Review: Cathay Pacific First Class (777-300ER)

Returning home from our trip to Southeast Asia in style, I was fortunate to enjoy Cathay Pacific First Class with my partner. Furthermore, as we had a 4-hour layover in Hong Kong we were able to visit both of Cathay Pacific’s First Class airport lounges, the Pier and the Wing. Read on for my review of these one-of-a-kind aviation experiences. 

Booking Cathay Pacific First Class

First Class	Aircraft	Route	Flight Duration
CX 882	Boeing 777-300ER	Hong Kong to Los Angeles	12 Hours 40 Minutes

I was able to book Cathay First Class from Hong Kong (HKG) to Los Angeles (LAX) for 250,000 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles plus 3,574 HKD in taxes and fees for two people. These points were acquired by transferring from my RBC Avion Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Points balances.

While transferring the points, I was able to navigate an obscure ‘ticket hold’ process via Cathay Pacific customer service to ensure I didn’t lose out on the available seats. I wrote about this experience in a separate article: Booking Cathay Pacific Awards: Don’t Let Your Points Get Stranded! 

Cabin Arrangement

This version of the Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER (type 77A) is configured with just six seats in first class (F),  as well as 53 business class (J) seats, 34 premium economy (W) seats, and 201 economy seats (M). The First Class is arranged as six suites in 1-1-1 configuration across two rows, consisting of a 36″ wide seat converting to an 81″ long flat bed.

I was fortunate to select what I believe are the two best seats on the plane: 1A and 2A. Although this could be debated of course. Interestingly, the Cathay mobile app wouldn’t allow me to change the assigned seats, nor would Cathay agents when calling in. However, when I used the Cathay website, I was able to make the selection and select our seats.

Ground Experience

I was excited to learn that Hong Kong International had not one, but two First Class Cathay Pacific lounges. As we had a four-hour layover, we had time to visit both of them.

I had heard the Pier was favored by many airline enthusiasts. On the other hand, the Wing had infamous cabana suites with a large bathtub.  

Upon arriving we actually didn’t have a gate assigned to our flight yet, so we just headed to the lounge nearest to the Transit area. In this case, it was the Pier.

The Pier, First Class Lounge

The Pier First and Business Class Lounges are located in Terminal 1, near Gates 63 and 65. 

There is both an elevator and an escalator to get to the lower level. We presented our boarding passes to an attendant just outside the check in desk and were promptly let through to the lounge.

Expectedly, the lounge was massive. The entrance opened into a long corridor. To the left was the Pantry which housed self-serve beverages, snacks, and appetizers, as well as a lobby bar and ample seating. 

To the right was the ‘spa’ and day suites, and further down ‘The Dining Room’ room where you could order from an actual menu.

We enjoyed first a beer and expresso from the bar while watching the tarmac, before heading to the dining room for a larger meal. 

Overall this was easily the most polished and refined airport lounge I’d ever visited. Even better was how quiet it was, and the front-row view of the tarmac and surrounding planes was an amazing feature. 

Had I not wanted to split our time between this and the Wing to experience both lounges, I would have inquired about a day suite. I also learned that complimentary 15-minute massages are offered at the spa.  

Last but not least, the bathroom facilities in the Pier were impeccable. 

The Wing, First Class Lounge

The Wing, First and Business Class Lounges are also located in Terminal 1, near Gates 1-4, which is the opposite end of the terminal from The Pier.

The Wing is on the upper level above the main terminal floor. Most seating was positioned facing towards the tarmac, so you could do a good bit of plainspotting. However, the view wasn’t nearly as intimate at the Pier’s.  

The Wing had a restaurant and separate “lobby bar” called the Haven and the Haven bar, respectively. 

There was both an a la carte menu in the Haven as well as a self-serve buffet. I didn’t order anything from the menu but sampled some items from the buffet which were of good quality.

Another impressive feature of the Wing is its four Cabana rooms. In addition to traditional shower suites, the Cabana rooms are large rooms with a shower, bathtub, and a sofa.

Cabanas are bookable for 90 minutes on a first come first serve basis. We didn’t partake in these during our visit as were only around for about 30 minutes, but it would have been neat to compare these with the Day Suites in The Pier. 

Overall, I concur with the general sentiment that the Pier is a nicer lounge than the Wing. Both are fantastic and have their own unique features, but the Pier was just more modern, with more food options, a better bar, and a better view.

Seat

The Cathay Pacific first class seat was gargantuan and is considered the widest first class seat available at 36 inches across (without considering first class products with suites or rooms).

Not only is it wide, but the entire seating area is long too, complete with the ottoman buddy seat. Even with the tray table fully extended I felt an abundance of room while seated.

One of the three pillows was a head pillow which was velcro attached to the seat. This made for an extremely comfortable setup. So comfortable that I actually fell asleep during ascent while seated.

There was an abundance of storage space as well, although the first class cabin lacked any overhead compartments. Instead, each seat had its own private locker, located behind the entertainment screen.

Even my oversized carry-on bag fit inside this locker with room to spare. 

Aside from this, there was another small pocket under the entertainment display for stowage of small items. 

Across from the seat was a large footwell, which also fit my small personal bag with ease. This doubled as the second seat or ‘buddy seat’. 

