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My review of Cathay Pacific A350’s business class
Cathay Pacific is probably one of the most renowned airline in the world, and being from China I should have had a lot of chances of flying with them. Strange enough but I haven’t though, and my only experience was with Cathay Dragon, a subsidiary through acquisition that mainly focuses on short-haul routes.
Going back home for the first time since 2020, I finally got the opportunity to fly the “real” Cathay by redeeming my Asiamiles. Cathay Pacific is located at Heathrow’s Terminal 3, like most other Oneworld carriers.
The lane is already very long when check-in starts four hours before departure. Fortunately I can use the priority counter which has no queue.
Fast track is available to premium passengers. If you are a frequent Oneworld flyer from T3, you know it is a lounge paradise – there are Cathay Pacific, Qantas, American Airlines and British Airways to choose from! You can also access the Centurion Lounge if you have the Amex Platinum or Centurion card, but it can be very busy at peak hours.
I am very familiar with the Cathay Pacific Lounge, and it is my favourite out of the four Oneworld lounges. The days of my BA Gold are numbered, after which I won’t be able to come back for a while…
My flight departs from Gate 40, which is farthest in the terminal. I remember being here when I flew Philippine Airlines a few years back (on an error fare).
Cathay’s A350 fleet have both A350-900 and A350-1000 aircrafts. I’m on the latter this time, but I don’t think they differ much in terms of cabin design.
Business class seats are arranged in the herringbone fashion, with a total number of 48. The middle seats:
As you can imagine, window seats are much more private:
There is a small storage cupboard next to the control panel, with a socket inside.
And a much larger storage box below which can fit a pair of shoes.
The amenity bag is nothing to write home about, and the content is minimal. You won’t find earplugs or socks in it.
IFE:
Surprisingly there are two live TV channels – BBC and CCN. It is a world cup night between England and Wales, and US and Iran. Unfortunately the matches are not being broadcasted.
And the menu:
Cathay Delight is one of their signature cocktails. However I was told it’s not available so went with their recommendation instead and got a Lemon Tease.
The cauliflower soup is passable:
Followed by the wonton noodles which was a total disaster. I’m not a big fan of Cantonese cuisine, but you can’t blame me for disliking it – the noodles on top are clearly burnt probably due to overheating, and the soup tastes really weird, worse than what you’d expect from instant noodles.
Remember to pick your breakfast choice before going to sleep. The congee is much better, although somehow my shitake mushrooms became ginger slices.
And the lie-flat bed:
The bed is a tad narrow, but you can lift up a pad on the side to compensate.
Well I don’t know what more to say. It is certainly not a terrible experience, aside from the really bad wonton noodles, but I can’t really say anything positive about the flight either. I had high expectations – it is an Asian carrier after call – which Cathay failed to meet, and I probably need to try their first class some day.
My review of United Polaris business class, Boeing 789
I’m hoping to top off my U.S. trip with a United flight, which is a first for me. My original plan was to depart from Houston due to inventory issues, but at some point San Francisco suddenly opened up, which works perfectly to my plan.
To redeem for a flight from U.S. to Europe, United miles work out so much cheaper than any European airlines. Here is an exemplary comparison for a one-way flight from San Francisco to London in business:
- United miles: 62.4K + £5
- BA Avios: 90K + £225
- Virgin points: 67.5K + £721
It’s simply insane how much BA or VS are trying to charge here, especially for taxes and fees. The only hurdle is how to accrue United miles in the UK – I exchanged my Marriott points, the ratio of which is decent but I had to wait 8 days for the miles to arrive. Some people reportedly waited up to three weeks.
Having spent some quality time in the Polaris lounge, it is time to board my flight. The flight is operated by the Boeing 787-9 Dreamline, with the reputable United Polaris business class. United’s old business class configuration is eight abreast, which looks like to total disaster.
The Polaris cabin is divided into two parts by the gallery. The front cabin has 32 seats and the rear 16, but they don’t feel any different to each other.
The Polaris seats are all staggered. Odd middle seats are the “lover seats”, which offers the best intimacy and privacy for a couple.
The even middle seats are for single travellers who failed to grab a window seat.
Windows seats in odd rows are forward-facing and semi-enclosed, which is no doubt the best option if you are travelling by yourself.
Window seats in even rows are angled and aisle facing, which isn’t as ideal unless you want more open space.
The Polaris gives me a great first impression. The cushion, pillow, sheets and vanity bag are ready on my seat.
Unlike most other airlines, the inclination of your seat is adjusted by a scroll wheel instead of a button, which in my opinion is a better user experience.
I think it’s the first time I get a hard-shell amenity bag, which is very cute.
This is a conventional design for storage:
The seat converted into a lie-flat bed:
Although it doesn’t feature the door, my window seat feels much closer to a proper mini-suite than Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class Suite. The Do not disturb sign lights up when you’ve pressed the button which is fancy.
