I spent 26 hours flying on two Cathay Pacific flights in their business class cabin last week (SFO-HKG-YVR) and so became very familiar with the accoutrements of their newly redesigned business class seats (pictured alongside) and service.
Cathay is a well regarded and good airline, and I was looking forward to the experience. But even the best airline still seems to unavoidably have the soul of an airline, and so interlaced in with the good (cabin crew) were also the not so good (food) and the plain unadorned bad (video screens).
Should you choose Cathay the next time you fly to Asia? Maybe. In reality, there's nothing unusually special to differentiate Cathay from other business class offerings from competing airlines, and in particular, Delta's service to Asia also features fine business class cabins. Probably you'll simply end up making your choice based on your frequent flier tie-ins, schedules, and price.
Oh yes, price? Is it really worth paying about $185 per hour on board extra to travel business rather than coach class? And what other lower cost options might be available?
For answers to all these questions and very much more, please visit my new four part review of Cathay Pacific's business class.
When did you start adding the “FTC Mandatory Disclosure”? Must be annoying.