It’s time for another Snapshot, focusing on the Passenger experience on Cathay Pacific 715 between Hong Kong International Airport and Singapore Changi in Business Class.
I’m sure you’re all aware of how I do this travel writing thing by now. But for those reading this for the first time, I have two major travel writing styles:
- Trip Reports – These are full deep-dive reports taking you into the experience, the small things… as well as the big things!
- Snapshots – These are bite-sized reviews that show you the product in some gentle headlines (and normally, only images shot on the phone)
We’re on the Snapshot in this post. I’ll be doing this series of posts a little out-of-order… mainly to entertain myself, but to concentrate on some of the more interesting bits first.
Booking
This ticket was part of a Tier Point run ticket with Finnair, taking me from Stockholm Bromna to Singapore. For this portion of the ticket, I was booked in business class.
Check-in
I was able to pre-assign my seat with a BA Frequent Flyer account, with a window seat assigned in the front cabin. I had to pick up some new boarding passes at Hong Kong International Airport.
As a pro tip, Cathay Pacific Transfer desks can be found near the W1 transfer point, not near the E1/E2 transfer points.
Security
Transfer security took around 30 minutes to clear, with multiple lanes being used to funnel passengers through the hub.
Lounge
With my flight departing from Gate 67, I was directed to use “The Pier”.
This is one of Cathay Pacific’s larger facilities at Hong Kong International Airport, with various food and drinks stations, including a Western-style station, a bar, a Chinese-style station and a Tea House station.
Boarding
Boarding was from Gate 67 with priority boarding enforced.
The Aircraft
That night, a Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-900 would take me to Hong Kong.
This was configured in a three-class configuration featuring Business Class, Premium Economy, and Economy Class.
We’ve covered what Premium Economy and Economy Class look like in this post.
The Seat
Cathay Pacific uses the Safran Seating Circus III Business Class Suite on their Airbus A350-900 fleet. This is a seat that can convert into a full-flat bed experience.
IFE
A Pansonic IFE screen was installed. This had access to the content server, which had a mixture of films, TV series and so on loaded on the aircraft.
There was an earphone jack embedded in the seat side. USB-A and power outlets were located here, hidden behind the headphones
Connectivity
Cathay Pacific offers in-flight WiFi on this flight, and the airline planning to offer it free to all business-class passengers. Whilst this flight was part of that trial, there seemed to be a lot of connectivity issues that evening.
Food and Beverages
A full food and drinks service was provided, with dinner and breakfast for those who wanted it.
This started with welcome drinks.
After take-off, drinks and nuts were served.
This was followed by a starter, with bread and a side salad.
A main was selected – which was one of the featured items from Duddells.
Finally, cheese and ice cream were offered for dessert.
Arrivals
The aircraft docked at the far side of Terminal 4 at Singapore Changi Airport, where Cathay Pacific handles its arrivals and departures.
Once at the Arrivals area, an update-to-date Electronic Landing Card needs to be completed (or completed before landing). This is tied to your passport, so when you enter Singapore you do not have to submit any physical paperwork.
Once through there, it is possible to proceed past duty-free and luggage claim, through to customs and towards the public area.
Once into the public area, I was able to hail a Grab to take me to the first hotel on this trip.
Other Pictures
The full review of Cathay Pacific and its Business Class Suite product is coming soon.
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