Flying from Dubai to Vancouver with Cathay Pacific

Today I am flying from Dubai to Vancouver via Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific in their new Business Class. I will be reporting from the 10th anniversary Agora Financial conference over the next four days. This is quite a different experience.

The First Class has gone – perhaps a belated victim of the Asian Financial Crisis. In its place are hexagonally stacked Business Class flat-bed seats.

Personal space

At first the seat felt a little cramped. But you have your own space and privacy. Fine for single travellers though anti-social when with a partner. You can use the footstool to entertain guests but they would need the appropriate anatomy.

However, as a bed the new Business Class gets top marks. It is easily as comfortable as the old First Class flat-bed once found on this A330 aircraft.

Cathay Pacific is legendary for its personal service and this was not lacking either. All the guests were addressed by name and the smiles seemed genuine enough. Any request was immediately fulfilled, with no waiting or reminding necessary.

The food was as you might expect on a long-haul flight with nothing special. The wine list on the other hand showed the Asian proclivity for fine wines and had benefited from careful selection.

Your personal entertainment is one of these mega-iPod affairs with an endless choice of movies and CDs, and the screen substantial. You are concooned in your own little world, though personally I would like to have been able to look out of the window which is not easy as the seats all face inwards.

Beautiful lounges

At Chep Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong Cathay Pacific does not have its own terminal but its lounges are outstanding. The minimalist chic of The Pier by Gate 65 is welcoming and spacious.

The shower rooms are in the same fashionable style and a rainfall shower during a change of planes is a pleasant facility to enjoy. Then you have a Noodle Bar and a Long Bar for victuals and a large relaxing lounge.

My only concern is that the new Business Class was half-empty while the rear of the plane was full. This is clearly an example of recessionary brown weeds, and you have to hope that Business Class is not going to be another casualty of the recession.