CX F, LAX-HKG, Trip Report 8/20/11

Fresh off a grueling 3hr Ops final, I was not expecting to wait in line to check in to my First Class experience on Cathay Pacific. With my mind still swimming with Ops terms, Queue Time and bottlenecks... why am I standing here in line? This cant be right? But there I was, lined up behind 1 couple, + 5 baggage carts, 2 parents, 1 caretaker + 3 screaming kids. I mean this is First Class, there shouldn't be any lines when flying International First? I had read all those trip reports featuring F class flying with extravagant private seating area exclusive for F passengers, sipping on a cocktail and getting taken care of, therefore my expectations were high but then again this is LAX we are talking about, IMO the worst Airport in the world... even celebrities don't get special treatment here. Then, I came to realize that this is in part Cathay's fault. The family of 6 in front of me with the 5 baggage carts were actually OneWorld Emeralds which entails them access to the First Class check-in and priority boarding. In my opinion the First Class line on an airline the caliber of Cathay should be dedicated to F class passengers, not elite members. Although I had to wait 20min to be checked in, my buddy who was traveling on Asiana Y got done with his check-in and had to wait for me. But, I am happy to say that this little hiccup was the only wrinkle of my journey to Shanghai.

Once through security my buddy and I made our way to the OneWorld Lounge. Knowing that as an OneWorld F passenger, I am only allowed to bring 1 guest who is traveling on an OneWorld carrier, when I got to the lounge, I had to beg the lounge dragon to get my buddy traveling on Asiana into the lounge. But with a little pleading we made ourselves into the busy OneWorld Lounge and in no time was sipping on our first bottle of Peroni. I had to pace myself because I had bigger better things in front of me and did not want to get wasted before the flight even started. So after a glass of bubbly and the Peroni I bid farewell to my friend and headed down to my gate to find a massive F class line already forming for boarding. And of course there were plenty of Emeralds in the line. Blehhh...

Boarding started within 3min and after walking onto the boarding bridge I turned left and headed in through 1L door of Cathay's magnificent 77W. I was so giddy I could not contain my excitement. I handed my boarding pass to the Service Manager on the plane and was immediately welcomed aboard and guided to my seat.

“Mr. Jiang, we were expecting you, here is your personal suite. Please make yourself comfortable.”

No less than 5 seconds later, one of the F class stewards came by and dropped off the Shanghai Tang Pajamas and Zegna Amenity Kit. He also offered me a drink.

Before he could finish his question, with a huge smile on my face, I blurted out.

“Glass of Krug please.”

On the way back the steward helped me store my carry on luggage in the storage area on the side of the TV console, and came back with a bottle of Krug. He showed me the bottle and I nodded and he began to pour. Having never drank high end champagne before I did not know what to expect.

That first sip was simply amazing. I could taste the nutty flavor of this well aged glass of Krug, a taste that blows the $20 bottle of champagne I had in the lounge out of the water. I went on to have another glass before the steward collected my glass in preparation for taxi.

The powerful 77W lifted off after a long rotation. 13Hrs and 25min away from Hong Kong International Airport.

The flight attendants snapped into action once the plane reached 10,000ft and distributed the menus for tonight's flight.

Once the seatbelt sign went off I went out to the bathroom to change into my Pajamas.

The IFE was turned on and I began to explore. Before the flight I had already selected the films I wanted to see and dove right into Fast Five. After a quick 3mins of commercial, the movie began to play. The screen size was perfect and the resolution was perfectly fine.

Although I had heard great things about Cathay's chinese food offering, the rack of lamb on the menu caught my eye. I had to have it. So my dinner choice was going to be Caviar with Balik salmon, Truffle with cauliflower soup, Lobster Salad, Rack of lamb, cheese plate and Hazelnut Cake with vanilla ice cream. I decided to switch to the 2007 Lynch Bages on offer(priced at $139 a bottle).

The Lynch Bages although delicious, tasted a slight bit bland as it did not have enough time to mature, but it still ranks among one of the best glass of wine I have ever tasted.

The Caviar and Balik Salmon were extravagant, not as large of an offering of Caviar as they had on board Turkish Airlines(they gave the whole jar) but still it was more than ample. The Balik Salmon was rippling with flavor better than any piece of smoked salmon I have ever tasted.

Then came the bread basket and I went straight for the Garlic Bread which was exquisite, comparable to the one I had on Singapore Airlines.

The soup came next and I could taste the faint bit of truffle in there.

This was followed by the lobster salad filled with 2 whole lobster claws.

The rack of lamb arrived and I dove right in. To be honest I was a little disappointed with this one. The lamb was cooked well with a slight pink center but I did not enjoyed the sauce and mostly regretted not getting the Seafood Stir Fry in XO Sauce.

Despite the full F cabin, the pace of the meal was perfect and I did not have to wait more than 2min for courses to arrive. Really marvelous job by the 2 flight attendants working F that day.

I was then offered some cheese. Although I have never been a fan of cheese, I will try anything on Cathay Pacific once. I just went with the goat cheese and was mildly impressed by the taste. This is certainly not the packets of cheddar they serve on United.

Dessert came next and the Hazelnut cake was moist and heavenly. I also ordered some Bailey's on Ice.

As a last course, the flight attendant brought out some pralines.

Extremely full at this point, the stewardess cleared the plates and offered to make my bed. I accepted and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. First class on Cathay has 2 bathrooms for 6 passengers. The one on the right is smaller, typical of what you see in economy class. The one on the left side is extremely large and well stocked with orchids. The bathroom was kept immaculate and was extremely pleasant to use.

Once I returned to my seat the stewardess was making my bed and this is what I love about Cathay. She went on to start a conversation with me, something I did not experience on Turkish F. I have always read that Cathay Flight attendants are very personable and easy to talk to unlike the robotic service on Singapore Airlines. The stewardess told me that this was only the second time that she has served anyone as young as me in First Class, and told me that it was a pleasure serving me.

After she was done I climbed on the bed and laid down, a bottle of water was placed at my bedside. The bed was extremely comfortable, wider than the Turkish Airlines First class suites. The duvet was extremely comfortable and I watched a couple more episodes of Big Bang Theory and clocked out for almost 8hrs.

Noticing that I had woken up, the stewardess came around to offer me a drink. I went with a glass of Johnny Walker Blue on the rocks. Seeing that I still had 4hrs left till Hong Kong, I decided to explore the snack menu. I ordered a bowl of Hot Pot Rice and 15min later, my Hot Pot Rice arrived with a bowl of winter melon soup. The soup was simply amazing, full of taste and extremely refreshing. The Hot Pot Rice was also very good, better than any Hot Pot rice I have had in the US. The chicken was moist and the rice was cooked to perfection. Definitely ranks up there as my favorite food I have tried on an airplane.

While I was finishing up my snack, the stewardess came around to ask me what I would like for Breakfast and when I would like it. I chose the mixed fruit smoothie, Ti Kuan Yin tea, fruit plate and the Dim Sum for 1.5hrs before landing.

After the snack I went on to watch another movie and before I noticed my breakfast service was about to begin.

The fruit smoothie was more of a fruit juice but it was excellent.

The fruit plate was fresh and well presented.

The dim sum was definitely delightful. The Har Gaw was excellent and the lotus leaf rice was as good as any dim sum served on land.

Sadly my flight was coming to an end. The IFE was turned off 15min before landing and after a quick descent we landed at a sleepy Hong Kong International Airport. We made it to the gate within 5min and I was the first to get off the plane. The flight attendants thanked me profusely for choosing Cathay Pacific and wished me a great stay in Hong Kong. Bringing my wonderful Cathay Pacific First Class experience to an end.