Review of Cathay Pacific flight from Singapore to Hong Kong in Business

Hello again! Two days after being in Singapore, I now return to Hong Kong the same way I came. Today's flight is a little over 4 hours in the midst of the evening and I will be also flying in Business on Cathay's A350 fleet. Before today's flight, I'd go for some lounge-hopping at Singapore as I intentionally arrived at the airport over nine hours ahead of my flight!

Ticketing - Qatar Privilage Club and Avios

This ticket was booked as a round trip from my previous flight for an abhorrently cheap 44000 Avios + 716HKD, less than economy if you get your avios using BA's boost function. I'll omit the details here but if you are interested, feel free to check out my last flight report for my departure leg.

Check-In - Singapore

I arrived at Singapore Changi Airport 9 hours before my flight by the MRT. I could have arrived even earlier, but I would not have been able to check in as the desks will not have been open then. The MRT operates as a shuttle connecting the rest of the East-West Line with the airport and operates at a oddly infrequent 12 minutes when i was there. This is set to change in the near future as the lines in the area are being restructured as part of the Thomson East Coast Line project. I did, however, get to ride on some of the oldest trains with LED information screens across the whole MRT network which is set to retire soon!

The MRT station is situated near T2 and T3 at Changi, conveniently serving the T1-3 mega-terminal complex where most airlines stop. Cathay, on the other hand, uses T4, originally built as a low cost terminal for budget airlines, and operates separately compared to the rest of the terminal in terms of security. This fact complicated my lounge hopping but i will go onto deeper details later in the review. For the time being, I will have to take a landside shuttle bus to reach T4 to complete my check-in procedures. 

The bus took around 7 minutes and I was at T4 in no time. Like many of other Cathay's outports, Economy class must use the self-service to check-in. This does mean, however, that they are stuck with Singapore's terrible kiosk-issued boarding passes. Although an increasing amount of airports is committing this atrocity in boarding pass quality, I do expect more for an airport situated in the heart of Asia, and hence I will have to deduct points for Changi because of this. 

As I will be traveling business today, I have the luxury of not only talking to a check-in agent (Is this really a luxury tho?) and a real boarding pass. They gladly took my bags even though my flight departs way later in the day. With my boarding pass and lounge invitation on hand, i entered airside at T4. T4 operates with centralized security, letting you purchase duty free at the airport and be cleared to take them onto the aircraft. This is in contrast with the rest of the terminals where security is only done at the gate. Security and Immigration was quick although a little soulless due to heavy automation. Unfortunately, Singapore has not been doing very well on the hospitality front and with the human touch.

The T4 Shuttle and Accessing OneWorld Lounges at T1-3

Passengers departing T4 must enter airside at T4, but since it is isolated from the rest of the terminal not only physically, but also legally due to the difference in security, how could one enjoy the rest of the oneworld lounges? Well, There is a neat shuttle tucked away in the corner of the airport that you are allowed to take to go between the two terminals. You have to turn right at a discrete and a little sketchy staff-only (it is not actually staff-only) corridor and take lifts down to where transfer passengers are processed. There are no signs for doing this and I was only made aware by intensive research online and a confirmation by the airport staff after security.

After you took the lift down to the waiting room, which is next to the arrival halls. Security officers, who are alarmingly nice, checks your boarding pass to make sure that you have ample time to come back. Then, you are guided through to walk through the transfer security area at T4 in the opposite direction to board a bus which will take you on a rather long 20 to 25 minute ride to the other terminals, depending where you decide to get off.

This whole process is very sketchy and I was intensely self-aware, going into staff-only areas, walking through security backwards, the kinds of things that you would probably get arrested for if it wasn't for the fact that this was completely intended. It is unclear to me if this works in the other direction, nor is it clear to me if this was the official way of doing things, or rather just a coordinated improvisation by middle or high level managers in the absence of a formal procedure. No official written notice will be given for such a maneuver for sure. I was the only person on the bus for the whole time, but you get to see almost every slice-of-life of Singapore Airport.

