Cathay Pacific has lengthy been heralded as one of many world’s main airways. With top-tier choices each on the bottom and within the sky, the airline has lengthy attracted Miles & Factors fans and aviation afficionados alike.
Whereas the airline was considerably affected all through the pandemic, when it noticed its route community severely restricted in comparison with years previous, the continuing reopening of Hong Kong to world is coming with the restoration of Cathay Pacific’s community.
Thankfully, this additionally means the gradual return of one of the vital sought-after aviation experiences round: Cathay Pacific First Class.
On this information, we’ll undergo every little thing you might want to learn about one of the vital luxurious flying experiences you can attain with a well-rounded Miles & Factors technique.
The Cathay Pacific First Class Expertise
With an elevated fame as one of many world’s finest airways, Cathay Pacific delivers an intriguing expertise from begin to end.
Whether or not it’s enjoyable in a personal bathtub at one of many flagship lounges in Hong Kong or having fun with a refined meal in a snug suite within the sky, you’ll need to be sure Cathay Pacific First Class is in your bucket checklist of journey experiences.
Floor Expertise
Cathay Pacific makes certain that its First Class is differentiated as a minimize above enterprise class, and also you’ll simply discover how there are already variations with the expertise on the bottom.
Let’s begin with check-in. Passengers are all the time provided a separate space, and in Hong Kong, which is Cathay Pacific’s dwelling base, the First Class check-in space can also be linked to a devoted safety line.
With preliminary formalities taking shorter than standard, extra time may be spent at one in all Cathay Pacific’s unique First Class lounges.
There are two of them in Hong Kong: The Pier and The Wing. These two lounges, a 10-minute stroll aside, have separate entrances and sections for enterprise class and First Class passengers.
Nevertheless, because the airline remains to be within the strategy of restoring of its pre-pandemic capability, solely The Wing is open for First Class passengers for now. The Pier First Class Lounge is anticipated to reopen in mid-2023.
Whereas The Wing has components that don’t essentially differentiate itself from different lounges, it provides one significantly notable characteristic: The Cabanas. These personal sanctuaries characteristic a big bathtub and a day mattress, each of that are a godsend previous to or following a long-haul flight.
And except for The Cabanas, The Wing additionally notably provides à la carte eating at its restaurant referred to as The Haven, in addition to a Champagne bar for welcome drinks.
As soon as it reopens, Cathay Pacific First Class passengers who go to The Pier may also have entry to unique rooms in an space of the lounge referred to as The Retreat, which can also be the place the lounge’s bathe rooms are discovered.
Whereas the day suites right here aren’t practically as luxurious as The Cabanas in The Wing, you possibly can nonetheless avail your self of a quiet, snug place to calm down previous to your flight.
For those who’re able to quench your thirst, there’s no higher place than the visually pleasing bar situated in The Pier.
The Pier additionally provides à la carte eating within the aptly named The Eating Room. Whilst you could also be tempted to order a little bit of every little thing from the menu, you’ll need to avoid wasting room on your meal on the aircraft.
Nevertheless, when you’re simply searching for a good looking place to calm down earlier than your flight, head over to The Library for a strikingly stunning space to spend time in.
Take into account that your Cathay Pacific First Class journey has solely simply begun, and it will get even higher from right here.
Seat
Whereas most different airways’ First Class cabins are configured with 4 seats in a row, Cathay Pacific edges them out with its three-across configuration. There’s one seat on the window on both facet of the plane, after which one in the midst of the cabin.
It is a little bit of a giant deal, since you wind up with a First Class suite that appears gigantic in comparison with others.
And ready on the seat are Bose noise-cancelling headphones, pajamas by Hong Kong-based clothier PYE, and an amenity package additionally by Bamford.
The seat that turns right into a lie-flat mattress may be turned down upon request, and it’d be laid with British way of life model Bamford’s plush 600-thread-count cotton sheet, a selection of sentimental or agency pillows, and a cover cowl. A twig of Bamford’s well-known pillow mist and a cup of JING Tea full the ritual.
