Cathay Pacific (new) 777 Premium Economy. HKG-MEL. Now a very solid PE product.

[Austman]

The Flight: CX163 HKG-MEL 11:20-23:15. Scheduled flight duration: 8:55.

The flight departed 20 minutes late but arrived on time.

CX Premium Economy is not exactly cheap. My MEL-HKG return ticket was booked in CX "Economy Light". But an online upgrade bid to PE for this flight was offered. From memory the minimum bid with a "low" chance of success started in the high $AUD 600s. A "fair" chance of success started at about $AUD 875. A few days out from my flight showed most of PE was full. I bid $AUD 900. I calculated that $AUD 900 for the sector was still substantially, proportionally cheaper than if I had purchased MEL-HKG return in PE to begin with. CX Premium Economy is not exactly cheap.

I was notified of my successful bid about 46 hours before my flight.

I have flown earlier versions of CX Premium Economy and was not all that impressed: Compared with Economy it was a slightly bigger seat and not much more. Economy service. So more of an economy+ offering.

But CX have revamped PE on some 777 aircraft. IMO, it's an good improvement with 2-4-2 seating, high tech 4K screens and seat features, a 40" pitch and good reline. And a step up in catering although that's still more economy+ than business-.

IMO it's now a very solid PE product.

The new seat and the seat map are here (both pics from the CX website):




The 48 seats in PE get 2 x dedicated toilets at the rear of the cabin. But not 100% of the time. The crew close the curtains after the services.

 

[Austman]

When I arrived at the gate, precisely when advised by the CX messaging, boarding had already just commenced. As a OWE, I was going to be in Group 1 anyway. There was no wait at all, so straight on to the plane.

It's an impressive and comfortable seat. At 6' 2" I had no issues with it at all, even with the seat in front fully relined.

At the seat, there's a simple amenity kit consisting of socks, an eye mask, a tooth brush/paste and ear plugs. A bottle of water in its holder near the floor. A blanket and good quality headphones. USB-A and USB-C charging. And Bluetooth connectivity of the entertainment to your own headphones.

Before take off, PE is offered water, juices and prosecco wine, with the formers in paper cups but the latter in a glass.



It's a massive, crystal clear, 4K screen:



The entertainment is pretty extensive.

WiFi has to be purchased.

 

[Austman]

The menu:

 

[Austman]

Shortly after take-off, PE are offered a drinks service with a small packet of nuts.

Again, the prosecco wine is served in a glass. Other drinks in paper cups. I took a prosecco and decided to save the glass for later.

Lunch is the main meal. And despite the menu suggesting it would be served in courses, it was all presented on a tray at the same time.

The food was actually pretty good. Served in porcelain. And the metal cutlery was a stylish step above Y class metal cutlery.

Here is the roast chicken with a glass of the Katnook Shiraz Cabernet (served in my saved glass!) :




The second meal is served, as usual, about 2 hours before landing and is a bit smaller. I was not so hungry so skipped it except for the fruit and dessert.

Between meals I did a BYO thing with some cheese and crackers I had left from my travels. Maybe not the best cheese in the world but better than what was on offer in PE haha. When the lunch trays were collected, I saved the bread dish, the wine glass and a knife for later.

 

[Austman]

All up, I thought it was a very solid product. The PE cabin was completely full but felt quite private.

The seat especially was very good. No fully flat biz seat of course, but probably the most comfortable recliner I've ever sat in.

This version of PE is currently only on some 777 aircraft.

 

[Quickstatus]

How does the seat compare to QFd?

 

[Austman]

How does the seat compare to QFd?

IMO it's better. Almost as wide but substantially more leg room and recline.

 

[Austman]

And a bit of nerdy observation.

Here is the seat map of PE and Y on this version of the CX 777:



All PE meal services are done from the galley in the middle of Y class. Nothing comes from the J class side.

At meal service times, CX load meal trolleys and do a bit of coordination. PE trolleys are prepared in the middle of Y class galley. They are first to go through Y to PE.

Then Y trolleys from the middle of Y class galley are sent to the first row of Y. And from the rear Y class galley to the last row of Y. So for Y, they work both from the front and the back, meeting eventually at the middle of Y class galley. They also use one cabin crew to attend to requests from pax that the crew serving the meals can't fulfill. A type of drink that's not on the trolley etc. They go back to the galley to fetch the request. That seemed to work well.

It means that row 59, the Y class exit row with extra leg room, is the last row in Y to be served. Unless you are OWE and the cabin supervisor takes pity on you.

Later, between services, CX close off the middle of Y class galley. Fine, but it does mean that if you are in PE, you have to walk a LONG way to get to the rear Y galley to ask for something or wait a long time if you use the call button. It's not that the CX crew are unattentive to the call button. It's that they too have to walk a long way to get to your PE seat!

 

[markis10]

Wifi is free for CX members in PE

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Allegedly… the main course from the main meal is supposed to mirror the business class options for the flight. The other meal service is regular eco.

agree, it does feel more like economy+ than business ‘life’. The legroom/seat pitch is a welcome bonus on Cathay compared to the industry standard of 38’. The new 4K screens have been rolled out in economy too, and have some nice features such as showing which loos are occupied and which are free!

 

[Austman]

Wifi is free for CX members in PE

Yes it is. How is that implemented on board? Do you enter your CX FF number or something?

I was using my QF WP (OWE) status to get complimentary seat selection, including extra leg room seats, on my "Economy Light" ticket. And lounge access, boarding group etc. And it got some recognition on board.

I couldn't figure out how and when to switch it to my CX FF number. And maybe back again.

Of course my "Economy Light" ticket had a zero earn an Qantas.

 

[Austman]

The new 4K screens have been rolled out in economy too, and have some nice features such as showing which loos are occupied and which are free!

You can see some of that in my photo of the screen.