Review of Cathay Pacific flight from London to Hong Kong in Economy

Hello everyone, welcome to another flight report, where I return to Hong Kong from my UK trip!
As mentioned in my last flight report, I have flown on the very same route with British Airways. For a more analytical comparison between the two airlines, please read my previous report where I fly from Hong Kong to Heathrow on Cathay.
I will keep things simple this time, only focusing on Cathay's overall experience. Come with me on this journey back to Hong Kong!

Aircraft: B-LRG (Airbus A350-900)
Age of aircraft as of flight: 8.1 years
Flight number: CX254
Scheduled flight time: 22:05 (UTC) - 18:45 (+8) | 12h40m
Actual flight time: 22:17 (UTC) - 18:20 (+8) | 12h03m
Seat: 67K (Economy)

Check-in was available 48 hours before taking off, for Cathay green card holders. Free seat selection is available with Economy Light, where I was not pre-assigned to any seat. My ticket also includes 23kg of baggage and 7kg of hand-carry and personal item, combined.

Arrival at the airport

I got to the airport by the tube on the Piccadilly line. Then I got off at "Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3".
I nearly suffocated on the train for its lack of ventilation, I did not have a good time travelling on the tube. The train carriages are also very small, but there are areas designated for placing luggage. I'd recommend taking any other means of transport (Elizabeth Line/ Heathrow Express/ Bus/ etc.), though they might come at a greater price.

There are systems of underground tunnels with travelators. Terminal 3 can be reached after around 10 minutes of walking.

Cathay's check-in counter is located at zone C.

Cathay Pacific shares its counters with other OneWorld airlines, including Finnair and Qantas. These baggage deposit/ check-in counters operate automatically with staff assistance. Of course, I'd prefer manual check-in, as self check-in requires me to read instructions on baggage deposit machines.

The security process is simple and quick, as there is relatively few people travelling on night departure flights. There are some duty-free shops on the way to the departure lounge, but they're obviously overpriced. 

I'm obviously too early for the flight… My flight is the 22:05 CX254 to Hong Kong, and the gate isn't shown until an hour later!

Even though we are one of the latest flights to depart from terminal 3, there is still a lot of people waiting at the departure lounge, so I take back what I said two paragraphs ago. Charging is only available at some seats.

Hang in there impatient readers (including myself), I will board the flight after 4 pictures and 2 galleries!
Walking to gate 40 as the departure lounge is too crowded. Some planespotting and terminal shots along the way:

There we are.

B-LRG will take us back to Hong Kong today. It is 8.1 years old at the time of the flight.

"Take a seat" as advised by the announcement board:

Power outlets are available at charging stations (purple poles), allowing me to fight against my accumulating deadlines while charging my laptop :/

Boarding

We are called out for boarding at 9:30pm, 35 minutes before departure. Boarding groups are categorised by seat row.

Queuing at the jet bridge and slowly boarding the aircraft…

Cabin and seat

This is a business seat, which is something I can't afford at the moment, so let's just stick to my economy flight reviews for now.
There are 38 of them, the cabin stretches from door 1 to behind door 2.

Premium economy class with 28 seats in 2-4-2 configuration… something I want to fly on, but still can't afford.

Finally something I can barely afford. Good old Cathay economy class in a 3-3-3 configuration. 214 seats in total.

One more cabin before reaching my seat… nearly there!

This is my seat for the next 12 hours, 67K. It's in the rear cabin of the aircraft.
A soft pillow and blanket are placed on the seat. (How do y'all take pics of the entire seat without using 0.5x zoom?)

Seat tour! We have a large touch screen TV, USB charging port (below the TV), coat hanger, cup holder and mini storage compartment, which is behind the cup holder.
(Continued below)

Down here at the lower half, we have a bi-folded tray table and a seat pocket. Headphones, safety card, magazine and paper bags are placed in the pocket.

Seat pitch is 32", giving me sufficient legroom for a long-haul flight (I'm 5'8").

A closer look at the blanket and pillow:

In the gallery below, the following vertical pictures are shown:
A menu is distributed. Beautiful designs. (Pic 1-3)
Let's also take a better look at the contents inside the seat pocket, including the safety card, paper bag, magazine, and headphones. (Pic 4-8)
A power outlet and coat hanger are also featured. (Pic 9-10)

Alike the previous flight (which has the same seat layout/ configuration), I find the seat to be comfortable with many useful functions. Adequate storage spaces is provided, and most are in good condition despite the aircraft having been in use for 8 years.

I can clearly see the cargo hold door from my seat. Departure is slightly delayed due to loading of baggage.

Upon the initiation of the IFE system, a cool animation appears and shows the flight destination.

