My trip report on Cathay Pacific A350-900 Economy Class

Cathay Pacific first Airbus A350-900 arrived in Hong Kong on May 2016. It will be the first of 48 aircraft orders which will include a mix of the -900 and the -1000. 26 of the 48 aircraft order will be of the bigger -1000 variant with the planned delivery starting on 2018. My trip was on one of the newest A350-900 already with the Cathay Pacific fleet.

After the initial regional route deployment of the A350, Cathay Pacific has started to deploy her fleet of A350 on European routes. My flight from Hong Kong to Paris was on one of the newest A350-900 B-LRF with MSN46 which was delivered on November 2016.

Will the A350 win new customers that are flying with Cathay Pacific for the first time?

What is Passenger Experience?

For the usual leisure traveler, the most important part of flying is getting from Point A to Point B safely and on time. However, as airlines get more competitive in pricing and route, the only differentiating factor from one airline from another is her product and service. The product meaning the aircraft, the seat, the in-flight entertainment and the food. With a good product, the cabin crew could provide a service that may win new customers or maintain the airline loyal customer base.

The product coupled with the service on board will create a passenger experience that each and everyone of us should remember after a flight. This memory may serve as a reference point when we are planning our next vacation in deciding between two airlines with a similar fare.

It starts from buying your ticket

The actual passenger experience starts when you buy your ticket from the airline. As with the majority of passengers today, it will be through the airline’s website. Cathay Pacific website has done a couple of revamps over the years. The easier this process, the more likely a passenger might come back to fly with the airline. The only issue nowadays with airlines is that there are so many different fare types and additional fees which makes it that much more difficult to create an easy to use interface for passengers to buy a ticket. This will be a big challenge for airlines as this complexity in ticket pricing may even get more complex in the future.

Online Check-in Process

Cathay Pacific allow passengers with a confirmed ticket to check-in online 48 hours before the departure time. The online check-in process was simple where you just need to enter your name and booking reference number. During the check-in process, you will need to enter all your passport information. The best part is where you can choose and pick your seat from a seat map if you have not already done so when you have purchased your ticket online. You can change your seat as many times as you want within this 48 hours window even after you’ve check-in. Once you’ve checked in online, you will be sent a boarding pass by email with a QR Code or alternatively you can have your boarding pass printed at home with the link provided. If you have checked-in online, you will need to drop your bag at least 50 minutes before departure.

The check-in process is one of the most important passenger experience of all and many airlines are looking into ways to reduce waiting time and to streamline the process. The airport role from an airline point of view is to make the journey from check-in to boarding as simple and as quickly as possible. This of course needs a lot of support and coordination with the local airport authority as well.

Self service Check In Process

There are many self service check-in machines available in the Cathay Pacific check-in aisle. If you have already checked-in online, you do not need to go through this process. If you have bags to check-in, you can either go to the self service bag drop counters or the manned bag drop counters. However, it seems like you need to have a boarding pass printed out with a bar code to use the self service bag drop machine.

Once you’ve scanned your passport, it will locate your booking to confirm your seat number and have your boarding pass printed out.

Self Service Bag Drop Process

Cathay Pacific in April 2016 introduced self service bag drop counters in Hong Kong International Airport. Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airport is a bit late in this respect as many airlines and airports around the world has already introduced this concept. I took this opportunity to test the self service bag drop on this trip.

Once you have your boarding pass printed out at home or from the self check-in machines, you can proceed to the self service bag drop counters. There were no people lining up with around 10 machines available; whereas, the manned bag drop counters, have more than 20 people lining up.

There is a scanner at the side of the check-in counter where you will need to scan the barcode on your boarding pass.

Once the machine located your booking, you will be asked how bags you need to check in and to place your bag on the scale. The machine will then print out a bag tag automatically.

I found the bag tag to be clearly marked to show you how to attach the bag tag on your bag.

Once you have acknowledged that you have tagged your bag, the belt will send your bag down to the baggage handling system.

The machine will then print out your claim tag and the bag drop process is complete.

I do find this quite convenient and well executed. However, I am not so sure what will happen if your bag is overweight or if you have tagged your bag incorrectly. I believe there is a RFID scanner to ensure the baggage handling system could read your tag before the bag is sent down to the bag room. If it is overweight, I am sure there is a signal to ask one of the few check-in agent around to assist with your issue.

