Cathay Pacific First Class: SFO-HKG B777-300ER

This was our first flight on our journey to Africa last year which I booked on miles/points. I was only able to secure 1 First Class seat at the time of booking, but I set an ExpertFlyer alert in case they opened up a seat closer to departure. Sure enough, 48 hours prior to the flight Cathay Pacific opened up 1 more award seat in First Class so I called immediately to change the Business Class booking. We were super lucky to be able to both fly in First Class together on this 15 hour flight.

The Cathay Pacific lounge at SFO isn’t anything special for First Class as it’s the same lounge for Business Class, but the First Class lounges in HKG made up for it. We boarded the plane and were shown to our seats by the flight attendants. There are only 6 seats in First Class so it makes for a very private cabin. Our assigned seats weren’t next to each other due to the last minute upgrade on the 2nd ticket, but the flight attendants worked it out and we settled into 1A & 2A. PYE PJ’s and an Aesop amenity kits were distributed after boarding. We were able to enjoy a glass of 2007 Taittinger “Comtes de Champagne” champagne and warm nuts together prior to takeoff. The foot rest also transforms into a seat for a guest in the First Class seat making it an ideal setup if traveling with a companion.

We took off on time around 12:30AM and after takeoff we were served dinner. Arrive on an empty stomach as the meals are amazing in Cathay First Class. The meal service kicked off with their signature caviar & champagne service which includes all the fixings. After enjoying the Caviar, we enjoyed the poached lobster marinated quinoa frisee. Excellent choice of a light salad prior to the main course. Both of us opted for the grilled USDA prime beef tenderloin with rosemary jus as our main course. The beef was cooked to perfection and I enjoyed it with a glass of 2008 Chateau Lynch-Bages red wine from Bordeaux. When an airline offers Johnnie Walker Blue Label I can’t resist, but to order a glass with coke. We wrapped up the meal service with a warm pistachio cake, vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce for dessert along with a side of fresh fruit. Wow! I was so full.

After watching part of a movie it was time to go to bed on the comfiest bed in the sky. The flight attendant prepared the bed while I changed into the PJ’s. I was able to get 8 hours of sleep.

During the flight, I was connected to their inflight WiFi which is provided by the new Gogo 2Ku satellite internet system. The speeds were super fast and offered unlimited usage for $19.95 for the flight. Excellent deal! Download speeds exceeded 80Mbps at times which is faster than my home internet while the upload speeds remained around 2Mbps.

Prior to landing, we enjoyed breakfast which I opted for the American breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, etc. Great way to end the flight prior to landing around 6AM local time in Hong Kong.

Upon landing, we went to The Wing lounge to grab a shower in The Cabana Room. It’s an amazing way to freshen up after a long flight. We grabbed a 2nd breakfast at The Pier lounge prior to heading into Hong Kong for a day of touring around prior to our midnight flight to Johannesburg.

 

Conclusion: Cathay Pacific First Class hasn’t disappointed me after flying it 3 times now. I’d highly recommend flying them! The quality of service and super spacious/comfy First Class seats makes Cathay still rank in my Top 5 global airlines. Let’s see if Cathay can recover from COVID-19 and still offer this amazing service 🙂 Stay healthy!