined while catching up on the latest news in the San Francisco Chronicle and the International Herald Tribune. Occasional glances out my window provided pretty views of the northern California coastline until cloud cover took over around central Oregon.
We were just off the Washington’s Olympic Peninsula when Patsy arrived with my table settings. I watched as she lay crisp white linen followed by silverware, a bread plate, a butter dish, Cathay’s unique egg shaped salt and pepper shaker, two glasses for water and wine and finally a breadbasket fully stocked with three different types of rolls and a piece of garlic bread – my favorite!
One of the highlights of any long flight aboard Cathay Pacific is their caviar and salmon presentation. Very few airlines still serve caviar these days, either due to economics or the drastically reduced availability of good caviar due to environmental contamination and over harvesting of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea and other regional fishing holes. To be sure, Cathay serves a smaller portion than it used to six or seven years ago. Still, given the overall size of the meal to be served, I don’t really mind a smaller portion. Besides, I suspect that if I wanted more, all I’d need to do is ask.
A fine start to any meal
The salad looked every bit as delicious as it ultimately tasted with the green and purple mesclun leaves accented nicely by the colorful red and yellow tomatoes. Generous portions of king crab and a zesty balsamic vinaigrette combined to make this one of the better salads I’ve ever been served aloft.
Mesclun salad with king crab, tear drop tomatoes and cranberries
When placing my order for lunch, I’d been asked how I’d like my steak prepared. That’s not a question I expect to be asked aboard most airlines – even in First Class – and based upon past experiences, it often seems a moot point anyhow. Regardless of whatever you may have requested, you’ll get your meat however it comes out. Be it the oven, the skill of the crew or the quality of the cut, meat can often be quite a challenge to serve in any condition less than well done.
Feeling a bit like Charlie Brown agreeing to once again play kick the football with Lucy Van Pelt, I ever so hopefully requested that my meat be cooked medium rare. Well, I am very pleased to inform all of you that the beef I was presented was a text book perfect example of medium rare meat.
Grilled U.S. Wagyu Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce
Medium Rare
As nicely prepared as the meat was, the potatoes were rock hard. It really was quite an effort to saw through them, much less gnaw on them afterwards. In general though, this was a typically delightful dining experience with Cathay. Now, it was time to consider the cheese and dessert options.
There were four different types of cheeses available and true to a proper presentation, Patsy took the time to bring them out on a small serving tray for my inspection. They all looked good – even the goat cheese which I don’t care for – but ultimately I went with a serving of Danish Blue and Camembert. This was brought to me nicely plated with all the usual accoutrements of a proper cheese service. Of course, I had to accompany it all with a glass of Cathay’s port, the Ramos Pinto Quinta de Ervamoira 10 Year Old Tawny. Mmmm! Delicious!
Cheese Service
By this time I was pretty full and so decided to take a couple of post-luncheon laps around the aircraft. The cabin of a 747 measures out at 185 feet long, so to make two circuits of it is a fair bit of walking. At least – it sure seems like it in a fully loaded 747. And of course, there are numerous obstacles to contend with. No less than four curtains must be breached during the journey from First Class back to the last row of Economy Class. Then there are all the various human appendages to contend with. After a while on a fourteen hour flight, people tend to really spread out and so I found myself constantly trying to avoid or at least minimize contact with all manner of feet, elbows and shoulders that had made their way into the aisles. There were also quizzical looks from the crew at each galley as I made my way back and forth toward the rear or front of the aircraft. Amazingly, I was never challenged as to the legitimacy of my presence in any cabin. This was surprising only in that the crew working the Business and Economy Class cabins hadn’t seen me before and had no way of knowing what cabin I’d been assigned. I’d like to think I just had a First Class bearing about me. After all, this is my twentieth flight aboard Cathay Pacific and none of those flights have been in anything but First Class. The only way to fly…
On the way back to my suite, I stopped in the galley and chatted with Patty and Nancy for a bit. Early on in the flight I’d explained that I was taking pictures of the food and aircraft interior for the benefit of a friend of mine who is a flight attendant for a U.S. airline that didn’t offer First Class service. I’d mentioned that even the US airlines that did offer First Class had no point of reference with which to compare their service with Cathay Pacific’s First Class and so this would be a good opportunity to show my friend what a proper First Class service was like. Well, the girls were curious about what U.S. airline service was actually like and I must say I felt a bit like a camp counselor regaling the kids around the camp fire with yet another scary story as I recounted some of the differences in service products and standards.
Returning to my seat, I decided to check out some of the entertainment offerings. At this point we were about four hours into the flight, passing just south of Eagle River, Alaska. It was sunny and clear out my window so I took a quick photo that I could send to a friend of mine who lives in Wasilla, just up the highway a few miles from Eagle River and also visible from my window. And no, to all you fans of our ex-governor Sarah Palin, it was not yet possible to see Russia – even from 38000 feet.
I was surprised to see that all thirteen episodes from the fourth season of the television show “Breaking Bad” were available on Studio CX, Cathay’s excellent inflight entertainment system. My neighbor, an inveterate watcher of television and movies, introduced me to “Breaking Bad” this winter. Believe me, based upon the premise of the program it’s very unlikely I would ever have watched this show if I hadn’t been introduced to it. For those of you not familiar with the premise, it revolves around a high school chemistry teacher who’s been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Looking to provide for his family after he’s gone, he hooks up with an old student of his (and not one of his better students, either) who happens to make and sell methamphetamine. Combining their individual talents, these unlikely partners go into business making the best damned meth Albuquerque’s ever seen. There’s a lot more to the show than just that, like the fact that his family doesn’t know he’s doing this and his brother in law just happens to be the top DEA agent in Albuquerque. Anyway, the show has won oodles of awards for everything from acting to screen writing to direction and deservedly so. It’s a great show and I’d only seen the first three seasons. Now, with almost ten hours left in the flight, it seemed like a good time to get caught up with season four. Or at least started. And while we’re at it, let’s have some dessert!
Bread and butter pudding with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce
Breaking Bad
With a big comfy seat, excellent entertainment and free food and booze, well, believe me, time just flies by. One episode, two episodes, a glass of MaCallan’s please, three episodes, four episodes and it’s time to check out the snack menu:
SNACKS
Grilled Saffron Marinated Prawns Skewer
With cucumber raita
Grilled Chicken Breast with Brie, Chipotle Mayonnaise and Pesto
Served on sourdough bread with mesclun salad
Hot Pot Rice with Minced Pork Patty, Water Chestnut and Mushroom
Served with chicken broth
Wontons in Noodle Soup
Ice Cream
I’ll have the wontons in noodle soup, please. Cathay presents its soups with a small plate of hot paste that is one of my favorite additives. I believe my fellow esteemed trip reporter Moomba referred to this paste as Lee Kum Kee sauce. I once had a memorable experience with this stuff when I failed to exercise proper restraint and blithely scraped the entire portion into my soup.
Mmmm… ___ !! ___!!! Ay, Carramba!
I was looking forward to a little more of that heat this afternoon but sadly, Cathay appears to have replaced this sauce with something far less fiery. The stuff I was served looked more like chilli sauce than the dark, viscous paste of my nightmares, so it could be that Cathay has chosen to go with something a bit tamer for its patrons because I ended up scraping the entire portion of today’s sauce into my soup and could have easily handled another serving or two worth. That said, I’ve hardly provided empirical evidence that this sauce has been removed from service on Cathay, so I reckon I’m just going to have to order some more soup on my return from South Africa and ask for the paste.
Wonton in Noodle Soup
I’m gonna be busy when I get to South Africa, so I figured I’d better put in some time on this report now while I’ve got the time. Besides, I’ve still got three more flights after this one to work my way through season four of “Breaking Bad”. As such I requested a glass of Johnny Walker Blue Label and set to work.
