Review of Cathay Pacific Premium Economy B777-300 Hong Kong – Mumbai

Cathay Pacific
Hong Kong (HKG) – Mumbai, India (BOM)

Flight number: CX663
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300
Departure: 8:10 pm (local time)
Arrival 0:25 am (local time)
Duration: 6h, 45min
Seats: Premium Economy

«Great comfort in Economy»

One day we were in Hong Kong and experienced its national airline company Cathay, or actually the part of its national airline, we had a Business Class flight with Cathay Dragon. This time we used original Cathay Pacific airline to make a conclusion about the company, as previous time we were not really impressed.

This time we chose Premium Economy for actually long flight from Hong Kong to Mumbai. And this time our Cathay Pacific Premium Economy comfort was really similar with Cathay Dragon from before.

1. Airport time

We are members of OneWorld alliance, so we started the journey not from airport gates, but from Cathay First Class Lounge and enjoyed the airport time as well. We were offered all the three possible Cathay Lounges in its hub airport and of course we chose the best one, its First Class Pier Lounge.

We were really impressed by the lounge, as it was big, provided many areas, like more quiet sitting zones, more live with a bar, a snacks buffet between them, working space with private areas and all the necessary equipment, relax procedures that were available by the order and great a la carte restaurant.

Despite the fact that there were many people, it was not overcrowded because of the wise construction and areas separation. We also liked the lack of food in sitting areas as it usually make sitting zones look and smell like a canteen. There was a snack bar, where you can take something to your place and a la carte restaurant, which you can visit for a meal.

We were happy to have the lounge, especially this kind of level and went to the restaurant to have a delicious  dinner before our Economy flight. We liked the menu and chose Aperol Spritz and champagne for drinks and eggplant, smoked salmon and mussels for starter.

All the food was perfectly cooked and well served. As a main course we chose pasta gnocchi and waguy beef burger that we also liked a lot. We still had some time and decided to enjoy some coffee and sweets from buffet in the sitting area.

 2. Flight time

Our boarding was not really fast, as there was a line for Economy Class passenger. We passed by Business Class and found our Premium Economy cabin on board of Boeing 777-300 with configuration 1-2-1. We had window seats, which are two and perfectly suit for a couple.

For us that Premium Economy seats were like Business Class seats on board of A320. They were wide, it had enough leg space, footrest, provided pillows and blankets and good recline.

We also had IFE on the seat in front, which could be adjusted in case the infant seat was being reclined. The remote controls for TV was located in the middle arm rest together with a small drink holder. The other arm rest had buttons with seat and footrest adjustments.

As a welcome drink we had bottles of still water and no menu provided. Actually, the only difference between Premium Economy and Economy Classes was in seats comfort, as the service and food were the same.

2.1. Food
We were not hungry after the great dinner in First Class Cathay Lounge, but took to different options – Indian Vegetarian and Indian Not Vegetarian (the third provided one was Chinese Fish option), but both of them were not tasty, like often in Economy Class meals.

Both Indian options included bread, butter and vegetable spread, cold potato starter, white sauce, hot meal with rice and dull (in vegetarian option the dull was with spinach and the other one had chicken masala) and one dessert.

2.2. Lavatory

Surprisingly, the lavatory was clean for Economy Class on long haul flight. Nothing special, but no dirty and no line.

3. Overall impression

First time tried Hong Kong airline we had no final decision about it, but now we do. We like the company! Cathay provides good enough product with reasonable price and different levels of comfort. It is probably not the best one, comparing with other Asian airlines in our experience, but still it is worthy! We still love Singapore Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, we liked Vistara, but we not really liked THAI Airways and Air India.

So, the final word would be GOOD. Something in the middle between mentioned Asian companies that we liked and did not. We recommend Catthay for sure, it is worthy, what is probably the most important for airline company!