ak333

I had a choice of making this trip either the last week of the year or the first week of January. If I went in December, I would qualify for AA EXP status by virtue of points, or if I went in January, I would have a head start on PLT for 2006. There was also a special CX bonus waiting for me if I flew one more Transpacific roundtrip before the end of 2004, so that decision was made even easier for me. All in all it was a good trip on Cathay Pacific.

Dec. 24/04 AA 3083 Y SAN-LAX SF3 N398AM seat 8A

I was originally scheduled for the 6:30 PM flight up to L.A., and my wife dropped me off at SAN’s Commuter Terminal a couple of minutes past 5:00 PM. I was in line for only a couple of minutes before I was checked in (by an Eagle employee who has been to Thailand many times previously – she always seems to be on the checking me in when I head to BKK) very quickly, and there was no one in line for security, so I was putting my lap top back into my back pack by 5:15. I started up towards the gate, and the agent looked up, smiled and said, “I still have some seats if you want to get on the 5:30.” She took my old boarding pass, tapped the keyboard, and said, “How does 8A sound?” Exit row single seat always works for me, so off to the plane I went. We left the stand a couple of minutes early, and were airborne quickly. The flight attendant made one pass with drinks and exactly 30 minutes after takeoff, we landed at LAX.

I took the shuttle from the commuter gates to terminal 4, and spent some time in the Admirals club (which was very empty) before making my way over to the Tom Bradley terminal. American had checked me in all the way through to BKK, but I always check in with CX again anyway to get CX boarding passes (instead of the ones that AA give you) as well as my lounge invite. CX check in was very quick, and I was soon on my way to the CX lounge that is no great shakes at LAX. First thing when I entered though, I asked the lounge agent if we were stopping in ICN tonight. For 9 of the previous 11 nights, CX 883 had to make a fuel stop at Seoul/Inchon. She said that they were planning on operating non-stop. I sat in the lounge for a while, and then did my “walkabout” so I can get a little exercise before the 15-hour marathon flight. While walking around the Bradley terminal, I noticed that my flight was the only one to not show as ‘on-time,’ plus we now had a gate change to a bus gate. I picked up my cell phone, called my wife and her check what the Cathay web site was saying about my flight – she said “It looks like they are planning a stop in Taipei, and you are supposed to get into Hong Kong now at 7:45 AM.” I thought that the times were very optimistic, but I finished up my walkabout and went to the bus gate.

Dec. 24/04 CX 883 J LAX-TPE 744 B-HUD seat 11A

There was already a mass of people at the gate, and the agents were trying to board the busses early to get an on-time departure. The call was made for wheelchair passengers, and I counted at least 9 wheelchairs going on board. While the wheelchair passengers were boarding, the gate agent was calling out names of some lucky passengers who were getting upgrades from Y to J – there seemed to be quite a few upgrades as there were only 9 people booked in J originally on this flight. Once the upgrades were sorted out, they called for F, J, MPC and oneworld emeralds and sapphires to board the bus. Once we were all loaded, we headed off down the taxiway to the remote gates at the end of runway 24. The bus unloaded quickly, but the flight attendants were still doing their security check, so boarding was held up for a few minutes. Once boarding started, we needed to wait for all the busses to come out to the remote area, so by the time we were all buttoned up and ready to taxi, we were already a half hour behind schedule, however the flight attendants kept coming by with pre-departure drinks. The captain made his PA announcement and said that headwinds were worse than forecast so they planned to stop in Taipei for fuel; however if the winds subsided, they would cancel the diversion and head on into Hong Kong. If we had to stop, it would be brief and he expected us to arrive at 8:00 AM if that was the case. We had a long taxi from the remote gates to runway 25R, and we finally go underway almost an hour after scheduled departure time. I did luck out and have an empty seat next to me – actually the downstairs J between doors 1 and 2 was only half full, even with the upgrades.

Service started a couple of minutes after takeoff. The following Supper was on offer (note that spelling is taken directly from the menu):

Salad: Marinated Portobello Mushroom with Bocconcini served with Balsamic Olive Dressing.