My favorite office in the air
You know, it takes time to write these reports. I wish I could say the words just flow whenever I decide to write, but sometimes they don’t. That doesn’t mean I’m incapable at that point of writing something halfway cohesive. It’s just more difficult to do so. Some of the best stuff I’ve written – it’s like walking through deep mud to get it written the way I want it. Today was like that. Hey Jackie! Could you fetch me another bottle of Blue Label, please? Tried and true remedy, I’m tellin’ ya…
Suddenly we’re just two hours out of Hong Kong. I’m still in shock at how quickly the past twelve hours have flown by. I’m probably the only one however. Everyone else on this flight – at least the ones in First Class – have been asleep most of the afternoon. I don’t know how they do it. Or why! I mean, here they are sat in one of the finest environments mankind has ever developed for air travel and they’re sleeping through it all in the middle of the afternoon and early evening no less. International First Class, at least that of a standard practiced by Cathay Pacific and a very select few other airlines, is for me at least something to be cherished, relished, celebrated and thoroughly enjoyed while trying to remain conscious as long as possible. Okay, okay, so these JWBs aren’t making it any easier but still, this is not your everyday human experience. It’s truly special to be so comfortably ensconced and nicely looked after whilst speeding across the planet at speeds approaching 600 mph. Sleep? There’ll be plenty of time to sleep later! When enjoying service and comfort this nice, I want to be awake for as much of it as possible. The excitement and anticipation of service this nice is like a drug. God forbid that I should ever become so inured to it all that I just casually dismiss it all by sleeping through most of the flight.
We were an hour and a half out of Hong Kong when Patsy arrived with the table settings for the dinner service. Oddly enough, I hadn’t gotten around to actually placing my order yet, and the crew hadn’t gotten around to asking me. Perhaps I’d been so intent in my writing that they didn’t want to bother me. Except with refills of the JWB, that is. In any event, I had to rummage around a bit to locate the menu. Hmm… let’s see what’s on for tonight…
DINNER
Starter
Fresh seasonal fruit
MAIN COURSES
Pan-Fried Kurubuta Pork Chop with Porcini Mushroom Sauce
Served with mashed potatoes, roasted heirloom carrots, baby zucchini
and caramelized honey shallots
Stir-Fried Beef with Mixed Peppers
Accompanied by steamed jasmine rice, pak choy, mushrooms and carrots
Dungeness Crab Cannelloni with White Cream Sauce
Presented with sautéed Swiss chard
DESSERT
Raspberry Mousse Cake
with chocolate whipped cream
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
I’ve had that Stir-fried beef with mixed peppers before. Given the colorful assortment of peppers involved in its preparation, it’s also been called Rainbow Beef on some of Cathay’s menus. It’s a nice dish but not quite as flavorful as I would like, especially since I really prefer those dishes where the spiciness has been cooked into the food rather than added later, as with a hot sauce. I’ve also seen that Kurubuta Pork Chop making the rounds, both on flights that I’ve been on as well as transcribed menus in trip reports. It’s always sounded good, so that’s what I ordered for dinner tonight. Additionally, I traded out the fruit starter for a skewer of Grilled Saffron Marinated Prawns from the Snacks portion of the menu. The Raspberry Mousse Cake sounded just fine for dessert.
The prawns arrived first, four of them artfully skewed in pairs between red and green peppers. They were delicious and much more satisfying at this time of day than a fruit plate which would have been better suited to breakfast or for health nuts.
Grilled Saffron Marinated Prawns Skewer
Awright then, on to the next course ~ Ah, the pork chop. Very nice indeed – not quite pink in the middle but nicely cooked nonetheless and very nicely flavored via the Porcini Mushroom Sauce. The mashed potatoes were also reeeallly good. I mean like they had both texture and flavor to them. They weren’t just a mass of undefinable protoplasm like some mashed potatoes I’ve been served aloft or eaten on camping trips. By the way, I accompanied the pork chop with a glass of Sauvion Dilection Chinon 2010, a wine that warranted a special insert in the wine list to better extol its virtues. Well I don’t profess to be overly knowledgeable about wines, but I can tell you I much prefer the earthiness of a Cab or the spiciness of a Zin. This stuff though… well let’s just say that one glass was enough. In fact it was too much. I couldn’t even finish it.
Pan-Fried Kurubuta Pork Chop with Porcini Mushroom Sauce
The dessert was excellent except that the chocolate whipped cream was hardly whipped. Or perhaps it had been overly whipped. Either way, it lay in a viscous puddle to the side of the delicious mousse, much like a whipped cream coulis. Thank goodness Gordon Ramsey wasn’t sitting nearby…
Raspberry Mousse Cake
Dishes were cleared, a bottle of water and a glass of ice were delivered and another episode of Breaking Bad followed before we commenced our descent into Hong Kong. As ever, conditions were cloudy with a light rain, temperature of 61°F. If I ever want to enjoy a clear day or night in Hong Kong, I guess I’m just gonna have to move there.
It was 6:17pm locally when our wheels kissed the runway at Hong Kong’s International Airport at Chek Lap Kok. A quick look at my stopwatch indicated we’d completed this 6,870 mile journey from San Francisco in thirteen hours and fifty-eight minutes. A little faster than I would have liked but overall, not bad, not bad…
We parked down at gate 64, right next to a beautiful Emirates A380. This was the first time I had ever even seen one of Emirates’ super jumbos and I must say it wears the Emirates livery well. By the time the jetway was attached to our aircraft it was 6:35 on the dot. While the statisticians will note this as yet another on time arrival for Cathay Pacific, we passengers, especially those of us sat up in First Class, will remember it as yet another shining example of why Cathay Pacific is consistently ranked amongst the world’s finest airlines. Thank you, Cathay Pacific. Well done!
Now let’s go get some sleep in The Pier and do this all over again at in five hours!
Two flight attendants were stationed at the door to greet passengers. Those traveling in Business Class were welcomed warmly and given directions toward their assigned seats. As a First Class passenger, I was greeted by name and escorted directly to my suite. There I was assisted with my carry-on luggage and offered a welcome aboard drink. Might I care for some Champagne, perhaps? Would I ever!! (Yes, please.) Moments later another flight attendant appeared, introduced herself as Jackie, and presented me with a set of pajamas and an amenity kit.
Cathay’s First Class Suite
The First Class seat
There’s plenty of room to stretch out
The amenity kit
As I was settling in to my home for the next fourteen hours, the Champagne arrived with a flourish. Whereas some airlines will simply bring you a glass of Champagne, the ladies of Cathay Pacific offer a proper presentation. After all, we’re talking about Krug Grande Cuvee here, one of the world’s premier quaffs. Both the Champagne and the moment are deserving of the ceremony. It starts with the bottle of Champagne and a fluted glass, both of which are presented on a lacquered tray. The glass is set down and the bottle presented with the label facing me. Once I’d nodded my approval, the Champagne was carefully poured and the welcome aboard was official.
Ahh… It’s good to be back in Cathay Pacific’s First Class.
Krug Champagne ~ Welcome Aboard!
The aircraft operating this afternoon’s 6,870 mile flight along the Pacific Rim to Hong Kong has had quite an interesting history. It was delivered fresh from the factory to Singapore Airlines back in 1993. Following eight years of faithful service it was sold to El Al for whom it toiled until September of 2005 when it was parked for the winter in the Sonoran Desert at Marana, Arizona. In March of 2006, Cathay Pacific showed up, kicked the tires and decided to buy it third hand. Today this nineteen year old airplane looks a bit worn on the outside, but inside she looks as fresh and vibrant as the day she was delivered to Singapore. I am happy to be logging my second flight aboard her, the first having come two years ago between Johannesburg and Hong Kong.
As I savored the crisp effervescence of the Krug, the lead flight attendant stopped by to introduce herself as Nancy along with Jackie and Patsy who would be working with her in the forward cabin this afternoon. She then inquired as to my plans and/or needs once we arrived in Hong Kong. “I’m transiting.” I replied. “I’ll be connecting to the 11:45pm to Johannesburg.” She looked a bit surprised at this and for good reason I’m sure as very few people (other than the odd FlyerTalker or two) would ever choose to travel between North America and South Africa via Hong Kong. I explained that very few people traveling to Africa by whatever route would have the good fortune to be ensconced in Cathay Pacific’s First Class suite while being wined and dined like plutocrats. I then expressed my fervent desire that we might encounter strong headwinds to further extend the experience. She had a good laugh at this and then went back to the galley to inform the crew that I was to be cut off from any further alcohol. Truth be known, my glass was soon refilled and shortly thereafter we began our pushback from the gate.
