After two incredible visits to both Cathay Pacific First Class lounges in Hong Kong (The Wing & The Pier) it was finally time to board my flight back to the United States. Although I needed to get back to Chicago, I decided to book a flight home via Los Angeles. I booked through LA because I wanted to spend a little bit of time exploring a few lounges in LAX before returning home. After all, my HKG over MLK weekend wasn’t all fun and games, this was a work trip.
Boarding A US Bound Flight In Hong Kong
Although our flight departed from Gate 4, I couldn’t reach the gate until bypassing a secondary screening checkpoint. At the checkpoint all passengers had to line up and wait for an available security guard to conduct the screening. The line moved fairly quickly and I was able to use a priority lane thanks to my OneWorld Emerald elite status.
As I reached a guard, he started asking me a few questions about my visit and time in Hong Kong. He then proceeded to ask me about my luggage and if I packed it myself. After answer a few questions to his liking he directed me to a second area with tables. I was then instructed to place my bag on the table where it would be searched. The security staff opened each of my bags, confiscated my water bottles, and told me that I was ok to move on.
After clearing the secondary screening area I found myself in the massive gate area which was mostly empty.
We were scheduled to depart from Gate 4 which is at the end of the hall.
Boarding The Cathay Pacific 777-300ER
About 10 minutes after our scheduled boarding time, the Cathay Pacific gate agent announced the flight and welcomed First Class passengers to board. As I maintain OneWorld Emerald Elite Status I was able to board with First Class passengers.
As I passed through the gate door I caught a glimpse of the 777-300ER which would be taking us back to Los Angeles. I also got a preview of just how far away our plane was from the gate!
I was glad that the jet bridge also had windows because it made the long walk to the plane go by quickly. Before long I arrived at a jet bridge platform which separated first/business and economy passengers.
Although the first area is designated for Business Class passengers, most business class seats are behind the L2 boarding door. It makes more sense for most business class passengers to use the Economy boarding door.
The economy jet bridge connected to the L2 boarding door which, as I mentioned, separates the business class cabin. Economy class passengers must pass through most of the business class cabin to reach their seats.
Prior to boarding the aircraft I got a great view of the one of the massive GE90 get engines.
Cathay Pacific 777 Premium Economy Cabin
After boarding the aircraft and passing through the then empty business class cabin I finally arrived in the Premium Economy cabin of the aircraft. The Premium Economy cabin is located in a partitioned off section just behind business class.
The Premium Economy cabin is arranged (mostly) in a 2-4-2 configuration. Although I typically prefer window seats, I’ve stared sitting in aisle seats for 10+ hour flights so that I can drink a lot of water and not worry about disturbing anyone.
Bulkhead rows on the 777 aren’t created equal. The middle section faces a patrician and the two outer seats are semi-exposed as the wall cuts off a little short of the Premium Economy aisle.
Seats A-C are located just behind an exit door which means they have nearly unlimited legroom. However, this row (31) is missing a window, which doesn’t really matter for majority of the flight.
Row 31 is missing on the other side of the aircraft because the Premium Economy lavatory is located in that area.
The lavatory awkwardly sits in the middle of the cabin. If you opt to sit in seats 32 H-K you get extra legroom, but you also constantly hear the extremely loud flushing of the lavatory toilet.
Overall, the Premium Economy cabin is quite nice.
Cathay Pacific 777 Premium Economy Seat
For my flight to Hong Kong I selected seat 30D. The seat had favorable reviews on SeatGuru so I thought it would be nice. Sadly, I really did not like the seat so for my return flight I moved to the last row of the Premium Economy cabin.
For my return flight I chose seat 34D, pictured above. When I arrived at my seat there was a pillow, blanket, set of headphones, and an amenity kit waiting for me. The amenity kit was sitting on the little shelf under the generously sized IFE screen.
As I took my seat I quickly realized that I was in a much newer cabin than that offered on my flight too Hong Kong. This mean the IFE screen was a bit bigger and the seats a little more cushioned. I was pleasantly surprised by the slight improvement over my previous flight.
Oddly located in the fixed center armrest was the remote for the IFE screen and the headphone jack.
The armrests between seats E and F are movable while the armrests between D-E and F-G are fixed.
In between the two outer seats are power outlets. I always find it awkward when seat power is located near your legs, but I’d take awkward power outlets over no power outlets any day.
Lastly, Premium Economy seats have little foot rests under the seat in front of the (with the exception of bulkhead seats).
I surprisingly found myself using this foot rest nearly the entire flight. It definitely helped me get comfortable for sleeping.
Cathay Pacific 777 Premium Economy Service
After settling into my seat the cabin crew stopped by each seat offering a very small glass of Champagne, water, or orange juice. After drinking several glasses of Champagne in The Wing lounge before boarding the flight I opted to pass on the pre-departure beverage service.
Around that same time the Purser stopped by my seat and thanked me for my loyalty as he recognized my OneWorld Emerald elite status. Cathay Pacific does this to elite members on each of the flights I’ve had with them. While it’s nice to be appreciated I find it a little awkward, especially because I’m not loyal to Cathay. I also find it a bit funny that this happens on Cathay, but not on American where I earned my elite status.
Anyway, after a few minute hold at the gate we pushed back and began taxiing to the runway. The taxi took about 15 minutes and we were airborne about 30 minutes after our scheduled departure time. Shortly after passing through 10,000 fee the cabin crew began preparing for the snack and beverage service.
