Cx Trip To South Africa
Jun 20, 2004, 6:37 pm
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Cx Trip To South Africa
JNB – HKG, Cathay Pacific First Class, CX 748 - (10/6/04)
First Impressions: I checked in at the shared CX and SAA first class counter, and I was handed my boarding pass and BA lounge invitation. I was peeved when I wasn’t directed to customs, which was actually behind the counter, but I was whisked through, and I made my way to the lounge. There wasn’t a separate section for First Class passengers. This BA facility had modern lounge chairs and had an aura of peaceful vibrations. I plopped down on a chair belonging to a clump of blue arm-chairs with a copy of USA Today, and then was disappointed to find a sparse spread - only a few packet of crisps, juice, and other beverages were available.
Boarding: Gate 2 at Johannesburg International operates on a single air-bridge system, but I managed to make my way speedily to the door. When I showed the flight attendant my boarding pass, her eyes grew big (strangely), and immediately rushed to show me to my seat. I was overjoyed when told that there would only be two of us in First.
The first class cabin is smaller on the Airbus, with only eight seats. The seats are also not angled like those on other airlines. The seats are not angled towards the windows. The cabin is fresh, clean and soothing, and the gorgeous burnished wood consoles and inlaid surfaces top it all off. A picture is placed at the front of the cabin and the CX brushwing at the back. In this case, the picture was of grey and black tones.
While settling in, I was offered bread with fruit pieces served with jam ( different from the nuts served on many other airlines), Perrier with ice and lemon, my Shanghai Tang set (PJs, eye patch, and slippers), and an amenity kit filled with Decleour toiletries arrived soon after. Refresher towels were also handed out. As expected, CX First’s amenity kits are nothing to ring home about. My Shanghai Tang set was the new one, black and neon green, much different from the gold and red one distributed on my previous flight. This one suits my inner night owl perfectly. We departed five minutes early and airborne quickly, ensuring an early arrival in Hong Kong.
The Seat: The CX First Class seat is a lovely shade of green with leather trim around the edges, and spacious in width and pitch. It was easy to recline into a flat bed using the electronic controls on armrest. Along with the duvets, large pillows, and noise-cancelling headphones, one can sleep like a baby. To open the “Crew only” compartments near my seat, 2A, I felt near the back for 2 levers. I gave them a tug, and the compartment with a duvet opened. I tore open the plastic, and put the duvet on myself because I didn't wish to trouble the flight attendants. The TV screen was of good size, and had an extendable arm, which was definitely a boon. When the seat is reclined into a flat bed, you will notice a bit of padding behind on the partition separating First and Business class to ensure that you won’t bump your head into the partition when there is turbulence. Alas, this is only for the seats in the second row of this A340-300. The white pull-out privacy screen is barely long enough, but it did suffice. One of the most innovative things in the seat is the side armrest - it can be yanked right down so that people can get out even if the tray table is folded out. It was extremely convenient.
The flight: For lunch, I had lamb shank, the corn soup, and a salad. The soup and salad were delicious, but there was something odd about the sauce on the lamb. Dishes were served straight from the galley, which was great. Flight attendants Nelson and his counterpart made it a point to make everything on my table orderly and nice before leaving me to my meal, and made sure “Cathay Pacific” on the drink glasses faced me as I ate. I must point out that at no time did I have to ask for anything, the cabin crew anticipated my every need from topping up my Perrier to clearing away my finished dishes. After lunch, I watched Win a date with Tad Hamilton! And The girl next door. Both were enjoyable, but not nearly as hilarious as That 70’s show and 3rd rock from the sun. I loved That 70’s show and their reenactment of a Grease scene. After the programs which was about 6 hours into the nearly 13-hour flight, my eyes were tired, so I reclined my seat to about 170 degrees and played some songs by George Michael and Michael Jackson. Soon, I reclined the seat to full-flat, and drifted to sleep, only to wake up when Nelson pat me on my shoulder. The plane was on its final descent into Hong Kong!
Arrival: I don’t remember the pilot’s landing spiel, but I believe he did get us onto earth without much of a thud. Once through immigration, my bags were on the carousel waiting for me.
Verdict: A generally good flight with no neck or backaches to report. Service onboard was good, but not exceptional, but at least the crew are friendly and also willing to chat - they had a light load on this flight, so the atmosphere was relaxed for them. All in all, Cathay Pacific exceeded my expectations in almost every way, and delivered a quality, luxurious First Class product.
First Impressions: I checked in at the shared CX and SAA first class counter, and I was handed my boarding pass and BA lounge invitation. I was peeved when I wasn’t directed to customs, which was actually behind the counter, but I was whisked through, and I made my way to the lounge. There wasn’t a separate section for First Class passengers. This BA facility had modern lounge chairs and had an aura of peaceful vibrations. I plopped down on a chair belonging to a clump of blue arm-chairs with a copy of USA Today, and then was disappointed to find a sparse spread - only a few packet of crisps, juice, and other beverages were available.