Boarding Process

The boarding process was without any issues.. The boarding time stated on the boarding pass was 40 minutes before departure and the gate will close 10 minutes before scheduled departing time.

The A350 Economy Class Seat

For those that are in the industry will know that this is a B/E Aerospace Pinnacle seat but is it? Cathay Pacific is renowned for customizing catalog seats to the fullest and this Pinnacle economy class seat is not different. A main feature of this seat is the six-way movable headrest designed in conjunction with tangerine design consultants based in London. This headrest design will remain propitiatory to Cathay Pacific only.

The headrest have a leather cover and there are 6 ways you could move this headrest around to find your perfect fit. The video below will show how the headrest could move in 6 different ways.

Your Economy Class seat tour… #A350Cathay pic.twitter.com/DVu2OW6xJo

— Calvin (@calvye) June 1, 2016

I personally found this headrest to be very comfortable. No more accidentally sleeping on your neighbors shoulders but I still found myself having a bit of a stiff neck with my head moving forward and downward as I sleep. Maybe they will develop some sort of a chin holder incorporated into the headrest in the future?

The seat itself have 32 inches of pitch and is 18 inches wide with 6 inches of recline. Comparing to the Economy Class seat on the Cathay Pacific Boeing 777ER, this economy class seat on the A350-900 is 0.5 inches narrower with the same pitch but have 2 more inches of recline.

I felt quite comfortable on my 12 hours flight but as with most economy class seat, they lack quite a bit of lumbar support which makes my lower back a bit sore after the flight. A pillow behind the back usually makes it a bit better.

The Personal TV (PTV) on the seat back is 11 inches which makes it feel much bigger than the 9 inches found on the Boeing 777ER economy class seats. The inflight entertainment (IFE) system is powered by Panasonic eX3. There is also WIFI internet connectivity provided in the cabin for all Cathay Pacific A350s and a first for Cathay Pacific. The system is powered by Panasonic eXConnect Ku-Band aeronautical satellite network.

There are two fold down “tables” on the seat back. At the top there is a tablet holder which also have a cup holder. At the bottom there is a bi-folding meal tray table. Behind the tablet holder is also a small mesh pocket which is only accessible when the tablet holder is unlatched.

The seat pocket consist of a headphone, a safety card, a WIFI connectivity instruction card, a sick bag, the Discovery Magazine (Cathay’s Inflight Magazine) and the Shops Magazine for inflight shopping.

You also get a pillow and a blanket on every seat.

Taking Off

It shouldn’t bother those who is without a window seat as you can enjoy the view from the tail camera on the A350. The A350 is very quiet indeed even when I am sitting right beside the engine. It felt very smooth when it climbs out.

The Inflight Service

Right after take-off, the flight attendants distributed the menu for our 2 meals on the flight and a leaflet for a discount on duty free sales inflight. I personally believe this is a waste of paper and they could easily display this information on the IFE system.

Soon after distributing the menu, the flight attendants came around to serve us drinks and a pack of nuts. Before we got to finish our bags of nuts, the flight attendant started the lunch meal service.

I chose the Penne Pasta and the side dishes are standard for all economy class meals. We get a cold dish with sliced ham with peas and corn and a piece of roll bread. The bread is cold and rock solid. The cold dish did not look that appetizing. All Cathay Pacific meals from Hong Kong are catered by Cathay Pacific Catering Services. A full subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Airways.

The service was quite efficient and systematic. I did not count how many times the flight attendant smiled or not but at least it was efficient. It is economy and I do not expect any fancy service from the flight attendant. My believe is that the flight attendant is there for my safety and I rather them to be well trained to safe my life in case of an emergency than to give me a fancy five star hotel service. Of course, with competition between airlines and the high expectations of airline passengers on a full service airline, flight attendant service is one of the most important aspect for an airline.

I did not take a photo of my dinner but I had the lion head which is pork meat ball. I am not sure how many non-Chinese actually understand what a lion head is. It wasn’t too bad and I finished the dish.

The only surprise I had was when the dinner was served. In the menu it said dinner will be served midway through the flight. It was actually served around 4.5 hours before landing which means most passengers were still asleep. Yes, it is a morning flight out of Hong Kong but they’ve dimmed the light after lunch and most passengers went to sleep. They turned on the light after 4 hours or so to serve dinner midway through the flight. It woke everyone up and after an hour of serving dinner, they dim the lights again and most couldn’t get back to sleep I presume. I understand it is a daytime flight but this arrangement wasn’t the best. There must be a reason for this but no matter the reason, it still disrupted a lot of passengers’ rest time.

 

The A350 is quite unique where at the rear galley there is a island in the middle of the galley. The area is actually quite spacious and passengers can stand around to have a drink or snack or to mingle with passengers or the flight attendants. There was also a box of goodies with chips where you could serve yourself. Drinks is also laid out where you could serve yourself. I quite like this area in the A350. If you are in economy class, I do suggest you to walk back to the rear galley in the middle of the flight to take a look.  Of course as per the menu, you could also ask for a cup noodle to be made for you as a snack. It smells great and the smell usually wake up all the passengers around you. Beware.

The Lavatory

The Lavatory was quite nice since the aircraft is brand new (i.e. it still doesn’t smell). However, the soap dispenser wasn’t working no matter how many times I’ve pressed the pump. I wished the faucet was automatic as I still need to touch the faucet for the water to flow.

The Inflight Entertainment System 

One of the main difference between a full service airline and a low cost airline other than price, is the availability of an Inflight Entertainment System (IFE). The Cathay A350 IFE is fantastic. The personal TV (PTV) screen is 11 inches which is 2 inches bigger than the one on the Boeing 777ER. On a 12 hours flight, you need a good book or a good movie or two. It is best if you have both.

I am also quite impressed with the splash screen where images of your destination is shown.

On Cathay Pacific website, you can take a look at what movies are showing on your flight before your flight. Cathay Pacific will change their movie selection every month. The IFE is not only about movies. There are also numerous television shows and music to choose from. The A350 IFE system also include a large number of digitize magazines where you can read from your PTV. I am quite impressed by the magazine selection as well.

 

I am still getting used to the new Graphics User Interface (GUI) of the new system on the A350. There is a bar with icons on the left which separates each category (Movies/Music/Read/Children/Shop/Airshow/Camera/Games/Information/Survey). Once you tap the category on the left, the content of the category will be shown on the main section of the screen in the middle. The layout is a bit interesting where the images of the movies/music etc. are quite big and dis-proportionally laid out where some are big and some are small. You need to swipe your way through a few pages to see all the movies.

Although, you can filter the selection as they are separated into further categories.

For TV Shows, there are these categories: “Just Added” / “HK TV” / “TV Asia” / “Comedy” / “Drama” / “Lifestyle” / “Entertainment” / “Documentary” / “Sports”.

For Movies, there are these categories: “Just Added” / “Western Cinema” / “Chinese Cinema” / “Asian Cinema” / “Arthouse” / “Western Classics” / ” Chinese Classics” / “Family”.

For Music, there are these categories: “Just Added” / “Cantonpop” / “Mandarin Hits” / “Chinese Gold” / “J-Pop” / “K-Pop” / “Indian Hits” / “Philippine Hits”.

You can also search for your title if you are looking for a particular movie/TV show or music.

I am not a huge fan of playing games on the IFE but there is a large selection of games as well. I am not so sure if it is a good idea putting games on the IFE. I’ve had an experience where a kid was furiously tapping on the PTV behind my head while playing; I assume, a quite exciting game. It shook my headrest quite badly where I almost needed to ask him to stop poking my head! Luckily, he soon finished his game. I am sure I am not the only person who have experienced this before.

Airshow

The Airshow is the program that shows you where your aircraft is and information about your flight such as estimated time of arrival, time at your destination etc. We’ve all seen that but it has evolved so much in these past 10 years I would say. The Airshow on the Cathay Pacific A350 is developed by the company Flightpath3D. It is so cool! It is like google earth and the possibility with this software is endless.

It is basically having your flight over google earth where you can manipulate how you want to see your aircraft in respect to the globe.

