Cathay's New Manchester Service: CX358 J Class
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Hong Kong, occasionally in London
Programs: CX MPC DM, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Exp
Posts: 173
Cathay's New Manchester Service: CX358 J Class
Hello Flyertalk,
It's been three months since I last travelled when I flew back to the U.K after my summer vacation (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...hr-b77w-j.html). I am now back at home in Hong Kong after a long anticipated flight from Manchester, and this report will walk through every detail of this new flight.
Background
Cathay Pacific announced in April 2014 that it would resume flights to Manchester, but this time as a non-stop service. As someone living in the Northeast, the new flight meant a more convenient way back as well as an alternative to the ever more crowded "Hellrow". The flights commenced on 8 December, so I would be on only the 4th flight to HK.
Pre-flight
I was originally booked into Premium Economy but has requested an upgrade through the MPC system some three months prior. J class was quite empty then and I soon received my confirmation.
I left home very early for the train ride that would take me to Manchester Airport.
The journey was about three hours and I arrived at the airport at just after 9am.
Went on one of the skylink walkways to get to T1 where the spotting location is.
It was quite chilly and icy but thank goodness the weather was good.
An overview of the remote stands, with my 777 waiting to be towed back to the gate:
Three flights flying over the field
My wings of the day, B-KQP, was finally pulled back to the terminal 2.5hrs before departure.
The newbie with the locals in the background
The famous MAN T2 shot: The BY 788 being de-iced before push back, next to a pair of VS jumbos.
I took the short walk back to T2 in time for check-in
Check-in and lounge
Cathay was given a rather large check-in area with 12 counters. But even so, the Y queue was so long that it spanned across almost the whole width of the terminal
The queue for business was short and I was checked in immediately. Speaking to the agent, she told me that J was half full but both PEY and EY was overbooked so she was expecting a lot of op-ups. Bad news for me as I was hoping for an empty mini cabin to myself.
She soon handed me my BP as well as invitations to the Escape Lounge in MAN and the Arrival lounge for after I land.
CX's dedicated ticketing counter
The CX check in area is right next to the escalator that would take me to security.
One of the perks of flying J is I get to slash the massive queue *smug face*
... and I'm through to airside in just 5 mins (impossible if this was London)
T2 has a decent sized duty free shop and a food choice of F&B stores, not bad for a medium sized airport.
Flight Information, would be departing from gate 206
Headed towards the Escape lounge which is right by gate 209, in between security and our gate.
Cathay shares a separate corner of the lounge with Delta
The Escape Lounge unfortunately was a complete joke. There wasn't any warm food on offer and all there was was a coffee machine that didn't work properly and some ice cold sandwich that looked like a million years old to me. I have to give credit to the attendants though as they were very attentive and somehow managed to get me a bowl of tomato soup. Nice gesture!
I left the room utterly disappointed so I went spotting for a bit just to cheer myself up.
VS B747-400 "Ruby Tuesday"
PIA's 77L AP-BGY, operating the 5th freedom LHE-MAN-JFK routing
And finally my four month old bird, B-KQP
Boarding
Boarding started at precisely 11:20am, again a super long Y queue
Down the stairs and through the bridge
Seat 23K, offering a perfect view of the mighty GE90 engine
Pre flight welcome drinks served
The captain soon came on the PA to announce that pushback would be delayed as they had to de-ice the wings, but also said that the flight time would be a short 10h40m due to strong tailwinds.
We left the gate some 40 mins behind schedule
Flight Information
CX/CPA 358
A/C: B777-367ER
Reg: B-KQP (Ln 1224)
Route: EGCC-VHHH
Block Time: 10h40m
Passenger On Board: J - 40, PEY - 32, EY - 268 TOTAL - 340
Load Factor: 100%
Fuel Loaded 93.9t
T/O rating: MAX
Cruising Altitude: FL310 -> FL370
Departure Weather: CAVOK Q1011
Thomson B738 with the new split scimitar winglets
B738 & B752
Flight info on the control
Rolling on Runway 23R, with the sole A380 serving MAN in the background
Rotate!
