Getting to Taipei – Flights on American and Cathay Pacific
About My Flight and Airfare - Minneapolis to Taipei Via - Dallas and Hong Kong
I found a fantastic deal on my flight to Taiwan. My round trip airfare from Minneapolis to Taipei was only $541. My outbound flight included three legs. Leg one was from Minneapolis to Dallas/Fort Worth on American Airlines. Leg two was from Dallas/Fort Worth to Hong Kong on American Airlines Flagship 777-300ER. This flight was my first opportunity to be in the retrofitted cabin that included Premium Economy in addition to Main Cabin Extra. The final leg was on Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong to Taipei.
With an upgrade to Premium Economy being over $1000 round trip, I chose to spend an additional $165 on a Main Cabin Extra Seat. American has scaled back their main cabin extra seats on the 777-300 ER. Main Cabin Extra only consists of all of Row 20, Exit Row 31, the four seats in Row 32, and the middle 4 of row 33, 34, and 35. When I booked my flight, I chose seat 35H as I figured the two middle seats in row 35 would be the last Main Cabin Extra Seats to be purchased.
I am not too fond of the exit row on long haul flights because the tray table being in the armrest makes it challenging to eat, work on my computer, and keep my drinks from spilling. Because of this, I will usually only take an exit row on a narrow body, short-haul flight.
I have also found that it is less likely to have someone sit in the middle seat on the right side of the plane than the left side of the aircraft. This theory may be simply coincidental, or it may have to do with how the computer assigns people at random who are checking in with no remaining regular seats available.
I figured that the 15-hour plus flight would give me an excellent chance to work on my website and review American’s new 777-300 ER.
Getting to Taipei, Taiwan from Minneapolis on American and Cathay Pacific - Table of Contents
- About My Flight and Airfare
- Leg 1 – American Airlines 737-800 to Dallas Fort Worth
- Leg 2 – American Airlines 777-300er to Hong Kong
- Leg 3 – Cathay Pacific A330-300 to Taipei
- Passport Control and Customs at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport
- Support Buzzin’ Around the World – Visit Our Affiliates
- Earning Points and Rewards
- Related Content
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Leg 1: American Airlines 737-800 - Minneapolis to Dallas Fort-Worth
My day began very early with a 3:30 a.m. wake-up. I was at Minneapolis International Airport by 4:30 a.m. and my first leg from Minneapolis to Dallas Fort-Worth on American Airlines was pretty uneventful. I spend two hours on my website continuing to work on the section about my Iceland Trip. After landing in Dallas Fort-Worth, I had to take the tram to transfer terminals.
Leg 2: American Airlines 777-300er - Dallas Fort-Worth to Hong Kong - Main Cabin Extra
I made it to my departure gate about half an hour before we began boarding. Twenty-four hours earlier, it appeared that I might have a row to myself. Now, we were told that it was a full flight and that every seat would be taken. Boarding took a long time as many people needed pre-boarding. I was happy to see that the overhead space next to my seat was available. The total flying time was just over 16 hours, and I knew I would need every last bit of space. One of the nice things about a 16-hour flight is that we get to skip the line for taking off. The pilot explained that because every gallon of fuel counts, we were cleared for immediate take-off.
American Airlines 777-300er Main Cabin Extra Experience
This flight was my first time in the new American Airlines 777 retrofitted cabin featuring Premium Economy. As I walked by the lie-flat business class seats and through the Premium Economy Cabin, I was not impressed. Premium Economy is essentially a narrow body first-class seat. At check-in, they wanted $899 to upgrade to Premium Economy. I don’t believe it would have been worth $299. My Main Cabin Extra seat had almost as much legroom and came much cheaper. My Main Cabin Extra Seat was just as expected. The only difference is that it is slightly in front of the seats on the other side of the aisle. The new cabin design only has MCE in the middle section. The seats to the left and right of the aisles were regular economy.
Wifi, Snacks and Meal Service 1
While the seating on this “retrofitted” plane was no improvement, I was delighted by one of the amenities. I purchased the American Airlines WiFi for $17, which allowed me to update Buzzinaroundtheworld.com during the flight. At $17 for a 17-hour flight, it came out to about $1 per hour. In an age where airlines are trying to nickel and dime every possible cent out of their customers, I was pleasantly surprised by the speed and the quality of the WiFi. Everything on this page was uploaded at 30,000 feet during my flight.
The service was typical of what I expected on a long haul flight. The only difference is that we would be given three meals instead of two. I am used to the European Fights that provide dinner and then breakfast. The flight attendant told us we would be receiving a dinner, a breakfast, and then a snack.
