Cathay Pacific Business Class – Sydney to Hong Kong (CX138)

Travelling on Cathay Pacific in Business Class is a wonderful delight – even on a red eye.

Check in

Business class passengers are entitled to priority check in at Cathay’s counter at Sydney airport.

Lounge Access

As there’s no Cathay Pacific lounge in Sydney, passengers have access to the Qantas International Business Lounge. Oneworld Emerald members can head to the Qantas International First Lounge.

Seating

Thanks to the reverse herringbone seat, passengers are able enjoy a decent amount of privacy. In addition, the 1-2-1 layout allows everyone direct aisle access. The fully flat seat comes in at a generous 208 cm (82 inches) when completely extended allowing most people to lie down and enjoy a good night of rest. Each seat can be customized to personal preferences courtesy of the easy to use controls located to the right of the seat.

Along with the seat controls, you’ll also find the entertainment handset, USB port, power plug, reading light and a small storage area (in which you’ll find the noise canceling headphones). While on the left is a retractable arm rest, that has to be stowed away during taxi, take off and landing.

Service

Cathay’s cabin crew delivered polite and friendly service from start to finish. Although it’s a small gesture, I really appreciated that I was addressed by name when I boarded and during meal service.

In flight Entertainment System

Each seat has a 15 inch touch screen monitor with Cathay’s StudioCX entertainment system. There’s a wide range of movies, TV shows, music and games to keep passengers entertained.

The system was intuitive and responsive though it was slightly jarring to see advertisements on the side of the home screen.

The noise cancelling headphones provided were comfortable to wear and did a decent job in blocking out noise.

Meals

As I was travelling on a red eye flight, passengers would be served two meals – dinner and breakfast. Dinner consisted of 4 courses: a starter, a main, cheese plate and dessert. There was only one starter available, the  Smoked Mackerel and Daikon Pepper Salad which was average and slightly bland. Passengers could pick from 4 options for their mains:

• Kung po prawns
• Roasted lamb loin
• Braised chicken cacciatore
• Rigatoni (vegetarian)

I went with the Kung Po prawns with stir fried vegetables and steamed jasmine rice. The plump prawns were surprisingly flavorful and packed a spicy punch. Along with my dinner, I had ordered Cathay’s signature mocktail – the Oriental Breeze which consists of sour plum tea, cranberry juice, honey and fresh lemon juice.

After my table was swiftly cleared by the cabin crew, I was served a moreish cheese plate complete with crackers, a few grapes and walnut prune paste.

The finale to the feast was an Orange Yogurt Cake that was satisfying and not overly sweet.

Breakfast was served 1.5 hours before landing and there were 3 options on offer:

• Dim sum, har gow and glutinous rice
• Mushroom omelette, baked beans, chicken chipolata, bacon and Lyonnaise potatoes
• Chicken and dried pak choy congee

Since I was travelling to Hong Kong, I thougth it was only fitting to choose the first option. My breakfast was served with muesli, a croissant, fresh fruit and Illy coffee. It was a delight to see a small pouch of Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce included for my dim sum and har gow!

Amenity Kit

Cathay’s amenity kits were created by Hong Kong based design company- Seventy Eight Percent. Skin care products were courtesy of Australian brand Jurlique. There was also a dental kit, mini size mouth wash, eye mask, ear plugs and flight socks.

Unlike some airlines, Cathay Pacific doesn’t provide pajamas in business class. And there’s also no bedding available only a pillow and thin blanket. Fortunately, the temperature was comfortable throughout my flight.

Verdict

Courteous service combined with a solid seat and tasty meals makes Cathay Pacific business class hard to beat for those heading to Hong Kong.

Flight Details

Airline: Cathay Pacific
Route: SYD to HKG
Flight number: CX138
Plane model: Boeing 777-300ER

This review was based on award flight, I redeemed 30,000 Alaskan Air Miles and paid additional taxes.