Nick Walton enjoys Cathay Pacific’s long-haul business class on a short hop from Seoul to Hong Kong.

If you book your flights carefully, you can enjoy Cathay Pacific’s newest business class product, on the A350-900, which usually serves the airline’s long-haul destinations, on a short regional hop between Seoul, Korea and Hong Kong.

Check-in

I checked in using Cathay Pacific’s user-friendly app, selecting my preferred seat in moments so that when I arrived at Seoul’s bustling Incheon International with only carry-on luggage I was able to whiz through security and immigration and make for the new oneworld lounge, located in terminal 1 directly opposite security.

The Lounge

This is a truly special space as it’s the oneworld alliance’s first-ever dedicated lounge and one that serves seven of the alliance’s members, Cathay Pacific, American Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Finnair, and SriLankan Airlines. The 555 sqm lounge, which just opened, caters to 148 guests with a variety of comfortable seating options, including armchairs facing the apron and private rooms for groups and meetings.

There’s a comprehensive buffet of hot and cold dishes, a series of modern shower suites, and spaces to dine and to work, while the bartenders make a mean dirty martini so I’m glad I arrived with time to spare.

Boarding

My 7 pm flight, CX419, departed from gate 37 where the boarding process was seamless onto a Cathay Pacific A350-900, the airline’s newest flagship aircraft. The carrier flies A350, 777 and A330 aircraft to Seoul four times a day so it’s my good fortune that I have a chance to savour the carrier’s long-haul flagship albeit for a short hop south. As I found my seat, 19k, the pilot announced a flight time of four hours and crew handed out piping hot face towels and glasses of Ayala Brut Majeur champagne. After a short taxi, we departed into stormy night skies on time.

The Seat

As mentioned, this seat on the A350-900 is Cathay’s flagship business class product and for good reason. Elegant, intuitive, and very comfortable, the business class cabin features 38 business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration.

Each 20-inch seat has a pitch of 45 inches and is a spacious rift on the classic Cirrus III herringbone design by Safran and offers just the right amount of privacy and functionality, with signature green fabric, plenty of storage spaces, an 18.5-inch personal touchscreen monitor, AC and USB outlets, noise-reduction headphones stored in a shoulder-level compartment, easy-to-reach seat controls, and a separate remove with an independent 4.7-inch monitor.

It even has seat components that fold down to increase surface area when in fully flat 75-inch-long bed mode.

Dining

The dining experience begins with a Jack Daniels whiskey and soda water and a bowl of warm nuts. This was followed by seasonal mixed salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar; and marinated prawn with pomelo and green papaya salad. For mains we had the choice of braised pork ribs and bitter melon in soybean sauce with bean curd stick and jasmine rice; duck confit with dark cherry brandy sauce, mixed vegetables, and potatoes; and Korean bibimbap, beef and mixed vegetables with rice and Korean chilli sauce, which I absolutely love.

For dessert, we were offered a plate of international cheeses and fresh fruit, as well as a little tub of Haagen-Daz ice cream.

I always try to sample local dishes when I travel and the bibimbap, although perhaps lacking a little in presentation in its plastic bowl, was delicious, especially when paired with the accompanied sesame oil and chilli paste and paired with a glass of Chateau de Pitray Bordeaux.

Entertainment

The entertainment on the A350 is great because the monitor is crystal clear and when paired with my Bose QC45 noise-reduction headphones offers a cinematic experience. The selection on the Cathay inflight entertainment system is comprehensive (I just love the external cameras) but I think they could do with more of the feel-good classic as some of the new releases are a little too artsy. The A350 also offers wifi connectivity with packages starting at US$3.95.

Service

As with most Cathay flights I have experienced, the service on my Seoul-Hong Kong flight was crisp, intuitive, and genuinely welcoming. May, the cabin attendant handling my section, was always beaming and no request was too much, despite what I am sure was the end of a long day of travel for her. Throughout the flight crew maintained a close eye on the business class cabin and served wine and water proactively.

Summary

While I love a long-haul business class flight as a means of escape, it’s also great to enjoy the perks of Cathay Pacific’s flagship business class experience on a short hop home from Seoul.

Hong Kong – Seoul return in business class from US$1,087.

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