Turning east towards the English Channel
Drinks were served when the plane is still in its climb
Went for my favourite Cathay Delight with warmed nuts
Menu was distributed
Starters was good and I especially enjoyed the salad dressing
The main course choices were put on a trolley and I went for the "Three Cup Chicken" which has become very popular in Taiwan
The chicken was very tender and cooked in quite an authentic flavour. Always enjoyed a hot bowl of steamed rice at 30,000 feet
Then came the three choices of cheese
The Orange Chocolate cake was absolutely brilliant! Goes perfectly with the raspberry sauce
As we were in Northern Winter the sun set just 3 hrs into the flight
Turning the seat into a completely flat comfy bed
To my surprise, this A/C comes with a First Class style loo
Jurique Amenities
Managed to sleep for a good 5 hrs, but then got a bit hungry so I ordered a bowl of Wonton noodles. The chili sauce does the magic as usual.
Not bad for a midnight snack
]
The crew set up a small snack bar in the galley, and I took some grapes and peanuts to go with my movie
Before I knew it breakfast was served when we were 2 hrs out of HK
First muesli and fruit
Then came my only complaint for the flight. Apparently they've ran out of breakfast choices because of the last minute op-ups and had to serve me PEY food (Also because I'm seated in the last row)
The fried noodles wasn't bad but I didn't feel good psychologically
The sky began to light up after Breakfast and I was given a beautiful sunrise as we complete the final few hundred miles
The Capt came on to the PA for his "30 min to landing" announcement, stating good weather in HK
Short Final to 07R, the HK-Macau-Zhuhai bridge construction in the background
Touch down, reverse on full
We docked into gate S23 more than 30 min ahead of schedule at 7:18
No flight experience is complete (for me) without a cockpit visit
And just for the sake of trying, The Arrival lounge. Quite small but has a few showers
That's the end of my Manchester flight. Thanks for reading along!
Conclusion
Quite a satisfying flight again. Very typical of the high quality CX service and would have been perfect if I could have had a full breakfast. I'm also very happy to see healthy loads on the new flight, and most certainly hope to see it go daily in the near future. Manchester Airport was quite decent for what it is but the lounges really need refurbishing as it looked old and tired.
Hope you enjoyed the report! Comments most welcome!
Happy Holidays!
Adrian
It's been three months since I last travelled when I flew back to the U.K after my summer vacation (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...hr-b77w-j.html). I am now back at home in Hong Kong after a long anticipated flight from Manchester, and this report will walk through every detail of this new flight.
Background
Cathay Pacific announced in April 2014 that it would resume flights to Manchester, but this time as a non-stop service. As someone living in the Northeast, the new flight meant a more convenient way back as well as an alternative to the ever more crowded "Hellrow". The flights commenced on 8 December, so I would be on only the 4th flight to HK.
Pre-flight
I was originally booked into Premium Economy but has requested an upgrade through the MPC system some three months prior. J class was quite empty then and I soon received my confirmation.
I left home very early for the train ride that would take me to Manchester Airport.
The journey was about three hours and I arrived at the airport at just after 9am.
Went on one of the skylink walkways to get to T1 where the spotting location is.
It was quite chilly and icy but thank goodness the weather was good.
An overview of the remote stands, with my 777 waiting to be towed back to the gate:
Three flights flying over the field
My wings of the day, B-KQP, was finally pulled back to the terminal 2.5hrs before departure.
The newbie with the locals in the background
The famous MAN T2 shot: The BY 788 being de-iced before push back, next to a pair of VS jumbos.
I took the short walk back to T2 in time for check-in
Check-in and lounge
Cathay was given a rather large check-in area with 12 counters. But even so, the Y queue was so long that it spanned across almost the whole width of the terminal
The queue for business was short and I was checked in immediately. Speaking to the agent, she told me that J was half full but both PEY and EY was overbooked so she was expecting a lot of op-ups. Bad news for me as I was hoping for an empty mini cabin to myself.
She soon handed me my BP as well as invitations to the Escape Lounge in MAN and the Arrival lounge for after I land.