It was a beautiful day for flying with nary a cloud in the sky. We took quite a long and stately taxi out to the south end of the runway before commencing a 43 second take off roll. One thing I really miss on the 747s is the camera mounted on the bottom of the fuselage just back from the nose wheel. This is standard equipment on the triple sevens and watching the takeoff from that vantage point is quite exciting.
We were still climbing when Patsy stopped by to inquire as to my drink selection. It was only a little after noon and, with fourteen hours of sheer bliss ahead of me, I decided to go easy and start with an Oriental Breeze, one of Cathay’s non-alcoholic Signature Drinks. After all, there’d be plenty of time to check out the various whiskeys and wines available, including the MaCallan 17, a new addition to the list since my last flights with Cathay. Let’s have a look at the wine list for today’s flight:
WINE LIST
Champagne
Krug Grande Cuvee Champagne
White Wines
Estancia Reserve Monterey Chardonnay 2007
Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes 2008
Red Wines
Sauvion Dilection Chinon 2010
Finca El Origen Gran Reserva Malbec 2009
Chateau Lynch Bages 2004, Grand Cru Classe Pauillac 5th Growth
Port
Ramos Pinto Quinta da Ervamoira 10 Year Old Tawny Port
Aperitifs and Cocktails
Campari, Martini Rosso, Martini Extra Dry, Tio Pepe Sherry,
Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sweet Sherry, Tanqueray Ten Gin, Bacardi Rum,
Belvedere Vodka, Bloody Mary, Screw Driver
Whiskies
Chivas Regal 12 Years Old, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Canadian Club,
Gentleman Jack Bourbon, MaCallan 17 Fine Oak Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Cognac
Tesseron Lot 76 XO Tradition
Liqueurs
Cointreau, Drambuie, Kahlua, Bailey’s Irish Cream
Beer
International Selection
Oriental Breeze
A sour-plum tea and cranberry juice based non-alcoholic drink
with honey and fresh lemon juice and a hint of rose water
The luncheon service began soon after we’d leveled off. That is to say it began for all of the passengers except for me. Having just eaten breakfast only three hours before, I elected to hold off until 1:30 before commencing with the culinary festivities that make up the main meal service aboard Cathay Pacific’s First Class. There’s a lot of food involved and I was in no particular hurry to get started. Of course this was not a problem since on Cathay the First Class meal service is tailored to the passenger’s wishes. The crew will happily serve you luncheon at 1:00am if you so desire.
However, since we were on the subject of luncheon, I decided to peruse the menu selections and at least place my order now. Here’s the menu. What would you order?
LUNCHEON
San Francisco to Hong Kong
Caviar and Balik Salmon Delight
Oscietra Caviar and Balik Salmon “Tsar Nicolaj”
Served with Warm New Potatoes and Crème Fraiche
Soup
Fennel and apple soup with caramelized fennel and dill
Salad
Mesclun salad with king crab, tear drop tomatoes and cranberries
Served with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette
Bread Basket
Assorted Bread and Rolls
** ***** **
INTERNATIONAL FAVOURITES
Grilled U.S. Wagyu Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce
With parsley potatoes, asparagus and baby carrots
Lobster and Crab Ravioli
With roasted red pepper coulis and grilled baby zucchini
CHINESE FAVORITES
Starters
Double boiled conch and mushroom soup
Cold Plate ~ Marinated gluten with cucumber
Kung Po Chicken
or
Stir-fried Sea Bass with Sweet Wine Sauce
Served with steamed rice and stir-fried mixed vegetables
** ***** **
CHEESE AND DESSERT
Camembert, Yellow Cheddar, Danish Blue and Herb Goat Cheese
Fresh seasonal berries with cream
Bread and butter pudding with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce
Black sesame sweet soup
TEA and COFFEE
Pralines
Well now, it all looks so good! Only on Cathay Pacific have I ever started a meal with caviar and salmon. It’s a tradition I’m only too happy to continue, so we’ll start with that please, followed by a salad. For the main course I’ll have the beef tenderloin, cooked medium rare please. As for cheese and dessert, let’s address those after the meal.
My selections were dutifully noted, after which more ice was delivered for my drink. I then spent the next hour or so comfortably reclined while catching up on the latest news in the San Francisco Chronicle and the International Herald Tribune. Occasional glances out my window provided pretty views of the northern California coastline until cloud cover took over around central Oregon.
We were just off the Washington’s Olympic Peninsula when Patsy arrived with my table settings. I watched as she lay crisp white linen followed by silverware, a bread plate, a butter dish, Cathay’s unique egg shaped salt and pepper shaker, two glasses for water and wine and finally a breadbasket fully stocked with three different types of rolls and a piece of garlic bread – my favorite!
One of the highlights of any long flight aboard Cathay Pacific is their caviar and salmon presentation. Very few airlines still serve caviar these days, either due to economics or the drastically reduced availability of good caviar due to environmental contamination and over harvesting of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea and other regional fishing holes. To be sure, Cathay serves a smaller portion than it used to six or seven years ago. Still, given the overall size of the meal to be served, I don’t really mind a smaller portion. Besides, I suspect that if I wanted more, all I’d need to do is ask.
A fine start to any meal
The salad looked every bit as delicious as it ultimately tasted with the green and purple mesclun leaves accented nicely by the colorful red and yellow tomatoes. Generous portions of king crab and a zesty balsamic vinaigrette combined to make this one of the better salads I’ve ever been served aloft.
Mesclun salad with king crab, tear drop tomatoes and cranberries
When placing my order for lunch, I’d been asked how I’d like my steak prepared. That’s not a question I expect to be asked aboard most airlines – even in First Class – and based upon past experiences, it often seems a moot point anyhow. Regardless of whatever you may have requested, you’ll get your meat however it comes out. Be it the oven, the skill of the crew or the quality of the cut, meat can often be quite a challenge to serve in any condition less than well done.
Feeling a bit like Charlie Brown agreeing to once again play kick the football with Lucy Van Pelt, I ever so hopefully requested that my meat be cooked medium rare. Well, I am very pleased to inform all of you that the beef I was presented was a text book perfect example of medium rare meat.
Grilled U.S. Wagyu Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce
Medium Rare
As nicely prepared as the meat was, the potatoes were rock hard. It really was quite an effort to saw through them, much less gnaw on them afterwards. In general though, this was a typically delightful dining experience with Cathay. Now, it was time to consider the cheese and dessert options.
There were four different types of cheeses available and true to a proper presentation, Patsy took the time to bring them out on a small serving tray for my inspection. They all looked good – even the goat cheese which I don’t care for – but ultimately I went with a serving of Danish Blue and Camembert. This was brought to me nicely plated with all the usual accoutrements of a proper cheese service. Of course, I had to accompany it all with a glass of Cathay’s port, the Ramos Pinto Quinta de Ervamoira 10 Year Old Tawny. Mmmm! Delicious!