The new safety video highlights the cultural features of Hong Kong.

Takeoff

Pushing back and taxiing. The photos are screenshots of my phone video recording, forgive me for the terribly quality.

I watched the IFE cameras as we taxied towards the runway. Fortunately unlike my last flight, the tail camera works!

We began to taxi at Cabin lights are dimmed for departure.

We taxied to runway 27R and took off on time at 22:17.

A gallery of taxiing and takeoff. It soon got very cloudy and it became difficult to see the ground.

First meal service | Dinner

15 minutes after takeoff, a bottle of good old Harrogate water is given out to passengers. 

(The film playing in the background is 半斤八兩 "The Private Eyes", a Hong Kong comedy classic in the 1970's. Go check it out!)
45 minutes into the flight, a bag of peanuts and beverage are served.

The pre-dinner snack wasn't served on my previous flight to London.

Later, dinner is served 2 hours after takeoff. The three options are as follows, in inaccurate terms (please refer to menu above).
Sides: Smoked salmon couscous salad, bread roll with butter, cheese and crackers.
Main (Choose 1 out of 3):
1. HK style option - Pork with black vinegar sauce, with broccoli and rice (黑醋肉片西蘭花飯)
2. Western option - Seared chicken breast with mustard sauce, with spinach, carrots and potatoes
3. Vegetarian/ Western option - Vegetable lasagne (Chosen option)
Dessert: Haagen Dazs ice cream
Beverages: Apple juice, orange juice, tomato juice, coffee, tea, sodas, beer, wine.

I went for the Vegetarian/ Western option - Vegetable lasagne. I'm not a vegetarian but since I'm travelling with 2 other companions, who have chosen the other options, I tried out this option. I found mouthfuls of courgettes/ zucchinis:

I told my travelling companions to choose different meals. They also found their meals to be satisfactory. 

Cathay kept up the good work on catering. 

Firstly, the main course. On my previous flight to London, 2 HK options are provided (+ 1 Western), whereas now we see 2 Western + 1 HK options. The flavours and portioning are quite nice. The Lasagne is not mushy.

The sides. Slightly problematic about the cold salad (it's always the cold salad…) as the smoked salmon is way too salty. Also nobody is too fond of cold couscous, that's something unnecessary from the plate. It's the same for the block of cheese. I think the catering provider is the one to blame…? (Is it Do&Co? I see their catering truck loading food earlier on - and I've had these before on a BA flight. The sides sucked.)

Dessert. Who doesn't love a good cup of Haagen Dazs ice cream? This has always been the advantage of Cathay.

Special mentions: metal cutlery.

While the catering provider is unknown, CX maintained their good standards despite the meals aren't made at their own facilities. Tastes are all fine, despite the meals being made locally in the UK, and nothing seemed outstandingly terrible to me. A 9/10 for the meal.

In-flight entertainment

You may refer to my previous FR for a detailed introduction to IFE, but here I will give you a quick version of it.
Here's the catalogue and map:

And if you have any questions you may consult this:

A large variety of music, games, TV shows, movies and shopping options:

Touch screen functions properly. Free Wi-Fi doesn't work and requires payment, but who needs Wi-Fi when you have such a good selection of movies? Overall the IFE system has simple interfaces and everything functions smoothly. Great work.

Mid-flight at night

I did not ask for a midnight cup noodle because I slept for half of the flight. I'm not sure if that is available either. 
One thing to note: Egg tarts are only available on selected HK-outbound flights, which I enjoyed previously. It is nowhere mentioned on the menu for this flight.
Light snacks and drinks are available in the galley.

Lights are dimmed for passengers to rest. As you can see, the red lights indicate the bathroom's occupancy.

The starry skies before I went to sleep.

I think I slept soundly for 6 hours straight? That's thanks to the humidified and pressurised air in the cabin. 
I woke up later for a bathroom visit. The sink is clogged and the bin is overfilled. Fortunately I don't see anything particularly surprising in the toilet bowl or on the ground, which is a relief. Various types of amenities and liquids, namely lotion and disinfecting alcohol, are provided.

Flight attendants are preparing breakfast, which is why I didn't get a midnight snack.

I hanged around the galley for stretching and having quick conversations with the crew, who are quite nice. This is the crew rest entrance:

Recycling…? Or are the bins in the galley overflowing as well?

With less than 2 hours into the flight, I returned to my seat for breakfast service. I love the map here, where I can adjust orientations freely.

Second meal service | Breakfast

I felt like breakfast is served in a rush, as it is 90 minutes before landing when it's served. It is already daytime near evening (we are flying opposite to the sun's direction), and the cabin is lit up. However, all window shades remain closed as it was VERY bright outside.

