tomasem

Hey, that's me being interviewed by the TV crew!

FlyerBeek

Tomasem,

Yes, I remember you! It was a pleasure to meet you. How did the rest of your trip go? I'm curious how your impressions of the flight compare to mine.

-FlyerBeek

offerendum

Great report but what an awful menu. Nothing proper for vegetarians or even no-meat eaters! I would have been very angry.

FlyerBeek

CX439 First Class ICN-HKG

Following a quick, but action-packed, time in Seoul visiting friends it was time to continue the RTW First Class extravaganza. I could have booked a flight to either Hong Kong or Bangkok using my outbound United award ticket at no additional miles, but the connections weren’t that great and I wanted to spend more time in Seoul. Air China had plenty of award availability, but I’m not touching them with a 10 foot pole given all of the recent award reservation issues others have experienced. Fortunately, Cathay Pacific had first class award availability all the way to Bangkok, including a 23hr40min layover in Hong Kong (another one of my favorite cities!). A quick phone call to the AA Executive Platinum Desk, and 40,000 AA miles later, I had another first class ticket issued on another one of my favorite airlines.

While this isn't a hotel report, I do want to quickly highlight the Park Hyatt Seoul. As a Cat. 4 Hyatt property, this hotel (along with its sister– the Park Hyatt Busan) has to be one of the best values for Hyatt Gold Passport redemptions (only 15,000 points/night or 7,500 points + $100 for a fantastic room that routinely sells for $400+/night). The hotel’s basement bar, The Timber House, is also one of my favorites in Seoul – designed as a modern interpretation of a traditional Korean hanok home.

Here are a few photos of my room overlooking Gangnam.





Now, onto the flight experience:

I arrived back at ICN airport just about 80 minutes prior to departure. There was no wait at either check-in or security leaving me about 30 minutes to explore this excellent airport before heading to the gate. ICN is one of those airports where you really don’t need a lounge. I got to enjoy some classical music, visit the Korean Culture Museum, and view a special exhibit on Hangul (the Korean alphabet) before it was time to take the train over to my gate.





As my flight was not yet boarding, I made a quick stop in the Cathay Pacific lounge. Although it’s listed as a First Class / Business Class lounge really it’s just one large open lounge space tastefully designed similar to other current Cathay lounges.



Cathay Pacific 439
Seoul Incheon – Hong Kong
B777-300ER
August 22, 2014
1:35P-4:10P (sked)
1:35P-3:50P (actual)
Flight Time: 2hr55min
First Class
Seat 2A

Boarding was announced about 30 minutes prior to departure, departing from the far end of the concourse.

Once onboard I was shown to my suite by the ISM and heard those words that I love to hear: “FlyerBeek, it looks like you’ll be the only first class passenger, so make yourself comfortable.” Cathay Pacific currently operates a first class service from Seoul just 3x/week despite offering 6-8 daily nonstop departures – so there's always the chance the equipment might be downgauged but I’m lucky things worked out this time.

Senior Purser Noriko and Purser Florence came by to say hello and provide the first of multiple pre-departure glasses of Champagne. Today’s offering was 2005 vintage Amour de Deutz Blanc de Blanc – Cathay’s standard regional F offering and really some excellent bubbles (again, far nicer than some generic selection of Dom Perignon, in my opinion).







Let’s take a look at the menu and wine list. I challenge anyone to find a more comprehensive meal on a sub-3hr flight. A five course lunch – essentially the same level of F catering as HKG-NRT/CGK/SIN despite being a much shorter flight.











Following a couple more glasses of the vintage Deutz it was time for a visit to the lav. With it, the obligatory bathroom shot. Note the Aesop amenities.



Pushback occurred exactly on schedule (or “shed-jewel” according to our British Captain) and we were soon taking the runway for departure.



Once airborne I elected to delay the meal service an hour which allowed me some time to catch up on reading (currently working on Bill Bryson’s One Summer: America, 1927) and enjoy some more of the Deutz.



Soon enough, Florence came by to setup the table for lunch. I switched to the Spy Valley Envoy. I had visited Spy Valley in Marlborough back in 2007 and I’m a huge fan of oaked Sauvignon Blancs in general (Cloudy Bay’s Te Koko – also from Marlborough – being my favorite), so I figured today’s offering would be a winner. I was right.



What followed was just an excellent lunch, taking up the remaining 2 hours of flight time down to Hong Kong. All the courses were perfectly timed and the lamb was truly excellent (restaurant quality).













My cappuccino was cleared just as we commenced our descent into Hong Kong. Noriko came by insisting that I might want to try sometime else before landing. Why not? I took her up on the offer and ordered a Gentleman Jack on the rocks. A perfect ending to a perfect flight.



This exceptionally clear August afternoon provided some great views of Hong Kong during our final approach.





Overall, another excellent flight on Cathay Pacific. I really enjoy their warm style of service – incredibly attentive but not overly formal like many Asian carriers. While it’s not possible to equally compare a quick regional flight with a 12+hr longhaul, I will say that the service on board CX439 was absolutely perfect and this was the best regional flight of my trip. Also, the catering was amazing for such a short flight.

I hope you enjoyed the flight too!

ANZ787900

I had the lamb HKG-TPE. Best meal I've ever had on a plane. Such a shame they don't serve Krug on regional F too!

Mrtrash757

nice tr! subscribed!

kingarthur

That's great that half of the four in F on the inaugural were FTers!

FlyerBeek

CX701 First Class HKG-BKK

Following an enjoyable overnight in Hong Kong (Cash+Points award at the W Hong Kong) it was time to head back to the airport. I used the in-town check-in for my bags and the Airport Express to get back to the airport (why can’t more cities have this option?) and preceded straight to The Wing First Class lounge (after security and immigration, of course) – “the world’s most exclusive balcony” as Cathay calls it. This was my third time in The Wing since it was renovated last year. While the overall design of the lounge didn’t change much, though I really love the new darker wood and marble design (my wife, on the other hand, hates it – so your miles may vary).

After enjoying a glass of Moet & Chandon Rose Imperial (non-vintage) at the Champagne Bar, I headed out to do some shopping. The Mid-Autumn mooncakes aren’t going to buy themselves, you know?



Back in The Wing, I checked-in to a Cabana for the remainder of my wait to enjoy a nice relaxing bath (with some more Champagne, of course). The cabanas have been updated to reflect a more modern design, gone is the zenful rock pool (which I miss) and the lounger.





Today’s departure gate was 69 – which is probably a good ¾ mile walk from The Wing. I headed out early and took my time walking the entire way (instead of using the train). I even had a moment to pop into The Bridge for the first time – Cathay’s new modern/residential lounge concept. Not bad for a business class lounge!

I got to the gate not too long after boarding began and there was no wait for premium passengers.

Cathay Pacific 701
Hong Kong - Bangkok
B777-300ER
August 23, 2014
3:50P-5:40P (sked)
4:07P-5:48P (actual)
Flight Time: 2hr14min
First Class
Seat 1A

Once onboard Inflight Service Manager Regina greeted me at the door and escorted me to Suite 1A. I was the first passenger to board in first class. I was expecting a light load (when I checked the seatmap a few hours earlier only one other seat was occupied). Surprisingly, however, first class filled up to 5/6 passengers. Op-ups, perhaps? (business class seemed full)

Purser Samantha came by with a hot towel and Senior Purser Maria offered a glass of Champagne (of course). As expected, it was the wonderful 2005 Amour de Deutz Blanc de Blanc. In fact, the entire wine list was identical to yesterday’s flight from Seoul (posted above).



I was delighted to see that our plane featured the new first class suites, which would be my first time flying this slightly updated product. It’s essentially the same seat/suite, but the upholstery has been updated along with darker wood surfaces and a new electronic seat control interface. Also, the bathrooms were slightly updated (new sink design and paneling). All in all, very minor changes to a hard product that’s already 6 years old (hard to believe) and still first rate.





As the F cabin filled, Mr. 2A (not to be confused with our beloved Seat 2A) came onboard shouting about his dissatisfaction with, well, almost everything. Seems he didn’t care for the gate staff, or having to wait in line behind business class passengers to board, or the newspaper selection, or just about anything else. From what I could tell he was an American connecting from a transpacific flight. Seems like poor Maria and Samantha would have their hands full on this afternoon’s quick hop down to Bangkok. I did my best to tune him out for the next 2 hours.

We pushed back nearly 20 minutes late (between the Champagne and enjoying my book, I didn’t even notice the delay, nor would I care) and quickly made our way out to RWY 25L.

Liftoff, perfectly on centerline.



And a nice view approaching Tai O (I’ve always wanted to hike around Lantau Island to Tai O – perhaps on my next visit to Hong Kong).



Once airborne Maria came by with a menu for this quick 2hr flight down to Bangkok. I also decided to switch wines to the Spy Valley Envoy Sauvignon Blanc – the same wine I enjoyed on yesterday’s flight.





I decided to begin with the marinated prawn starter (paired perfectly with my Sauvignon Blanc) followed by the afternoon tea set with Hong Kong style milk tea.











This was my first time enjoying Cathay’s afternoon tea set, which I believe is a new option on the regional F menu. It was excellent – I actually enjoyed this more than the afternoon tea service on British Airway’s westbound transatlantic flights in First.

I finished my meal just as we were crossing the Vietnam coast about halfway between Hanoi and Da Nang with 400 miles to run.





Maria came by trying to offer the mixed berry tartlet for dessert, but the afternoon tea set was really quite filling (especially since the scones were refilled midway through ^). I elected to finish with just a glass of the Johnnie Walker Blue Label.

I was trying to be artistic and capture both the scotch and orchid, but I think I failed:



All too soon we were descending into Bangkok. The pilots did a masterful job dodging some convective weather with hardly a bump and we touched down (on centerline, again) just a couple of minutes behind our scheduled arrival time.



Cathay provides all First Class passengers with a fast track immigration card at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, so there was no wait. My bags were first out (for the first time this trip) within a few minutes of arriving at the baggage belt.

Overall, another solid flight. Again, the quality and breadth of Cathay’s catering impresses for such a short segment. Kudos to the flight attendants for handling Mr. Seat 2A with such grace – I know U.S. flight attendants would have responded differently!

ddjen11

just flown this same flight on 08/30, excellent service and equipment. the 32" tv is amazing, altho the movies are not quite as extensive as CX studio, in terms of Western and Asian genre. food might also be a slight bit below CX - jmho. in all, if traveling to asia, can't go wrong with the big 3: CX, NH, OZ.

btw, booked before UA deval, plus return on BR 2 bus class all for amazingly 130K - the good days are gone for sure.

archcreate

Nice trip review.
thanks

offerendum

All pictures gone

FlyerBeek

Fixed.

-FlyerBeek

offerendum

^^^

MatthewLAX

Great report on the inaugural flight. I look forward to flying it and would have done it on the inaugural had I looked closer at award space. Wasn't Lucky onboard?

AvidFlyer1990

Fantastic TR, FlyerBeek! Really enjoying your pics, and the report in general! Just checked LAX-ICN on OZ F, and it was coming out to be $10K+!! Wish aeroplan had the option of transferring skypesos to them!