Cheese Service
By this time I was pretty full and so decided to take a couple of post-luncheon laps around the aircraft. The cabin of a 747 measures out at 185 feet long, so to make two circuits of it is a fair bit of walking. At least – it sure seems like it in a fully loaded 747. And of course, there are numerous obstacles to contend with. No less than four curtains must be breached during the journey from First Class back to the last row of Economy Class. Then there are all the various human appendages to contend with. After a while on a fourteen hour flight, people tend to really spread out and so I found myself constantly trying to avoid or at least minimize contact with all manner of feet, elbows and shoulders that had made their way into the aisles. There were also quizzical looks from the crew at each galley as I made my way back and forth toward the rear or front of the aircraft. Amazingly, I was never challenged as to the legitimacy of my presence in any cabin. This was surprising only in that the crew working the Business and Economy Class cabins hadn’t seen me before and had no way of knowing what cabin I’d been assigned. I’d like to think I just had a First Class bearing about me. After all, this is my twentieth flight aboard Cathay Pacific and none of those flights have been in anything but First Class. The only way to fly…
On the way back to my suite, I stopped in the galley and chatted with Patty and Nancy for a bit. Early on in the flight I’d explained that I was taking pictures of the food and aircraft interior for the benefit of a friend of mine who is a flight attendant for a U.S. airline that didn’t offer First Class service. I’d mentioned that even the US airlines that did offer First Class had no point of reference with which to compare their service with Cathay Pacific’s First Class and so this would be a good opportunity to show my friend what a proper First Class service was like. Well, the girls were curious about what U.S. airline service was actually like and I must say I felt a bit like a camp counselor regaling the kids around the camp fire with yet another scary story as I recounted some of the differences in service products and standards.
Returning to my seat, I decided to check out some of the entertainment offerings. At this point we were about four hours into the flight, passing just south of Eagle River, Alaska. It was sunny and clear out my window so I took a quick photo that I could send to a friend of mine who lives in Wasilla, just up the highway a few miles from Eagle River and also visible from my window. And no, to all you fans of our ex-governor Sarah Palin, it was not yet possible to see Russia – even from 38000 feet.
I was surprised to see that all thirteen episodes from the fourth season of the television show “Breaking Bad” were available on Studio CX, Cathay’s excellent inflight entertainment system. My neighbor, an inveterate watcher of television and movies, introduced me to “Breaking Bad” this winter. Believe me, based upon the premise of the program it’s very unlikely I would ever have watched this show if I hadn’t been introduced to it. For those of you not familiar with the premise, it revolves around a high school chemistry teacher who’s been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Looking to provide for his family after he’s gone, he hooks up with an old student of his (and not one of his better students, either) who happens to make and sell methamphetamine. Combining their individual talents, these unlikely partners go into business making the best damned meth Albuquerque’s ever seen. There’s a lot more to the show than just that, like the fact that his family doesn’t know he’s doing this and his brother in law just happens to be the top DEA agent in Albuquerque. Anyway, the show has won oodles of awards for everything from acting to screen writing to direction and deservedly so. It’s a great show and I’d only seen the first three seasons. Now, with almost ten hours left in the flight, it seemed like a good time to get caught up with season four. Or at least started. And while we’re at it, let’s have some dessert!
Bread and butter pudding with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce
Breaking Bad
With a big comfy seat, excellent entertainment and free food and booze, well, believe me, time just flies by. One episode, two episodes, a glass of MaCallan’s please, three episodes, four episodes and it’s time to check out the snack menu:
SNACKS
Grilled Saffron Marinated Prawns Skewer
With cucumber raita
Grilled Chicken Breast with Brie, Chipotle Mayonnaise and Pesto
Served on sourdough bread with mesclun salad
Hot Pot Rice with Minced Pork Patty, Water Chestnut and Mushroom
Served with chicken broth
Wontons in Noodle Soup
Ice Cream
I’ll have the wontons in noodle soup, please. Cathay presents its soups with a small plate of hot paste that is one of my favorite additives. I believe my fellow esteemed trip reporter Moomba referred to this paste as Lee Kum Kee sauce. I once had a memorable experience with this stuff when I failed to exercise proper restraint and blithely scraped the entire portion into my soup.
Mmmm… ___ !! ___!!! Ay, Carramba!
I was looking forward to a little more of that heat this afternoon but sadly, Cathay appears to have replaced this sauce with something far less fiery. The stuff I was served looked more like chilli sauce than the dark, viscous paste of my nightmares, so it could be that Cathay has chosen to go with something a bit tamer for its patrons because I ended up scraping the entire portion of today’s sauce into my soup and could have easily handled another serving or two worth. That said, I’ve hardly provided empirical evidence that this sauce has been removed from service on Cathay, so I reckon I’m just going to have to order some more soup on my return from South Africa and ask for the paste.
Wonton in Noodle Soup
I’m gonna be busy when I get to South Africa, so I figured I’d better put in some time on this report now while I’ve got the time. Besides, I’ve still got three more flights after this one to work my way through season four of “Breaking Bad”. As such I requested a glass of Johnny Walker Blue Label and set to work.
My favorite office in the air
You know, it takes time to write these reports. I wish I could say the words just flow whenever I decide to write, but sometimes they don’t. That doesn’t mean I’m incapable at that point of writing something halfway cohesive. It’s just more difficult to do so. Some of the best stuff I’ve written – it’s like walking through deep mud to get it written the way I want it. Today was like that. Hey Jackie! Could you fetch me another bottle of Blue Label, please? Tried and true remedy, I’m tellin’ ya…
Suddenly we’re just two hours out of Hong Kong. I’m still in shock at how quickly the past twelve hours have flown by. I’m probably the only one however. Everyone else on this flight – at least the ones in First Class – have been asleep most of the afternoon. I don’t know how they do it. Or why! I mean, here they are sat in one of the finest environments mankind has ever developed for air travel and they’re sleeping through it all in the middle of the afternoon and early evening no less. International First Class, at least that of a standard practiced by Cathay Pacific and a very select few other airlines, is for me at least something to be cherished, relished, celebrated and thoroughly enjoyed while trying to remain conscious as long as possible. Okay, okay, so these JWBs aren’t making it any easier but still, this is not your everyday human experience. It’s truly special to be so comfortably ensconced and nicely looked after whilst speeding across the planet at speeds approaching 600 mph. Sleep? There’ll be plenty of time to sleep later! When enjoying service and comfort this nice, I want to be awake for as much of it as possible. The excitement and anticipation of service this nice is like a drug. God forbid that I should ever become so inured to it all that I just casually dismiss it all by sleeping through most of the flight.
We were an hour and a half out of Hong Kong when Patsy arrived with the table settings for the dinner service. Oddly enough, I hadn’t gotten around to actually placing my order yet, and the crew hadn’t gotten around to asking me. Perhaps I’d been so intent in my writing that they didn’t want to bother me. Except with refills of the JWB, that is. In any event, I had to rummage around a bit to locate the menu. Hmm… let’s see what’s on for tonight…
DINNER
Starter
Fresh seasonal fruit
MAIN COURSES
Pan-Fried Kurubuta Pork Chop with Porcini Mushroom Sauce
Served with mashed potatoes, roasted heirloom carrots, baby zucchini
and caramelized honey shallots
Stir-Fried Beef with Mixed Peppers
Accompanied by steamed jasmine rice, pak choy, mushrooms and carrots
Dungeness Crab Cannelloni with White Cream Sauce
Presented with sautéed Swiss chard
DESSERT
Raspberry Mousse Cake
with chocolate whipped cream
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
I’ve had that Stir-fried beef with mixed peppers before. Given the colorful assortment of peppers involved in its preparation, it’s also been called Rainbow Beef on some of Cathay’s menus. It’s a nice dish but not quite as flavorful as I would like, especially since I really prefer those dishes where the spiciness has been cooked into the food rather than added later, as with a hot sauce. I’ve also seen that Kurubuta Pork Chop making the rounds, both on flights that I’ve been on as well as transcribed menus in trip reports. It’s always sounded good, so that’s what I ordered for dinner tonight. Additionally, I traded out the fruit starter for a skewer of Grilled Saffron Marinated Prawns from the Snacks portion of the menu. The Raspberry Mousse Cake sounded just fine for dessert.
The prawns arrived first, four of them artfully skewed in pairs between red and green peppers. They were delicious and much more satisfying at this time of day than a fruit plate which would have been better suited to breakfast or for health nuts.
Grilled Saffron Marinated Prawns Skewer
Awright then, on to the next course ~ Ah, the pork chop. Very nice indeed – not quite pink in the middle but nicely cooked nonetheless and very nicely flavored via the Porcini Mushroom Sauce. The mashed potatoes were also reeeallly good. I mean like they had both texture and flavor to them. They weren’t just a mass of undefinable protoplasm like some mashed potatoes I’ve been served aloft or eaten on camping trips. By the way, I accompanied the pork chop with a glass of Sauvion Dilection Chinon 2010, a wine that warranted a special insert in the wine list to better extol its virtues. Well I don’t profess to be overly knowledgeable about wines, but I can tell you I much prefer the earthiness of a Cab or the spiciness of a Zin. This stuff though… well let’s just say that one glass was enough. In fact it was too much. I couldn’t even finish it.
