Review of Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur in Economy

Hi everyone, welcome to my flight report on Cathay Pacific flight 723, from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur on 23/7/2025. I haven't flown since the summer of 2019 due to COVID-19, and for the past 6 years I just stayed in Hong Kong. Now, I finally had a chance to travel with my family.

This was an early flight, and we had to take the overnight bus to reach the airport. I haven't did that in many years.

We alighted at the ground transport centre (GTC) of Hong Kong Airport. As it is summertime, the sky has begun to brighten up.

After alighting, my family went to meet up with our tour guide. I went to collect the wi-fi eggs first, before heading to check in. The wi-fi egg rental company allows for 24/7 wi-fi egg collection and return at the airport, which is very convenient for travellers, avoiding the need to return the device in urban areas. The company also offers the wi-fi eggs rental service at a good price with 5G internet service, the connection is generally stable and they give out gifts for VIP members ever time they rent the wi-fi eggs. You will be automatically upgraded to VIP member when you used their service for more than 3 times, and this is permanent.

As it is only 5:40am, the airport is still very quiet, especially in the arrivals hall.

In the 6 years that I didn't travel, Hong Kong Airport improved significantly, and widely adapted the usage of automation and AI, such as facial recognition. This significantly speeds up check in speeds, from luggage check-in to passing through immigration. It was very impressive, and although I am stunned by the huge changes that was made in the past 6 years, I must admit that I took some time to adapt to such changes. My family joked that nowadays, we no longer need to line up to check-in our luggage, and we can't bargain for free upgrades!

We finished luggage check-in within 10 minutes, then passed through immigration, which also took less than 10 minutes. Although I still used the HKID E-channels (HKID and fingerprint) this time, but I can use the latest Flight Token machines (passport and facial recognition) to enter/depart HK territories next time as I signed up for that service when I passed through the E-channels. HK Residents can download the Flight Token app and use it to enter/depart HK territories.

Passing through immigration, the airport is still quite quiet. We used this time to walk around the airport, noting the different changes Hong Kong airport made in the past 6 years.

First, the toilet. It makes you feel that you are onboard a flight!

And of course, the latest connecting bridge between the main terminal and the satellite terminal. It was connected by buses, until 1/11/2022, when this bridge opened. It only takes 8 minutes to walk to the satellite terminal. Even the largest passenger jet, the A380, can pass below it!

Some parts of the bridge is made of glass, and travellers can see, beneath their feet, planes passing below them.

This is the entrance to the connecting bridge from the main terminal.

There is a shop near the entrance of the connecting bridge from the main terminal. This shop is staffless. Travellers enter the shop with their credit cards, shop, then leave the shop. The payment will be credited to their credit card accounts. It is the first time I see these types of shops in Hong Kong.

This is where you see the planes beneath your feet. Sadly, no planes passed through while I was on the bridge.

A picture of the interior of the bridge:

But I managed to take some pictures of planes on the bridge. This is a Cathay Pacific A350-900 parked at gate 24 of the main terminal.

A Garuda Indonesia B737-800 parked at gate 16, Cathay Pacific A321-200 NEO at gate 17, Thai A320-200 at gate 18 of the satellite terminal.

3 more Cathay Pacific A321-200 NEO parked at gate 13 (furthest), 14, 15 of the satellite terminal.

After a while of looking around, talking about aviation to my family and planespotting (I felt a few years younger than now!), we made our way to gate 36, where our plane for today's flight, an A330-300, is waiting for us.

The boarding started at 7:30am sharp. Travellers only need to prepare their air tickets, go through the machines that uses facial recognition, then you can board the plane.

Haven't hold an air ticket for 6 years! I swapped to seat 52H.

As we boarded, flight attendants greeted us at the door. I haven't flown with Cathay Pacific for at least 7 years. But their hospitality is still there, something pleased to see. It was a full flight, but boarding was done quickly. However, we were stuck at the gate for a long time, and we ended up pushing back at 8:39am, 29 minutes behind schedule.

While waiting for pushback, I scrolled through the In-Flight Entertainment System (IFE), and I don't think that it is the most updated. However, the options are quite plentiful. As I am recently listening to Indonesian music, I find it a shame to not find any Indonesian songs on the IFE. Free wi-fi for the whole flight is available for all business and first class passengers or passengers with specific membership levels.

The A330-300 that we flew on is the regional setup, with 24 business class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration (recliner seats) and 293 economy seats in a 2-4-2 configuration. With 18 inches of seat width and 32 inches of pitch, it is comfortable to sit on for a 4 hour flight, or even longer flights.

Before pushback, I also took a picture of this Cathay Pacific A350-900, parked next to us at gate 34.

We pushed back at 8:39am, 29 minutes behind schedule. Taxiing started at 8:44am, where we began our takeoff roll at 9:02am on runway 07R. I slept for some minutes before our takeoff roll, waking up just in time to feel it. It feels amazing to be in the skies after a long time!

We took off on a northeasterly heading, then turned to the south shortly after takeoff.

This photo is taken 2 minutes after takeoff, when we began the turn to the south.

This photo is taken 7 minutes after takeoff. I don't know what islands are featured in the picture, but the skies are clear, the South China Sea is blue. Amazing views up at around 10,000 feet!

It took around 34 minutes to reach our cruising altitude, FL400, which should be the highest altitude that I ever reached on a plane if I remember correctly. Although we reached FL400 at 9:37am, the flight attendants began distributing special meals during the climb. I remember one of my family member that ordered the vegetarian meal received her food while we climbed through FL190, around 14 minutes after takeoff.

For breakfast, there is the western option (which I ordered) and Nasi Lemak (which my uncle ordered, it is Malaysian style curry rice with chicken). Both tasted delicious. Cathay Pacific's catering still maintained its quality.

As we had breakfast, we flew near Vietnam. The air began to get rough. The seat belt signs illuminated, and hot drink service was put to a halt. After we cleared the turbulence, hot drink service resumed. I got a cup of tea, which was still the usual taste.

After breakfast, I finally found out that the in-flight map features this view, which makes you feel that you are flying the plane. However, I think it only activates above 10,000 feet,

Around 5 minutes before descent, the captain came on the announcement and said that we are expected to touch down at 12:25pm, and the taxi time is around 5-10 minutes.

This photo is taken at 11:52am, 2 hours and 50 minutes after takeoff. We started descending from FL400 4 minutes ago (at 11:48am), and now descending through FL332 at a ground speed of 514 knots, meaning we have some tailwind.

We touched down at Kuala Lumpur International Airport's (KLIA) runway 14L at 12:14pm, which is earlier than the captain's prediction, as we didn't need to hold. We arrived gate C36 at 12:22pm, 8 minutes after landing, and 17 minutes behind schedule.

Being at the C gates, we need to take the trains to the main terminal, before passing through immigration. As we completed the MDAC procedure online (all visitors are required to do so 3 days before arrival) and that we fall into the specific nationalities that are eligible to use the E-channels in KLIA, immigration was swiftly done, and the flight ended smoothly. Travellers only need to have their passport in hand, scan the passport to enter the first gate, then upon facial recognition, the second gate will open, and immigration procedures are completed. Even my 7 year old cousin who is quite short successfully passed through the E-channel, which was a great news, as it would be a long wait at the counters (even the courtesy / priority counters), not to mention that you may be treated rudely, which I will mention in my next flight report.

Thank you for reading this flight report! I hope you enjoyed it. Now, read the next report here: