Note: This is a vintage review of a product that no longer exists. My latest Cathay Pacific 777-300ER business class review offers a detailed look at what the current experience is like.
There was a time when Cathay Pacific operated Boeing 777-300ER service between New York (JFK) and Vancouver (which was obviously a stopover on the way to Hong Kong). This flight was a little different however, because it was possible to book the JFK to YVR as a standalone ticket. No need to go all the way to Hong Kong required!
The following is a full review of that experience from November 2019. Of course I had to do it in business class. Of course.
The aircraft that I flew on featured their latest long haul business class product (which has now been phased out). The food was excellent, the cabin crew was decent, and the seats were pretty good for the time. The only issue I had was setting my expectations a bit too high. I mean, it was good. But not that good.
CX865
New York (JFK) – Vancouver, BC (YVR)
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Aircraft: 777-367ER
Registration: B-KPC
Duration: 5 hours 42 minutes
Seat: 18K (business class)
Checking in (Terminal 8 at JFK)
This was the first time that I got to see the recently renovated Terminal 8 at JFK in person. It was so nice that it was also the first time that I *ever* had to tell myself to chill out on getting pics and video footage even before clearing security.
Terminal 8 is nice. So much so that I think I shot like 10 gigabytes of pics and video of the ticketing hall alone. And since this is supposed to be a Cathay Pacific 777-300ER business class review (and not a silly review of T8), I’ll spare you the agony of scrolling through an endless stream of pics showing every little detail. Time to move on…
One of the perks of being a Cathay Pacific business class passenger is getting full access to the American Airlines Flagship Lounge at JFK.
The boarding process
This was it! My first ever Cathay Pacific experience! Can you believe it took this long to fly what is arguably one of the best airlines in the world? You probably don’t give a sh*t (and I totally understand), but I was so ready for this.
FYI, it seems that gate 47 is the only one in all of Terminal 8 where there are no views of the aircraft parked outside. I couldn’t even a see a winglet.
Cathay Pacific 777-300ER business class overview (the 2019 version at least)
Cathy Pacific 777-300ER Business class is arranged in a 1-2-1 layout. Seat 18K is the one I chose for this flight over to Vancouver tonight, and from what I could tell it looked to be a fine choice.
Amenity kit
Since there aren’t many other situations in life where I’m gonna get treated this well, it felt awfully special pulling stuff out of the little amenity kit (designed by Seventy Eight Percent) as we waited to push off the gate.
And yes, we got hot towels too. I think that I need to fly business class more often.
The verdict so far? To be honest, nothing stood out to me as being especially remarkable, though it indeed felt like a legitimate long haul business class experience. So far.
The departure from JFK
We missed the 8:35 PM gate departure time by three minutes. I consider that a miracle considering that they missed the initiation of the boarding process by 25 minutes. Not complaining!
It was a 22 minute taxi over to runway 31L, and we were in the air at exactly 9 PM.
Other than the sound of those big ‘n rowdy GE90’s propelling us west out of New York, it was a relatively uneventful takeoff out of JFK this evening.
Pre meal cabin service
Being a relatively short five and a half hour flight over to Vancouver this evening, the cabin crew started the service within minutes of our departure. Here are some of the highlights:
The entertainment system was a little slow, but the movie catalog was seriously impressive. There was so much that I wanted to watch, which hardly ever happens on an airplane. I usually end up watching movies or TV shows I don’t have much interest in to begin with, and I can’t stay focused.
The meal service
Ok. I’ve seen enough videos on YouTube to know that Cathay Pacific is a little better than the rest when it comes to the little details. That still didn’t prepare me for feeling as cheerfully amused as I did by this menu (which resembled a newspaper).
This was phenomenal by the way, and every part of it (even the bread) was prepared to absolute perfection.
Testing out the flat bed seat
Do you know what the difference between a mattress and duvet is? Well, I’m an idiot and I didn’t realize at the time which was which. I proceeded (very ignorantly) to use the mattress as my blanket while testing out the lie flat seat after dinner.
At the very least, all I can hope for is that I gave the flight attendants a funny story to tell. And, who’s to say that they weren’t hovering over me giggling and taking pics while I was sleeping? I guess I’ll never know. Unless I show up all over Instagram as part of a silly meme or something.
Other than that little mixup, I found the seat to be very comfortable in the lie flat / flatbed position. It was a little firm (which is how I like it), and my only complaint is that it felt narrow. Rolling over was difficult!
Business class lavatory
You know how I’m always trying to make my loo reviews exciting? And what usually happens is that it’s usually the stupidest part of the entire review? Well my friends, this time it’s different. Why? Check this out:
The descent into YVR (and final thoughts)
We began the descent into Vancouver just shortly before 11pm local time, and I’m happy to report that I had a pretty good nap in these lie flat seats. I dreamt about airplanes (as usual). lol
As you might expect with a flight time of only 5 and a half hours, it felt much shorter than that thanks to the comfy seat and all that good food earlier on.
However, the cabin crew was just so-so in my opinion. Of course they were nice, and I didn’t feel abandoned and ignored or anything. As a matter of fact, this business class experience was right on par with what I was expecting, primarily since I had been hearing mixed reviews about Cathay Pacific leading up to this flight. It was good. Not great, but…good.
In comparison, I found this service to be nowhere near as nice as what I experienced in Korean Air 747-8 business class. That was on a completely different level.
I’ve just flown 2 Cathay Pacific flights, and I’ve made a trip report for the first flight (I was out cold for the 2nd flight). I’m happy to say that economy is still very good, and I think they deserved to get rated as the best economy class airline by Skytrax in 2024.
Here’s the link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKTGcUTTVbc&ab_channel=SyntaktisEdits. I hope that I provided a good overview of what the service is like nowadays.
P.S. Sorry for posting another link.
CX’s 777-300ER business class is receiving a excellent upgrade in the form of the Aria Suites. They’re doing good now and even ordered 30 A330-900s.
Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve last flown Cathy Pacific. I need to book some flights with them to see what’s changed. Really looking forward to that!
Not gonna lie, a 3-hour SANSpotter documentary about Cathay Pacific business class would be pretty cool!
By the way, the remark about deciding on the length of the video had we wondering, is it “better” to have too much or too little footage for a video review?
The sad thing is that the glory days of Cathay Pacific may be behind us. 🙁 Anyway, too much footage is what you should be aiming for! You don’t have to use it all, but it makes the editing process so much easier.
Yeah, I’ve heard that CX isn’t doing too well.
I agree that too much footage is better. As you said, it’s easier to edit, plus I suppose that the experience is better documented.
Hey bro! *waves from MN* Going to tell mom you touched the things…
Haha, I’m gonna stop waving if you tell mom!! lol
Good stuff as always Scott. Can’t wait for a Sanspotter review of Cathay First whenever you get the chance to fly it!
Thanks Ty! I can’t wait either. 🙂
I’ll be on the exact same flight in February! First time flying Cathay Pacific and Biz so I’m quite excited.
I was smart and paid my university tuition with my Alaska card and got the bonus points so naturally I had to put them to good use.
That’s an excellent use of miles – I wish I was that smart when I was in school. Haha! Anyway, enjoy the flight – it’s a very (very) good experience.