Our Cathay Pacific 777-300ER being loaded up at JFK for its flight to Hong Kong

Our time in New York City had come to an end so here began our long journey home to Australia.  We had our fingers crossed that this time we would get to fly over the North Pole on the way.

Airline and Flight # 

Cathay Pacific CX831

Aircraft

Boeing 777-300ER

Airport and Terminal

Departure: John F Kennedy  International Airport, New York |Terminal 7

Arrival: Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong| Terminal 1

Scheduled Departure Date and Time

Monday 11th July 2016| 02:50pm

Flying Time

16 hours 0 minutes

Luggage Allowance

Carry-on: Adults and children travelling in business class are allowed the following carry on luggage up to 7kg per piece:

• 1x115cm bag at 56cm (22in) x 36cm (14in) x 23cm (9in) and
• 1 small item that can fit under the seat in front and be no larger than 15cm (6in) x 30cm (12in) x 40cm (16in).  Such items can include a small handbag, laptop bag, small backpack, camera bag or briefcase.

Checked baggage: Most passengers have the following checked baggage allowances however there are a few destinations where the allowances are more or less depending on how far away they are:

• 30kg (66lb) – maximum 2 pieces.  For this flight we were allowed 2 bags weighing up to 23kg (50.7lbs) each with dimensions adding to 158cm (62 in).
• Total dimensions (length + width + height) = 203cm (80 in)
• If you are travelling with an infant without a booked seat for them, two pieces of luggage totalling up to 10kg (22lbs) plus a car seat and a stroller can be checked in on most flights.
• Infants with booked seats and children are entitled to the same luggage allowances as adults.
• More generous allowances are made for passengers travelling in a higher class or with a higher tier Marco Polo frequent flyer status.

Fun Facts

• Cathay Pacific is a founding member of the Oneworld alliance
• The airline was founded in Hong Kong back in 1946
• The airline commenced service with a single Douglas DC-3 nicknamed Betsy
• The Boeing 777 is the world’s largest twin jet

Website

Cathay Pacific’s website is really well laid out with a great user-face making it easy to use and find what you’re looking for.  You can book one way, return or multi city flights as well as hotels or flight and hotel combinations.  When searching flights, prices are displayed for the dates chosen as well as days either side.  This is handy for when your dates are flexible allowing you to choose to fly on a cheaper day.  The results also show the price of the different class fares.  Clicking on view details brings up further information like airport and terminal numbers and the type of aircraft.  You can reserve your seat but if you’re flying Economy and haven’t reached the required tier frequent flyer membership there is a fee with the amount depending on the country you fly out of and your destination.  The website also contains information on a range of topics including frequent flyer programs, luggage requirements, check-in, preparing for your trip, airport details etc.

Check-in

Check-in can be done on-line, at the airport via the counter or self service kiosk or by downloading Cathay Pacific’s app. When checking in on-line enter your first and last name followed by your booking reference or E-ticket number.  Boarding passes can be sent to your mobile, printed at home or from the self-service kiosks at the airport.  Check-in opens 24 hours up to 90 minutes prior to scheduled departure however if you have purchased your ticket directly from the Cathay Pacific website or are a Club/Asia Miles passenger, you can check in 48 hours prior to departure.

Seating

Layout – The Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER is a long range wide bodied twin engine jet with 275 seats.  These are made up of 6 open First class seats, 53 flat bed Business class seats, 34 recliner Premium Economy seats and 182 standard Economy class seats.  Economy is set out in a 3-3-3 configuration. 

Features – The seats on this plane were older and made from a patterned blue material. Tray tables were folding and contained a cup holder so you don’t have to pull your tray down if you’re just having a drink.  The leg room was decent.

On each seat – There was a pillow and a sealed blanket and a set of individually wrapped headphones.

Specs – Seat pitch 32 inches (81cm), seat width 18.5 inches (47cm).

Cabin Comfort

The 3-3-3 layout on this aircraft makes it less convenient when you need to get out of your seat if you’re not seated in the aisle.  Despite this layout, width and pitch is the same as the seats on the A330 which we flew on our last flight with the 2-3-2 layout.

