After my quick visit to the SFO AC, I left the secure area and took an escalator to the upper level to catch the Air Train to the international terminal. As I exited terminal, I was greeted by the cool crisp air, which was a stark contrast to the triple digit temperatures I had left behind in Dallas. The Air Train is located on a platform above the terminal; thus, requiring the ascension of another escalator. A train arrived just as I reached the platform, and I quickly hopped on. During the day, the tarmac views from the train can be absolutely fantastic. But obviously the view is a bit more limited at night. I arrived at the international terminal with minutes and went down two floors to get to the ticketing counters. Cathay Pacific’s counters are located on row 7. I arrived to the find the check in area to be relatively empty.
As I approached the counter, an agent greeted me and came forward to get my passport. She confirmed Cathay had possession of both bags I had checked with AA and proceeded to print my boarding pass. I then asked if she minded printing another copy as a keepsake. At first the agent refused, citing FAA security regulations. Really? I could print 100 copies from the internet at home, if I really wanted to. I remained polite, citing this was my first trip on Cathay. At that statement, she relented and printed me another copy, she had to tear an inch off top for security reasons. This snafu aside, the interaction was very pleasant. To top it all off, the agent came around the counter to personally hand me my boarding passes and lounge invitations and shake my hand. She then gave me directions to lounge and wished me a pleasant flight.
Saying the security checkpoint was a zoo would be a compliment. The line was long due to the several long haul flights that were leaving at approximately the same time. No worries, because I can use the priority lane, right? Wrong. Despite showing my boarding pass the line dragon, she insisted that I enter into the regular line, which was a few hundred people deep. A few hundred people, judging by their behavior, fly every few years and are unfamiliar with the current security process. This really ticked me off. One of my primary motivations for maintaining at least AAdvantage Gold is to avoid having to wait in lines like this. And the fact I was denied access to priority lane on a First Class ticket probably made me a little angrier.
Again, deep breaths. It will all be over soon.
You might ask how I came to the conclusion about these families only flying once every few years. The primary reason for the slow down was liquids. From full size toiletries to a thermos of soup, you name a type of liquid, they tried to carry it on. Anyways, I finally got to the ID checker, who eyed me up and down, and asked if I had other carry-on except for my laptop bag and if I was traveling with anyone else. I replied no and no. He called his colleague who ushered me to front of the line, and I was through within a few minutes. I was pretty thankful for this, as the process was extremely slow going. I gathered my shoes and belt made a beeline for the Cathay lounge, thankful to leave the commotion of the terminal. Oh man, see how spoiled I’m getting already…
Although the location absolutely sucks, the lounge itself is pretty pleasant. And the historical photographs decorating the hallway leading to the lounge is certainly a nice touch. As I entered the lounge, I was greeted by another friendly CX agent who asked for my lounge invite and boarding pass. Upon seeing my torn boarding pass, she frowned and asked what happened. Instead of giving the lovely agent the cold hard facts, I told her it was torn when my ID was checked. Hey, it seemed like a great idea at the time. The agent wouldn’t have any of it. She ripped the boarding pass in half and told me with a smile that this was unacceptable for Cathay Pacific First. A new CLEAN boarding pass was printed and presented to me in the same manner as at the ticket counter. FAA regs, my alpha romeo sierra echo. But no harm, no foul. I just slipped my fresh boarding pass into a protected compartment of my bag and used my original marked up copy to board.
The lounge itself is of good size, although it did get full as the evening progressed. However, it didn’t feel crowded despite the plane being full in F and 95 percent full in J. Food offerings were decent with a noodle bar and some curry and rice on the spread. Although not terribly hungry, I decided to order dan dan noodles and grabbed some of the great fruit tarts to round out the meal. My noodles were ready for pick up with a few minutes and were very tasty. I washed it all down with some water. Craving sated, I headed back to reception to get a key to a shower room, for which I traded my boarding pass for. I thought I had taken some pics of the lounge, but I can’t quite locate them. But I did take a few shots of shower room, which I don’t believe I’ve seen before here on FT. There are some very comprehensive reviews of the rest of the lounge in other trip reports.
Shower rooms are located in the far end of the lounge. I believe there are a total of three shower rooms. The usual amenities (toothbrushes, etc.) were available in the room. Water pressure and temperature were great. I truly think that showers are one of the greatest benefits of premium travel. To be able to get on a long haul flight clean refreshed, and have the ability to freshen up afterwards is nearly invaluable in my book. Trust me, I have plenty of long haul non-premium travel under my belt!
Sink
Shower with “rainfall” head
Not pictured, is a long wooden bench opposite to the sink to store things and help change. Anyways, I emerged from my shower feeling like great. I went back to the reception to retrieve my boarding passes and then settled on an open Mac, to check email, etc. To reduce weight, I decided bring my iPad with me instead of my MacBook. But it is nice to be able to use a keyboard and mouse once in a while. At this point, an elderly couple had entered the lounge and took up residence in the easy chairs close to the computer area. This all fine and dandy, but the gentleman kept on wheezing loudly every few minutes, as if he was having difficulty breathing. This continued for the next hour or so, and got to the point where I wondering if he should be denied boarding as it seemed he was medical diversion waiting to happen. In the end, I never saw if he actually boarded or not. At about 12:20, I packed up and headed to gate thanking the lounge dragon on the way out. She expressed concern that I had not fully enjoyed the lounge. I reassured her I did and I just wanted stretch my legs before the flight. As I made my way to the gate, I noticed the lovely, lovely, lovely, did I mention lovely CI cabin crew making their way to their gate for a departure to Taipei.
When I reached our gate, A5, I found pure pandemonium, as Philippine Airline’s 744 service was departing to Manila, from adjacent gate, A6. Both flights appeared to be nearly fully, judging by the number of people in the gate area. Boarding began smack dab at 12:40 for our 1:10AM departure, beginning with pre-boards. Naturally, the entire gate area swarmed the poor agents, attempting to board the aircraft but they were beaten back. First and Business Class passengers were called moments later; however, it was nearly impossible fight through crowd. Hell, Eddie George would have trouble blasting through the crowd. Luckily a gate agent spotted me with my beautiful First boarding pass in hand and motioned for me to follow him as he opened a hole in the crowd. Old ladies may have been pushed out of the way. Babies may have been tossed, but by golly he made sure he got me to the podium. I kid, of course. Or am I…
My boarding pass was scanned and I was on my way down the jet bridge away from all of the commotion.
The real (flying) fun was about to begin…