Meals & Drink
The onboard eating expertise is one more robust level of Cathay Pacific First Class. For starters, you’ll be elegantly served your foods and drinks of selection with Noritake porcelain dinnerware, Robert Welch flatware, and Riedel wine glasses.
Shortly after boarding, you’ll have your selection of welcome drink, which is more likely to embody a high-end Champagne.
When you hit the skies, there’s sufficient room within the suite for somebody to hitch you, which is all the time one of the vital satisfying elements of First Class.
As a latest improvement, Cathay Pacific has began collaborating with Michelin-starred restaurant Duddell’s to showcase Hong Kong’s delicacies.
As a First Class passenger, which means you get to savour dishes like chilled abalone and cucumber with black vinegar, and pan-fried king prawns in white pepper sauce with spring onions and ginger as you make your method to your vacation spot.
After all, this all comes after the caviar course and the free-flowing Champagne you’d likewise be having fun with.
For those who nonetheless occur to be hungry, remember to order one thing scrumptious from the snack menu, corresponding to braised pork noodles or a dim sum choice.
To wrap issues up, you’ll have the deal with of having fun with a cheese plate, ice cream, a pie, and even all the above.
For sure, you’ll need to come hungry (and thirsty) on your Cathay Pacific First Class flight.
Cathay Pacific Flight Evaluations
Cathay Pacific First Class Cabin
Amongst Cathay Pacific’s blended fleet of Boeing and Airbus planes, solely choose Boeing 777-300ER plane are outfitted with First Class.
The First Class cabin consists of merely six seats divided into two rows in a 1-1-1 configuration. It’s clearly a distinction from the 1-2-1 configuration within the enterprise class behind, thus offering you with essentially the most actual property on the aircraft.
Seats 1A and 2A solely share the left apart, whereas the 4 different seats share the appropriate aisle. Therefore, the 2 left seats are the very best ones in the home, and so they’re most perfect whether or not flying solo or as a pair.
Alternatively, when you’d like to sit down nearer to your companion, your best choice could also be to decide on one of many seats within the center (“D” seats) paired with a seat on the appropriate facet (”Ok” seats), as these seats open in the direction of one another on the identical aisle.
Cathay Pacific First Class Routes
Previous to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cathay Pacific provided First Class on a handful of routes, together with many to North America. However with an prolonged crash in demand, due to Hong Kong’s heavy-handed pandemic restrictions, the airline parked its plane with First Class in storage.
The excellent news is that Cathay Pacific is steadily bringing First Class again, and as of this writing, it’s provided on 4 routes: Hong Kong to London, Paris, Tokyo (Haneda), and Los Angeles.
We’re optimistic in regards to the gradual return of Cathay Pacific First Class to North America and different routes, and we’ll remember to replace this information when this occurs.
Tips on how to Redeem Factors for Cathay Pacific First Class
As a Oneworld member airline, you’ll must look to the loyalty applications throughout the alliance for the very best offers.
Every program has its personal professionals and cons, so remember to contemplate your entire choices earlier than reserving Cathay Pacific First Class.
Alaska Mileage Plan
Reserving Cathay Pacific First Class with Alaska miles has lengthy been referred to as the most effective candy spots within the sport. Nevertheless, there have been some latest adjustments to Alaska Mileage Plan that put the way forward for this candy spot in peril.
Alaska miles are comparatively tough to return by. In the USA, you possibly can earn Alaska miles with co-branded bank cards.
The one different possibility, except for shopping for Alaska miles throughout a sale, is to switch in Marriott Bonvoy factors on the perfect ratio of 60,000 factors = 25,000 miles.
For those who occur to have a pleasant stash of Alaska miles, the excellent news is {that a} First Class flight between Hong Kong and North America or Europe prices simply 70,000 miles!
After all, you’ll should find award availability to attain this deal, which might be going to be fairly tough. For those who occur to discover a seat, remember to e-book it as quickly as attainable, since we’re unsure how for much longer this candy spot will final.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Bar none, the simplest method to redeem Cathay Pacific First Class is thru its personal program, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. You’ll additionally profit from a higher quantity of award availability in comparison with redemption companions, which tends to be fairly sparse for such a extremely desired product, and entry to seats nearly a 12 months upfront.
