I find the CX process for canceling and refunding a ticket so bad it's almost comical, at least for US-based passengers. I didn't find anything relevant in the search, so I figured I would post the details to save someone else time in the future.
This is for tickets bought through cathaypacific.com in the US:
1. Go to manage my booking on the CX web site
2. Cancel reservation
3. Follow the instructions to call the local service centre for a refund (in the case of the US, 800.233.2742
3a. Optional step: Try 3 again if the line is busy
4. Have an agent tell you to instead dial 888.962.6688
5. Choose option for refund, and be told that you must do this by sending an email to
[email protected]
I'm not sure why this is the current process, but hopefully skipping from step 1 to step 5 will save someone else some time in the future!