dzinh
Active Member
- Joined
- May 19, 2009
- Posts
- 532
Just a simple review on a Cathay red eye flight in economy to Mel. More reviews on my blog 
The journey to HKIA airport was 33 minutes via train and slowly made my way around the terminal, browse the shops until Pop Eye's chicken caught my attention. I didn't want to clear immigration as my heart was still in Hong Kong so why not finish off a quick holiday with some deep fried goodness. The chicken was tasty although it was very greasy but the meat was very soft and juicy which went really well with the cajun fries! I always enjoy new things that aren't in Australia and before I knew it my final meal was over in Hong Kong as I made my way towards the departure hall.
A walk towards the northern departure gates saw massive queues of people waiting inline to scan their boarding pass and passports into the security and immigration area which was a sight for sore eyes, the queue was overflowing towards the nearby check in counters so I immediately made my way back towards the southern departure gates which was empty. Security and Immigration cleared in less than ten minutes as I cut my way through the food court and found myself at the Qantas Lounge for a few hours.
A review of the Qantas Hong Kong lounge.
The departure gate for the flight was finally assigned and it happened to be gate 70 which I made my way towards the train that would take me to another wing of the terminal where I ended up at The bridge lounge for a shower and a nibble to eat. By this stage I was pretty exhausted and as it was near boarding time so I went straight towards the gate. Boarding procedures began to commence and I could see frustrations of the passengers in the general lane throwing looks of shame towards me and other priority guests as we waltzed passed them and onto the jet bride where an extra security check in the jet bridge was conducted which added an extra three - five minutes on top.
A short stroll towards the aircraft I was welcomed by a friendly mixed crew who would be working the morning's flight and as I made my way past the every so familiar business and premium seating to my bulkhead seat of 39C.
I purposely selected the bulkhead seats for the red eye into Melbourne and I was glad I did as the legroom was amazing for a economy seat. I couldn't touch the wall infront with my legs extended which was fantastic for relaxing and sleeping later on during the flight.
Best economy seat for legroom and space.
It comes with three windows too.
As preparations were made for the flight to push back on time crew began to distribute the menu for the evening flight which I had a glance over to see the menu had very decent catering options, even in economy followed by arrivals card into Australia and proceed to freshen the cabin by deodorising the cabin with air freshener. The final door is shut as we begin pushing back away from the terminal with the safety briefing playing followed by a few words from the captain as he ensures it's a smooth climb as our twin engine aircraft glides down the runway and smoothly disappears into the night sky.
I stare outside the three large windows I can see the city lights of Hong Kong become smaller as the sounds of the Rolls Royce engines roar throughout the quiet cabin. As I look around the cabin I see passengers are already asleep trying to cram in as much sleep as they can on this 8.35 hour red eye that will take me back to Melbourne. The plane sways left and right as our captain manoeuvres the metal in the dark sky positioning her en route down the South China Sea towards Darwin as we cut though the centre of Australia towards Melbourne.
The curtain between Premium Economy is kept open for 80% of the flight.
Economy seating on Cathay's Airbus 330-300.
The plane is relatively new and is in spotless conditions, there wasn't any overhead compartment shaking or rumbling as we went down that ever so familiar runway. Ding, ding, the seatbelt sign wasn't extinguished but it was a reminder for passengers to stay seated as we continued our climb to 38,000 feet. A few minutes later the seatbelt sign is extinguished as the cabin slowly comes alive with passengers moving around and as crew prepare for dinner service.
The new economy seats are very comfortable for the duration of the flight, there is a very decent amount of padding, recline, storage area as well as the touch screen is very responsive that requires no effort while selecting content which also has a USB socket to charge one's smart phone.
As the flight was cruising I began to slowly fall into a sleep until I suddenly awoke to the soothing voice of the ISM who informed passengers to buckle up as we would be experiencing some turbulence in the next few minutes. I touched the screen to see where our location was and we were just about to fly over Manila at the time which was still perfect flying conditions until we reached Cebu. The plane started to rumble and shake as the sound of the seatbelt sign went off overhead.
A chicken, pea and eggplant curry with rice and a cucumber raita dip.
Delicious ice cream up in the air.
Meal trays were cleared followed by the dimming of the cabin lights as the entertainment screens emitted a soft glow throughout the dark cabin. The cabin was kept at a chilled temperature so I asked Dankim for an extra blanket to which she returned later on with one from Premium Economy as well as an extra pillow.
The dark cabin.
I awoke again to an announcement from the captain, we would be facing more turbulence as we flew over Darwin. The turbulence that hit upon entering Australia was intense and caused the majority of the cabin to wake in complete silence as the Airbus A330 took a rough beating from mother nature. The turbulence that hit was one of the most powerful that I've experienced to date as adrenaline was pumping throughout my body. I managed to nap for another one and half hours until the crew began preparations for the breakfast service to which I decided to skip for more sleep until we began to enter Melbourne airport airspace.