The blankets were nice and big and the cup holder means you don’t have to pull your tray down each time you have a drink.

Leg room was quite decent although there were no footrests despite the length of this flight nor any kind of amenity kits.

In-flight Entertainment

Electronic devices

• Electronic devices can be used whilst boarding using the aerobridge but not if you’re using the tarmac to board.
• Once doors on the plane have closed you need to then switch your device to flight mode.

Power

• There were two universal power plugs underneath each pair of seats
• USB power is available just below the entertainment screen

In the Seat Pocket

• Discovery magazine – containing articles, travel information and advertising
• Shop – duty free magazine
• Laminated safety card

WiFi

• There was no WiFi on this flight

Entertainment System

• Cathay Pacific uses Studio CX for its inflight entertainment.  This is offered through individual screens with the following menus to choose from:

1. Just added – a selection of new movies that have recently come out
2. Movie
3. TV
4. Music
5. Info
6. Game
7. Kids
8. Map – which contained a fairly basic moving flight map
9. Shop

Transfer information was displayed on the screen upon descent.

Catering

Menus

Cathay Pacific’s menus were very much on the plain side.  They were basically a piece of thick white paper with Lunch, Dinner and Snacks printed in black on the front and the same on the back written in Cantonese.  There was no indication of when the meals would be served or anything else about the food.  I did notice there was a choice of three lunches which was good although dinner had just the two options which is what I was used to seeing on the airlines I flew.   I have noticed more airlines now though are coming on board with offering three choices rather than two.  As one of these choices is vegetatarian, it also cuts down the number of special orders.

Lunch offered a chioice of:

1. Beef, preserved vegetables and steamed jasmine rice or
2. Chicken, mashed potato and red pepper sauce or
3. Penne pasta and creamy Parmesan cream sauce

Each dish was served with a marinated corn, fetta and shrimp salad, a bread roll and butter, a bottle of water and ice cream for dessert.  Tea and coffee was also served.

Dinner offered a choice of:

1. Stir-fried chicken, ginger scallion sauce and steamed jasmine rice or
2. Pulled pork chilli and herbed orzo pasta

Each dish was served with fresh seasonal fruit, a bread roll and butter, a bottle of water and coconut cake for dessert.  Tea and coffee were also served.

Food/Drinks

After the seatbelt lights went out crew started serving drinks and packets of peanuts prior to handing out the menus.

Not too long into the flight lunch was served.  I chose the chicken, mashed potato and red pepper sauce.  It came with a marinated corn, feta and shrimp salad.

Snacks were available from the self service area beside the galley.  There you could help yourself to potato chips, savoury crackers, packets of dried fruit, peanuts and a few varieties of drinks.  Noodle cups were also available upon request. About half way through the flight Dinner was served.  I had the pulled pork, chilli and herbed orzo pasta along with mixed fruit and coconut cake for dessert.  Hubby chose the stir-fried chicken, ginger scallion sauce and steamed jasmine rice.

Pros

• Cathay Pacific offers three choices of lumch and two choices of dinner
• The airline was able to give us our first choice of meal every time
• Bottled water was given out at meal times along with a selection of drinks
• Cathay Pacific serve interesting salads with its meals
• This flight took us over the north pole which was very exciting
• Individual cup holders attached to the front of the tray means you don’t need to pull your tray out when you’re just having a drink.

Cons

• The food was fairly bland and the presentation wasn’t very appealing
• The toilets weren’t the cleanest
• Staff generally weren’t very friendly
• 3-3-3 configuration in Economy makes it harder getting out of your seat
• No amenity kits for such a long flight
• This aircraft appeared quite old

Conclusion

Flying over the North Pole was very exciting and made this flight a memorable one for me  Food and service could be better although there was a lovely American female flight attendant that did a great job making passengers feel special.  For this length flight I think amenity kits should be included and foot rests would be nice too.  Thankfully leg room was decent though,