Cathay Pacific A350 Premium Economy Review

Cathay Pacific offers Premium Economy on all their flights to Australia, using a mixture of Airbus A350-900s, A350-1000s and Boeing 777-300ERs. You can also soon try Cathay Pacific’s seats on selected Melbourne-Auckland flights, with Air New Zealand leasing a Boeing 777-300ER from Cathay Pacific.

I recently took a trip to Taipei via Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific. The trip started with a fantastic flight in Cathay Pacific’s A350 Economy Class. However, for the overnight return leg from Hong Kong to Sydney, I placed an upgrade bid for Premium Economy. 48 hours prior to departure, I got a very welcome email saying my bid was successful!

This was the first Premium Economy flight I’d ever taken, so I was super keen to see how different the experience would be between Economy and Premium Economy. Read on below to see my review of Cathay Pacific’s Premium Economy on the A350…

Flight Details

Flight number	CX111
Route	Hong Kong (HKG) to Sydney (SYD)
Aircraft type	Airbus A350-900
Class of travel	Premium Economy
Seat number	31K
On-time performance	We arrived 35 minutes late
Star rating

The route

Flight Cost

I paid $1,027.98 for a return Sydney-Taipei Economy Lite ticket on Cathay Pacific, with a four-day stopover in Hong Kong on the return. For what it’s worth, Premium Economy was retailing for around $2,200 for the entire trip.

Each of my four flights had upgrade offers attached, although I only bid on my last flight from Hong Kong to Sydney. Cathay Pacific only offers upgrades to the next class of service, whether you use cash or miles. Economy Lite tickets are ineligible for upgrades using Asia Miles.

I bid the lowest possible amount for an upgrade – in this case, it was $650. Cathay Pacific sent me an email confirming my upgrade, as well as an updated boarding pass.

Airport Experience

Cathay Pacific offers in-town checkin at Hong Kong Central train station. However, I forgot to check the opening hours and arrived 30 minutes late to this rather disappointing sign:

Instead, I simply checked in at Hong Kong Airport, arriving there about 35 minutes later.

Cathay Pacific does offer dedicated Premium Economy check-in counters at some airports. But thanks to my Qantas Gold status, which Cathay Pacific recognises as Oneworld Sapphire, I was able to use the Business Class check-in area. This was almost empty. I then proceeded through security and immigration, which were super fast.

Unfortunately, Cathay Pacific is not one of the few airlines that offer lounge access to all Premium Economy passengers. However, Cathay Pacific’s three Business Class lounges at Hong Kong International Airport are available via Oneworld Sapphire status. Qantas also operates their own Hong Kong lounge.

I headed off to the Wing Business lounge, as I’d already visited the Pier on a previous occasion. My first stop was the standard buffet and bar, where I grabbed some Thai chicken curry and a signature Cathay Delight, which were both very good.

Next stop was Cathay Pacific’s famous Noodle Bar, where I had some wonton noodle soup and mantou (a steamed bun).

I enjoyed the Wing, as it was a comfortable and quiet space. As such, while I could have lounge-crawled in Hong Kong between one of four, I stayed and worked there until heading to my gate for boarding.

Boarding began through gate 71, albeit 30 minutes delayed as the inbound flight was late. Oneworld Emerald members boarded first, with Business Class and Oneworld Sapphire following. Other Premium Economy passengers are invited to board after this.

The Hard Product

Some airlines have opted for a 2-3-2 layout in Premium Economy on their Airbus A350s. Others, including Cathay Pacific, have opted for a 2-4-2 configuration.

Cathay Pacific’s A350-900 offers 28 Premium Economy seats, with row 33 missing the middle section of four seats. I chose seat 31K, a window seat:

The seat had more than enough space, with the advertised 42 inches of legroom feeling very accurate.

I was actually a little underwhelmed by the seat width. The Premium Economy seats were only half an inch wider than Economy Class, due to the armrest also containing the tray table. Frankly, I felt like I was sitting in the same Economy seat, except with extra legroom. The seats do have a 9-inch recline, which was much better for sleeping though.

The same extensive range of entertainment is available in all cabin classes. But the screen in Premium Economy was slightly larger than the Economy screen and touch-responsive.

Wi-Fi and data roaming packages were also available for purchase, with Wi-Fi starting at USD9.95 (~AU$16) for one hour or USD19.95 (~AU$32) for the entire flight.

Every seat came with a USB-A connector underneath the entertainment screen, and an AC universal power outlet below the seat.

The Soft Product

Awaiting me on my seat were a blanket, pillow, headphones and an amenity kit. The blanket was thin but comfortable, and the pillow was good.

The amenity kit was pretty basic, consisting of a toothbrush, toothpaste, socks and an eye mask.

The crew came around during boarding offering a pre-departure beverage of either orange juice, water or sparkling wine. The orange juice and water were in paper cups while the sparkling wine was in proper glasses.

We finally took off at around 8.20pm, about an hour late.

The menu for the flight was waiting at my seat, and read as follows:

A basic drink list was also provided:

The dinner service began at 9pm, with a drink service accompanied by packaged almonds.

The crew then served dinner, with my choice of halibut and accompanying sides all on one tray. Metal utensils were a nice touch, although the plating was plastic.

Unfortunately, the fish was quite dry and the eggplant caponata was pretty disappointing. The meal was pretty average overall, feeling more like an Economy meal but in nicer crockery.

The crew were extremely prompt and efficient, noticing I had finished my meal and clearing the tray straight away. They were also on hand throughout the meal to offer drink top-ups.

The meal service took just less than an hour, leaving seven hours to try and get some shut-eye. I asked the crew not to wake me up for the breakfast service, as I wanted to maximise sleep. I woke up about an hour prior to landing after a great 5.5 hours of sleep, with an even better view.

The quality of sleep in Cathay Pacific’s Premium Economy impressed me. I normally sleep for a couple of hours at most on overnight flights, although most of those flights have been in Economy!

Arrival Experience

The cabin crew soon prepared for landing as our descent began around 6.15am. We landed around 35 minutes late, at 6.50am, and parked at a remote stand – also a first for me at Sydney Airport.

Clearing immigration was slow, as the morning bank of arrivals stretched the line beyond the usual area.

Wilson McTaggart

Wilson's love of travel started from a young age, but his love for points developed after figuring out ways to travel on a gap year for less - leading naturally towards Australian Frequent Flyer! Wilson's hobbies include skiing, cricket and planning trips, both with and without points.

Wilson posts on the AFF forum as @WilsonM.