Due to murky legal complications about photography in restricted areas, I do not have any photos to show. But here is a list of things that you can expect to see:
- Baggage Loading Operations at the baggage bays
- Jet-bridges Maintenance
- Aircraft Push-back at Ground Level
- Push-back Tractors Maintenance
- Baggage Sorting

I arrived at T1 an hour before any lounge opens into a beautifully decorated waiting hall, and proceeded to trace out the entire airport and all it's piers in the meantime. Below are some photos of my adventures into every single corner of this airport in no particular order.

I do have to praise the design of Changi airport, but also comment on how the airport has a different aesthetics around each corner. It is a airport built over multiple stages and it shows. I also love how Changi extensively uses carpets, I think it helps slow down the chaos that usually happens at airports, and reduces the sound in the terminals, leading to a more comfortable and tranquil ambience in the airside. I really hope more airports would learn from Changi in this regard.

Lounge 1/3 - Qantas Singapore Lounge

First Lounge to open! - Qantas, I headed in with a small queue of some gold cards members ahead of me. The Qantas Lounge is a nice place to relax after walking for an hour straight at Changi. They are serving Laksa noodles today and I paired with with a Rose drink. While Qantas might not have the most luxurious lounges, it does have some of the most comfortable seating of any lounges, featuring a mix of well padded armchairs, high chairs and couches. The selection of food and drinks is amazing as well!

Being one of the first few passengers using the lounge, it stayed remarkably empty for it's size for the duration of my stay. They have free wifi, numerous TVs and a Bartender who is amazing friendly. Apart from Cathay's own lounge located all the way back at T4, Qantas Lounge is one of the lounges that opens for a significant portion of the day, and because of this, is one of the better choices to check out if you fly out of Singapore.

Lounge 2/3 - Qatar Premium Lounge

I spend a good portion of my time with Qantas, until the Qatar Lounge opened. The Qatar Premium Lounge suffers from shorter opening hours as despite welcoming any oneworld premium passengers, only opens with their own flight schedules. This makes it one of the harder lounges to enjoy as you have to either fly Qatar, spend crazy amount of time at the airport (like me) or depart from a flight departing not long before or after the Qatar flight. Despite this, it is most certainly one of the best lounge in Singapore, and perhaps around the world.

Unlike other business class lounges, Qatar offers a-la-carte table service at their lounge, with waiters bringing you food. In contrast, most business class lounge opts for buffet and self-service style dining. I was welcomed with a Kale Drink which was delish, and a menu that i can pick anything and everything from, so long as I had the appetite. 

There was an abundant option to pick from, but i picked the Beef Tenderloin and a pair of Satay. I am unsure if they are made fresh or are more or less plated airplane meals but the beef tasted amazingly tender and the chicken, juicy. By far this has to be one of the best lounge experiences I ever had.

Lounge 3/3 - Cathay Pacific Lounge

I headed back to the repurposed gate C21 which is used as a shuttle bus stop for shuttles to T4. Again with the 20 minute ride and a behind-the-scenes tour of Singapore Airport, I arrived back at T4. Owing to the fact that T4's concourse is secure, while T1-3 is not, I have to clear security at this point, the same security i reversed through when i headed to T1-3. 

The Cathay Lounge is situated opposite to the equally amazing Plaza Premium Lounge at T4 (one of the few outstanding Plaza Premiums in my opinion) and I took a seat at the noodle bar. At this point of my adventure, I do not have any space remaining for any more food, let along a bowl of noodle. Yet! I still got noodles and managed to stuff it in :< 

Frustratingly, my godsend drink - The Cathay Delight, is absent at this lounge (in fact it seems to be absent at most lounge outside Hong Kong). There is also no Ice Cream at this lounge, so i took the liberty of snatching a few slices of pandan cake from the counter. I did not spend a lot of time at this lounge as time is running out. But I wouldn't really want to spend long amounts of time here either. Cathay lounges oftentimes dont feature the most comfortable seating at times. Don't get me wrong, there are comfortable chairs, but they are never located where the tables are, which means you have to pick between a nice working desk or a nice lounging sofa. Moreover, Cathay Lounges around the world feels largely copy and paste and often lack local variations which makes lounges fun (apart from the oddity that is Cathay's Narita Lounge). I hope Cathay would look into their lounges and innovate the experiences for their lounges outside Hong Kong.

