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sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

Trip route:
Singapore – Hong Kong - Singapore
Airline – Cathay Pacific
Flight no. CX 710/CX711 Dep: 8:30/16:15
Date: September 6th /11th
Aircraft type – Boeing 777-300
Flight duration – 3 Hours 40 Minutes

Background Info:
As I had an upcoming business meeting in Hong Kong I had decided to extend the trip for pleasure and explore the place as I have never really got an opportunity to venture outside my hotel on previous trips.

Unfortunately my business trip eventually got postponed but since I had already made the hotel and air bookings I decided to continue with the personal side of the trip.

Besides, as most of the airlines now a days are down in the dumps, I was getting some really good deals to Hong Kong specially on a GV2 (two to go) offer.

From Singapore you have 4 choices to fly direct to Hong Kong:

1) United Airlines (typically the cheapest but has only one flight in a day)
2) Cathay Pacific
3) Singapore Airlines
4) Jet Star Asia (LCC)

I thought of trying to book a ticket on Jet Star Asia, assuming it would be cheap but unfortunately, by the time I added the cost of seat preference, check in luggage, and the food on board, the price difference between Cathay Pacific and Jet Star was a mere 60 SGD. Besides, the period that I was travelling was the week in they have school holidays in Singapore and typically most flights are sold at higher rates. As Cathay Pacific was working out to be the cheapest of the lot, I decided to stick to Cathay Pacific.

I had a lot of expectations from this flight experience as this was the first time for me on Cathay. They had won the best airline of the year in 2009, and typically most of the trip reports that I read usually favored Cathay over Singapore Airlines. But for me the whole experience turned out to be a big disappointment. Not sure if this was because it was a short regional route, or whether the economic downturn is having an impact on the overall service level.

Photo of the Aircraft to Hong Kong:

Photo of a rare bird Air Seychelles:

Photo of Jett8 Airlines:

The disappointment started right at the entrance of the aircraft – Singapore Airlines usually place a stack of newspapers for our reading pleasure at the entrance of the aircraft. Alas, this was not to be on Cathay! There was no one to greet passengers as they boarded the aircraft. Not that I want someone to guide me to my seat, but it’s always nice to see a crew welcoming you on board.

Hot or cold towels were not given before or after take off. Push back commenced 10 minutes behind schedule and the safety video was played. We were number 2 for takeoff and were airborne pretty quickly.

Once the seat belt signs were switched off, I decided to turn on the entertainment system. The system itself was ok as it had the latest movies like “The Proposal” starring Sandra Bullock and quite a few international flicks including Bollywood choices. I had two grouses – one, the screen size was small and two, there was no AVOD. But the real pain was that the remote control was on the hand rest itself instead of being on the side. If you accidentally kept your arm on the hand rest in a peculiar angle, you would end up changing channels or the mode. This was a constant irritant. Also, since the call button was on the hand rest, I saw the crew coming over and asking some travelers their requirements when, in fact, they had not pressed the switch.

Buttons on the hand rest:

Soon drinks were served which basically consisted of various types of juice along with a wet tissue. This was soon followed by brunch. Since I had opted for Indian vegetarian ,the meal came fairly quickly and consisted of mini idlis, upma and sambhar along with a fruit salad and bread. The idlis were not quite up to the mark and were quite rubbery. Two rounds of coffe/tea and juice followed. I had almost finished my meal before the crew started serving the rest of the passengers. It was interesting to note that on Cathay, they give plastic cutlery instead of stainless steel as in Singapore Airlines.

Food on Cathay with Plastic Cutlery:

After the trays were cleared, I flipped through the in-flight magazine which had interesting articles on places to see around the region. Their duty-free shopping choices were also fairly exhaustive and better then some of the other airlines. I watched the IFE for a few minutes but since there was no AVOD on this flight and by which time most of the movies were already half way through, I decided the best option was to take a quick nap.

Thirty minutes before arrival the headsets were collected and the cabin was prepared for landing. We flew straight in without any holding pattern and reached the gate as per schedule.

Return leg - Hong Kong – Singapore

Having finished my holiday in Hong Kong it was time to head back. Since I was not impressed by the overall service level on the Singapore-Hong Kong sector, I thought that this leg should be better but that did not change when I arrived at the check in counter.

On the Cathay flight my wife and I were booked on a GV2 ticket which means a single PNR contains both our passenger records. If you are a GV2 or GV4 traveler most airlines have strict regulations about both travelers having to travel together without any deviation, and strict penalties for date changes and cancellation. When the agent checked us in, she said that flight was full and was not able to offer us a seat together. I requested that since we are travelling together and booked on GV2 fares, the system should have automatically given us seats together; it is ridiculous to book passengers on GV2 fares but make them sit apart.

The agent reminded me that I should have blocked my seats via internet as a lot of people do that, and because of which at the airport they are unable to assign us the choice seats. I found this a very silly response as typically I would have done that, but I was on a holiday here and was not carrying my laptop. Besides whether I blocked the seats on internet or not, the system should be smart enough to seat GV2 PNR’s together. Finally having resigned to the fact that we would have to sit separately, I collected my boarding pass. Before leaving, the agent told me that she had put in a request for us to be seated together and I should check at the boarding gate for new seats. I thanked her for that but having experiencing Cathay’s poor service so far, I was not optimistic.

Some Air Side action at Hong Kong Airport:

Soon boarding was announced and since we knew our seats were apart we decided to board last, but luck was on our side. At the boarding gate, the agent after checking our boarding cards tore it apart and issued us new cards which had us sitting together which was great and finally I felt Cathay had woken up.

Our Plane to Singapore:

Post take off we were offered drinks and I opted for a Carlsberg and the peanuts.

Drinks with peanut:

After the drinks, dinner was served. It consisted of naan which was quite nice and soft, along with aloo-matar and basmati rice. The pickle and cucumber raita as condiments were both excellent.

Dinner:

Soon we were nearing Singapore and the same routine followed of clearing the headsets and preparing the cabin for landing. Landing was quick as we flew in from the Malaysian side (Johor Baru) over palm tree plantations and after a few quick turns we touched down at Singapore Changi Airport.

Verdict: Overall, a disappointing first time experience on Cathay Pacific after having read good reviews by other travelers. Not sure if the long haul service would have been better as that’s typically the case with premium carriers. If I have to choose between Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific as of now, my vote goes to Singapore Airlines for its service and overall presentation, but if price plays a factor then I don’t mind flying Cathay Pacific as I think it is still better than the LCCs.

Sri_Bom

avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

Nice TR Sri! Good job.

Of course if it were on A.net CX apologists would have defended the drawbacks vehemently and in return stone pelting would have started on SQ. Seeing that mess UA supporters would join the CX supporters and we would have a battle field.

But still I say, stick to SQ Wink

BTW weren't you interested to fly the A380? they too fly SIN - HKG now.

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

Spiderguy252 · Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 8:08 am Post subject:

Thanks for sharing. Pictures look good. Wink

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Yeah.