CX's dedicated ticketing counter
The CX check in area is right next to the escalator that would take me to security.
One of the perks of flying J is I get to slash the massive queue *smug face*
... and I'm through to airside in just 5 mins (impossible if this was London)
T2 has a decent sized duty free shop and a food choice of F&B stores, not bad for a medium sized airport.
Flight Information, would be departing from gate 206
Headed towards the Escape lounge which is right by gate 209, in between security and our gate.
Cathay shares a separate corner of the lounge with Delta
The Escape Lounge unfortunately was a complete joke. There wasn't any warm food on offer and all there was was a coffee machine that didn't work properly and some ice cold sandwich that looked like a million years old to me. I have to give credit to the attendants though as they were very attentive and somehow managed to get me a bowl of tomato soup. Nice gesture!
I left the room utterly disappointed so I went spotting for a bit just to cheer myself up.
VS B747-400 "Ruby Tuesday"
PIA's 77L AP-BGY, operating the 5th freedom LHE-MAN-JFK routing
And finally my four month old bird, B-KQP
Boarding
Boarding started at precisely 11:20am, again a super long Y queue
Down the stairs and through the bridge
Seat 23K, offering a perfect view of the mighty GE90 engine
Pre flight welcome drinks served
The captain soon came on the PA to announce that pushback would be delayed as they had to de-ice the wings, but also said that the flight time would be a short 10h40m due to strong tailwinds.
We left the gate some 40 mins behind schedule
Flight Information
CX/CPA 358
A/C: B777-367ER
Reg: B-KQP (Ln 1224)
Route: EGCC-VHHH
Block Time: 10h40m
Passenger On Board: J - 40, PEY - 32, EY - 268 TOTAL - 340
Load Factor: 100%
Fuel Loaded 93.9t
T/O rating: MAX
Cruising Altitude: FL310 -> FL370
Departure Weather: CAVOK Q1011
Thomson B738 with the new split scimitar winglets
B738 & B752
Flight info on the control
Rolling on Runway 23R, with the sole A380 serving MAN in the background
Rotate!
Turning east towards the English Channel
Drinks were served when the plane is still in its climb
Went for my favourite Cathay Delight with warmed nuts
Menu was distributed
Starters was good and I especially enjoyed the salad dressing
The main course choices were put on a trolley and I went for the "Three Cup Chicken" which has become very popular in Taiwan
The chicken was very tender and cooked in quite an authentic flavour. Always enjoyed a hot bowl of steamed rice at 30,000 feet
Then came the three choices of cheese
The Orange Chocolate cake was absolutely brilliant! Goes perfectly with the raspberry sauce
As we were in Northern Winter the sun set just 3 hrs into the flight
Turning the seat into a completely flat comfy bed
To my surprise, this A/C comes with a First Class style loo
Jurique Amenities
Managed to sleep for a good 5 hrs, but then got a bit hungry so I ordered a bowl of Wonton noodles. The chili sauce does the magic as usual.
Not bad for a midnight snack
]
The crew set up a small snack bar in the galley, and I took some grapes and peanuts to go with my movie
Before I knew it breakfast was served when we were 2 hrs out of HK
First muesli and fruit
Then came my only complaint for the flight. Apparently they've ran out of breakfast choices because of the last minute op-ups and had to serve me PEY food (Also because I'm seated in the last row)
The fried noodles wasn't bad but I didn't feel good psychologically
The sky began to light up after Breakfast and I was given a beautiful sunrise as we complete the final few hundred miles
The Capt came on to the PA for his "30 min to landing" announcement, stating good weather in HK
Short Final to 07R, the HK-Macau-Zhuhai bridge construction in the background
Touch down, reverse on full
We docked into gate S23 more than 30 min ahead of schedule at 7:18
No flight experience is complete (for me) without a cockpit visit
And just for the sake of trying, The Arrival lounge. Quite small but has a few showers
That's the end of my Manchester flight. Thanks for reading along!