The service began with a bag of pretzels and two rounds of the drink cart.
Dinner had a choice between chicken and pork, as well as two additional rounds of the drink cart. I am quite familiar with American Airlines Chicken, so I decided to go with the pork. While the pork wasn’t anything special, as far as airline food goes on American, it was pretty good. Being that I was heading to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan, I attempted to eat with my chopsticks. It helped me eat slower, and I was impressed that I didn’t spill anything on my shirt.
To go with the pork was American’s typical vegetables and instant rice. It was served with a roll, some butter, a chocolate cake in a jar, and a bottle of water. Absent for some reason was the side salad and the cheese and crackers. I have always received those on my American Airlines flights to and from Europe.
Following the meal, there was another round of drinks, and then the flight attendants went off duty for a few hours. I was able to take a nap for about an hour, but it is difficult as many of the other passengers bump into me on the way to the lavatory.
Below is a screenshot from Flight Aware showing our route about seven hours into the flight. My American Airlines flight from Dallas Fort-Worth to Hong Kong is one of the world’s longest flights, and I was amused to think that I would be just about to land if I had gone to London instead. Facing another nine hours in the air at this point seemed pretty difficult, but it would be worth it once I arrived.
Meal Service 2
The next food service came about eight hours into the flight. The flight attends brought by vegetarian calzones and vanilla bean ice cream. The calzones were surprisingly delicious, and the ice cream was exactly what I needed after sitting on an airplane for eight hours. Once again, the drink cart came through two additional times. The flight attendants on this flight worked hard to keep all of us well fed and hydrated.
In addition to the meal services, there were juices, coffee, and tea in the galley with a bunch of snacks including, pretzels, dark chocolate covered peanuts, and chips. The kids sitting behind me were especially fond of the snacks. They went up for a bag of chips every few minutes.
Meal Service 3
The final service began with about 90 minutes to go in the flight. This service consisted of breakfast and a choice of English or Chinese breakfast. I went for the English option, which was eggs, a tough slice of ham, and some soggy hash browns. The highlight of the meal was a plastic-wrapped coffee cake and yogurt with some granola. By the time we finished eating, there was less than an hour to go.
The final 45 minutes or so were the longest of my life. We landed in Hong Kong after roughly 15 hours and 40 minutes on a plane.
Leg 3: Cathay Pacific A330-300 - Hong Kong to Taipei
My final leg was on Cathay Pacific, which is one of the world’s top-rated airlines. We got off to a rough start when the flight was delayed for over an hour because they couldn’t get a latch to unlock. It was miserable standing in line at Hong Kong Airport because they don’t have boarding zones. A lack of boarding zones meant that I was required to stand in the line the entire time to keep my spot.
We kept being told that the delay would take ten more minutes, then 15 minutes, then at least 30 more minutes. About 10 minutes into the 30 minutes, they suddenly were ready to board.
The boarding process went pretty quickly. The Cathay Pacific flight was on an Airbus A330-300. This plane is a wide-body plane that holds almost 300 passengers. Boarding on a wide-body plane is so much quicker than a narrow-body plane.
Cathay Pacific does not allow passengers to choose my seat until check-in. I was able to secure an aisle seat, row 65 D. I was lucky that no one was in the seat next to me and had plenty of room on the short one hour flight.
To say at this point I was underwhelmed with Cathay Pacific would be the understatement of the century. However, about 15 minutes into our 1 hour, 22-minute flight, the six flight attendants in the economy section went to work, providing full meal service for every passenger.
In the US, it is sometimes common to not even offer a drink service on a flight lasting less than an hour. These flight attendants not only did a full drink service but also provided everyone with a meal.
There was no choice of meal. Everyone who did not pre-order a special meal received a delicious chicken and rice dish. This meal was the best airline food I’ve ever had, and that includes the times I’ve been in first class. Somehow, despite being delayed for over an hour, and sitting around for who knows how long before we boarded, they were able to keep the chicken crispy.
I could now see why Cathay Pacific is rated so highly. By the time I was done eating it was time to land.
Passport Control and Customs at Taipei Taoyuan International airport
Clearing passport control at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport took only a few minutes. Earlier on my flight to Hong Kong, I had filled out my landing card online. Having this already completed meant all I had to do was present my passport, take a quick photo, and give two fingerprints. I was never asked any questions. I then claimed my bag and walked right through the “Nothing to Declare” line at customs. The total time from deplaning to clearing customs couldn’t have been more than 45 minutes.
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