Boarding: Gate 2 at Johannesburg International operates on a single air-bridge system, but I managed to make my way speedily to the door. When I showed the flight attendant my boarding pass, her eyes grew big (strangely), and immediately rushed to show me to my seat. I was overjoyed when told that there would only be two of us in First.
The first class cabin is smaller on the Airbus, with only eight seats. The seats are also not angled like those on other airlines. The seats are not angled towards the windows. The cabin is fresh, clean and soothing, and the gorgeous burnished wood consoles and inlaid surfaces top it all off. A picture is placed at the front of the cabin and the CX brushwing at the back. In this case, the picture was of grey and black tones.
While settling in, I was offered bread with fruit pieces served with jam ( different from the nuts served on many other airlines), Perrier with ice and lemon, my Shanghai Tang set (PJs, eye patch, and slippers), and an amenity kit filled with Decleour toiletries arrived soon after. Refresher towels were also handed out. As expected, CX First’s amenity kits are nothing to ring home about. My Shanghai Tang set was the new one, black and neon green, much different from the gold and red one distributed on my previous flight. This one suits my inner night owl perfectly. We departed five minutes early and airborne quickly, ensuring an early arrival in Hong Kong.
The Seat: The CX First Class seat is a lovely shade of green with leather trim around the edges, and spacious in width and pitch. It was easy to recline into a flat bed using the electronic controls on armrest. Along with the duvets, large pillows, and noise-cancelling headphones, one can sleep like a baby. To open the “Crew only” compartments near my seat, 2A, I felt near the back for 2 levers. I gave them a tug, and the compartment with a duvet opened. I tore open the plastic, and put the duvet on myself because I didn't wish to trouble the flight attendants. The TV screen was of good size, and had an extendable arm, which was definitely a boon. When the seat is reclined into a flat bed, you will notice a bit of padding behind on the partition separating First and Business class to ensure that you won’t bump your head into the partition when there is turbulence. Alas, this is only for the seats in the second row of this A340-300. The white pull-out privacy screen is barely long enough, but it did suffice. One of the most innovative things in the seat is the side armrest - it can be yanked right down so that people can get out even if the tray table is folded out. It was extremely convenient.
The flight: For lunch, I had lamb shank, the corn soup, and a salad. The soup and salad were delicious, but there was something odd about the sauce on the lamb. Dishes were served straight from the galley, which was great. Flight attendants Nelson and his counterpart made it a point to make everything on my table orderly and nice before leaving me to my meal, and made sure “Cathay Pacific” on the drink glasses faced me as I ate. I must point out that at no time did I have to ask for anything, the cabin crew anticipated my every need from topping up my Perrier to clearing away my finished dishes. After lunch, I watched Win a date with Tad Hamilton! And The girl next door. Both were enjoyable, but not nearly as hilarious as That 70’s show and 3rd rock from the sun. I loved That 70’s show and their reenactment of a Grease scene. After the programs which was about 6 hours into the nearly 13-hour flight, my eyes were tired, so I reclined my seat to about 170 degrees and played some songs by George Michael and Michael Jackson. Soon, I reclined the seat to full-flat, and drifted to sleep, only to wake up when Nelson pat me on my shoulder. The plane was on its final descent into Hong Kong!
Arrival: I don’t remember the pilot’s landing spiel, but I believe he did get us onto earth without much of a thud. Once through immigration, my bags were on the carousel waiting for me.
Verdict: A generally good flight with no neck or backaches to report. Service onboard was good, but not exceptional, but at least the crew are friendly and also willing to chat - they had a light load on this flight, so the atmosphere was relaxed for them. All in all, Cathay Pacific exceeded my expectations in almost every way, and delivered a quality, luxurious First Class product.
Jun 21, 2004, 11:50 am
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 1999
Programs: FB Silver going for Gold
Posts: 21,794
Pretty much sums up my experience. FC was 8/8 for HKG-JNB 30 May. What was surprising was that 6/8 were African. Diamond traders? 1 went on our KQ flight to NBO. Got the old tan PJs going out. Black ones coming back 16 June. Only 2 of us this time (we still insisted on 1A and 2A though the FAs offered to seat us together). Same CSDF/IFD/ISD (only caucasian in that role?) for both flights.
Food was not particularly outstanding on either flight. Had the same meal as your JNB-HKG leg - soup was the best. GF had the sunfish which was not very good texture and the pepper sauce was way too hot. pre-flight hors d'oeuvres were a bit different and savoury.
Food was not particularly outstanding on either flight. Had the same meal as your JNB-HKG leg - soup was the best. GF had the sunfish which was not very good texture and the pepper sauce was way too hot. pre-flight hors d'oeuvres were a bit different and savoury.