The other day I saw a tweet about the “World’s 5 Star Airlines.”  The tweet referenced Skytrax, an outfit that ranks the world’s airlines.  I checked out the Skytrax website and was surprised to learn that I had flown on 5 of the 6 five star airlines.  Now, as I learned in the mutual fund business, stars come and go, but having experienced the airlines firsthand, I am going to have to concur with Skytrax, with maybe the exception of Asiana.  Better still, I have written posts on 5 of 6 and they are posted here for your viewing enjoyment:

• ASIANA
• CATHAY PACIFIC
• MALAYSIA AIRLINES
• QATAR AIRWAYS
• SINGAPORE AIRLINES

I needed to get from Seoul to Saigon and while there were a few direct options, I chose to make a connection in Hong Kong and fly Cathay Pacific. I did this so I could check out Cathay’s Lie Flat Seats in Business Class. Typically, one would need to get on a long-haul flight in order to experience the seats, but for whatever reason, Cathay was flying an Airbus A340-300 (they also sometimes fly a 777 on this route) on this 2 hour hop, equipped with their lie flat business class seats. The trip from Seoul to Hong Kong is HERE. At first glance, the seats look a bit narrow and cramped, but it turned out quite the contrary. There is plenty of space, comfort and privacy. Of course, I’m not sure if this would be an ideal way to fly with a companion, assuming you wanted to look or talk to one another, but you would definitely be comfortable. The story of my eventful arrival in Saigon a.k.a Ho Chi Minh City is HERE.

the tray table slides out from under the tv

a full meal, including ice cream, was served

the tv swings out and sits square in front of you

I was very impressed by the Pier, Cathay Pacific’s Business Class Lounge in Hong Kong. The Pier is one level below the departure gates, and the lounge entrance is near gate 62. For starters, it’s huge and very well appointed. I found a sea of comfortable chairs and coffee tables to give one as much or as little privacy as they wish. In addition to the self service food and beverage that is the norm in any respected business class lounge, Cathay Pacific offers several other options, dependent upon what you’re in the mood for: the coffee bar, ice cream bar, liquor bar and noodle bar are each staffed with employees to concoct whatever floats your boat. The noodle bar sits on the far end of the lounge, adjacent to the main food and beverage counters, and has large common tables and counters, almost like a cafeteria. The “Long Bar”, 27 seats to be exact, is pretty cool as it faces a wall of windows looking out to the runway.

On the opposite end of the lounge are shower rooms and computer terminals. I used the shower rooms to freshen up before my flight to Saigon and they are certainly some of the nicest I have seen. There must have been at least 50 computer terminals separated by more couches and coffee tables where one could easily conduct a meeting.

I set my belongings at a table and walked around for no more than 10 minutes. When I returned, I was surprised to see two Cathay Pacific lounge attendants standing next to my luggage. I had left my cell phone on the table and it had rung. One of the attendants simply told me that I could not leave my phone unattended. My bad, but I was pleased to know that Cathay Pacific has a handle on everything happening in the lounge, despite its vastness. With that, I was off to board my flight to Vietnam…

noodle bar

noodle bar

drinks and sandwiches

pastries

potatoes & what I think was rice

reading material

long bar; the far end is the coffee & ice cream bar

spring rolls & hot dogs (?)

shower room

work area

I’ve been on this flight before.  Sort of.  On my very first “trip” I flew Cathay Pacific from Tokyo to Hong Kong on an Airbus A330-300.  On that flight (article here), the service was pretty good but the plane featured an “old” style of business class seat.  And by all means, I would not expect to find a flat bed seat on a 4 hour flight.  Same deal for this flight from Seoul to Hong Kong: older cabin layout, also on an Airbus A330, but this time with mediocre service.  The seats are comparable, but better, than most domestic (US) First Class seats.  There seems to be more space, but I didn’t bust out the tape measure.  There is also greater recline and a foot/leg rest on these particular Cathay Pacific seats.

Upon boarding, I was escorted to my seat by one of the flight attendants. Blankets, water and juice were offered to Business Class passengers while the rest of the passengers boarded.  The tail end of boarding was a bit chaotic. FA’s were scurrying back and forth between cabins, through congested aisles, trying to upgrade frequent fliers who were originally seated in coach.  Glad I was already comfortably seated.

My personal TV was filthy with smears and smudges which I could not seem to remove.  There was no soap in the bathroom I used and my pre-meal towel was, literally, cold.  Smiles were hard to come by on this flight.  Food was tasty.

I find in incredibly annoying when the only beverages the FA’s have on hand are water juice and coffee.  Then, when one orders a cocktail, the FA looks at you somewhat puzzled and scrambles to find whatever was ordered.  I almost feel like I need to apologize for ordering a cocktail.  So here it is:

“Sorry my body is not on East Asia time, now can I have a damn drink?”

