Cathay Pacific A330-300 Hong Kong to Taipei
My Review of the Cathay Pacific A330-300 from Hong Kong to Taipei
I flew Cathay Pacific for the first time on the final leg of my trip from Minneapolis to Taiwan. I knew that Cathay Pacific was one of the world’s top airlines. My flight on Cathay Pacific would take me from Hong Kong to Taipei in just over an hour. I had just arrived in Hong Kong from Dallas on a trip which lasted over 15 hours. I was tired and just wanting to get to Taipei so I could get some sleep. 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 pretty miserable standing in line at Hong Kong Airport because they don’t have boarding zones. Due to a lack of boarding zones, I decided to remain in line throughout the entire delay.
We kept being told that the delay would take 10 more minutes, then 15 minutes, then at least 30 more minutes. About 10 minutes into the 30 minute period, they suddenly were ready to board.
The boarding process went pretty quickly. The Cathay Pacific flight was on an Airbus A330-300. The A330-300 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 did not allow me 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.
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To say I was underwhelmed with Cathay Pacific would be the understatement of the century. However, then, 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 now see why Cathay Pacific is rated so highly. By the time I was done eating it was time to land.