Pan-Fried Kurubuta Pork Chop with Porcini Mushroom Sauce
The dessert was excellent except that the chocolate whipped cream was hardly whipped. Or perhaps it had been overly whipped. Either way, it lay in a viscous puddle to the side of the delicious mousse, much like a whipped cream coulis. Thank goodness Gordon Ramsey wasn’t sitting nearby…
Raspberry Mousse Cake
Dishes were cleared, a bottle of water and a glass of ice were delivered and another episode of Breaking Bad followed before we commenced our descent into Hong Kong. As ever, conditions were cloudy with a light rain, temperature of 61°F. If I ever want to enjoy a clear day or night in Hong Kong, I guess I’m just gonna have to move there.
It was 6:17pm locally when our wheels kissed the runway at Hong Kong’s International Airport at Chek Lap Kok. A quick look at my stopwatch indicated we’d completed this 6,870 mile journey from San Francisco in thirteen hours and fifty-eight minutes. A little faster than I would have liked but overall, not bad, not bad…
We parked down at gate 64, right next to a beautiful Emirates A380. This was the first time I had ever even seen one of Emirates’ super jumbos and I must say it wears the Emirates livery well. By the time the jetway was attached to our aircraft it was 6:35 on the dot. While the statisticians will note this as yet another on time arrival for Cathay Pacific, we passengers, especially those of us sat up in First Class, will remember it as yet another shining example of why Cathay Pacific is consistently ranked amongst the world’s finest airlines. Thank you, Cathay Pacific. Well done!
Now let’s go get some sleep in The Pier and do this all over again at in five hours!
Last edited by Seat 2A; Mar 24, 2012 at 7:45 pm
Mar 15, 2012, 12:47 am
#5
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Join Date: Apr 2001
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Posts: 12,148
March 09, 2011
Hong Kong - Johannesburg
Cathay Pacific First Class
Boeing 747-400 B-HUG Seat 2A
11:45pm – 6:35am Flight time: 12:51
The Day Rest rooms at Cathay’s “other” First Class lounge The Pier provide quiet, climate controlled solitude at no additional cost to the passenger. After having spent the past fourteen hours between San Francisco and Hong Kong without any sleep at all, I was well and truly depleted by the time I dragged myself into The Pier. Four hours later I was not feeling all that much better but at least I’d knocked off four hours of sleep, meaning that I’d need that much less sleep on the flight over to Johannesburg. Remember kids – the best way to enjoy a world class First Class service such as Cathay’s is to remain conscious for as long as possible. Are you writing this down?! I’m givin’ you pearls of wisdom here…
Waiting at Gate 61 was B-HUG, the first of Cathay’s 747-400s that I ever logged a flight upon, way back in 2004. With the addition of its new, spacious First Class suites, this airplane was looking even better today that it did eight years ago. When boarding was called, I wasted no time in heading down the jetway to reacquaint myself.
Soon I was comfortably established in Suite 2A, sipping from a glass of nicely chilled Krug whilst seeing how much seat recline I could get away with before the flight attendants were forced to address the situation pre-takeoff.
The Captain stopped by via the PA system to offer a cordial welcome aboard and inform us of the bad news. Despite our westbound heading, we’d actually “enjoy” a slight tailwind over much of our route resulting in a flight time of just eleven hours and fifty minutes. Damn it! I honestly felt cheated. I mean, how does this happen? We’re flying westbound, fer cryin’ out loud! I was hoping for at least twelve and a half, maybe even thirteen hours! Sigh… I swallowed my disappointment with a big swill of Krug and upon request returned my seat to its full upright position in preparation for takeoff.
Soon after we’d taken off – as in like three or four minutes – I attempted to recline my seat into a fully flat position. I was so tired that I didn’t care whether the flight attendants were able to make me a proper bed or not. All I needed was flatness and I’d be fine. After all, as some of you may know by now, I can actually sleep quite nicely on airport floors.
There was just one problem. The seat wouldn’t fully recline. It got about halfway down before it made a series of noises not unlike those I initially heard from the third engine in my Mazda pick-up shortly before it shot a rod at oh dark thirty out in the middle of the Utah desert. I tried returning the seat to the upright position and then attempting to recline again. This was met with the same result, but with worse noises. I sniffed for smoke and looked for oil. Thankfully there was none. I returned to an almost upright position and considered my situation…
I’d noticed during boarding that we had a lot of people booked in First Class this evening. I was briefly overcome by panic at the possibility that First Class might be booked full and I’d have nowhere else to go but back to Business Class which also looked to be pretty full. We were still climbing out of Hong Kong at a pretty good angle making it inadvisable for me to get up and check for empty suites. Then it occurred to me that if indeed there were no empty suites, the compensation quite possibly might be substantial. I began to feel a bit better. And what the heck, if the crew could just find me a little bit of extra floor space somewhere, I’d be able to sleep just fine atop my Thermarest pad.
As it turned out, there was one empty suite in First Class this evening and it was 3A, the one directly behind me. Of course, transferring over there attracted the attention of the flight attendants who were only too happy to make up my bed. So, ultimately I ended up with one suite to sleep in and another to work in. I knocked off another four and a half hours of sleep before awaking at almost exactly the same location as I did last year – over the channel between southern India and Sri Lanka. The Sky Map indicated another seven hours of flying before we’d reach Johannesburg and here I was well rested and ready to enjoy every bit of it. Have I got this down, or what?!
Seven more hours to go
Cathay Pacific’s First Class flight attendants have an uncanny ability to detect when any of their charges have woken. I don’t know how they do it because it’s not like they’re hanging out at the galley curtains keeping an eye on things. Then again, maybe they are. Either way, shortly after I’d shaken the cobwebs from my head and relocated to Suite 2A, Kyoko appeared and asked if I were ready for my dinner.
Way back when we’d just departed Hong Kong and I was having my bed turned down while everyone else in the forward cabin was getting ready for dinner, I’d had a chance to look over the menu and place my dinner order in advance. Let’s take a moment now to check out that menu and wine list, noting that the wine list also offers some different selections. Notably absent on this sector was the Lynch Bages.
WINE LIST
Champagne
Krug Grande Cuvée Champagne
White Wines
Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes 2008
Chain of Ponds Corkscrew Road Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2006
Red Wines
Sauvion Dilection Chinon 2010
Chateau Branaire-Ducru, 4eme Cru Classe 2007
Avondale Jonty’s Ducks 2009
Port
Ramos Pinto Quinta da Ervamoira 10 Year Old Tawny Port
Aperitifs and Cocktails
Campari, Martini Rosso, Martini Extra Dry, Tio Pepe Sherry,
Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sweet Sherry, Tanqueray Ten Gin, Bacardi Rum,
Belvedere Vodka, Bloody Mary, Screw Driver
Whiskies
Chivas Regal 12 Years Old, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Canadian Club,
Gentleman Jack Bourbon, MaCallan 17 Fine Oak Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Cognac
Tesseron Lot 76 XO Tradition
Liqueurs
Cointreau, Drambuie, Kahlua, Bailey’s Irish Cream
Beer
International Selection
DINNER
Hong Kong to Johannesburg
Caviar and Balik Salmon Delight
Oscietra Caviar and Balik Salmon “Tsar Nicolaj”
Served with Warm New Potatoes and Crème Fraiche
Soup
White bean garlic and herb soup
Salad
Mesclun salad, green olive with feta, sun-dried tomato
Served with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette
Bread Basket
Assorted Bread and Rolls
** ***** **
INTERNATIONAL FAVOURITES
Grilled U.S. Angus Beef Tenderloin
Accented with red wine sauce and served with gratin potato, asparagus and baby carrots
Wild Mushroom and Ricotta Cheese Agnoletti
Presented with mushroom sauce and chopped parsley
CHINESE FAVOURITES
Starters
Pork Soup with winter melon and dried duck gizzard
Cold Plate – Deep fried sea bass with sweet vinegar dressing
Braised Duck with Onion Sauce
Served with steamed jasmine rice, black mushroom with oyster sauce and choy sum
** ***** **
CHEESE AND DESSERT
Forme d’Ambert, Manchego, Arenberger and French Brie
Seasonal Fresh Berries in ginger syrup
Cherry Clafoutis Cake with vanilla ice cream and raspberry coulis
Sweet Taro and Sago Coconut Soup
TEA and COFFEE
Pralines
Well now, even though it had been a good twelve hours since I’d last eaten, first and foremost I required a cup of good, hot coffee. This I requested and shortly was presented with a full coffee service that included not only a cup of coffee but also a small pitcher of heated milk, a small plate of cubed sugar and a couple of biscotti.
