For my return back home, I ended up on a mixed ticket of Cathay Pacific business to HKG, then an evening layover and United flight back on their new 77W with the real Polaris seats.
I bid adieu to my hotel and headed to PVG which is a solid drive out of the city.
I got to PVG with some time to spare and figured I'd check out one of the Cathay lounges. Upon check-in, the attendant asked me if I wanted to get on the earlier flight that would leave in an hour instead of my original flight in 3-hours. I was definitely game and hoping to make it to Hong Kong in time for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Pirata.
I was through security quickly and to the Cathay business class lounge on the mezzanine level. It had basic snacks and drinks, overall a pleasant place to pass time, but nothing special at the same time.
Some nice plane spotting opportunities.
While there we were updated that our gate changed to a remote stand and would need to head to a different part of the terminal. It turned out fine not being too far away and had some good closer spotting opportunities from the terminal and on the bus.
My flight was originally scheduled to be on one of Cathay's regional A330s with recliner seats, but it luckily it was a light load so I wouldn't have a neighbor...or so I thought.
As we continued our drive out into the boonies, I was admiring the Cathay 77W and was shocked when our bus stopped and it turned out we had the best equipment swap to the 77W with their excellent reverse herringbone seats!
The size of the GE90 up close is amazing, the pictures do not do it justice for how massive this engine is.
We were welcomed aboard with a very friendly crew and a nearly empty cabin. There were literally only 4 people including myself in this entire rear business class cabin. They must have needed to get this plane back to HKG even with a very light load.
My throne for the next couple of hours, I love the reverse herringbone seat layout, spacious and lots of privacy.
Our attentive in flight team were quick to come by with some bubbly. This ended up turning into several glasses as we succumbed to the usual inter-China flight delays. Guess my dinner at Pirata would not be happening this time :(
The menu for a 3-hour flight was awesome, puts the US carriers to shame.
With time to kill, decided to get caught up on Silicon Valley and see how closely the show was following the past year of my life. Boy was I glad to be past that!
Needless to say, as nice as the CX 77W was, it's no G5
Nor does it have doors that open like this \oo/
2-hours later, finally push back!
Lights dimmed and relaxed.
Off we go!
Once airborne, dinner started and was simple, but tasty.
The garlic bread and shrimp noodles were flavorful.
I ended up going with the duck which hit the spot.
And finished with some ice cream and coffee.
After getting fully caught up on Silicon Valley, we started our descent into HKG.
On the ground and taxied to our gate.
I deplaned through door 1 and checked out the CX F suites, definitely need to try them someday.
A most excellent flight with a great crew, good food for such a regional flight and I look forward to flying CX again soon. Off to check out the Singapore and Priority Pass lounges where I thought it'd be a good idea to stay up all night for my United flight in the morning instead of getting a hotel for a couple of hours of sleep.
Trip links:
- Shanghai
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