The IFE:
This is probably the simplest menu I’ve ever seen on a long-haul business class flight, which is only one page. It doesn’t say what drinks they offer, and you need to enquire the flight attendant.
They serve hot nuts which is a plus. I ordered braised beef short ribs for my main:
Which is incredibly good! The beef is very well cooked so you barely need to chew and the seasoning is great. It is one of the best dishes I’ve had on any flight.
The service is a bit lacking (which I think is normal for a U.S. airline?), but I love the Polaris seat design, and catering is amazing, which makes it one of the best flights I’ve had in the last three years or so. I’m flying from New York to London on American Airlines later this year (thanks to a “flash sale”), and that should tick all three major U.S. airlines for me.
My review of Virgin Atlantic’s A350 Upper Class Suite
I made Los Angeles the first stop of my U.S. trip, as it’s one the few routes that feature Virgin A350’s new Upper Class Suite. In terms of similar suite products, I’ve tried Qatar Airways’ Qsuite and was truly impressed, but I’m not expecting Virgin to match that experience.
With the upgrade voucher I paid only 27,500 points for LHR-LAX, and there was a promotion going on to get half of the points back. It may come across as being cheap, if you dismiss the fact that taxes and charges amount to more than £600…
I’ve reviewed Heathrow’s Upper Class Wing and Clubhouse recently. I didn’t bother with the Upper Class Wing this time but spent considerable time at the Clubhouse. Menu of the day is surprisingly good including Chicken Katsu Curry, Kimchi Fried Rice and Thai Curry. I attempted to visit the Amex Centurion Lounge as well, but unfortunately it already suffers serious overcrowding issue.
Time to board the plane! If you’ve flown with them before you must be familiar with the club lighting.
I didn’t anticipate angled seats, but the upper class cabin is still configured the reverse herringbone style. As usual middle seats are ideal if you are travelling with a companion, but window seats offer better privacy.
I pre-selected 2A (window seat), but for operational reasons the seat is no longer available when I check in, and I’m assigned 8D (middle seat) instead.
I start to feel uncomfortable the moment sitting down. There’s nowhere to rest my head or neck, and the foot rest is much lower than the seat. At 6′ my legs are just about to reaching the foot rest, and I don’t know whether to put my legs down or on it.
There are five buttons to adjust the seat position. It’s a puzzle and I can’t find a comfortable position after all.
After converting into a bed, the lie-flat seat looks like this:
I’m finally starting to get comfortable, then another anti-pattern design hits me. As you can see from the picture, because of the installation of the IFE, I cannot lift my right leg at all. It may not be a problem when you are sleeping, but I like to roll around when lying down.
What’s more, I’m shocked to learn the “door” doesn’t pull out for more than 10 inches – it doesn’t go beyond what the picture shows. The partition between two middle seats is quite short too. To be honest I don’t think it has the qualification of being called a suite.
The amenity kit is made from recycled materials.
The IFE pops out, and I find its angle awkward as well. The system is very new but movie selection is quite limited.
Menu:
The menu fails to whet my appetite, nor does the food. The chicken parfait is fine.
I ordered a sandwich before landing, which is… a cold sandwich as you’ll find in Tesco.
The bar is replaced by The Loft on A350. I didn’t notice it when I got on the plane and didn’t look for it so have no idea how it actually looks like.
I’m not a fan of Virgin’s old Upper Class, and the only motivation for me to fly with them again was to try out the new suite. Sadly it turned out to be a near-disaster and the Upper Class Suite feels worse than the older product. I’m not looking forward to flying Virgin again in the near future, but hopefully I’ll be able to redeem some Virgin points on ANA soon!
My review of Air Serbia A319 business class
After almost ten phone calls to Air Serbia’s call centre, I finally managed to book my business class ticket from Heathrow to Belgrade using Etihad Guest miles. I don’t think many people have ever travelled with them, so it’s worth writing a brief trip review.
(more…)My review of Delta Premium Select on Boeing 767
I’m booked on Premium Select with Delta for coming back to London from Seattle. I don’t really collect Delta miles, and although they’ve partnered heavily with Virgin Atlantic you can’t use VS miles to upgrade Delta flights, so I’m stuck with no upgrade 😛
VS Gold is given Sky Priority status on Delta flights, which entitles me to the fast track lane at Seattle airport. But the airport is very quiet on this Tuesday so I didn’t take advantage of it.
Having spent some time in the Sky Club and Centurion Lounge, I take the shuttle train to terminal S to board my flight. Compared to many other airlines Delta appears to value premium passengers more, at least when it comes to boarding: Premium Select passengers board after Delta One and Diamond, but before Platinum and Sky Priority.
Pretty nice logo:
Turn right and it’s our destination: the Premium Select cabin.
