Flight Review: Cathay Pacific 777-300ER First Class from Bangkok BKK to Hong Kong

Flight Review: Cathay Pacific 777-300ER First Class from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to Hong Kong

Flight Information
Date
: September 23, 2017
Flight No.: CX708
Route: Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to Hong Kong International
Airline: Cathay Pacific Airways
Type: Boeing 777-300ER
Registration: B-KPP

After relaxing for a couple of hours at the BS Residence Suvarnabhumi, I took the shuttle back to the airport to catch my Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. The flight was operated by a 777-300ER was booked using Alaska miles, and it was my first flight ever in international first class.

So, I was quite excited!

Cathay Pacific First Class Check-In

I got to the airport shortly after 2PM – about 3 hours before the flight’s departure time – and headed straight to Cathay Pacific’s check-in area.

Suvarnabhumi Terminal

Suvarnabhumi airport terminal.
Departures Board

Departures board.
Cathay Pacific Check-in Area

Cathay Pacific check-in area.

There was only one person ahead of me in the first class queue, and so I received my boarding passes in no time. On top of that, I also received a pair of lounge invitations – for Bangkok and Hong Kong – as well as a premium lane pass for Bangkok.

The premium lane for security and immigration – which is completely separate from the regular one – was deserted as well, and so I was “out of the country” and airside in just ten minutes after arriving at the airport.

Cathay Pacific First Class Check-In

First and business class check-in desks.
Cathay Pacific First Class Check-In

Cathay Pacific first class check-in.
Boarding Passes

Boarding passes, lounge invitations and premium lane pass.
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Priority Lane

Priority immigration and security lane.

Once airside, I made my way to the Cathay Pacific First and Business Class Lounge which was about a ten-minute walk away.

Boarding the Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER

I left the lounge at 4:35PM – just in time to make it to the gate by the boarding time. However, I didn’t realize that the aircraft hadn’t arrived from Hong Kong yet and that we would be delayed because of that. As such, I spent quite some time sitting in the gate area.

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Gate D7

Gate D7.
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Gate D7

Waiting area.

The aircraft, a 777-300ER registered B-KPP, arrived a couple of minutes after 5PM – about 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time. As such, we didn’t start boarding until 5:40PM or 20 minutes past our scheduled departure time.

Cathay Pacific 777-300ER

Our aircraft arriving with a delay
Cathay Pacific 777-300ER

Ready to start boarding.

On top of that, the boarding was very disorganized with everyone just walking down the jetway regardless of priority.

Boarding

Disorganized boarding in progress.
Newspapers

Newspapers in the jetway.
Cathay Pacific 777-300ER

Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER, B-KPP.

Once onboard, I was greeted by the crew and showed to my seat – 2A. While I will not go into details about the seat – I will do that in the next instalment – I will say that it spanned three windows and it was also extremely wide.

Cathay Pacific First Class Seat

Cathay Pacific first class seat.
Cathay Pacific First Class Seat

The seat spans 3 windows.

Also, even though Cathay doesn’t have enclosed suites, the seat 2A feels very private since it is in the second and last row of the cabin. And, the middle seat in the 1-1-1 configuration is accessed from the other aisle.

Cathay Pacific First Class Cabin

Cathay Pacific first class cabin.

Onboard Service Before Departing Bangkok

Once the four first class passengers were seated, the service started.

First, a pre-flight drink was offered. While in its lounges, Cathay Pacific offers Cathay Delight as its signature mocktail, it doesn’t offer it onboard. Instead, it offers Oriental Breeze – which was excellent as well.

Oriental Breeze

Oriental Breeze.

Then, newspapers were offered, followed by the menu, a hot towel, and a Bose noise-cancelling headset.

Cathay Pacific First Class Menu

Menu.
Menu

A welcome from the “culinary team.”
Hot Towel

Hot towel.
Headset

Bose headset.

At 5:55PM, the captain made his welcome speech and apologized for the delay caused by weather. He also mentioned the flying time would be 2 hours and 20 minutes. Way too short!

His announcement was followed by a safety video.

Cathay Pacific Safety Video

Safety demonstration.
Cathay Pacific Safety Video

…and one more.

While the jetway was disconnected while the captain was speaking, we were not pushed back until 6:14PM – with almost one-hour delay. In the meantime, the crew came around taking meal orders. The menu was as pictured below, and I decided to go with the braised chicken.

