Flight Review: Cathay Pacific Next to a Baby On Board

The bulkhead row on all aircraft is the designated position for baby bassinets. I usually seat myself in a bulkhead row when possible as there is often a little extra room though it is usually at the expense of being able to stretch out your legs fully. As luck would have it, I was never confronted with a passenger with a baby sitting next to me.

Until this flight.

CX111 – Hong Kong to Sydney (HKG-SYD)
15 April 2016
Airbus 330-300 B-LAD
Seat: Premium Economy 30A
Departure: 18:50 Arrival: 06:10+1

There were no thoughts of a baby being in the bassinet row when I sauntered happily out of Cathay Pacific’s The Pier First Class lounge and headed to the boarding gate. Priority boarding was called and I was quickly on board taking photos for this review. A pillow and blanket was on each seat and the seat pocket was soon loaded with the amenity kit and noise cancelling headphones.

In front of you is a bulkhead and the large table in the latched position which is for the baby bassinet. There was nothing ominous about this at this time and I innocently continued documenting my surroundings. During boarding a pre-departure drink was offered by the friendly cabin crew. I took a Champagne and set it down on the little tiny pull out personal drinks table. This is really nifty and leaves the centre console free for other items. A nice thick towel is offered to refresh yourself. The inflight entertainment screens in the bulkhead row in Premium Economy flip out from the centre console between the seats. All the other rows have the personal television in the seat in front and underneath them there is a little storage area. I was hopeful that I might have the seat beside me free as boarding was well into it’s final stages and I had no-one beside me. I decided to pop to the loo before take-off as the imbibing in the lounge was making itself known. In short order I was done and walked back to my seat.

Cathay Pacific’s Ferrari of Baby Bassinets

Imagine my astonishment when I neared my seat and could see all the space taken up by this bad boy!

An Australian lady was holding her baby and making all those preparations parents seem to need to do before actually sitting down. She must have caught my wide eyed astonishment as she apologised more than once for the inconvenience. I, being a gentleman, always reassured her that it was no problem whatsoever. Her parents were seated in Business Class and at one point her mother offered to swap seats with her but she declined! I was of half a mind to put my hand up and offer to swap with her myself.

The bassinet looked amazingly comfortable for the baby. The Aer Lingus bassinet at one point was literally a cardboard box which was plonked on the table for the baby to be placed in, so this one really impressed me!

Dinner Time

Without much further ado we finished boarding, had the safety demonstration and launched into the humid Hong Kong night. Drinks service commenced and I ordered a Bloody Mary as they are quite nice on Cathay Pacific. Friendly baby lady beside me also decided to have one. She probably needed it more than me.

I enjoy flying at dinner time because I find dinner to be the most substantial and interesting meal served on board. Cathay Pacific offer three choices of main dish in Premium Economy which is excellent. There is no choice of starter so everyone had Turkey, cous cous and mixed vegetable salad. The main dishes were Slow cooked pork spare rib, Wu Xi style, Shanghainese pak choi and steamed jasmine rice or my choice which was Grilled prime beef tenderloin, broccoli, carrot, potato and Bearnaise sauce or Pumpkin and Parmigiano ravioli, artichoke, olives and tomato concasse. I usually choose the local dish but I’d had my fill of Asian food in Hong Kong and wanted something Western. All of the meal was delicious. Plus you can’t go wrong with Häagen-Dazs ice cream which is a taste sensation!

Breakfast Time

The flight passed quickly enough. After watching a movie or two I dozed as well as I could for the remainder of the flight. Eventually the lights came up and it was time for breakfast. This consisted of fresh seasonal fruit, fruit yoghurt, a Croissant, fruit preserve and butter and tea or coffee. There were two main dishes one being a Spinach Frittata, pork sausage, button mushroom, corn beef hash and Hollandaise sauce. The word frittata had me having visions of another hideous inflight breakfast. I chose the second option which was Dim Sum featuring scallop shu mai, seafood dumpling, chicken and ham bean curd wrap, conpoy vegetable dumpling and beef ball. The Australian lady beside me remarked I was brave to try the Chinese breakfast! I thought she was brave trying the usual breakfast slop that is thrown at people on flights.

The Chinese Breakfast was absolutely delicious! I hoovered up every morsel of it and was very pleased with my choice. We descended in Sydney without incident and I headed off to my parents place to visit. From touchdown to the house it took 47 minutes. This includes passport control, collecting luggage, going through quarantine, getting a taxi and the 10 minute ride to my parents. I have some luck when I arrive in Sydney and the priority baggage certainly helps!

Overall Thoughts

I have reviewed Cathay Pacific Premium Economy before on the sector after this from Sydney to Hong Kong. I find the product to be very comfortable with good service from the crew. Food is presented very well with the many different plates holding the various foods without having to worry about running out of space. Plus it’s quite tasty! The inflight entertainment is excellent. I continue to choose Cathay Pacific where possible as I have never had a bad experience flying with them. Thank you for reading and feel free to comment below.

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