Cathay Upper Deck Biz: HKG-PVG

744 that will be taking us to PVG

My HKG-PVG was on a 744 and since I was denied the upgrade to First, I decided to go with the next best option, Upper Deck Business Class. Having never tried the upper deck on a 744, I was actually pretty excited. Cathay's Upper Deck consists of all Business class seating offering a very private cabin right behind the cockpit.

Stairway to Heaven?

Upon entering door 1L, I was greeted by the purser and I was directed upstairs. This was a very exciting moment for me as it was my very first time climbing up the steps on the 744. A young attractive Japanese FA greeted me and directed me to my seat. While walking to the seat, I also got a glimpse of the 744 cockpit, another first for me.

The seats on this 744 were of the Herringbone type which I did not like very much. There was very little storage and I felt a bit claustrophobic as I settled down in my seat.

The Seat

Another attractive FA stopped by my seat and offered me a choice of OJ, Champagne, or Water. Since it was 8am in the morning, I did not want to look like a drunkard so I went with the OJ. The FA also offered to hang my jacket. Let me tell ya, the FA wearing the white on Cathay are the most attractive and also the most junior of the bunch. I couldn't help but be nice to them, saying please and thank you after each request . I have long heard that Cathay hired Flight Attendants from neighboring countries based on service not on looks but it seems now days they are hiring more pretty local girls. Some say the service level has dropped because of this but I did not notice this on my flights. The Flight Attendants on the Intra Asia routes were definitely more junior compared to those on the transoceanic routes.

After a smooth takeoff, an American Pilot came on the PA to introduce himself and told us some information about the flight..Surprisingly, all 4 of my flights on Cathay had either American or British Pilots. I guess most of Cathay Pilots are former pilots for legacy carriers in the US. Who woulda funked it. Haha.

Menu

The Japanese FA came by to distribute the day's menu and took my meal order. I decided to go with the Dim Sum option as it was excellent on the earlier leg. I also ordered the signature drink of Cathay, Cathay Delight.

Cathay Delight

My drink arrived shortly and as expected it was pretty tasty. The drink was green in color and had a hint of coconut and kiwi in it.

The service in CX regional Biz was done from carts and everything was placed on a single tray. Although the presentation lacked a bit, the food was tasty and I was pretty satisfied.

The croissant was excellent

Dim Sum

After lunch, my tray was cleared and I decided to test out the seat in bed mode. Again, I have to complain here because even though I don't have broad shoulders, I felt as if I was in a coffin. I am glad they are switching these seats out to new generation biz seats. I reclined my seat to the more comfortable upright position and proceeded to watch a couple more episodes of Big Bang Theory.

The Japanese flight attendant approached me and thanked me for my business and asked me very politely to fill out a survey. Although the survey took about 10mins to complete I was able to get a Cathay pen out of the process :-)

Before I knew it, we were on approach into Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Once again, I did not see the ground until 1000-2000ft off the ground due to the heavy smog and pollution in Shanghai.

I was one of the first to reach immigration and my First Class tagged bag was the 3^rd one out of the carousal. Not bad, from gate to curbside in under 15min. Really makes you wonder if LAX will have this kind of efficiency if US had a 2 billion population. I have never had to wait more than 5min for immigration at PVG even though I hold an American passport. Really amazing how overstaffed the airport is.