There is also a flight deck view where you will have a display similar to a heads up display in the flight deck. It will show you the speed, the altitude and heading overlaid on a google map view.

You will also see different cities displayed on the map and once you clicked on the city name, you can see more information about the city. The information that can be displayed here is endless depending on the airline’s desire. The maps can also get to street level detail as well.

Outside Camera

The A350 is equipped with 2 outside cameras which can be viewed throughout the flight. There is one of the nose wheel (front view) and one on the top of the vertical stabilizer/fin (top view) of the aircraft facing the nose. The one on the fin is definitely the coolest and the resolution seems to be higher as well compared to the Boeing 777ER nose wheel camera.

Connectivity

Cathay Pacific is a bit late to the game in terms of inflight connectivity. However, all Cathay Pacific’s A350-900 and A350-1000 will be equipped with Panasonic eXConnect which utilizes the Ku-Band aeronautical satellite network. Inflight connectivity is all about speed and stability. The Ku-band aeronautical satellite network typically gives you about 1-2Mbps.

There is a Connectivity Instruction Card in the seat pocket where it says connectivity can be used above 10,000 feet and SMS and Data Roaming from your own network provider will be available above 20,000 feet. Telephone calls are not available on Cathay Pacific flights. Although from a technical standpoint, telephone calls are supported but Cathay Pacific have decided not to have this enabled inflight. This is probably a sensible choice but I do not believe many will use this service even if it is available.

The pricing for internet connectivity is USD$9.95 for 1 hour / USD$12.95 for 6 hours / USD$19.95 for 6+ hours or the duration of your flight. I’ve chosen the 6+ hours option just to test the speed and stability of the system. As I understand some airlines offer connectivity for free. This might be an expectation for passengers in the future just like IFE system is today.

The purchasing process was easy. Once you are connected to the inflight WIFI network, you can open your internet browser and enter the free WIFI portal. Once you chose the pricing option, you will need to register and create an account with your email. This is so Cathay Pacific and Panasonic could provide the appropriate customer support if there are any issues with your connectivity.

In the free WIFI portal, there are lots of free information and a FAQ section that addresses some questions about the connectivity inflight.

The free WIFI portal also have a Shopping and City Guides section. Again, it is limitless how much information Cathay Pacific wants to put in this portal. The shopping section was limited to only a few items.

The City Guides is quite limited and I believe Cathay Pacific should further develop this section to include more cities and information.

You also get an overview of the flight and a moving map on the map section. You cannot manipulate this map like on the Airshow on the IFE but it is still very good to have this information on the free portal.

Again, the possibility is endless here and Cathay Pacific must utilize this to the fullest and include much more information in the free portal.

The internet was very stable throughout the flight having the majority of time spent over China and Russia airspace. The slowest speed I’ve got was 860 Kbps and the fastest speed I’ve got was 1.2 Mbps. It was maintaining 1.2 Mbps for most of the flight.

At 1.2 Mbps, I was able to stream Youtube albeit on the lowest resolution without any issues.

To put this into perspective, my cable broadband at home gives me 80 Mbps and my 4G network on my phone gives me 24 Mbps.

Live TV

Live Satellite TV is free and there are three news channel to choose from: BBC World News, Euronews and CNN.

The Live TV was actually surprisingly stable and watchable.

Landing

With so much entertainment and connectivity being offered inflight, it was difficult to get some rest unless you are really tired. As I say, with a good book in hand, a few movies or TV shows and Live TV, the 12 hours journey past by just like that. It was time to land with an on-time arrival.

Final Thoughts

It is interesting to note that with the larger windows and flatter sidewalls on the A350, I actually feel quite good after the 12 hours flight on economy class. The cabin humidity also doesn’t feel as dry as on the Boeing 777ER. The lower cabin altitude in the A350 will definitely be beneficial to any longhaul flights. I also found the cabin to be very quiet as I was sitting next to the engine. I am impressed with the Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines. As a passenger, the A350 felt very smooth in the air and it felt like she flew almost effortlessly. This sensation was more prominent when she was climbing out of Hong Kong with a number of 90 degrees turns. It just felt like she carved through the air with ease. In conclusion, it was a fantastic flight on the new A350-900. As you can tell, there were so much to do with too little time.