Premium Select, or in more common terminology Premium Economy is a relatively new concept to Delta. If I remember correctly many of their long haul planes don’t even feature this cabin yet, but a so-called Comfort Plus which is essentially still Economy.
Premium Select is generally well regarded by the aviation enthusiasts, and some even call it Business Minus instead. My colleague was also quite jealous that I’ve got the chance to try it out, so I had high expectations.
The first impression is indeed quite positive. Boeing 767 is narrower than other wide-body planes, which means there are fewer seats in a row. In the case of Premium Select, there are two seats on the left, right and in the middle respectively, so only six seats in a row.
Although the seats are not necessarily wider, it does feel much nicer and more relaxed than the eight-seat across Premium Economy cabin on other aircrafts.
My first-row seat has two windows and HUGE legroom.
Cushion, blanket and headphone are available which is pretty standard. There’s also a very basic travel kit which is the same as what’s offered in the Main Cabin (Economy). The earbuds and eye mask look very cheap and you may prefer to bring your own.
A moment later we are up in the sky.
The dining tray pops up automatically from the left armrest with a button pressed. The control panel below the right armrest is used to adjust the seat and footrest. USB sockets are also available. The seat looks very new.
The IFE doesn’t contain that many latest blockbusters, but is super abundant and diverse. For example, all episodes of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and The Matrix are included. Usually IFEs are lacking in horrors and thrillers, but they’ve got Malignant, Old and Last Night in Soho here. I’m genuinely impressed by their offer.
Unfortunately the dinner is a U-turn. It is basically a “chicken or fish” situation with no dedicated menu, and I believe it’s the same food as in Main Cabin. The only difference is free alcohol drinks.
Breakfast is a bagel and fruit bowl.
This is how the seat looks like with max inclination.
I’m bad at taking photos, and the picture above doesn’t do the seat justice. One objective fact is, I slept for full five hours after taking a melatonin pill, which is probably a personal record.
Going to the bathroom is the worst experience of this trip. There are only four bathrooms in the middle of the aircraft which are shared by all Premium Select and many Main Cabin passengers. You can imagine how the queue is like after dinner.
I think very highly of the cabin, seat and IFE of Premium Select, but they could definitely make more effort in improving the food and other soft amenities. My overall experience is better than when I flew with BA or Virgin, so I’d recommend it if it falls within your budget.
My review of Virgin Atlantic 787-9 Upper Class
We wrote about Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Wing and Clubhouse at Heathrow, and let’s take a look at their Upper Class in-flight experience today. It’s been three years since I was last onboard a wide-body aircraft.
For boarding there are two priority lanes: one for Upper Class passengers only, and the other for Premium, Economy Delight plus elite members of Virgin Atlantic, Delta and Flying Blue. I’m one of the first to board so can’t verify, but the second priority lane probably has loads of people.
The first thing that comes to your sight is their bar, which is a major feature for Upper Class passengers when they fancy a chat and some drinks.
It’s obviously not Emirates First Class though, and evolves into a totally different design on the A350 aircraft.
The 787 aircraft has herringbone configuration in Upper Class with three seats per row.
The seats are stacked very tightly though, so there isn’t as much space for each seat as you may expect.
The main storage space is behind the seat. There are charging ports behind the IFE and remote control.
One major defect is the lack of view. Even if you are sat at a window seat, the window is actually behind you blocked by the back of your seat.
I’m unpleasantly surprised when seeing their new amenity kit…
I get that they are trying to be environmentally responsible, but I like to collect airline amenity bags, and personally I don’t like them cutting cost in premium cabins whatever the claimed cause is.
The IFE has a small screen and looks quite old:
Some of the latest releases include Dune, Eternals and Unchartered.
Another sign of cost-cutting: for a flight duration of 9 hours, only one meal is served.
You can pre-order between 72 hours and 24 hours before the departure, which I didn’t do. But the online menu had more content than onboard, so it might be a wise thing to do.
I ordered Asparagus for a starter (it turns out no quail eggs are available):
Thai curry prawns as main course:
And the chocolate dome for dessert:
There are Extra Bites to order too whenever you feel peckish. I ended up having both the pull pork burger and crab cake, which are actually tastier than the prawns. My suspicion is that the Extra Bites replaces a second meal so they don’t have to offer starter or dessert.
One notorious design of their Upper Class seat: when turning into a bed it doesn’t naturally slide down like every other airline’s business class seat, but leans forward and then slides back instead. It’s slightly inconvenient as you can’t stay in the seat while the conversion happens.
The bed is long enough but the foot rest is a bit confined. The A350 Upper Class has a more conventional design, but from what I’ve heard the head space is smaller.
I’ve flown the 787 Upper Class a couple of times previously so nothings feels really refreshing of this flight. A friend of mine also did his A350 recently and I’ll see if I can get a report from him.