Hello again everyone, thanks for joining me for another flight. This one was a very pleasant surprise, aboard Cathay’s New Aria Suite from Hong Kong over to Dubai. Prior to my flight, I did some research and noticed Aria Suites were only offered on routes to and from Beijing, Vancouver, and Australia. With no expectation of the new offering, I was beyond delighted when I saw the new décor upon boarding.
I arrived at HGK from the city, and caught some beautiful views of the clouds. A great sign of what was to come.
Check in was very quick, as expected with the numerous business checkin desks open. Fast track security was also available for priority passengers, a wonderful and streamlined admin experience as always flying out of HKG.
There is only one place I must always head to here at HKG, and it's the reason I arrive far ahead of time… the sky bridge! Let's check it out! I did a more comprehensive review of the skybridge in an earlier review, so I'll just leave you with some quick snaps this time!
Off to the lounges! Cathay’s business passengers have an incredible choice of three lounges, luckily for me The Bridge (I believe it was this, my apologies if it was a different one) was right next to my gate. Lets go check it out. The Bridge has also been reviewed as the best of the three, and I can't help but agree. he lounge is massive with a variety of food and beverages on offer. I went to the noodle bar and ordered some crispy pork with rice and some dim sum.
The lounge also has an a la carte Western Station primarily with Italian offerings, I went with pizza, meatballs, lasagna, alfredo pasta and a goat cheese mushroom.
Visiting Cathay’s home base has its advantages, everything was lovely. They also had Haagen Dazs on offer, couldn’t resist grabbing one before leaving.
Before boarding, I took some time and explored the terminal to do some planespotting. The benefit of being a fully international airport, you'll never struggle to find jets from all across the globe. What's even better? Long haul means big big widebodies! Here's some of the highlights.
The backdrop of those mountains and parts of the city only add to the beauty that is HKG.
Our gate was directly up the escalator from the lounge, here’s the first look at our Boeing 777-300 ER taking us over to Dubai.
Upon boarding, I knew immediately that I hit the jackpot. I’ve been on Cathay’s older 777-300 ER in the past and had never seen this incredible new Japanese style fence design, and I was overjoyed seeing the brand new Aria Suite Cabin.
Here’s the first look at our seat, with the menu, amenity kit, and bedding by Bamford, waiting for us. There was also a bottle of water near the noise-cancelling headphones, which worked great.
Take a quick look at the amenities, I especially like the pillow/sleep mist.
Next to the slippers, we had the massive bag of bedding. I immediately unboxed it and go comfortable with the thick blanket! I did have to remove it shortly after since the cabin became extremely warm, with the PA offering their apologies. Temperature did cool down after takeoff, so it was only a minor issue!
Seeing a sliding door on Cathay felt like fish out of water, considering the many times I’ve flown their older product. The Cabin looks extremely new and sleek, a huge upgrade to the older aging business product. With the controversies surrounding Cathay in the previous years, and allegations of their quality dropping, this hard product really does help things.
The legroom was also quite ample, above it the massive IFE screen with one of the best selections of entertainment out there.
My purser came over and offered welcome drinks, I went with some champagne.
Here’s a look at tonight’s menu, feature one main meal and a lighter one closer to landing. Which entrée would you choose?
There’s also a small space which can charge your phone, accessible upon sliding your table forward. Theres also a touch screen feature for all the seat options you may need, next to the charging ports which now also feature type C.
From the exterior, these aria suites remind me of individual pod hotels.
Soon, we began to taxi out and I managed to catch quite a few aircrafts along the way. As it often is departing from HKG, we had a minor delay but pushed out at 18:10, 20 minutes behind schedule.
Check out these views and the beautiful sunset!
This was also when I noticed some extra storage space.
Once we were airborne, the crew unlocked our door. This was a nice surprise as my friend flew these suites around the same time to Vancouver, but her cabin’s doors were required to remain open.
Soon after takeoff, I kicked off my White Lotus marathon and began our meal service. This IFE screen truly was enormous.
A quaint tablecloth was offered, followed by the amuse bouche which was a smoked duck, very solid start.
. Then came the starter which was a spicy chilled salmon and garlic bread. This wasn’t anything too special as salmon/tuna seems to be airlines’ go to for appetizers. I also ordered a glass of whisky.
Then came my second of probably five or six Cathay delights. I kept hearing everyone around me order the same and guess what, they ran out around midflight!
Then came my main which was the Braised beef rib finger noodle with choy sum. I always try to go with an Asian option on an Asian carrier, this was very solid. It may not look as fancy or pretty as some Western plated entrees, but a nice Asian bowl of noodles always hits the spot.
Since this flight took off around 6pm Hong Kong time and would land late at night in Dubai on the same day, my plan was to stay awake and pass out upon arrival, hence the americano.
Then came one of the best desserts I’ve had on a plane, Thai mango sticky rice. My only complaint would be the portion was very small, but maybe it’s the small quantity that made me miss it more .
The crew then came by with a selection of chocolates, which were prompty knocked over and spilled all over the cabin right before they came to me! A quick team effort by the crew, myself, and the gentleman next to me cleaned it up quick, and luckily they had another box! These were very elegant, and a great way to end the meal.
I then did a quick toilet visit, and loved that the wooden finishes of the aria cabin were reflected in the design here. The wood design just makes everything feel a lot fancier, and the same could be said here!
As I stepped out I was greeted with the Japanese style fences I mentioned earlier, look out for this as your signal that you’re going to fly in their aria suites! The galley also feels more spacious tucked behind the fences.
The lights were then dimmed for those who wanted to catch some z's. None for me! Here's a shot of the aria suites in the dark.
As a midnight snack, I went with another ice cream and the final cathay delight of my flight (for anyone!!! they were all out :( ).
Two hours or so before landing, we were provided our second (lighter) meal. Sticking with the Asian option, I went with a hearty portion of the penang style char kway teow. Another Asisian classic, and a must try for all visitors! I was also quite stuffed at this point and felt I probably wouldn't finish the burger, the western option. I went with another one of Cathay's signature drinks, the Cloud Nine: this one a mix of Sprite, vodka, lemon juice and Cointreau, with a ring of sugar across the top. Not a bad option, but not as great as the Cathay Delight in my opinion,
Accompanying was a fruit plate and nuts with yoghurt. All were a good portion and tasty.
The sun was setting (for the second time) a while before heading into Dubai, and we soon landed at DXB Terminal 1, where all international non-Emirates flights operate.
Managed to snap a pic of this Sri Lankan bird in the one world livery, my first time seeing a member from their fleet!
Finally, completely unrelated to the experience of the flight, but oh my word was baggage claim slow… It took over an hour for the first bag to drop from our flight.
