Airline Review: CX Business Class on the Airline’s Only Africa Route
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Summary: On its only route between Hong Kong and Africa, Cathay Pacific showcases authentic Asian hospitality and a...
4.5great

The Cathay Pacific Johannesburg Hong Kong service, the airline’s only route to Africa, is a chance for CX to showcase authentic Asian hospitality and a market-leading business class product, discovers Nick Walton on a recent flight.

Check-in/The Lounge

I arrived at Johannesburg’s bustling O. R. Tambo International Airport and made my way to Terminal B to check-in for my flight to Hong Kong. Although I had allocated my seat on Cathay Pacific’s intuitive app, I like airports, so had arrived relatively early for check-in. However, very welcoming staff quickly took my bags and sent me, boarding pass in hand, to security and immigration.

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It’s a decent walk to the Menzie’s operated Shongololo Lounge, which Cathay Pacific first and business class passengers as well as silver, gold and diamond Marco Poli members have access to, and you’ll pass some of the more interesting airport shops you’ll find, including a few that specialize in great local spices, cured bush meat, and authentic South African artisanal pieces.

Shongololo Lounge

The lounge itself is a relaxing space, with a curious collection of armchairs and lounges, hot and cold snacks (the latter resembling a café, complete with packaged sandwiches and salads), great coffee, local beers and a basic wet bar set up. There are also nice shower suites, a workstation area and a television area. After a shower and a change of clothes, I grabbed a bite and watched a movie until it was time to make my way down to my departure gate, A5.

Boarding

Here, things were a little more hectic. At Johannesburg, passengers wait for their flight in lounges on the concourse level, and when boarding commences, glass doors are opened, and passengers descend to a lower level where their passports and boarding passes are examined before they finally board the aircraft. This means that passengers have no access to airline staff until boarding has already begun, a time when ground staff are at their busiest.

Consequently, the boarding process was a little chaotic as groups who had seating inquiries tried to get the attention of staff checking boarding passes. Poor communication in the air bridge also meant that a series of wheelchair-bound passengers became stuck between groups of business and economy passengers, all of whom encountered a bottleneck before boarding the plane.

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Nevertheless, once we had boarded the Boeing 777-300ER and found our seats, we were warmly welcomed by Cathay Pacific crew, with glasses of water, juice, and Billecart-Salmon Brut champagne (although the crew did seem very pressed for time meaning those glasses were only quarter filled. As the final passengers boarded the captain announced a flight time of 12 hours and a delay due to four missing passengers whose luggage would need to be offloaded. In the end, we departed at 11.50 am 30 minutes behind schedule.

Cathay Pacific

The Seat

I’m a big fan of the Cathay Pacific business class seat on its 777-300ER and A350-XWB fleet. On the 777-300ER there are 40 of these market-leading Cirrus seats set across two business class cabins – one main one and one smaller. Each offers 21-inches of width, intuitive placement of seat position controls, AC and USB ports, headphone jack, plenty of storage, and when in bed mode, a very comfortable sleep.

The beauty of the Zodiac Aerospace-made seat is that it’s as good a work desk as it is a dining table or bed, allowing travellers the opportunity to transition through long-haul flights. I also love the fact that there is plenty of easily accessible storage, meaning you can unpack a carry-on bag once and then have all those little essentials throughout your flight without having to go rummaging through the overhead bins.

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At my seat was a stylish amenity kit (although I was just a few weeks too early for the new Bamford kits the airline recently released as part of its new collaboration with the London bedding brand) and a bottle of mineral water, located in the shoulder-level compartment that also houses the airline’s headphones, although, like many frequent travellers, I prefer to bring my own – in my case Bose QuietComfort 35IIs. Fortunately, the Bamford linens, which include a mattress topper, a duvet, and a pillow, housed in a zip-up bag, had been introduced and were in place, ensuring a very cozy sleep.

Cathay Pacific

Dining

As we crossed Africa’s East Coast, a drinks service began and I was impressed with how the crew handled the steady turbulence they encountered while serving pre-lunch drinks. I opted for a Betsy Beer 2.0, the newly relaunched signature beer made for CX by Hong Kong’s Gweilo Beer and designed to be enjoyed at altitude. Crew appear to be using new tablet-based inventory control technology, with each request recorded but also slowing down the drinks service.

As an entrée, we were offered smoked salmon tartare with artichoke heart, asparagus and cream cheese; and wild mushroom soup. The soup was soul-warming and actually a very good match for the light Betsy larger.

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For mains, we were offered a choice of braised duck breast in five-spice sauce with pak choy, capsicum and steamed jasmine rice; braised Italian lamb shank with crushed baby potatoes, carrot, baby marrow and a demi-glace; beef brisket with rice vermicelli in soup; mushroom tortellini with a tomato basil cream sauce, mozzarella, pesto and pine nuts; a mesclun and quinoa salad with edamame, avocado, and feta cheese; and, a personal favourite, a beef burger with Monterey cheese, bacon, pickled onions, and zucchini, on a soft brioche bun.

The burger was perfectly cooked, perfectly proportioned, and had the perfect balance of zesty relish and char-broiled beef. I paired the burger with a glass of a smokey 2015 Chateau Macard from Bordeaux.

Cathay Pacific

As we flew over Madagascar the turbulence increased, slowing service, but before long, crew returned with a lemon tart that was fresh and crisp and citrusy, as well as freshly brewed coffee.

I pre-ordered by breakfast to be served just before arrival into Hong Kong. This makes things easier for both crew and passengers looking to get some sleep. Two hours out from Hong Kong I was presented with a selection of steamed dim sum and congee – the congee is silky and soothing and flavourful, but the dim sum needs chili, which used to come with the breakfast option but was noticeably missing this time.

Service

Unfortunately, there was little evidence of the crew between lunch and breakfast, a period of approximately eight hours. The young crew, while welcoming and engaging during the meal service, are much more reactive than proactive in the hours that follow, meaning that when things need to be cleared away or replenished passengers needed to summon them from the galley. However, situations like this are a good excuse to get up and stretch one’s legs on the way to the galley, in my case to get water, which seemed to be in short supply on this flight.

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All in all, we have seen a significant improvement in Cathay Pacific’s service levels over the past 4-5 months and it seems that despite CX crew playing a game usually dominated by US cabin crew, the airline has turned a corner and is headed back toward leading service levels.

Cathay Pacific

Entertainment

Cathay Pacific’s recently revamped entertainment system has a curious selection of films, with real homages to the likes of Chow Yun Fat (6 films), Quentin Tarantino, and Godzilla films (three in total) but there is certainly something for everyone. The monitor size is ample and while the touchscreen sensitivity lags ever so slightly compared to the A350 product, it still offers a great cinematic experience in the skies.

What We Loved

I just love Cathay Pacific’s business class seat on the 777-300ER – it’s the perfect marriage of style and ergonomics and offers a sense of privacy that many other products fail to reach.

What We Didn’t

For some reason, CX flights seem to be very hot these days, so the duvets from Bamford, while very high quality, aren’t needed. A few passengers enquired about the cabin temperature but as they say, some like it hot.

Cathay Pacific Hong Kong to Johannesburg in Business Class from US$6,119 per person.

Note: The Author travelled on an upgraded economy class ticket with the airline’s knowledge. 

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About the Author

Staff Writer

The Art of Business Travel is Asia-Pacific's leading portal for corporate travel news and views. We cover everything from airline routes and airport developments, to new hotels, meeting venues, loyalty schemes, and entertaining.