Boarding and Departure

As the lounge staff announces the impending boarding of the aircraft, the whole lounge basically migrated towards the boarding gate. Cathay routinely uses the two furthest gates from the lounge and there is a 5 minutes walk to get there. By the time I arrived, boarding had yet to commence, tho it did start within 10 minutes of getting there. The boarding was done in order of priority, with first class, business class, premium economy, and finally, economy. Todays aircraft is the 6.50 years old B-LRX and features 280 seats - 38 in business, 28 in premium economy and 214 in economy.

Thanks to the consistency in Cathay's A350 fleet, today's seat is identical to the one from my departure leg, and hence I will spare myself from repeating the details here. It is a Cirrus II product found across their long haul fleets, and not the recliners that short-haul business passenger dread. Boarding was rather efficient and push-back commenced soon after. The crew came over to take my order for today during the taxi and we are airborne before i knew it.

Onboard Service

Dinner service commenced not long after takeoff and was also swift, Cathay fashion. At this point, I am still filled to the brim with lounge food, and was not looking forward to this meal, but most meals are served at takeoff and leaves you with the rest of the flight to sleep, so i opted to eat anyways.

The starter was a delightful salad and ham and was delish as always, it was probably more detailed than the catering from Hong Kong which was a surprise to me.

Bread was then served, I opted for a garlic bread and a milk bun, in which i stuffed all the butter i could into. And at this point the air pressure likely increased the space i can fit in more food and hence i swallowed everything on my tray with ease. Next, the main, the choices being Snapper Fillet and Prawns, Beef Tenderloin and Nasi Goreng. In retrospect I should have picked the Nasi Goreng but for whatever reason i picked the Beef. I would then regret it as it was indeed overcooked and dry. The mashed potatoes did help with matters but the truffle flavor did not really pair that well with the dry beef. Then again, to give Cathay Credit, I am probably being a little more harsh on account of not being hungry at this point of time.

The cheese platter followed, along with ice cream. I am not a big fan of cheese but the crackers did taste great. The ice cream was Haagen Dazs as always. More Cathay Delight was in order and that's pretty much the whole meal service! I headed to bed with a massive bloated stomach.

I adjust my seat to a lie flat. You don't get mattresses pads for flights of this length, nor do you get amenities kit which honestly, i was expecting considering the prices people often pay for a flight like this. Either way, the seat was comfortable and i was able to get a couple hours of rest on board between sipping Cathay delights and heading to the toilet.

Business passengers gets access to Cathay's onboard wifi service provided by Panasonic. While it is not as quick as Starlink, functions perfectly fine for everything apart from Discord, which continues to be the only site ever in my experience to not work with Cathay's wifi.

Landing and Arrival

Landing at Hong Kong was rather quick, Cathay does seem to do landing preparations a little too early and there was a half hour period between the preparations and actually touching down at Hong Kong. The plane then taxied for a very long time due to ongoing constructions for the new Terminal 2 at Hong Kong international airport. I recommend everyone and anyone landing at Hong Kong to head to the toilet before landing as taxi times routinely goes above 20-40 minutes during this period as planes are routed around runways and construction sites.

I got off the plane at perhaps the worst possible gate - 71, at the furthest end of the terminal, taking over 15 minutes to reach immigration, and despite clearing immigration with such a delay, my bags were STILL not at the belt. Hong Kong airport needs to step up it's game when it comes to baggage reclaim as such a wait is simply unacceptable. And with that, my flight concludes!