After finishing to watch my Dickens’ movie (sad and a little boring, to be honest), I went to the lavatory to brush my teeth and get ready to bed. When I came back, Wing was finishing up my bed, which was beautifully made. Anticipating customers’ needs – that’s what really makes a hotel and an airline great!
The bed was very comfortable (I liked the pad), and the cabin didn’t feel too warm at all. The pajamas were of a very nice quality, and didn’t keep me warm either. Within minutes, I fell asleep and rested for a few hours.
After waking up, I checked the map and I saw we still had a good 7 hours to go before getting to Hong Kong. I then called Lina, and I asked her for some desserts – specifically the red beans soup. After a couple of minutes she came back apologizing and informing me that a black sesame seeds soup had been loaded instead of the red beans one. I said it was fine, and she proceeded to prepare it for me – cold as requested. The soup was well prepared and tasty – if you have never tried it before, you should.
I had it with some jasmine tea (delicious) and another glass of Krug. After blogging a while longer, I started – incredibly – to get hungry again and so I ordered the roast beef sandwich with mesclun salad. Lina prepared it for me literally in minutes, and the presentation looked great. Unfortunately, the bread was room temperature and the roast beef a bit too chill (the steak sandwich aboard Etihad Airways was much better), but overall it was a decent snack. Another glass of Krug ensued.
After this snack I dozed off a little longer… 14 hours are a long time on a plane I am starting to realize, but being in First Class, well, I cannot complain. I started watching a Bollywood movie, “Gori Tere Pyaar Mein” featuring Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor; it was quite entertaining, as expected. About three hours before landing, Lina came by asking me whether I wanted breakfast or whether I wanted to wait longer. I said: “sure”, and I asked her for some fruit, a cup of coffee, orange juice, and dim sum. Minutes later Paz came by preparing the table and serving me the fruit platter. We chit chatted a bit and I discovered that this crew is based in SFO and flies only this route; they get two nights in Hong Kong to rest, before flying back. Then, the dim sum ensued. They were very good, just as I remembered from 2 years aback. I poured the remaining Krug into my orange juice and I made myself a nice mimosa for a 3am HKG time breakfast (~lunch time in Dallas, TX). After brekkie I fell asleep for a good hour, before waking up and heading to the restroom to change back into my clothes. I ordered a final cappuccino to wake up, and blogged while watching Nebraska. CX Studio, I must say, impresses me with its choice of programs and movies! There is something for everyone, and the selection is very updated. Top notch.
About 40 minutes before landing the captain took the airwaves up and informed us of an early landing (about 10 minutes). The cabin crew started collecting trash and tiding everything up, and in no time we landed at HKG airport on a cloudy morning. I must also mention that Lina handed me over a survey that I thoroughly filled asking me lots of questions about my overall CX experience, from check-in till landing. I must say: it wasn’t too hard to be generous with this excellent airline.
After landing at break of dawn, we arrived at our gate 10 minutes ahead of schedule. It was a memorable CX flight. The hard product, the crew, the food, the beverages were all top notch. Flying Cathay Pacific is such an amazing guarantee of high, consistent quality that I already look forward to my LAX-HKG-KUL flight over Thanksgiving. Thanks CX for another great experience!