Cathay Pacific - First Class

Over twenty long hours flight that we have to go through from Jakarta to Toronto, plus about two hours stop over in Hong Kong. We were not really looking forward to the journey, to be honest. Especially to find out that although we have purchased First Class tickets, the first part of it, from Jakarta to Hong Kong we were downgraded to Business Class due to the limited flight schedule. No adjustment on price too. Ah well.. Let's just hope it is well worth it..


Arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Jakarta, we immediately took a line at the check-in desk. Recognized our tickets, Cathay Pacific staff approached us to inform that they have separate check-in lounge for First Class passengers. Aha.. this should be interesting.


We got to the lounge and the staff immediately handling our check-in efficiently, then we were shown the immigration desk. After the immigration was the main lounge where we sat waiting for the boarding announcement. Alright, the lounge was average and the food were below average (greasy food and stale sandwiches). But to us, the fact that we did not have to queue up to get through immigration certainly was a plus.


Time to board. As we have predicted, the Business Class cabin was old fashion. Big chairs with foot rest and no in-flight entertainment. We did not have the meal on board, we slept instead and five hours later we landed in Hong Kong. 


At Hong Kong airport we had to go to Cathay Pacific desk to get our boarding passes for the second leg of the trip. We found the staff was not very friendly, we got the impression that it was an effort for her to issue us boarding passes. We requested two seats next to each other that later we found out on board in fact they were in opposite side of the cabin. 


Anyways, before we boarded, we popped-in to the Pier Lounge. Again, not too impressed with the overall service. The staff at the reception were nice, but the ones serving in the dining area looked very miserable. The food looked like they were dumped, not nicely presented. And since nobody offered us any drinks, we went to the bar to get some juice ourselves. The staff who served us juice gave us a blank expression in her face and said no word. Quite intimidating, really, as we asked for some drinks politely. In that case, we must admit, we got treated better at Mc. Donald's!!


Rest room area definitely was not cleaned regularly. It did not smell fresh at all. We saw hair in the sink, wet surface and over-filled bin. Very unexpected. 


Luckily we did not have to wait for a long time at the lounge. We made our way to the gate and arrived just in time before boarding. Everything went smooth until we found out that we did not get the seats next to each other as we repeatedly requested, in Jakarta also in Hong Kong. Good job, Dee - the flight manager handled our complaint efficiently. She asked other passengers to kindly swap seats. 

From that moment and on, we experienced what we would call 'the real service'. The flight attendants started to introduced themselves to all passengers and handed out pajamas and toiletry bags and served pre-flight beverages. Minutes after the plane took off, dinner were served. We started with caviar, smoked salmon, toasts and boiled potatoes complete with the condiments on the side. Not forgetting the handmade decorations on the table and greeting cards. Very thoughtful and sincere.


After the caviar, we had seafood chowder and smoked duck breast salad. They both delicious, but the portions well too generous as we still have three more courses to follow. Beef steak were served after we finished the salad. We were full at that point, but it seemed a shame to miss out the cheese platter and the dessert. The dessert was black sesame soup. It may looked unattractive, but it tasted very good and it has all goodness that our skin will benefit. Dinner ended with lovely truffles and chocolate coated orange sticks. We were truly spoiled. 

While we were finishing the sweet treat, Sochiyo made up our beds. This was the first time we enjoyed long haul flight. The small hick-ups at the beginning of the journey were easily to be forgotten. 


Although, we had such an impressive trip to Toronto, we did not quite get the same experience on the way back. The staff were less attentive and one female staff was constantly talking very loudly. Not to the passengers Thank God, but to her fellow colleagues. As the cabin considerably small, we could hear all the conversations going on between them. The same female attendant we caught 'having fun' with one of the passenger in the serving area. Oops.. We did not think we were suppose to see that!!