Conclusion
Quite a satisfying flight again. Very typical of the high quality CX service and would have been perfect if I could have had a full breakfast. I'm also very happy to see healthy loads on the new flight, and most certainly hope to see it go daily in the near future. Manchester Airport was quite decent for what it is but the lounges really need refurbishing as it looked old and tired.
Hope you enjoyed the report! Comments most welcome!
Happy Holidays!
Adrian
Last edited by freakinflyer001; Feb 15, 2015 at 3:47 am
#3
Ambassador: Japan Airlines
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: LAX
Programs: JAL Mileage Bank, JMB Diamond, oneworld Emerald, Bonvoy Platinum
Posts: 16,335
So the crew served your breakfast main to some op up passengers? That is quite frankly unacceptable even if you are sitting in the last row. They should have counted and served the op up passengers the PY meals instead.
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Hong Kong, occasionally in London
Programs: CX MPC DM, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Exp
Posts: 173
I also think it doesn't show on the crew pax list who the op-ups are.
Oh well these sort of glitches do happen so I might as well just swallow it
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Little dot in Asia
Programs: AA-EP, TK-*G, HL-DM, HY-GLO, MR-LTP
Posts: 25,924
Would this be a UK based operating crew or HK based crew?
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Los Angeles / Basel
Programs: UA 1K MM, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 26,903
#9
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Usually travelling
Programs: BA, SQ, VS, Lifetime Diamond Club Appreciator, Mucci
Posts: 487
Great trip report thanks for sharing.
I love the photos of the 77W against all the piddly little planes at MAN. There's nothing like seeing a real plane amongst all those mini planes.
Interestingly it looks like MAN is still printing dodgy boarding passes. They don't look like proper Cathay stock in the photo.
I love the photos of the 77W against all the piddly little planes at MAN. There's nothing like seeing a real plane amongst all those mini planes.
Interestingly it looks like MAN is still printing dodgy boarding passes. They don't look like proper Cathay stock in the photo.
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: London
Posts: 17,007
Nice report.
That will be up to CX's check in agent in MAN. BA, AF and KL passes from MAN appear on the regular paper for those airlines as I remember?
As for piddly planes, BE codeshares with CX now to provide an IOM-MAN service on a Dash 8.
Great trip report thanks for sharing.
I love the photos of the 77W against all the piddly little planes at MAN. There's nothing like seeing a real plane amongst all those mini planes.
Interestingly it looks like MAN is still printing dodgy boarding passes. They don't look like proper Cathay stock in the photo.
I love the photos of the 77W against all the piddly little planes at MAN. There's nothing like seeing a real plane amongst all those mini planes.
Interestingly it looks like MAN is still printing dodgy boarding passes. They don't look like proper Cathay stock in the photo.
As for piddly planes, BE codeshares with CX now to provide an IOM-MAN service on a Dash 8.
#12
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 902
Did you have any sort of status with CX? Not that I would say its fair, but if the opups in J were all DMs or GOs then it'll be understandable on why they were given a proper J entrees.
But still since you were holding a legitimate J ticket it might be worth a shot to shoot MPC and email and tell them your experience of being served a Y+ meal. They might throw a voucher or some miles your way.
Nice TR btw.
But still since you were holding a legitimate J ticket it might be worth a shot to shoot MPC and email and tell them your experience of being served a Y+ meal. They might throw a voucher or some miles your way.
Nice TR btw.
#13
Ambassador: Japan Airlines
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: LAX
Programs: JAL Mileage Bank, JMB Diamond, oneworld Emerald, Bonvoy Platinum
Posts: 16,335
Did you have any sort of status with CX? Not that I would say its fair, but if the opups in J were all DMs or GOs then it'll be understandable on why they were given a proper J entrees.
But still since you were holding a legitimate J ticket it might be worth a shot to shoot MPC and email and tell them your experience of being served a Y+ meal. They might throw a voucher or some miles your way.
Nice TR btw.
But still since you were holding a legitimate J ticket it might be worth a shot to shoot MPC and email and tell them your experience of being served a Y+ meal. They might throw a voucher or some miles your way.
Nice TR btw.
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Hong Kong, occasionally in London
Programs: CX MPC DM, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Exp
Posts: 173