US Airlines do this better than foreign carriers.  They are very god about having booze on hand, no matter the time of day, no matter what cabin you are seated in.

morning departures from seoul

leg room

I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again: I am continually astounded at how much better airline lounges are outside of the United States versus in the United States. Even if the lounge is that of a US Airline, it is almost always superior to its US counterpart. A perfect example of an impressive airline lounge is Cathay Pacific’s in Seoul’s Incheon Airport. Its decor is more upscale than some 4 star hotel lobbies. OBW (oh by the way), this is hardly a hub city for Cathay Pacific; their hub is 1300 miles away in Hong Kong.

Anyway, the lounge is on the second floor in the Secondary Terminal. It was quiet and relaxing with plenty of space to spread out. Instant noodles, cereal, soup, cookies, mixed nuts, fruit and some open-faced finger sandwiches were available. Just about anything you wanted to drink could be had including 6 types of liquor. There was a large selection of magazines and newspaper and free wi-fi.

Based upon my great experience in this lounge and knowing it wasn’t even a hub for Cathay Pacific, I couldn’t wait to see what awaited me in Hong Kong.

I made it to Saigon, uh… I mean Ho Chi Minh City. The flight attendant repeatedly caught herself calling the city we had just arrived in by the “wrong” name. When one refers to the city as Saigon, it insinuates something negative. I don’t know what, something to do with communism. I will leave that part to the historians. Apparently it took half the flight crew to wake me on approach. Literally, I woke up and there were three flight attendants standing in front of me looking quite shocked. I mumbled something about San Francisco and put my seat upright. I fell back asleep on our taxi. I attribute my sober stupor to two days of flying to get here, but also to Cathay Pacific’s lie flat Business Class seats. At first glance they look small and cramped but there is plenty of space, privacy and comfort. More on those seats to come.
I was allowed to enter the country too, which was good thing. Not sure what the Visa policy is/was, all I knew is that I needed one. I used a service called “My Vietnam Visa”. At the visa desk I was greeted by unorganized chaos where I turned over the documents I had received from My Vietnam Visa. I was given another form to fill out then had to wait, sweat (because it was hot) and wait some more. I have no idea if using the visa service helped or not but I am here.
I return to the US via Tokyo/Narita Airport and JFK.
I am going to check out Saigon now.

NRT-HKG Cathay Pacific #549; Airbus A330-300Business Class (2 class configuration)
April 2008; depart 3:55pm arrive 7:45pm
Duration: 4hrs 50min (1 hour time gain)
*plenty to see and do at Narita *great service *dated plane

BEFORE
I arrived at Narita airport (Terminal 2) 5 hours before my flight, thinking I could kill some time in an airline lounge. Much to my dismay, the security guard at Cathay Pacific’s ticketing desk (there is a security guard in front of each airline’s desk) informed me that I could not approach the desk until 1pm; about 3 hours before my flight. On the 4th floor of Narita’s Terminal 2, before security, there are many retail shops and restaurants; reminiscent of some type of bazaar, as there are so many and they all seemed to be bustling. I spent 45 minuted at “La Vista” restaurant, where many airline and airport employees were dining, so I assumed it had some redeeming qualities, however I simply had two Asahis at the bar, served in frosted, glass mugs, none the less… After passing through a passport check and security, I proceeded to the Cathay Pacific 1st and Business Class lounge, accessed by elevator. There was nothing special here, but there was plenty of space and the lounge was clean and well-appointed. The staff were quite gracious and roamed around attending to needs. There were several desktop computers and printers available for use, free of charge.

DURING
This Airbus had a 2-2-2 seating configuration and the staff were pleasant as could be, despite a very dated plane. I found the plane’s decor to be old and worn out. The seats had a slight recline with a foot rest and adjustable head rest. Shortly after take off, menus were passed out with a choice of 4 appetizers and 2 entrées, however, only the drink and entrée orders were taken. As it turned out, passengers in business class were served a small portion of all the appetizers from the menu on one plate; quite a tasty treat of chilled steak, Asian noodles, a crab claw and some raw fish. The fillet entrée was as much as could be expected on an airplane, cooked at a perfect “medium rare”, a little less that I desired; delicious none-the-less. There was plenty of streaming (as opposed to on-demand) entertainment, but my monitor that pulled out of the arm rest was not 100%, grainy picture with occasional lines running through it.All in, Cathay provided outstanding service, delicious food, but, on a dated plane with worn out seats.

AFTER
Upon arrival in Hong Kong, I anticipated a long line at customs, but much to my surprise, there was a “transfer desk” in front of our arrival area and they issued me a boarding pass for my next flight. I did have to pass through security again (this only took 5 minutes) and then take an escalator to the departure concourse. This was all a very orderly and seamless process.

FINAL THOUGHT
My sense is, that because this is a shorter route for Cathay Pacific, older planes are used. The service was still excellent and I would not hesitate to fly with them again.