Another feature of the seat was the seat included the retractable armrest, which could be deployed with a hand pull next to the headrest. There was a literature compartment and reading light on this side, as well the controls for seating position. 

The tray table for the seat was the stow-away kind. It had forward and backward movement, but no rotation. 

Lastly, the electronics included an 18.5” touchscreen display, along with a universal power outlet (AC) and USB-A socket. 

The control for the entertainment system could be ejected and pulled on a cable for convenience, as is present on many business and first class products.  

Buddy Seat

The first class seat on Cathay had a unique feature: the buddy seat. This extra seat was located above the footwell with its own seatbelt. It allowed you to sit with your travel companion, and there was even a dinner table extension that allowed two first class passengers to dine together.

This created a really unique First Class experience that we got to enjoy during dinner time. 

Lie-flat Bed

When I was ready to rest, the flight attendant promptly converted my seat into lie-flat mode and made up my bed. Due to the sheer size of the seat, this was one of the most spacious beds I’d experienced on a plane. 

Moreover, the bedding was fantastic and plush. The pillow was large and comfortable. I was set up with everything I needed for a fantastic sleep.

Unfortunately, this flight had some serious turbulence throughout the night which made for a much lower quality sleep than I otherwise should have had on this fantastic product. 

Note that whatever you have stored under the ottoman when your seat converts into lie-flat will be inaccessible.

Amenity Kit

The amenity kit was handed to us shortly after boarding. It was designed by Bamford, a UK based luxury goods and jewelry company, which also produced the bathroom amenities including face mist, cleanser, and body lotion. It felt very premium quality and well packaged.

There was a slightly different variation of the amenity kit for men (grey) and for women (white).

They both included a facemask, toothbrush, toothpaste, and earplugs. The women’s version also included eye cream, moisturizing cream, lip balm and ‘balancing tonic’, while the man’s included mouthwash and a shave kit.

We were also given a sleep set by PYE. The set was comfortable and made of high quality cotton, good enough that it would easily be taken home and used as one’s regular pajamas.

The sleep set did fit quite small. I was initially given a medium size, but had to swap it for a large after finding that the medium set was quite tight.

Dining

Our service started off strong with a glass of champagne prior to departure, a vintage Piper-Heidsieck 2006 Rare Millesime Brut. We were also served tea and a hot towel.

There was a separate food and beverage menu, which had some enticing options to choose from, mostly French-inspired. 

Shortly thereafter we received an amuse-bouche to tide us over until the dinner service began.

First Meal: Dinner

Dinner started off with fresh Caviar and bread with garlic butter. The caviar was delicious, it was a highlight of the entire meal. 

This was followed by a smoked red pepper soup, which was delicious and thoroughly enjoyed.

Following that up was the main entree: chicken ballotine. We were actually given the option to pre-select our entree via an email that was sent three days prior to the flight, which we did.

The chicken tasted fresh and tender, but admittedly a little bland. It wasn’t amongst the best meals I’ve had in other business class products. 

Dessert was also just alright. I had raspberry and pistachio financier while my partner had the chrysanthemum and longan jelly.

Consequently, we topped it off with a second dessert of Haagen-Dazs cookies & cream ice cream. 

Second Meal: Breakfast 

There was actually a bit of a service failure for my breakfast. Although I requested a wake-up call for the second meal, the attendant missed waking me up. She said something about “mixing up the time zones”…

Thus, because it was less than an hour until landing, I was unable to have any hot meals, only cold foods. So my breakfast consisted of fruit and some baked goods.

I was actually quite disappointed by this as I was looking forward to some fresh poached eggs. I could only imagine the frustration for a passenger who paid full price for this first class flight only to completely miss out on one of the meals… 

Entertainment

The in flight entertainment console was a high-quality screen that slid out almost parallel to the seat. There was a solid selection of new and classic movie options to choose from. The Disney+ streaming service was also available for selection. 

The headset was very good quality: a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones. They fit comfortably around the ear and provided exceptional sound quality. 

WiFi

WiFi was complimentary for first class passengers and business class passengers, provided by T Mobile. I noticed one could also access the WiFi via Boingo.

It was not as easy to connect to as I expected. I actually had to manually enter a URL (connect.cathaypacific.com) to prompt a login page and then select ‘First Class free’. 

I was unable to connect on more than one device at a time. Instead, you have the option to swap devices.  Not ideal for the technophiles out there.

Once connected the WiFi was good quality. I never had any issues with speed or lapses in connection, even during the rather turbulent flight. 

Bathroom

The bathroom on the Cathay Pacific first class cabin was large and spacious. It felt larger than the average business class bathroom I’d been on. 

The amenities were provided by Bamford, including face mist, face cleanser, and body lotion. 

Conclusion

Cathay Pacific offered an unparalleled luxury travel experience with this First Class product. From the ground experience at either of the two lounges, The Pier and The Wing, to the spacious seat and attentive service, it’s clear why this product is highly regarded. 

While there was a pretty significant service setback in the missed breakfast service, I suspect this was an exception and not the norm for this soft product. The overall journey was one of the best airplane experiences I’ve had, and made even more unique by the two-person dining experience offered. 

If you’re able to book this product using miles & points, this is a splurge-worthy experience that I highly recommend.