About a month before before leaving for our trip I received another one of those dreaded “schedule change” emails from Alaska. See, I was booked to Chicago on First class (and from there connecting to LaGuardia on a separate Avios redemption) but unfortunately they canceled the flight and we were moved to another one which got us to ORD 6 hours later. It was a 3 class 77W so not only that we lost our First class seats again but more importantly we would have missed our flight back to New York .
It was time to call Alaska and explain the situation.Mileageplan redemptions can be modified free of charge up to 60 days before departure so my plan was to get a waiver and move ourselves to another,more convenient flight…hopefully with a first class cabin.
After a short hold I was helped by a very friendly costumer service representative. First she started to look for award spaces around my dates but she couldn’t find anything. Later I asked if she’d be kind enough to look for non-stop flights to JFK.
I was checking ba.com simultaneously I had the same results she was getting:while there were 2 seats available, unfortunately they were on different flights…that’s a no go,wifey would kill me .
She asked me if she can put me on hold for a second while she would ask the supervisor something . A couple of minutes later she returned and said she could offer us on CX888 via YVR in first class.No brainer I took it,canceled my BA award and I was happy I’m coming all the way home on Cathay.I still have no idea how she was able to manually request those seats since they weren’t available on miles,maybe she just did it they same way they do it during IRROPS.
Fast-forward we are in Hong Kong and I see 2 spaces open up on the non-stop flight the day before.Thought worth giving a shot and call Alaska Airlines again. Told the agent I was given a connecting flight due to a schedule change and inquired if we could be moved to CX846,non-stop to New York. 5 minutes later I had our new tickets…
KUDOS to Alaska Airlines Mileageplan desk!!!
Our flight only departed at 6:45PM so we still had plenty of time that day to hang out in the city.We headed back to the airport the same way as we arrived,by the Express train.FYI you can check your bags at both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon stations.If you’re coming from somewhere else or just grabbing a cab there is a dedicated counter for first class passengers at the airport.
I won’t get into a longer review of the Wing since I wrote about it the last time we were in Hong Kong .
The lounge is located right after security check.
As you might remember the shower cabanas are amazing:
Followed by the mandatory shower and Moet champagne bar visit we headed to the noodle bar on the other side of the lounge (the business class side) . After ordering you receive a beeper so they can call you when your food is ready.
On our previous visit we were there early morning so I was curious to see the dinner selection .The restaurant offers both a buffet spread and an a la carte menu . I tried the braised ossobuco which was phenomenal!
Once full we went back to the bar and had a couple of margaritas . I’m just realizing every time I write a report it sounds like we’re alcoholics.We’re far from being heavy drinkers…that only happens when we fly.
PS:Margaritas are not that good.Still don’t know if they were making them with lemon juice or just a crappy lime juice.
Our flight departed form Gate #1,just across the lounge, so we waited until the last minute to head down for boarding.
Cathay Pacific CX845 6:45PM-10:35PM
Hong Kong to New York JFK
Seats:2D/K
Aircraft:Boeing 777-300ER
Similarly to all the triple 7s operating the JFK route this one featured 4 classes: first,business,premium economy and economy.
First class has a 1-1-1 configuration granting aisle access to every passenger . “Normally” I’d prefer 1A & 2A since it would have isolate us on the left side of the cabin ,the reason for that is that the center seats open to the right.
The plane featured Cathay’s new first class which is just a refurbished version of the old one.No complaints here I think the layout is perfect and gives plenty of privacy even that they aren’t fully enclosed suites.
Once in my seat I was promptly welcomed Esther and she offered a pre-deparute beverage for which I had KRUG. At the same time I was given an amuse bouche too .
We sat at the gate for an extra 15-20 minutes waiting for something (forgot what was the issue,but nothing serious) but once we started our taxi we were cleared to take off immediately so we were heading to New York in no time at all.
Once airborne I was given another glass of Krug and some peanuts,they came on a plate so I didn’t have to return the plane to HKG…talking to you Korean Air lady. 😉
I started browsing through Studio CX,Cathay IFE, right away.As I wrote many times already it’s really good and offers a wide selection of shows, movies games,etc…As for headphone you get the Bose noise canceling ones.
All the controls are on the console next to the seat.
My wife joined me for dinner so Esther installed the table extension so we could eat together.
We started with some caviar:
We were still pretty full of all the food we had at the lounge so we only had a cauliflower soup and a prawn salad as mains.Both of them were delicious. While I agree that Cathay has a good catering it’s still plane food.It can be a hit or miss so I like to play it safe and always get on board well eaten.
After dinner she offered to prepare our beds on which we took upon.Cathay’s bedding is PHENOMENAL! It’s wide,long,the mattress is conformable and actually can fit two people … for 10 minutes,tested . 🙂
After a solid 4-5 hours of sleep I woke up craving for some food.I remembered that I liked the burger the last time so I asked for one together with a Hong Kong style milk tea.
I watched another movie and slept a couple of hours . 2 hours before getting to New York I asked for brunch. To start I had the mix fruit plate with a pink guava smoothie….actually I might had a Krug too. 😉
As for main I asked for the Angus beef from the dinner menu.They had absolutely no problem on preparing it( or they just didn’t show it).It was better than the one I had the last time.
About 45 minutes before arrival the captain came on the PA announcing that we started our descend.I quickly changed back from my PJs and took a last shot of us in the cabin.
BFFs :
Our descend and landing was smooth and we were at the gate in no time.We thanked the crew ,especially Esther, while leaving the aircraft.
Thanks to Global Entry immigration wasn’t an issue and we were landslide within 5 minutes.
I ordered an UberX and was picked up by an SUV within minutes.Am I the only lucky one who alway gets those fancy cars when getting to JFK late or thats normal since everyone is looking for guaranteed fares?
Overall experience
I love Cathay Pacific. Maybe they don’t have the best lounge in the world or the fanciest seats but if you look at the whole “package” its an incredible experience all around. For 70k Alaska mileageplan miles its a steal/dream redemption , given that you can get 30 hours of first class flying with a free stopover in Asia .
What made this flight so special was Esther ,the flight attendant taking care of us most of the time. She was professional,friendly but most importantly fun and it was great to engage with her in many conversations.She’s been working with Cathay for almost 17 years(she looked about 30 btw) so she only works on regional flights nowadays but sometimes she does ask for the JFK flight so she can visit New York…awesome!
We talked a lot and it was great to see someone stepping out of the “Cathay-keep-the-distance-flight-attandant “bubble.
Thank you again and hope to see you soon!