I love Cathay, but CX food does often pale in comparison to KA food or that of other airlines.... but it's also much, much better than some other airlines.... I rank it somewhere slightly above the middle, overall.
In response to each of your issues, I'll go one-by-one:
Originally Posted by
keepitfirstclass
- Tiny glass of Champagne welcome drink. Not even two fingers at the bottom of the glass. My husband (also CX Diamond) and I actually laugh at how small it is. Why?
This is an anomaly and for sure not the norm. From your other comments it sounds like the crew was rushed or short-handed. You should
send feedback -- they do listen.
Originally Posted by
keepitfirstclass
- The Menu thing they hand out is just overcomplicated- why not have a simple card again?
When it was launched, it was rather complicated. The first time I saw it I really liked it -- new and interesting, lots of information. It was fun. The next few times it got a little tiresome, but I knew where to go to get what I wanted. The most recent designs are paired down and have the menu portion organized with more spacing and a clear indication of the choices you have and what you're being asked to do. Overall, I think the evolved design launched most recently with more spacing and less content overall is good for the general public who may just want to see a menu and be done with it.
Originally Posted by
keepitfirstclass
- Choice of food is poor and getting worse. My confit chicken was just a cheapo chicken leg swimming in grease. Cheese was a bit of brie and cheddar- remember the lovely selection they used to have?!
Oh boy. Yeah, so, the food thing is a difficult thing for any airline. Catering on a long-haul flight is done from the departing airport typically from guidelines set in Hong Kong (correct me if I'm wrong). Some ingredients are sourced locally, others are sent by freight to the kitchen from Hong Kong. When you give a French chef instructions on how to prepare congee, they may or may not know what it's really about.... it's boiled rice, sure... but not really... the added pork or pork bone changes the flavour dramatically... the right type of rice has to be used and may not always be available... it's a totally different game than boiling water for steaming rice.
At the end of the day, it's on the airline to be responsible for this and figure out a way to make it work... but it's one of the most difficult things to do for a large operation that spans continents and cultures.
Originally Posted by
keepitfirstclass
- Refreshment prior to landing was a chicken baguette. More Sainsbury's basic French stick than any decent baguette!
I've never heard of this on a CX flight... what route were you flying? Then again, I never -- literally, never -- order western food, on or off CX flights.
Originally Posted by
keepitfirstclass
- On all my recent flights I have been seriously underwhelmed and disappointed by the food. The lounge is not much better.
Which route? Which lounge? CX-operated or partner lounge? Huge difference
Originally Posted by
keepitfirstclass
- The lovely crew seem frazzled trying to get the dishes out. My aperitif came after the main course was served after twice reminding them, they are running around a lot more with the new service and it seems really inefficient.
I've seen this happen occasionally. It could be short-handed staff (not sure if that's even allowed), a the departure slot got pushed up to an earlier slot, or there could have been a lot of unusual requests made all at the same time and they were racing the clock so as not to miss the slot. Hard to say, but takeoff and landing are definitely the most stressful times for the crew. I always do everything I possibly can to get seated and safety check myself after boarding and try to stay out of their way until 10,000 ft.
So, which route were you flying and on which date, which lounge did you visit, and on what equipment?