Mains: Marinated Shredded Beef Tenderloin with Stir-fried Vegetables, Steamed Rice and Stir-fried Kailan

Pan-fried Seabass with Herb butter, Mushroom Risotto with Natural Gravy and Selected Baby Vegetables.

Light Selection: Noodles in Soup with Chicken and Mushrooms or Reuben Sandwich

Cheese and Dessert: Cheese plate, fresh seasonal fruits, Marble cheesecake with Raspberry coulis

Assorted bread and rolls, tea and coffee, pralines

SNACKS

Noodles in Soup with Chicken and Mushrooms, selected sandwiches, Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream

Instead of bringing the tray out and then offering us the main course, the flight attendant came and asked me what my preference was. Then she went across the aisle and did the same to a couple that I saw in the lounge with a blue boarding pass and then to a fourth person that was at a diagonal to the couple that I also saw in the lounge with a blue boarding pass. It dawned on me that the flight attendant was asking the revenue J class passengers their dining preference first, and then going to the passengers that were upgraded. I had not seen that before on CX, and I don’t know if it was just that flight attendant using her initiative or if it’s a new CX policy. I ordered the beef, and it was quite tasty as well as the cheese plate. I did have a praline as I watched The Princess Diaries 2. As soon as my movie ended, I went to sleep, and slept pretty soundly for a good 7 hours. I woke up as we were over Japan and then either read or closed my eyes for a few minutes for the next couple of hours. The headwinds were indeed very bad as our true speed was fluctuating between 450 to 475 mph. Airshow was showing our arrival into TPE at 5:50 AM and our HKG arrival was scheduled for 6:00 AM. About and hour and 45 minutes before landing in TPE, breakfast was offered:

Juice Selection

Appetizer: Fresh Seasonal Fruits

Yogurt and Cereals: Fruit Yogurt, Corn Flakes or Granola

Mains: Omelette with Creamed Mushrooms, Grilled Nurnberger Sausage, Hash Brown Potatoes and Grilled Tomato

Imperial Noodles with Assorted Dim Sum served with Chili Sauce

Abalone Clam and Mushroom Congee accompanied by Pan-fried Pork Bun

Assorted bread and rolls served with Preserves, honey and butter

Tea and Coffee

Like for the supper, the flight attendant again came by and asked the dining preference of the revenue passengers first, and then to the upgraded passengers. I don’t usually like the Dim Sum from LAX catering, so I had the omelette, which was OK. About a half hour out of TPE, the captain came on the P.A. and said yes we are going to land in TPE, but they expect a very quick turn around of the aircraft. We landed in TPE shortly before 6:00 AM, a 14 hour 10 minute flight from LAX, and had a quick taxi to the gate. A new crew did come on and there were some provisions added as well while the refueling took place. From the time we blocked at the gate to the time we left the gate again, it took CX only 38 minutes for the entire procedure. I have had the pleasure of refueling at ICN twice – the first time ground time was an hour and 45 minutes and the second time an hour and 15 minutes, so kudos to the TPE ground staff.

Dec 26/04 CX 883 J TPE-HKG 744 B-HUD seat 11A

Our new captain said to expect an hour and 18 minute flying time and we should arrive into HKG by 8:00 AM. The crew that brought us to TPE spread themselves out on the plane, with the flight deck crew taking seats in F, and the flight attendants spreading themselves out in J. Y was completely booked (and overbooked). After take off we were first given another fruit plate, and then offered a cheese plate and then ice cream. An interesting assortment, but the effort was definitely there. I saw drinks being loaded into the cabin, but not anymore food, so we were having leftovers (but decent leftovers). The captain was just about right on – we landed in HKG and hour and 17 minutes after takeoff and were at the gate at 7:55 AM. I could easily make my 9:05 AM connection to BKK.

Once off the plane and into the transfer area and the transfer area was mobbed. Inbound flights from Europe had just arrived and the later LAX flight CX 881 had beaten us in by a few minutes. I finally got through the transfer area security and got upstairs to find that the BKK flight left from gate 4. I decided to walk instead of the tram, so I had to forgo my visit to the Wing – even though it was right there. I got to the gate about 2 minutes before boarding began. But at least I made the connection!

Dec 26/04 CX 713 J HKG-BKK 744 B-HOP seat 11K

As usual, pre departure drinks were served, and we left pretty close to on time. I thought that the seat next to me would be empty again, but right before the doors closed, my seatmate arrived. Breakfast was served shortly after takeoff. Today’s menu:

Juice Selection

Appetizer: Fresh Seasonal Fruit

Fruit yogurt

Mains: Scramble Egg with Hash Brown Potato, Grilled Ham Slice, Broiled tomato with Herbs and Button Mushrooms

Chinese Dim sun E-fu Noodles with Straw Mushrooms and Chives served with Chili Sauce

Assorted Bread and Rolls served with Preserve, honey, and Butter

Tea and Coffee

On the morning flights from Hong Kong, I do like the Dim Sum and today’s selection was pretty good. The E-fu noodles definitely needed something, and the chili sauce seemed to do the trick. The flight attendants were around constantly to refill glasses and check how everyone was doing. There were very few clouds on our route, and the scenery was great once we passed the Vietnamese coastline. We arrived a couple of minutes early to a sunny, warm, and not that humid Bangkok. Immigration was fairly quick, and the hotel rep from the Pan Pacific started to wave to me as soon as he saw me. This was fourth time staying there this year, and I appreciated the recognition.

ak333

The Pan Pacific seems to be a very underrated hotel. It is very close to the Sky Train and only a block from Silom, so it is fairly easy to get around town from there. I’ve always had very good service there, this stay being no exception. I had booked the Pacific Floor so I would have broadband access, and when I checked in, I was offered an upgrade to a junior suite without the broadband access. I actually turned down the upgrade – 3 days on dial up would drive me absolutely nuts, and I had reserved a deluxe room anyway, which was plenty big enough for me. Breakfast every morning was in the Pacific Floor lounge, and they seemed to offer the same food that is available at the Heights café, which is the international restaurant. The 3 days in Bangkok went very quickly, and soon enough it was time to return home. The hotel limo back to the airport took only 20 minutes at 7:30 in the morning. There was no wait at all for check-in, and the agent checked me in all the way back to San Diego and issued me my lounge invites. There was again very little wait for outbound immigration, and I soon found myself in the CX business class lounge. The lounge is on the small side with 3 computer terminals and some meager food offerings – the LAX lounge actually provides more food. I had breakfast at the hotel, and I knew brunch was to be served, so I just had some water before I did my BKK walkabout and then I headed to the gate. The tsunami had hit the day I arrived in BKK and on this day, three days later, the airport seemed very subdued. Usually the BKK airport seems like a madhouse, but it was too quiet today.

Dec 29/04 CX 708 J BKK-HKG 330 B-HLT seat 12A

Originally, this aircraft was a 3 class A-330, but CX downgraded to a standard 330. My second row window seat then became a bulkhead that turned out OK. Again, pre departure drinks and a just before the door closed seat mate and we were off a couple of minutes ahead of schedule. Brunch was served as soon as the seat belt sign came off. The menu:

Juice Selection

Appetizer: Fresh Seasonal Fruit

Mains: Scrambled Eggs with Creamed Mushrooms, Grilled Veal Sausage, Hash Brown Potatoes and Broiled Tomato with Herbs

Pan-fried Beef Fillet with Tomato and Onion Sauce, Egg Fried Rice and Stir-fried Broccoli

Dessert: Ginger Panna Cotta with Beans and Lotus Seeds

Assorted Bread and Rolls with Preserves, Honey, and Butter

Tea and Coffee

This menu looked very familiar, and I remembered that the beef fillet was very good, so I had it again, and I enjoyed it again. The dessert just didn’t appeal to me and I like my desserts, so I was hoping that there would be something good on the flight to LAX. As with the flight in to BKK, it was absolutely beautiful scenery all the way to the Vietnamese coast where we then had cloud cover almost the rest of the way to HKG. Since we were on a regional aircraft, there was no AVOD, so I read the rest of the flight. It was a very quick two hours and 5 minutes into Hong Kong where we had a slightly early arrival.

