Hello and greetings from premium economy on Cathay Pacific’s new Airbus A350-1000. That’s right, if you’ve been following along on my mileage run “live blog,” I made it! I’m still not entirely sure how I made it, but one way or another I did.
If you haven’t been following along or forgot where I was, I’ll give you a quick refresher. Today, I’ve been trying to get to San Fransisco from New York to catch my Cathay Pacific flight. The major issues began with a 3.5+ hour mechanical delay on American. American’s delay pushed my new arrival time past my scheduled departure time which meant I would have missed this flight. As a result, American put me on a Delta flight to San Fransisco. That flight was also delayed, but there was still a glimmer of hope.
Ultimately, as you can tell, I made it. However, in order to explain how I made it, I must first thank the crew on Delta 1359. Without them, I wouldn’t have made it. Here’s what happened.
Thank You Jeffery From Delta 1359!
American put me on the Delta flight at the last minute which meant I received a terrible seat assignment. At first I was given a middle seat in row 40 on a Delta 757, but at the gate I switched to an aisle seat in row 43. The aircraft has 44 rows so I was near the very rear of the aircraft. I actually very much enjoyed the flight, Delta’s transcontinental economy product is actually quite good.
Anyway, during the beverage service I struck up a brief conversation with Jeffery, the flight attendant. The conversation began because I inquired about free alcohol on Transcon flights. That got us talking about a few other service items on Delta flights. At some point during the conversation I admitted that I generally don’t travel with Delta. Instead, I tend to stick to American Airlines as I’ve been based in Chicago. I then told Jeffery that the only reason I was on this particular flight was due to a delay and a now extremely tight connection. With that statement Jeffery sprung into action. I still can’t believe how diligently he worked to make all of this happen.
He went around to other cabin crew members to come up with a plan for how to get me off of the aircraft. Further, he gave me real time flight status updates and searched for alternative options for me to consider as a way of getting to Asia. Wow!
Toward the end of the flight the plan was in place and Jeffery (Jeff?) notified me that we had about 30 minutes until landing. That meant we should arrive at the gate around 12:00AM. Cathay Pacific still maintained a scheduled departure time of 12:40AM with doors closing at 12:30AM.
The 30 Minute SFO International Connection
Toward the end of the flight Jeffery and the cabin crew relocated my bag to the business class cabin and moved me to a seat toward the front of the main cabin. The flight attendants then told me when I heard the words “cross-check” to stand up and rush toward the door before anyone else stood up. Then, at the door, my bad would be waiting for me and I could then run to my connecting gate.
As we approached the gate the cabin crew requested all passengers to remain seated to help me get off the plane. As promised, when the crew made the cross-check announcement I bolted from my seat toward the door where my bag was waiting. Then, at 12:05AM, the door open and my sprint toward the international terminal began.
Due to construction at SFO my only option to get to the international terminal was to run through all of the other terminals. I began running from the jet bridge door and didn’t look back. I reached the international security check-point at approximately 12:15AM. It took me just 10 minutes to run from the gate to the check-point. I was through security in about 3 minutes as I was the only one there and then I began to again run toward my gate. I reached the gate at about 12:21AM which was just 10 minutes prior to the closing of the jet bridge door.
Finally Settled Into My Seat
As you can imagine, when I finally took my seat I was breathing heavily, sweating, and exhausted. I’m sure the person next to me was thrilled to have such a model seat mate.
Because I was the last to board I unfortunately did not get any pictures of the empty premium economy or economy cabins as I typically would. I also didn’t get any photos of the boarding area or the Cathay Pacific Lounge in SFO. Overall I’m fairly disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to review the lounge or get picture of the empty aircraft.
However, I’m still on a plane destined for Hong Kong where I will have a full day to explore. The moving map is showing an arrival time of 6:30AM which means I’ll still have a full day to walk around when I land. Also, the weather is showing a perfect 60 degree day with clear skies.
Finally, I’m also still earning a ton of miles from this trip and will earn a ton of miles on my return trip tomorrow. So from that point of view, this trip is still a success.
Final Thoughts
First off, I’m extremely grateful for everything the Delta crew did to help me make my flight. I wouldn’t ever expect that level of service so it’s safe to say that the entire crew went above and beyond.
Secondly, I’m so happy to finally be on the Airbus A350-1000. This plane is honestly beautiful. The fit and finish of the cabin is so incredibly modern and current compared to cabins on Cathay’s older 777 fleet. I really love Cathay’s choice of colors and finishes on this aircraft. Also, I didn’t realize how large the windows were going to be before I stepped on board. The windows are massive and offer an amazing view of the signature curved wingtip of the Airbus A350.
Finally, I’m a bit sad to have missed out on the lounge and the ability to get empty cabin photos. I worry without those elements my review won’t give the product justice. I just need to make sure to take ample in-flight photos and remain on board at the end of the flight to get a few cabin photos. However, if the review isn’t up to my standards at least I’ll have an excuse to do it again?