Flight attendants then passed by each seat handing out a small packet of almonds and your choice of beverage. I opted for a Heineken which was essentially a slushy thanks to the dry ice. At this time the flight attendant also passed out the Premium Economy dining menu.
Cathay Pacific 777 Premium Economy Menu
I’ve never quite understood why Premium Economy passengers receive menus. The menu is essentially just a short list of the 3 meal options that all passengers get anyway.
Inside the menu was a brief introduction to the culinary team which inspired all of the meal options available on the flight.
On the right hand page of the menu were the meal choices for lunch and dinner. As the flight departed at 12PM lunch would be served first. Dinner would be served about halfway into the flight. This page also listed a few snack options which could be ordered at anytime throughout the flight. Although I didn’t try it, the Beef Sliders with fries looked and smelled incredible!
The second page listed the various beverages offered on the flight. The menu was also provided in what I’m assuming is Mandarin.
Although the menus were distributed shortly after takeoff, meal orders were not taken until the time of the meal service. Typically if an airline distributes a menu I expect to place my orders ahead of time.
Cathay Pacific 777 Premium Economy Lunch Service
About an hour and a half into the flight the crew began circulating the cabin with the first of two meal services. Meals were distributed from the front of the cabin to the rear. However, since the meals are the same as those found in economy there is no risk of running out of your selected meal if you’re seated in the rear of the cabin.
Cathay Pacific distributes Premium Economy meals on the same little service trays found in economy class. The only difference between economy meals and Premium Economy meals is the metal flatware.
Lunch included a shrimp and couscous salad (very good), a piece of bread, and your choice of entree. I opted for the chicken and mushroom entree which I quite liked.
My only complaint about this meal service (and nearly all airline meal services) is the incredibly hot entree container. The lid of the container is made of a thick metal foil which I’m surprised didn’t melt give how hot it was. Oh, and the metal silverware was nearly ice cold to begin the mea. However, these are general airline issues which aren’t unique to Cathay Pacific.
After the initial meal service I decided to try to get a few hours of sleep, which wasn’t difficult given how comfortable the seat was.
Cathay Pacific 777 Premium Economy Dinner Service
About halfway into the flight the cabin crew turned on all of the lights in the cabin on. Cathay Pacific does this for their second meal service on long-haul flights and it drives me nuts. I think they should better space the meals so passengers can get more sleep, but what do I know.
Then, 20 minutes after the cabin lights were turned on the crew again circulated the cabin to distribute the dinner meal service.
The dinner service arrived on an identical tray as the lunch service. The key difference between lunch and dinner was that dessert was included on the tray when served.
For dinner I requested the Pan Fried Beef Tenderloin which was again very tasty. I also really appreciated the, albeit small, cup of fresh fruit.
Overall, both meals I ate on this flight exceeded my expectations. While these meals don’t hold a candle to those on Qatar Airways Business Class, they were still better than what I’ve come to expect in an economy cabin.
Cathay Pacific 777 Premium Economy Amenity Kit
As I mentioned earlier, each Premium Economy passenger received an amenity kit. The kits were in these little cloth pouches with a cute little Cathay Pacific logo on the outside.
ICathay Pacific provided a branded eyemask, a pair of earplugs, a card which introduced the artist of the designs, flight socks, and a dental kit inside each Premium Economy amenity kit. Overall, it was a pretty impressive amenity kit for a Premium Economy cabin.
The interior of the cloth pouch featured more artwork from the artist.
I was surprised by the attention to detail that went into this portion of the amenity kit which few will even notice.
Cathay Pacific 777 Premium Economy Impressions
Honestly, I was quite impressed by Cathay Pacific’s Premium Economy product, again. On Cathay, Premium Economy is just that, a step up from economy. When in Premium Economy you get a little more attention from the flight attendants, you get a hot towel, and you get metal flatware. You also get a seat which is a little more comfortable than an economy seat, but honestly Cathay’s 3-3-3 economy layout isn’t terrible.
That being said, I don’t think Premium Economy is worth the extra cost. From what I’ve seen Premium Economy tends to cost at least 2X that of standard economy class. Most US – Hong Kong routes costs in excess of $3,000 to fly in Premium Economy. I personally don’t think Cathay PE is worth that much. However, Cathay does put PE on sale quite often so if you can score a great Premium Economy deal I would recommend taking it. After all, you earn a ton of AAdvantage EQM and EQD when flying in Premium Economy on Cathay.
Overall our flight was very easy. I slept for most of it, but while awake I definitely appreciated the larger, more modern, IFE screen.
Cathay offered a ton of movies and shows so it would be easy to remained entertained for even the longer flights between the US and Hong Kong.
After the relatively quick flight I enjoyed watching the front facing camera as we touched down in Los Angeles.
Final Thoughts
The thing I loved most about these two Cathay Pacific flights were the number of EQD and EQM I earned very early in the year. With these two flights and a few others I’ve already qualified for AAdvantage Platinum status through Jan 2020 (wow that’s weird to write).
While I don’t think Cathay Pacific Premium Economy is worth the insane premium over a standard economy flight, it’s still a very nice product. I will definitely be looking out for future PE flight deals as I did really enjoy this flight. For what it’s worth, Seat 34D was much better than Seat 30D.
Lastly, by far the best part about flying from Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific were the lounges. Cathay has some fantastic lounges in Hong Kong International Airport. For that reason alone, I will keep trying to use Cathay Pacific as my return carrier from Asia. However, I do need to find a way to book JAL through Narita soon!