Two options for breakfast:

1. HK style option - pork and mushroom congee (香菇鹹肉粥)
2. Western option - scrambled eggs, sausage, tomato sauce, potatoes

Comes with: fruits (Melons, pineapple), yogurt, bread roll, jam, butter, beverage of choice, and metal cutlery as usual.

I went for the HK option out of curiosity. The congee is quite nice, it's hot unlike my CX flight to Bangkok 5 years ago, which got their catering marks deducted. Texture is quite thick in an unusual way I'd say, as it seems like the congee has been in the blender and I don't see full grains of rice… It's definitely not something I expected on the ground, but least it's not watery. The taste is nice, I'm happy with it.

My companion went for the western option. Classic stuff, tastes pleasant.
It was a great meal, nothing bad in particular, I love the variety of side components. 9/10 for the breakfast, well-done.

The flight attendants are in a real hurry. Being a relatively slow eater, they started collecting the meals when I'm halfway finished. Maybe I'm too distracted by the mahjong game while eating :)
(Don't worry, I finished the meal within 10 minutes after collection, so I didn't disrupt the FAs' working schedule)

The tail camera finally works on this flight! (It didn't work on the previous one, B-LRU)

Landing

I'm finally allowed to open the windows for the landing checks. LOOK AT THE SHARKLET!
It's a shame that the sunlight keeps reflecting off dust particles on the window.

Some profile-picture-quality photos here as the sun began to set :)

Descending into HK.

Cloudy cloudy cloudy… (Notice the peeling paint on the flaps)

The approach into Hong Kong is exceptional, despite the cloudy weather. Of course there is bias, as it is my hometown, but just look the reservoirs, city landscape and hills of Hong Kong.
(As of the time I'm writing this, I am at somewhere else doing my studies. I can't wait to return to Hong Kong and hike those hills!)

[2] Sai Kung beaches and High Island Reservoir
[3] Plover Cove Reservoir
[5] Tai Lam Chung Reservoir "Thousand Island Lake"
[6] Tuen Mun
[9] Fire trucks on the ground!

The moment (literally) after we touched down, the new Cathay theme music started playing again. I'm starting to love it!

Disembarkation

The sun has set again when we taxied slowly to the gate. Crossing runway 07C/ 25C here.

The aircraft is properly parked. Notice how it is night time again. I saw the cargo hold door slowly opening…

I made a last-minute request for cockpit visit, which is thankfully granted.

I took pictures with the flight crew. They are very nice and we chatted for a brief while. One HK flight attendant came into the cockpit and helped us take pictures, then asking me whether I'm the son of one of the captains "你係咪佢個仔？" In which the captains said no, and asked her "等等先佢係咪你個仔" (FA, wait a minute, is this your son?). Turns out I am nobody's son and we laughed about it, and I guess that's because my appearance is too childish :) I bumped my head (as usual) when I made my way out, while standing up from the pilot's seat.

Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 1

As we are parked at the far end of the terminal, we had to use the underground automated people mover.
Then we followed more signs to immigration. The airport is slightly crowded with incoming passengers from evening flights.

After retrieving our bags, we are finally at the arrivals hall, which is one level below the departures hall (look at the bridge overhead for reference). Christmas vibes as it's the 31st of December.

Finally let's talk about transport.

1. MTR (Railway), which is the Airport Express. Obviously not the cheapest way, but if you are really in a hurry then it's a convenient choice. You will pay after you get off the train.

2. Bus. There are a few bus companies available. The bus company you travel on depends on where you're going to. All bus stations can be accessed by walking down the ramp next to the Airport Express (Railway) station. Remember to follow signs to the bus stations.
The major bus companies that you're likely to travel by are:
2(a) Longwin Bus (Orange/ Black). They serve all of the New Territories.
2(b) Citybus (Red/ Yellow). They serve all of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.
Please be reminded to check with your bus app/ Google Maps before taking the bus. Cash and e-payment are accepted.

3. Taxi. I SERIOUSLY DON'T RECOMMEND IT. Though it can be quite fast, it's VERY costly. Plus, most other public transportation can bring you to most places in Hong Kong, so that's not necessary.

Author's note:

If you made it here, congratulations! And thank you so much for reading this in such detail. I didn't realise there were lots of pictures until I made the final edit, and how much I have written descriptively. I tried my best to keep things concise, more tidy, and less boring for you to read (and a lot of procrastination)… that's why it took so long for me to publish!

Please also read the travelling bonus, as I could really use your help on planning a trip.

I hope you enjoyed this flight report. This marks the end of my UK journey! Please stay tuned for more exciting aviation adventures and flight reports to come!