Cathay Pacific First Class Menu

Dinner and drink menu.
Cathay Pacific First Class Wines

Wine list.
Cathay Pacific First Class Alcohol

Alcoholic and signature drinks.

We finally started taxiing at 6:22PM and joined the take-off queue. After some time in the queue, we took-off from runway 19R at 6:46PM and made a left turn which offered some nice night views of Bangkok.

Taxi Out

Being pushed back.

Cathay Pacific Short-Haul First Class Meal

The cabin crew was released from their seats about twenty minutes after take-off, and so the dinner service started.

First, one of the flight attendants came to ask what I wanted to drink. And, some minutes later, she brought me the Coke I ordered together with a plate of warm nuts.

Drink and Nuts

Drink and warm nuts.

Then, another cabin crew member came to introduce himself and set-up the table. A handwritten note saying “Simply enjoy!” came as part of the set-up. Also, before the meal started to be brought out, a UNICEF envelope was handed out.

Bon Apetit Card

“Bon appetitt” card.
UNICEF Envelope

UNICEF envelope.

With the table set-up, there was nothing preventing the crew from bringing the actual meal. First, the salmon starter and a bread basket were brought.

Cathay Pacific First Class Starter

Starter.
Salmon

Smoked salmon.
Bread Basket

Bread basket.

Once I was finished with the decent starter, the main – braised chicken – was brought. Both the vegetables and chicken were great, and the portion was “just right.”

Cathay Pacific First Class Meal

Main.
Chicken

Braised chicken with flower mushroom.
Vegetables

Baby pak choy and carrot.

Finally, I was asked whether I wanted a dessert. I, of course, nodded – and so with a minute I had a delicious orange frangipane and vanilla ice cream on my table.

Cathay Pacific First Class Dessert

Dessert.

After the meal, the crew came around offering hot drinks. I decided to have some JING peppermint tea which was served with a box of pralines.

Tea

Tea.

Cathay Pacific In-Flight Entertainment System

While the flight was short, I still manage to watch a couple of episodes of the latest season of Silicon Valley on Cathay’s Studio CX entertainment system.

Studio CX

Studio CX.

The system offered a decent selection of movies as well as TV shows to keep a person busy on even the longest flights. What is more – it featured full seasons of TV shows rather than just an episode or two of each.

I always appreciate that! And, don’t really understand airlines offering only “episode 15 of the seventh season” of a random TV show!

Movies

Movies.
TV Series

TV shows.

It was similar with music where full albums from a large variety of Western and Asian artists were offered. Separately from that, there were also three themed playlists (Upbeat, Unwind, and Sit Back).

Music

Music.
Music

Western pop.
Playlists

Playlists.

Finally, there were some games as well as a kids’ section offering various visual themes so that the kids’ could choose the one they liked the most.

Games

Games.
Kids

Kids.

As for the flight information part of the IFE, there was an airshow – with a loop of different map and information views – as well as a camera view which wasn’t useful at night.

Flight Information

Maps and camera.
Map

I wish I could fly around the world in the seat!
Map

Moving map.
Flight Information

Flight information.

Landing at Hong Kong Airport

Shortly after 9:30PM, the captain announced that we started our initial descent and that we were expecting to touch down at 10:05PM. As such, I paid a brief visit to the bathroom before the seatbelt signs were switched on.

The bathroom featured Aesop amenities and besides paper towels there were also “real” small towels.

Bathroom

Lavatory.
Towels

Handtowels.

The seatbelt sign went on at 9:50PM, and fifteen minutes later, the crew was asked to sit down for landing. The gear was lowered at 10:09, and three minutes later, we touched down at Hong Kong airport.

That was followed by a short taxi which got us in blocks at 10:18PM – about 50 minutes after the scheduled arrival time.

Hong Kong Anniversary

20th anniversary of Hong Kong SAR.
Shades

It was the first time I saw something like this.

At 10:20PM, the ground staff knocked on the aircraft door after which the crew opened it, bringing the flight to an end.

I bade the crew a farewell, and headed into the terminal where – after clearing immigration – I went to Cathay Pacific’s arrival lounge. But, more on that in the next instalment!

Cathay Pacific

The flight was over way too soon!

 

Click here to read more Cathay Pacific flight and lounge reviews

 

2 thoughts on “Flight Review: Cathay Pacific 777-300ER First Class from Bangkok BKK to Hong Kong”

  1. Not as good as Emirates first class BKK to hk but now that Emirates are dropping that option on that route I guess we will have to make do with CP.

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