Based in Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific is truly one of the world’s great airlines and has been for over half a century. It boasts a huge fleet of over a hundred airplanes that jet to most of the popular destinations across the world. As such, you’ll find that most of the planes you fly on with Cathay Pacific tend to look rather dated. Over the last couple of years, Cathay has attempted to spruce up these planes by refurbishing the interior – but there are still quite a few planes in their fleet that remain with the older seats and features.
Cathay hasn’t ordered any new planes at this moment, but neither has it ruled out the option entirely. Even though its fleet is dated, the fact of the matter is that Cathay still retains the high quality of service that made it so famous. Cabin crew staff are generally recruited from across the globe and speak fluent (but accented) English. Overall, the cabin crew is helpful and will cater to your needs. Mind you the service that Cathay provides extends beyond the cabin, and if you’re flying Business or First Class you can expect to be entertained at one of their numerous lounges where waiters and waitresses serve you as opposed to just having the standard ‘buffet’ that most airlines have.
These lounges have pretty much everything you’d need – great food, full facilities for business travelers, and so on. When it comes to the seats themselves, you can expect the same as you would on most airlines – though Cathay was one of the first to introduce sockets for laptops. So long as you have a universal adapter you should have no problems using these sockets, and you may even find that they are provided. Meals on the flight are sumptuous and the selection of dishes is fairly good (though obviously, it is a lot better when you’re in Business or First than Economy). All in all, despite ‘falling behind’ in recent years – Cathay still runs a pretty tight ship and they are thoroughly professional and will give you a flight that is as comfortable as can be. Those who do prefer the newer airplanes may be disappointed not to find them on this airline, but the refurbished interiors of Cathay’s older fleet do bridge the gap.