In Canada, Asia Miles is a switch accomplice of RBC Avion at a 1:1 ratio, American Specific Membership Rewards at a 1:0.75 ratio, and HSBC Rewards at a 25:8 ratio.
We’ve additionally seen switch bonuses of 10–15% provided on occasion, which is a superb time to switch in for a redemption when you’ve situated award house.
RBC additionally points the co-branded RBC Cathay Pacific Visa Platinum Card that straightforwardly earns Asia Miles on every day spending, though it doesn’t have a tendency to supply the very best return for spending.
South of the border, Asia Miles is a switch accomplice of American Specific US Membership Rewards, Capital One, and Citi ThankYou at a 1:1 ratio.
When it comes time to redeem, there’s no dynamic pricing to be involved about when redeeming Asia Miles. There are solely normal awards, which carry fastened costs based mostly on distance, with values as follows:
The Hong Kong–Tokyo (Haneda) route falls within the “Brief” class and costs out at 40,000 Asia Miles for a one-way flight in First Class.
In the meantime, the European routes as categorised as “Lengthy – Sort 1” and value out at 100,000 Asia Miles for a one-way flight in First Class, and the Los Angeles route costs out at 110,000 Asia Miles within the “Lengthy – Sort 2” class.
If First Class turns into provided once more on routes to the Jap United States, the price can be 125,000 Asia Miles for a one-way flight.
Whereas that is certainly a steep value to pay, be aware you can add on one other flight in enterprise class or financial system class afterwards and also you gained’t pay any extra miles – in reality, the full value might in reality lower, as Asia Miles calculates the mileage pricing utilizing a weighted common of the gap flown in every class of service on an itinerary.
Word that Cathay Pacific tacks on reasonable gas surcharges on award redemptions, and quantities are naturally increased for First Class.
American Airways AAdvantage
American Airways AAdvantage additionally options some good costs for Cathay Pacific First Class, though the miles are barely tougher to return by than with different applications.
In Canada, you possibly can switch RBC Avion to AAdvantage at a 1:0.7 ratio, which isn’t essentially essentially the most perfect.
In the USA, you possibly can earn AAdvantage miles by varied co-branded bank cards issued by Citi.
On either side of the border, you possibly can switch Marriott Bonvoy factors at a ratio of three:1, when you’re caught with out some other choices.
When it comes time to redeem, anticipate to pay 90,000 AAdvantage miles for a flight between Hong Kong and Paris or London in Cathay Pacific First Class.
A flight from Hong Kong to Tokyo Haneda costs out at 40,000 miles.
For those who can find award availability, anticipate to pay 110,000 AAdvantage miles for a First Class flight between North America and Hong Kong.
British Airways Avios
Lastly, contemplate reserving Cathay Pacific First Class with British Airways Avios.
In Canada, British Airways Avios is a switch accomplice of RBC Avion at a 1:1 ratio, American Specific Membership Rewards at a 1:1 ratio, and HSBC Rewards at a 25:10 ratio. There’s additionally the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card, which earns factors immediately from every day spending.
In the USA, Avios is a 1:1 switch accomplice of Chase Final Rewards, Capital One, and American Specific US Membership Rewards.
In each international locations, you possibly can switch Marriott Bonvoy factors at a 3:1 ratio, with a bonus of 5,000 Avios when you switch 60,000 factors. There are additionally switch bonuses to maintain an eye fixed out for in Canada and the US.
As you possibly can see, of all of the totally different factors currencies listed above, Avios are arguably the simplest to earn. Whereas they might be straightforward to return throughout, you gained’t essentially discover the very best worth by redeeming them for a one-way Cathay Pacific First Class flight.
Relatively, it’s possible you’ll need to contemplate it as half of a bigger British Airways Avios Multi-Provider Award reserving, which may unlock a big quantity of worth.
Cathay Pacific First Class Award Availability
With solely 4 routes presently flying with First Class cabins, we are able to anticipate award availability to be very restricted to be able to favour income passengers.
Nevertheless, when First Class award seats are launched, the primary to profit are these redeeming from Cathay Pacific’s personal Asia Miles program.
The draw back of getting solely lower-priced normal awards is the final lack of availability, particularly for premium cabins. Subsequently, you’d want just a little bit extra persistence when searching for a reward seat in First Class.
As well as, whereas Cathay Pacific has beforehand adopted a sample of constantly releasing last-minute availability, this doesn’t seem like the case anymore – so e-book early.
It’s additionally price noting that there doesn’t appear to be a lot consistency within the availability between totally different applications. For instance, a flight that’s accessible by American Airways AAdvantage won’t present up on Cathay Pacific Asia Miles or Alaska Mileage Plan.
Subsequently, your finest wager is to make use of the search features on the totally different applications, after which when you’ve discovered a seat, see which program provides the very best take care of the factors you’ve at your disposal.
Suggestions and Tips for Cathay Pacific First Class
Whereas Cathay Pacific First Class could also be tough to return throughout for award bookings, there are a number of suggestions and tips to think about that can assist you maximize the expertise.
Tack on one other flight
Given Asia Miles’s distance-based redemption chart, one of the best ways to redeem Cathay Pacific First Class, put merely, is to fly longer. By doing so, you possibly can totally maximize the higher restrict of seven,500+ miles on the chart.
In idea, the longest routings you could possibly plan inside Cathay Pacific’s community can be North America to Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa by way of Hong Kong. Sadly, none of those routes presently provide First Class, however you could possibly additionally contemplate including a really snug enterprise class flight, or a barely much less snug financial system flight, as an alternative.
Let’s take Tokyo to London by way of Hong Kong for instance. Tokyo to Hong Kong covers roughly 1,800 miles and prices 40,000 miles for a one-way seat in First Class, whereas Hong Kong to London covers roughly 6,000 miles, and requires 100,000 miles.
When these two segments are married collectively, they whole 7,800 miles. However as an alternative of paying a complete of 140,000 miles, you’d solely must pay 125,000 miles.
As talked about above, when reserving Cathay Pacific First Class with Asia Miles, tacking on one other flight in a decrease class of service may also convey down the mileage pricing as a result of program’s distinctive pricing construction.
Use calendar searches
To assist velocity up the search course of, contemplate trying to find Cathay Pacific First Class with a program that provides a calendar view. Your finest wager is more likely to go along with both American Airways AAdvantage or Alaska Mileage Plan.
For instance, let’s say you had your eye on a First Class flight from Hong Kong to Paris. On the American Airways web page, merely enter in your routing, variety of passengers, and a date, after which simply be sure you click on on “Redeem miles”.
Within the search outcomes, click on on the “Calendar” button, and also you’ll see a complete month’s price of costs.
To search out First Class availability, you’ll need to toggle the outcomes so that you’re solely seeing First Class, and never financial system or enterprise class. Merely alter the filters on the high to “Nonstop solely” and “First”, after which the calendar will solely present dates on which there are direct flights in First Class.
This makes it very straightforward to seek for months at a time. When you’ve discovered a date, simply make certain that it’s accessible in your program of selection, after which proceed with making the reserving.
It’s price noting that there’s a less-useful characteristic on the Asia Miles web site, which exhibits availability (generally) while you’re including the date.
As you’re coming into within the information for a reward search, the calendar will present both a brown seat (low availability) or a inexperienced seat (ample availability) while you’re deciding on a date.
It’s not as dependable or as quick as different searches, although, however it may be helpful to notice when you occur to stumble throughout it.
Conclusion
Cathay Pacific First Class is arguably one of many aviation merchandise on the market. With an beautiful floor expertise and one of the vital snug methods to take to the skies, there’s little question that you just’ll treasure each second
Sadly, with fewer routes and fewer availability than earlier than, it’s change into much more aspirational than readily attainable, not less than for now.
Regardless, when you’re devoted to increase Oneworld factors balances and able to act while you discover an award seat for Cathay Pacific First Class, you’ll be handsomely rewarded on your efforts.
