Explore with Amie

At the end of 2022, I flew from London Heathrow to Hong Kong and Hong Kong to Melbourne with Cathay Pacific. I also used the airline for the return journey from Sydney to Hong Kong and back to Heathrow. It was my first experience with Cathay Pacific however, given the length of the trip, I think it gave me a good picture of what they are like. My friend and I poured over airline and comparison sites to try and find the cheapest flight to Australia with a reputable airline. My sister had flown with Cathay Pacific to Cambodia so I knew someone who had a good experience with them before so, we opted for them.

Obviously, I can’t comment on all Cathay Pacific flights and it will depend on the current market for flight prices but a return journey cost £1,356.46 as of August 2022 for a trip in December 2022, including seat reservations for four flights. We also flew over the New Year which didn’t bother us at all. Of course, if you’re going for the big events like New Year, it is going to cost extra but not many were willing to spend New Years Eve in an airport apparently. At the time, this was one of – if not the – cheapest flights around and yet it still was a great experience.

Firstly, I was very impressed by how smooth sailing the boarding was from Heathrow airport. We checked in online before so only had to drop our bags which was very simple to say that they were unusually sized backpacks. We didn’t have to tie them up or wrap them or anything like that; they just went on a separate trolley to be taken through manually. Again, I can’t say if this would be the case every time but for backpackers, it was ideal. They then boarded us based on the class of Cathay Pacific membership. Basically, the more you fly with them, the higher membership you have so you can board first. This being the first time I had booked with them, we were in the last ‘normal’ group. It was a very smooth process as they boarded us row by row which meant it was easy to find our seats.

Throughout the journey, staff were very accommodating. I had some issues on the return flight as there was a sticky stain on my seat however, the staff on board the flight did their best to try and clean it up. They wouldn’t let me do this myself. It was very customer centric service. Even though they couldn’t remove the stain in the end, they covered the seat for me and were very polite and apologetic. I have a nut allergy and the staff were also helpful in this regard. I filled in an allergy form before the flight however, this must be sent in at least 72hrs before the flight departs. I didn’t manage to get this signed and sent to the customer services in time for the flight to Australia however, on the flight back I experienced what the service was like.

Notifying them of my allergy was a much calmer experience for me then the outward flight. The staff were with me every step of the way. From scanning my boarding pass at the gate, I was taken to the plane by a member of staff, served my food before the rest of the cabin and was checked on by the cabin manager. This all put me very at ease as allergy anxiety is something I have a problem with, especially with language barriers and such a long haul flight. If you do have an allergy, there can be no 100% certainty that there is no contamination but, I trusted the staff on the flight. The doctors note I had to have signed was essentially so that you can’t sue the airline if something was to happen and that you understand the risks but, personally, I didn’t have any problems onboard. These forms are standard I imagine. No peanuts were served in the standard class area because of my allergy though they were present on the plane.

In terms of the food quality generally, I would say that Cathay Pacific had a good array of items to choose from. Of course, it is still aeroplane food at the end of the day so it wasn’t amazing. I did enjoy the yoghurt and bread provided as well as the selection of fruit for breakfast. They also gave out bottles of water and juice with the meals.

Entertainment on the flight was plentiful. The array of films available on the screens was great. I couldn’t decide what to watch; there were too many good ones! There was also quite a few recent releases. For example, I watched Ticket to Paradise, which was released in September 2022, Where the Crawdads Sing which was in July of the same year and The Batman (another 2022 release). You could also watch TV shows, listen to audiobooks or read magazine’s on the screen. I also enjoyed the interactive maps which showed you where you were and gave information on the many destinations that Cathay Pacific fly to.

Overall, I had a good experience on Cathay Pacific. Admittedly, I haven’t flown long haul before but if I was to do so again, I would very much consider going with Cathay Pacific if the price was right. I think the experience would be even better post-COVID as we had to wear masks onboard the flight in early 2023 because of the regulations in Hong Kong. The staff were helpful, the plane and toilet facilities was clean (the stained seat notwithstanding) and the entertainment options were great. If you’re looking at a Cathay Pacific flight, I would urge you to go ahead. I was not disappointed by the service at all.

Amie x