Coffee Cathay Style
Now then, what about dinner? Hmm… Well, we’ll definitely start with the caviar and salmon. After all, who am I to trifle with such well-established tradition? Besides, I actually like caviar, especially with all the accoutrements spread on melba toast or better yet, a warm piece of toasted garlic bread. I’ll also have both the soup and the salad, and for the main course… let’s go with the beef tenderloin.
I know, I know, what am I doing ordering the beef tenderloin two flights in a row? Honestly, I regret that decision even now. It’s not that the tenderloin wasn’t nicely prepared and flavorful – it was. But if I had it to do all over again, I’d have ordered the Chinese meal, particularly out of Hong Kong. I think I was scared off by the dried duck gizzard and deep fried sea bass with sweet vinegar dressing. Still, I could have easily substituted those items with the regular soup and salad offerings or perhaps even something from the snack menu:
SNACKS
Assorted Sandwiches
Cherry cream cheese with toasted pecan, smoked turkey with earl grey honey butter, smoked salmon with lemon cream cheese
Beef Skewer
With salad and capsicum relish
Shrimp Wontons in Noodle Soup
Ice Cream
I promise I will try and make this reprehensible transgression up to you all in a future trip report. Unless of course the main course is duck gizzard with sweet vinegar dressing.
In the meantime, dinner was quite good. The caviar and salmon were exquisite, particularly the caviar which seemed especially flavorful this evening. Perhaps some Sevruga or even Malossol was substituted by accident?
Caviar over the Indian Ocean
The white bean garlic and herb soup was delicious, especially with the inclusion of bits of cooked bacon. The salad was solid and as I mentioned earlier, the beef also passed muster. Speaking of which, I wish Cathay would offer mustard with its steaks. British Airways does – both hot English mustard and milder Dijon mustard. For me at least, mustard is a great accompaniment to most red meats.
White bean garlic and herb soup
Mesclun salad with green olives, feta and sun-dried tomatoes
Grilled U.S. Angus Beef Tenderloin
I passed on the cheese course but did request a bowl of seasonal fresh berries in ginger syrup along with a refill on the coffee. In fact, I asked for an entire pot of coffee with which I enjoyed the fresh berries and surprise scoop of ice cream immensely.
Seasonal Fresh Berries in ginger syrup
The next four hours were spent pecking out this report. I am still amazed at how fast the time just flew by! I mean, we’re talking about the same amount of time as one would experience while flying from Chicago to the west coast. Occasionally those flights can really drag on – even if you’re sat in First Class. Ah, but I’m not just sat in any ordinary First Class. I’m in Cathay Pacific’s First Class where the level of service and comfort combine to create a Zen like ecstasy not unlike that experienced by practitioners of exotic eastern religions or users of a very select group of fungi. Honestly, my only real complaint with Cathay Pacific is that the flights are too short. Perhaps Boeing could develop a fuel sipping, ultra economic propeller driven version of its 747…
Dang! We’re almost there!
All too soon it was time to clear my table and get ready for the breakfast service. As ever, Cathay provided a delectable array of morning foodstuffs:
BREAKFAST
Orange, Apple or Grapefruit Juice
Pink Guava Smoothie
Fresh Seasonal Fruit
Natural or Fruit Yogurt from La Ferme du Manege
Assorted Cereals
** ***** **
MAIN COURSES
Organic Free Range Eggs ~ Freshly Scrambled, Fried or Boiled
Served with your choice of broiled back bacon, pork sausage, Lyonnaise potatoes with parsley,
Roma tomato and sautéed mushrooms
Dim Sum with Chilli Sauce
Crab meat with chive parcel, shrimp and pork dumpling, beef meat ball, mini vegetable glutinous rice
Wrapped in lotus leaf
Poached Smoked Haddock
Offered with butter and fresh milk
Bread Basket
Assorted Breakfast Bread and Fresh Toast
Served with Mrs. Bridges Scottish Preserves, Tasmanian Meadow Honey and Butter
Tea and Coffee
At home I usually have cereal and/or yogurt for breakfast. I generally save eggs for when I’m eating out or if I’m cooking breakfast for others. Flying for me is the same as eating out. It’s a special treat and I aim to take full advantage of it. A couple of years ago though, while flying from Hong Kong to San Francisco on Cathay, I ordered the Dim Sum with Chilli Sauce for breakfast. While the Dim Sum certainly tasted good enough, they also tasted more like lunch. Same goes for the fish. So, let’s consider the egg options…
Whenever I see that term “Free Range” I always picture the chickens or cows running towards each other in slow motion through a big grassy field – totally free and unencumbered by the grim realities of commercial beef and chicken production…
Oh, uh, sorry there, Kyoko! I must’ve drifted off. I’ll have the boiled eggs, please. Two of them with the works, thanks. I’ll also try some of that French yogurt along with a guava smoothie. And more coffee!
The yogurt was presented on a plate in its own jar. Although I would have expected the flight attendants to have scooped it into a proper serving dish, the amount of yogurt in the jar was small enough that perhaps it might have looked more silly than appetizing in one of Cathay’s larger bowls. Regardless, it was rich and creamy – as good a yogurt as ever I’ve had.
The eggs were nicely boiled though as you can see, the presentation was nowhere near as photogenic as a proper plate of fried eggs surrounded by all the trimmings. Though it’s hard to imagine that my future food selections should ever be predicated upon photographic appeal, I think that in the future I’ll stick with a plate of fried eggs.
Boiled Eggs with all the trimmings for breakfast
Well, I managed to almost get through episode seven of Breaking Bad before the inflight entertainment system was turned off. Things are definitely starting to heat up for Jesse and Mr. White, not to mention the rest of the characters involved in this fascinating drama. I still can’t believe I am liking this show as much as I am! I’m already looking forward to my return flights so that I can check out the rest of this season’s episodes. And, if I get really lucky, maybe Cathay will show a season or two of Sons of Anarchy on my next trip!
The morning sun crept over the horizon nicely illuminating our way as we descended ever lower towards the gentle plains of the Gauteng. Finally, at 6:17am, after a flight of twelve hours and six minutes, our wheels touched down on the wide expanse of runway 21R. The Captain applied the 747’s carbon fiber brakes and we slowed ever so smoothly, allowing us a stately taxi to our stand at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport.
Once again, Cathay Pacific had delivered a memorable flight across one of the world’s longest and most remote air routes. Rarely has a twelve-hour flight passed by so quickly! Between the food, the entertainment, a comfortable bed and superb service from the cabin crew, I cannot imagine any better way to fly. Well done, Cathay Pacific!
As for me, I’m headed down to the coast to see some elephants and check out this fantastic little hotel I’ve heard about and subsequently booked for a few nights in Knysna. I will not be in South Africa for long though. I’ve got a Premier Class train to catch out of Cape Town next Saturday, followed by a First Class return flight to Hong Kong, San Francisco and Seattle where a comfortable bedroom awaits aboard Amtrak’s crack streamliner “The Empire Builder”. From there it’s a two day journey across the northern plains to Chicago.