It was a nice sunny morning as the Airbus A330 had a very smooth and gentle touchdown as we made our way to the terminal. A very fantastic flight with Cathay Pacific especially in economy which I wouldn't hesitate to fly with them again.
The journey to HKIA airport was 33 minutes via train and slowly made my way around the terminal, browse the shops until Pop Eye's chicken caught my attention. I didn't want to clear immigration as my heart was still in Hong Kong so why not finish off a quick holiday with some deep fried goodness. The chicken was tasty although it was very greasy but the meat was very soft and juicy which went really well with the cajun fries! I always enjoy new things that aren't in Australia and before I knew it my final meal was over in Hong Kong as I made my way towards the departure hall.
A walk towards the northern departure gates saw massive queues of people waiting inline to scan their boarding pass and passports into the security and immigration area which was a sight for sore eyes, the queue was overflowing towards the nearby check in counters so I immediately made my way back towards the southern departure gates which was empty. Security and Immigration cleared in less than ten minutes as I cut my way through the food court and found myself at the Qantas Lounge for a few hours.
A review of the Qantas Hong Kong lounge.
The departure gate for the flight was finally assigned and it happened to be gate 70 which I made my way towards the train that would take me to another wing of the terminal where I ended up at The bridge lounge for a shower and a nibble to eat. By this stage I was pretty exhausted and as it was near boarding time so I went straight towards the gate. Boarding procedures began to commence and I could see frustrations of the passengers in the general lane throwing looks of shame towards me and other priority guests as we waltzed passed them and onto the jet bride where an extra security check in the jet bridge was conducted which added an extra three - five minutes on top.
A short stroll towards the aircraft I was welcomed by a friendly mixed crew who would be working the morning's flight and as I made my way past the every so familiar business and premium seating to my bulkhead seat of 39C.
Best economy seat for legroom and space.
It comes with three windows too.
As preparations were made for the flight to push back on time crew began to distribute the menu for the evening flight which I had a glance over to see the menu had very decent catering options, even in economy followed by arrivals card into Australia and proceed to freshen the cabin by deodorising the cabin with air freshener. The final door is shut as we begin pushing back away from the terminal with the safety briefing playing followed by a few words from the captain as he ensures it's a smooth climb as our twin engine aircraft glides down the runway and smoothly disappears into the night sky.
I stare outside the three large windows I can see the city lights of Hong Kong become smaller as the sounds of the Rolls Royce engines roar throughout the quiet cabin. As I look around the cabin I see passengers are already asleep trying to cram in as much sleep as they can on this 8.35 hour red eye that will take me back to Melbourne. The plane sways left and right as our captain manoeuvres the metal in the dark sky positioning her en route down the South China Sea towards Darwin as we cut though the centre of Australia towards Melbourne.
The curtain between Premium Economy is kept open for 80% of the flight.
Economy seating on Cathay's Airbus 330-300.
The new economy seats are very comfortable for the duration of the flight, there is a very decent amount of padding, recline, storage area as well as the touch screen is very responsive that requires no effort while selecting content which also has a USB socket to charge one's smart phone.
As the flight was cruising I began to slowly fall into a sleep until I suddenly awoke to the soothing voice of the ISM who informed passengers to buckle up as we would be experiencing some turbulence in the next few minutes. I touched the screen to see where our location was and we were just about to fly over Manila at the time which was still perfect flying conditions until we reached Cebu. The plane started to rumble and shake as the sound of the seatbelt sign went off overhead.
The meal service was quickly commenced after with very pro active and efficient crew which who were very efficient in the way they handled service to ensure a speedy meal run so that everyone could sleep. It was an all female Crew in the cabin and their service was very warm and friendly onboard. My meal on this flight would be a HNML which stands for a Hindu Non Vegetarian meal. Why did I order this you may ask, well I wanted to see what Cathay's catering for special meals would be like and the meal itself was incredibly tasty.
A chicken, pea and eggplant curry with rice and a cucumber raita dip.
The meal service was followed by a Haagen Dazs ice cream run which was delicious even at midnight.
Delicious ice cream up in the air.
Meal trays were cleared followed by the dimming of the cabin lights as the entertainment screens emitted a soft glow throughout the dark cabin. The cabin was kept at a chilled temperature so I asked Dankim for an extra blanket to which she returned later on with one from Premium Economy as well as an extra pillow.
The dark cabin.
I awoke again to an announcement from the captain, we would be facing more turbulence as we flew over Darwin. The turbulence that hit upon entering Australia was intense and caused the majority of the cabin to wake in complete silence as the Airbus A330 took a rough beating from mother nature. The turbulence that hit was one of the most powerful that I've experienced to date as adrenaline was pumping throughout my body. I managed to nap for another one and half hours until the crew began preparations for the breakfast service to which I decided to skip for more sleep until we began to enter Melbourne airport airspace.
It was a nice sunny morning as the Airbus A330 had a very smooth and gentle touchdown as we made our way to the terminal. A very fantastic flight with Cathay Pacific especially in economy which I wouldn't hesitate to fly with them again.
Last edited:
