CX 897 LAX to Hong Kong

Cathay Pacific Flight 897, LAX to HKG -- February 9, 2016

2016 HAL Volendam Asian Adventure -- Pre-cruise

When we tried to book our flights on this trip using AA miles months ago, the only seats we could find was on Cathay. Therefore, we had to fly through Hong Kong three times even though our destinations were Taiwan and Singapore. The new rules for mileage redemption also included no stop-over, so we could only use Hong Kong as a transit point without a chance to go into town. For this flight from LAX to TPE, we had to take flight 897 to Hong Kong first with an hour and 40 minutes transit time before taking flight 470 to Taipei. It would be a pain if we were flying economy, but since we were in business, we did not mind.

After a nice relaxing breakfast at the One World lounge, it was time for us to move on to our boarding gate. Boarding began on schedule and when they scanned my ticket, I was told that I needed to go to the counter for further instruction. I was thinking for the worst and just praying that they are not going to downgrade me. It turned out that my original seat (17A) was stained and they could not get the stain out. They had to reassign me to seat 20A, that is if it was OK with me. No big deal, as long as it's not 21A since that one has a missing window. Now we are 18A, 19A, and 20A instead of 17A, 18A, and 19A. I trade seats with son, and all was well!

This 4-class Boeing 777-300ER comes with 53 business class seats with their own shell and slide forward flat bed. One of the better-design business class seats. It provides adequate privacy for long haul flights.

For pre-flight drink, I asked for Cathay Delight, their signature drink, but they were not available at that moment so I settled on a glass of orange juice. 

My new seat 19A. Yes, I took a look at 17A and it was terribly stained with a huge brown spot. I assumed someone spilled their coffee or something and left that mess.

The new Tom Bradley terminal from my seat. 

Main business cabin from row 15 to 26. Rows 11 an 12 are in the mini cabin up front.

Ready to leave!

Great weather for flying!

Planes waiting in line for take off.

This is how close Crowne Plaza is from the airport.

South Bay area

Menu for this flight was given out about an hour after take off. We would be served a breakfast first, then dinner about midway through the flight. Snacks would be available upon request anytime during the flight. 

Meals came in courses and very well done.

fresh fruit

mango smoothie

Cathay provides great inflight entertainment with over 100 movies.

I picked a croissant from the bread basket and it was good.

Now, the main was another story. A little disappointing, I must say. I had the Singaporean stir-fried vermicelli and dim sum. The dim sum was fine but as you can see in this picture, the vermicelli was a little dry, especially around the edges of the dish. It seemed the same thing happened when they serve rice. Dried up around the edges of the containers probably because of overheating.

After breakfast, I watched a couple of movies and slept for about three hours. At around 4:00 LA time, they started serving dinner midway of the flight.

This time I had my Cathay Delight which is a kiwifruit based non-alcoholic drink with coconut juice and a touch of fresh mint. Delicious and refreshing. They probably have to mix/blend it on board. The warm nuts was good too.

Heirloom tomato, romaine salad and lemon vinaigrette

The garlic bread was amazing!

Cured salmon trout, celeriac apple slaw and mustard creme fraiche.

My choice of main--Bone marrow crusted USDA beef tenderloin, root vegetables, yukon mash potatoes and Bordelaise sauce. Very good!

As for dessert, I decided to skip.

I felt that the crew was kind of rushing to get dinner finished. Seemed they want to clear the dishes even before we were done.

I was able to sleep for a few hours on this 15-hour flight, thanks to the flat bed. I also managed to watch several episodes of their video program to make this long flight a little bearable.

amenity bag

and its contents--no slippers, just a pair of socks.

About two hours before landing, MOR ordered their Shui Gao in noodle soup from the snack list. I was not hungry at all so I just took a bite from his bowl. It was OK, not as good as I expected. ChC had the Black Angus beef burger and he said it was very good!

Bed straightened and ready for landing.

Islands spotted!

Touch down!

Hello, Hong Kong!

To sum up our experience on this flight: The seats were one of the best. Great entertainment system with lots of choices. Flight attendants were attentive and always acknowledge us by our names. Food service was good but the quality could be better. Overall, a wonderful flight!