I’d be more than willing to write a trip report covering that journey, but at this point I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if most of you are so despondent over having had to slog through yet another boring trip report about First Class travel aboard Cathay Pacific that I might very likely risk suspension and even possible banishment from FlyerTalk were I to write even one more word on the subject.
So – to all of you who’ve actually managed to make your way through all 10,193 words of this report, thank you for your fortitude and patience. I do hope you’ve found it worth your time to read it all and that those of you who may have started it last night still managed to get a good night’s sleep.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a train to catch.
Hong Kong - Johannesburg
Cathay Pacific First Class
Boeing 747-400 B-HUG Seat 2A
11:45pm – 6:35am Flight time: 12:51
The Day Rest rooms at Cathay’s “other” First Class lounge The Pier provide quiet, climate controlled solitude at no additional cost to the passenger. After having spent the past fourteen hours between San Francisco and Hong Kong without any sleep at all, I was well and truly depleted by the time I dragged myself into The Pier. Four hours later I was not feeling all that much better but at least I’d knocked off four hours of sleep, meaning that I’d need that much less sleep on the flight over to Johannesburg. Remember kids – the best way to enjoy a world class First Class service such as Cathay’s is to remain conscious for as long as possible. Are you writing this down?! I’m givin’ you pearls of wisdom here…
Waiting at Gate 61 was B-HUG, the first of Cathay’s 747-400s that I ever logged a flight upon, way back in 2004. With the addition of its new, spacious First Class suites, this airplane was looking even better today that it did eight years ago. When boarding was called, I wasted no time in heading down the jetway to reacquaint myself.
Soon I was comfortably established in Suite 2A, sipping from a glass of nicely chilled Krug whilst seeing how much seat recline I could get away with before the flight attendants were forced to address the situation pre-takeoff.
The Captain stopped by via the PA system to offer a cordial welcome aboard and inform us of the bad news. Despite our westbound heading, we’d actually “enjoy” a slight tailwind over much of our route resulting in a flight time of just eleven hours and fifty minutes. Damn it! I honestly felt cheated. I mean, how does this happen? We’re flying westbound, fer cryin’ out loud! I was hoping for at least twelve and a half, maybe even thirteen hours! Sigh… I swallowed my disappointment with a big swill of Krug and upon request returned my seat to its full upright position in preparation for takeoff.
Soon after we’d taken off – as in like three or four minutes – I attempted to recline my seat into a fully flat position. I was so tired that I didn’t care whether the flight attendants were able to make me a proper bed or not. All I needed was flatness and I’d be fine. After all, as some of you may know by now, I can actually sleep quite nicely on airport floors.
There was just one problem. The seat wouldn’t fully recline. It got about halfway down before it made a series of noises not unlike those I initially heard from the third engine in my Mazda pick-up shortly before it shot a rod at oh dark thirty out in the middle of the Utah desert. I tried returning the seat to the upright position and then attempting to recline again. This was met with the same result, but with worse noises. I sniffed for smoke and looked for oil. Thankfully there was none. I returned to an almost upright position and considered my situation…
I’d noticed during boarding that we had a lot of people booked in First Class this evening. I was briefly overcome by panic at the possibility that First Class might be booked full and I’d have nowhere else to go but back to Business Class which also looked to be pretty full. We were still climbing out of Hong Kong at a pretty good angle making it inadvisable for me to get up and check for empty suites. Then it occurred to me that if indeed there were no empty suites, the compensation quite possibly might be substantial. I began to feel a bit better. And what the heck, if the crew could just find me a little bit of extra floor space somewhere, I’d be able to sleep just fine atop my Thermarest pad.
As it turned out, there was one empty suite in First Class this evening and it was 3A, the one directly behind me. Of course, transferring over there attracted the attention of the flight attendants who were only too happy to make up my bed. So, ultimately I ended up with one suite to sleep in and another to work in. I knocked off another four and a half hours of sleep before awaking at almost exactly the same location as I did last year – over the channel between southern India and Sri Lanka. The Sky Map indicated another seven hours of flying before we’d reach Johannesburg and here I was well rested and ready to enjoy every bit of it. Have I got this down, or what?!
Seven more hours to go
Cathay Pacific’s First Class flight attendants have an uncanny ability to detect when any of their charges have woken. I don’t know how they do it because it’s not like they’re hanging out at the galley curtains keeping an eye on things. Then again, maybe they are. Either way, shortly after I’d shaken the cobwebs from my head and relocated to Suite 2A, Kyoko appeared and asked if I were ready for my dinner.
Way back when we’d just departed Hong Kong and I was having my bed turned down while everyone else in the forward cabin was getting ready for dinner, I’d had a chance to look over the menu and place my dinner order in advance. Let’s take a moment now to check out that menu and wine list, noting that the wine list also offers some different selections. Notably absent on this sector was the Lynch Bages.
WINE LIST
Champagne
Krug Grande Cuvée Champagne
White Wines
Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes 2008
Chain of Ponds Corkscrew Road Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2006
Red Wines
Sauvion Dilection Chinon 2010
Chateau Branaire-Ducru, 4eme Cru Classe 2007
Avondale Jonty’s Ducks 2009
Port
Ramos Pinto Quinta da Ervamoira 10 Year Old Tawny Port
Aperitifs and Cocktails
Campari, Martini Rosso, Martini Extra Dry, Tio Pepe Sherry,
Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sweet Sherry, Tanqueray Ten Gin, Bacardi Rum,
Belvedere Vodka, Bloody Mary, Screw Driver
Whiskies
Chivas Regal 12 Years Old, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Canadian Club,
Gentleman Jack Bourbon, MaCallan 17 Fine Oak Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Cognac
Tesseron Lot 76 XO Tradition
Liqueurs
Cointreau, Drambuie, Kahlua, Bailey’s Irish Cream
Beer
International Selection
DINNER
Hong Kong to Johannesburg
Caviar and Balik Salmon Delight
Oscietra Caviar and Balik Salmon “Tsar Nicolaj”
Served with Warm New Potatoes and Crème Fraiche
Soup
White bean garlic and herb soup
Salad
Mesclun salad, green olive with feta, sun-dried tomato
Served with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette
Bread Basket
Assorted Bread and Rolls
** ***** **
INTERNATIONAL FAVOURITES
Grilled U.S. Angus Beef Tenderloin
Accented with red wine sauce and served with gratin potato, asparagus and baby carrots
Wild Mushroom and Ricotta Cheese Agnoletti
Presented with mushroom sauce and chopped parsley
CHINESE FAVOURITES
Starters
Pork Soup with winter melon and dried duck gizzard
Cold Plate – Deep fried sea bass with sweet vinegar dressing
Braised Duck with Onion Sauce
Served with steamed jasmine rice, black mushroom with oyster sauce and choy sum
** ***** **
CHEESE AND DESSERT
Forme d’Ambert, Manchego, Arenberger and French Brie
Seasonal Fresh Berries in ginger syrup
Cherry Clafoutis Cake with vanilla ice cream and raspberry coulis
Sweet Taro and Sago Coconut Soup
TEA and COFFEE
Pralines
Well now, even though it had been a good twelve hours since I’d last eaten, first and foremost I required a cup of good, hot coffee. This I requested and shortly was presented with a full coffee service that included not only a cup of coffee but also a small pitcher of heated milk, a small plate of cubed sugar and a couple of biscotti.
Coffee Cathay Style
Now then, what about dinner? Hmm… Well, we’ll definitely start with the caviar and salmon. After all, who am I to trifle with such well-established tradition? Besides, I actually like caviar, especially with all the accoutrements spread on melba toast or better yet, a warm piece of toasted garlic bread. I’ll also have both the soup and the salad, and for the main course… let’s go with the beef tenderloin.