This time there was almost no wait to go through the transfer area and security, and I had just under three hours, so I ventured to the closest lounge, the Pier for my mandatory cup of Dan Dan Noodle soup. I don’t know what narcotic they put in it, but I have to have it whenever I change planes in HKG. After my sinuses opened up from the soup, I did my HKG walkabout going through each section of the airport and very slowly making my way to the Wing and my departure at gate 2. Three hours seem to fly by at the airport and before I knew it, I was ready to board my LAX flight. Right before boarding, one of the agents brought over all the “new” boarding passes to be issued, and I spied my boarding number on the last one. So, I’m trying to figure out where in my very full bags am I going to put my new pair of CX pjs.

Dec 29/04 CX 882 F HKG-LAX 744 B-HOO seat 3A

The gate agent says to me, “I have a new seat for you sir, enjoy your flight.” I thank her profusely and make a left turn when I board the plane. I’m asked for a beverage choice and wait to see how full F is going to be. Two other lucky winners get a new seat in F as well, and the flight attendant comes over with menus. I did not look at the front of the menu, and I just opened it and see no soup course. I’m thinking is this a cut back? I then look at the bottom of the menu and see the J, and suddenly a light bulb goes off in my head. All of us up front have been op-upped, so it’s J food for us. I’m wondering how modified the service will be as there was no snack item served with the pre departure drink. We are given the F amenity kit, but no pajamas. There are duvets for our use however. Dinner was served on the J tray, but the cheese and dessert courses were served on F china with F silverware. We still had two flight attendants, and two lavs just for the three of us, and the service was definitely first class. The pilot did his P.A. announcement, told us that we were waiting for a couple of bags and we would be off. Ten minutes later the bags are loaded and the captain again gets on the P.A. and tell us that the bags are all loaded, but now ATC has a flow problem, and we would be held on the ground for a while. This is the second time in a row for me on a HKG-LAX flight that we had a flow control issue, but since I was in the bigger chair this time and had lots of time to spare in L.A., I wasn’t bothered. When we finally get clearance, the captain warns us that there is quite a bit of turbulence as far as Taiwan, and then it clears up. So, off we go, and the service starts as soon as the captain lets the flight attendants up. We are given a choice of a salmon appetizer or almonds, and I choose the almonds. And they keep coming, and I’m not saying no. My wife is allergic to nuts, and I can’t have them at home. So three (or was it four) cups of nuts later, dinner is served:

Salad: Seasonal Salad served with Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

Appetizer: Parma Ham with Baby yellow Capsicum stuffed with Tomato Relish

Mains: Sautéed Shrimps and Jade Melon with Marinated Pork, Steamed Rice and Seasonal Vegetables

Braised Lamb Shank with Root Vegetables, Mashed Potatoes and Rosemary Sauce

Marinated Chicken Breast with Tomato and Mushroom Sauce, Olive Oil Crushed New Potato, Roasted Pumpkin with Herbs and French Beans

Ricotta Cannelloni with Semi-sundried Tomato Concasse, Baked Capsicum and Zucchini

Cheese and Fresh Seasonal Fruits

Dessert: Valrhona Chocolate Tart served with Raspberry Sauce

Assorted Bread and Rolls

Tea and Coffee

Pralines

SNACKS

Noodles in Soup with Barbecued Duck, selected sandwiches, Pizza with Barbecued Pork, Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream

We had some pretty good bouncing going on with the turbulence while I was gorging on almonds and it continued on until the main course was served. I was debating between the Lamb and the Chicken and decided on the Chicken which was good, but a little on the dry side. The cheese plate however was excellent as was the chocolate tart; maybe it was that they were both served on F china that made it taste just a little better? A praline was forced on me before I decided to get some sleep. Out came the duvet, and I was out. But not for too long as even worse turbulence hit. Finally things calmed down a little and I fell back asleep and woke up with about a little over 2 hours left in the flight. Once the flight attendant saw that I was up, she came over and offered me the following brunch:

Juice Selection

Appetizer: Fresh Seasonal Fruits

Mains: Scramble Egg with Hash Brown Potato, Grilled Ham Slice, Broiled tomato with Herbs and Button Mushrooms

Chinese Dim sun E-fu Noodles with Straw Mushrooms and Chives served with Chili Sauce
Congee with Abalone and Meat Balls, Pan-fried shredded Chicken Pancakes with Ham and Spring Onions

Assorted Bread and Rolls served with Preserve, honey, and Butter

Tea and Coffee

Since with the exception of the Congee, this was almost identical to what was served for breakfast on my HKG-BKK flight, I asked if there was any of the Noodle soup with barbecued duck left. There was, and that was my main course. It just hit the spot by the way. When flying HKG-LAX, I like to sit on the left hand side of the plane to see my hometown of San Francisco from the air. Unfortunately, there was lots of cloud cover today, and the closest thing I saw was Salinas. We didn’t make up much time from our ATC delay, so when we landed at LAX 11 hours and 43 minutes after take off, we were about 35 minutes late. I had no bags except for my carry ons, and the line for US citizens was brief, so I got through both immigration and customs within 15 minutes of landing, and I headed over to terminal 4. I was booked on the 3:00 PM flight back to SAN, and the 2:00 flight showed delayed until 2:20, so I tried to make it. The security line however had people that only traveled once a year and they were playing where did I put my ID. By the time I went through security, hopped on the shuttle bus and made it over to the commuter gates, it was 2:15 and just as I was getting to the gate, they called the last standby for the flight. Oh well, the flight I’m booked on is just a few minutes later.

Dec 29/04 AA 3083 Y LAX-SAN SF3 N345SB seat 7B

I trade in my CX issued boarding pass for an AA one at the gate, but we seem to be missing something – a plane. The aircraft is there for the 3:30 departure, but not ours. Finally at 2:50 PM, the plane shows up, disembarkation is fairly rapid, and they call us for boarding. I settle into seat 11A, and the flight attendant asks for two volunteers to move forward for weight and balance (very common on these flights). Before I can take my seatbelt off and grab 8A, two people from behind me jump up. OK, so I go back to my book. Next thing I know the flight attendant is asking me to take 7B. It’s only a 35-minute flight (no matter how often they tell you it’s 25 minutes, by the time you fly down to the border and line up for landing on runway 27 it always takes 35 minutes), and this seems to happen a lot, so I take my new seat and bury my head in my book. Once airborne the flight attendant says that it is too bumpy to serve anything, so no drink on this leg. Of course, the flight turns out to be relatively smooth and we arrive fairly close to on time.

Now I'm just waiting for the flights to post so I can enjoy my new EXP status.

Carfield

Wow thanks for the great report and it seems CX food remains okay.

I have to say that I am surprised that there is no revenue F passengers in CX 882 on Dec 29... there are usually a rush of passengers heading back to LA for New years eve... so the whole cabin is opup... no wonder F is going away on many CX flights.

About the refuelling stop at TPE, I am surprised that the F/As even attempt to pull together a meal for passengers. I flew CX 881 many years ago and we had to stop at TPE for fuel, but we only got a cup of juice... not even more beverage... I guess if your flight stopped in KIX or ICN, CX actually will add some caterings... such as onigri and noodles... I guess KIX-HKG is a four hours flight...

Thanks again and have a happy 2005 travel year.

Carfield

christep

Interesting report. TVM


I've been trying to get some of them to do that for years

Fliar

Great stuff - congrats on the (half) op-up!

QF WP

ak333, thanks for an excellent TR. Interesting to hear about the "stopover" and how CX manage the process.

Always good to know what is happening onboard the other Oneworld carriers, as it helps me to choose who to pick on overseas trips.

WASJETBOY

Great report. Im sure you enjoyed your op up to F on CX... nice!! ^

WASJETBOY

ak333

On 1/4 the CX segments all posted as well as the CX appreciation bonus and my status changed to EXP! I actually have no flights booked yet for this month to enjoy the new status.