Trip Report – Cathay Pacific – “New” Business Class – JFK – Hong Kong (HKG)

by Adam

Cathay Pacific finished retrofitting their B777-300ER fleet with an updated business class cabin on August 29, 2012. I had flown an award with them just weeks before the retrofit, so now almost two years later, I had not yet experienced the “new” business…which I guess isn’t so new anymore. However, it’s still one of the best business class products out there and the service on board is phenomenal too. This is part two of a thirteen part trip report from my third and most recent trip back to Thailand.

 

Regionally Related:

Boarding – Terminal 7 JFK

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The business cabin – paintings by Hong Kong artist Maria Lobo

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Many frequent fliers and passengers used to complain about Cathay’s previous business class cabin, referred to officially as Olympus but affectionally 😉 as “the coffin”. They didn’t like the narrow / claustrophobic feeling of the older seat (I never minded it and liked the privacy when traveling alone..though at 5′ 11″ it wasn’t uncomfortable for me). Many also complained that they didn’t like the cabin set up, facing out towards their neighbors or the fact that they were turned away from the windows when seated on the sides….

Old Cathay Business

The new seats in a 1-2-1 configuration are wider and face towards the windows on the sides and in towards the center when seated in the middle.

New Cathay Business

Here’s a quick chart comparing the details:

Cathay Business Class Comparison

From Cathay’s website:

More Flexibility – The Business Class seat features up to 11 inches of travel. Move the seat back for privacy or forward to converse with your traveling companion. A precision toggle allows you to adjust the seat position to fit your mood and posture.

Longer Bed – The new, fully flat bed is just over 82 inches long. A bed extension increases its width by 6.5 inches to provide additional hip support, while the side storage compartment offers extra knee space for sleeping on your side. For sleeping, you may choose to leave your armrest up for more privacy, or down for more space.

Lots of Storage (Vanity Mirror, Gadget Storage, Privacy Divider) – Increased personal storage space. The side cabinet houses not only your headset and a vanity mirror, but has room for small items such as glasses and gadgets – and the cabinet door doubles as a privacy divider.

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A 15.4 inch touch-screen personal TV with StudioCX and a library of 100 on-demand movies, and 500 TV shows. A noise-canceling headset is also provided (think Delta’s not AA’s Bose set). For takeoff you can choose the outside camera or the moving map.

The entertainment control panel also includes connections for your own devices and the ability to stream audio and video content to your personal TV display. There is also a USB port for charging.

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Amenity Kits by Jurlique

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The menu included brunch followed by dinner with on-demand snack ordering in between.

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Brunch – Smoothie, cereal, yogurt, and stir-fried egg noodles with beef.

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Snacks were placed in the galley but the hot snacks could be ordered directly from a flight attendant…and by the way there was one walking up and down the aisle at all times.

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I get hungry mid-flight to Asia and so you’ll see many of the available snacks below – roasted duck in noodle soup, chimichanga with guacamole and sour cream, and Haagen Dazs (foreign airlines seem to love this snack in First and Business).

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Dinner time…smoked duck breast to start with stir-fried scallops with garlic sauce, egg fried rice, and a hazelnut praline passion fruit dessert. Great service with the ability to pick each dish from the cart that was brought to your seat.  The scallops were awesome by the way.

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The fully flat bed – full size pillows and a very comfy duvet. You are only given one pillow but a flight attendant proactively asked me if I wanted another…Wow!

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Bathroom:

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The “new” seat and cabin are great – I loved the ample storage space right at my seat – enough room for my sneakers, iPhone, MacBook Air, amenity kit, and Nook. The bed itself was extremely comfortable and the food was excellent. Though it wasn’t Cathay First, the attentiveness was just as good. Someone was constantly in the aisle to see if anyone wanted snacks or drinks. The 15.4 inch TV had excellent clarity and a huge movie library (with tons of new releases). As always, Cathay business (and first) are a fantastic use of miles with generally excellent availability.

Related – Cathay Pacific First Class Trip Report – My Favorite FC Trip Ever???

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23 comments

Shane June 16, 2014 - 1:01 pm

I think you have the old and new reversed in your chart

Reply
adam June 16, 2014 - 1:15 pm

@Shane – Thanks, fixed!

Reply
Craig June 16, 2014 - 1:15 pm

Hi Adam,

Nice review! We’ll be on this flight in August.

In your chart where you compared the details of the new busn class with the old, is it possible you mixed up the two? Otherwise, it sounds like the dimensions of the older seats are better.

Reply
adam June 16, 2014 - 1:49 pm

@Craig – yep they were mixed up! I must have changed them as your comment came in. Have a great flight and enjoy the seat and service!

Reply
Graham June 16, 2014 - 2:59 pm

I think the chart comparing the new business class to the previous business class is backwards…no?

Reply
Graham June 16, 2014 - 3:02 pm

Sorry apparently previous comments weren’t displaying before i submitted mine.

Reply
Airjus June 16, 2014 - 9:53 pm

CX Reverse Herringbone or JAL Sky Suite? Which one takes the cake for you?

Reply
adam June 17, 2014 - 2:22 am

@Airjus – Definitely the JAL Sky Suite – by far my favorite business class product!

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