I know, I know, what am I doing ordering the beef tenderloin two flights in a row? Honestly, I regret that decision even now. It’s not that the tenderloin wasn’t nicely prepared and flavorful – it was. But if I had it to do all over again, I’d have ordered the Chinese meal, particularly out of Hong Kong. I think I was scared off by the dried duck gizzard and deep fried sea bass with sweet vinegar dressing. Still, I could have easily substituted those items with the regular soup and salad offerings or perhaps even something from the snack menu:
SNACKS
Assorted Sandwiches
Cherry cream cheese with toasted pecan, smoked turkey with earl grey honey butter, smoked salmon with lemon cream cheese
Beef Skewer
With salad and capsicum relish
Shrimp Wontons in Noodle Soup
Ice Cream
I promise I will try and make this reprehensible transgression up to you all in a future trip report. Unless of course the main course is duck gizzard with sweet vinegar dressing.
In the meantime, dinner was quite good. The caviar and salmon were exquisite, particularly the caviar which seemed especially flavorful this evening. Perhaps some Sevruga or even Malossol was substituted by accident?
Caviar over the Indian Ocean
The white bean garlic and herb soup was delicious, especially with the inclusion of bits of cooked bacon. The salad was solid and as I mentioned earlier, the beef also passed muster. Speaking of which, I wish Cathay would offer mustard with its steaks. British Airways does – both hot English mustard and milder Dijon mustard. For me at least, mustard is a great accompaniment to most red meats.
White bean garlic and herb soup
Mesclun salad with green olives, feta and sun-dried tomatoes
Grilled U.S. Angus Beef Tenderloin
I passed on the cheese course but did request a bowl of seasonal fresh berries in ginger syrup along with a refill on the coffee. In fact, I asked for an entire pot of coffee with which I enjoyed the fresh berries and surprise scoop of ice cream immensely.
Seasonal Fresh Berries in ginger syrup
The next four hours were spent pecking out this report. I am still amazed at how fast the time just flew by! I mean, we’re talking about the same amount of time as one would experience while flying from Chicago to the west coast. Occasionally those flights can really drag on – even if you’re sat in First Class. Ah, but I’m not just sat in any ordinary First Class. I’m in Cathay Pacific’s First Class where the level of service and comfort combine to create a Zen like ecstasy not unlike that experienced by practitioners of exotic eastern religions or users of a very select group of fungi. Honestly, my only real complaint with Cathay Pacific is that the flights are too short. Perhaps Boeing could develop a fuel sipping, ultra economic propeller driven version of its 747…
Dang! We’re almost there!
All too soon it was time to clear my table and get ready for the breakfast service. As ever, Cathay provided a delectable array of morning foodstuffs:
BREAKFAST
Orange, Apple or Grapefruit Juice
Pink Guava Smoothie
Fresh Seasonal Fruit
Natural or Fruit Yogurt from La Ferme du Manege
Assorted Cereals
** ***** **
MAIN COURSES
Organic Free Range Eggs ~ Freshly Scrambled, Fried or Boiled
Served with your choice of broiled back bacon, pork sausage, Lyonnaise potatoes with parsley,
Roma tomato and sautéed mushrooms
Dim Sum with Chilli Sauce
Crab meat with chive parcel, shrimp and pork dumpling, beef meat ball, mini vegetable glutinous rice
Wrapped in lotus leaf
Poached Smoked Haddock
Offered with butter and fresh milk
Bread Basket
Assorted Breakfast Bread and Fresh Toast
Served with Mrs. Bridges Scottish Preserves, Tasmanian Meadow Honey and Butter
Tea and Coffee
At home I usually have cereal and/or yogurt for breakfast. I generally save eggs for when I’m eating out or if I’m cooking breakfast for others. Flying for me is the same as eating out. It’s a special treat and I aim to take full advantage of it. A couple of years ago though, while flying from Hong Kong to San Francisco on Cathay, I ordered the Dim Sum with Chilli Sauce for breakfast. While the Dim Sum certainly tasted good enough, they also tasted more like lunch. Same goes for the fish. So, let’s consider the egg options…
Whenever I see that term “Free Range” I always picture the chickens or cows running towards each other in slow motion through a big grassy field – totally free and unencumbered by the grim realities of commercial beef and chicken production…
Oh, uh, sorry there, Kyoko! I must’ve drifted off. I’ll have the boiled eggs, please. Two of them with the works, thanks. I’ll also try some of that French yogurt along with a guava smoothie. And more coffee!
The yogurt was presented on a plate in its own jar. Although I would have expected the flight attendants to have scooped it into a proper serving dish, the amount of yogurt in the jar was small enough that perhaps it might have looked more silly than appetizing in one of Cathay’s larger bowls. Regardless, it was rich and creamy – as good a yogurt as ever I’ve had.
The eggs were nicely boiled though as you can see, the presentation was nowhere near as photogenic as a proper plate of fried eggs surrounded by all the trimmings. Though it’s hard to imagine that my future food selections should ever be predicated upon photographic appeal, I think that in the future I’ll stick with a plate of fried eggs.
Boiled Eggs with all the trimmings for breakfast
Well, I managed to almost get through episode seven of Breaking Bad before the inflight entertainment system was turned off. Things are definitely starting to heat up for Jesse and Mr. White, not to mention the rest of the characters involved in this fascinating drama. I still can’t believe I am liking this show as much as I am! I’m already looking forward to my return flights so that I can check out the rest of this season’s episodes. And, if I get really lucky, maybe Cathay will show a season or two of Sons of Anarchy on my next trip!
The morning sun crept over the horizon nicely illuminating our way as we descended ever lower towards the gentle plains of the Gauteng. Finally, at 6:17am, after a flight of twelve hours and six minutes, our wheels touched down on the wide expanse of runway 21R. The Captain applied the 747’s carbon fiber brakes and we slowed ever so smoothly, allowing us a stately taxi to our stand at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport.
Once again, Cathay Pacific had delivered a memorable flight across one of the world’s longest and most remote air routes. Rarely has a twelve-hour flight passed by so quickly! Between the food, the entertainment, a comfortable bed and superb service from the cabin crew, I cannot imagine any better way to fly. Well done, Cathay Pacific!
As for me, I’m headed down to the coast to see some elephants and check out this fantastic little hotel I’ve heard about and subsequently booked for a few nights in Knysna. I will not be in South Africa for long though. I’ve got a Premier Class train to catch out of Cape Town next Saturday, followed by a First Class return flight to Hong Kong, San Francisco and Seattle where a comfortable bedroom awaits aboard Amtrak’s crack streamliner “The Empire Builder”. From there it’s a two day journey across the northern plains to Chicago.
I’d be more than willing to write a trip report covering that journey, but at this point I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if most of you are so despondent over having had to slog through yet another boring trip report about First Class travel aboard Cathay Pacific that I might very likely risk suspension and even possible banishment from FlyerTalk were I to write even one more word on the subject.
So – to all of you who’ve actually managed to make your way through all 10,193 words of this report, thank you for your fortitude and patience. I do hope you’ve found it worth your time to read it all and that those of you who may have started it last night still managed to get a good night’s sleep.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a train to catch.
Last edited by Seat 2A; Mar 24, 2012 at 7:47 pm
Mar 15, 2012, 12:48 am
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: East Ester, Alaska
Programs: Alaska Million Miler, United Million Miler, Wyndham Rewards Diamond, Choice Hotels Diamond
Posts: 12,148
I couldn't resist messin' with you all a little bit while I installed the vB code. Thanks for your patience with the delay and my skewed sense of humor. Hope you'll find this report anything but boring! Enjoy!
Last edited by Seat 2A; Mar 15, 2012 at 8:57 am
Mar 15, 2012, 6:44 am
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 21,030
Last edited by Mwenenzi; Mar 15, 2012 at 6:06 pm
Mar 15, 2012, 8:08 am
#10
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: London, UK
Programs: AA 2MM - PLT, BA GGL, SPG Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,221
What? No more Lee Kum Kee? I will never fly Cathay First again. 
Well at least not until June.
Excellent report Seat 2A. I am glad I was eating my lunch whilst reading this as I would be hungry otherwise.
Well at least not until June.
Excellent report Seat 2A. I am glad I was eating my lunch whilst reading this as I would be hungry otherwise.
Mar 15, 2012, 12:59 pm
#14
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: BTR/MSY
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Posts: 1,258