Overnight in Cathay Pacific business class Hong Kong to Sydney

Sleeping in a lie-flat business class seat on Cathay Pacific comes easily. The flight time from Hong Kong to Sydney gives just enough time to get a decent amount of shut eye.

I arrived from London and had a shower in The Bridge lounge, before heading to The Pier lounge. After wiling away a few hours, it was time to board the service to Sydney.

CX161 – Hong Kong to Sydney (HKG-SYD)
12 November 2019
Airbus A330-300 – B-LBJ
Seat: Business Class 12A
Departure: 21:15 Arrival: 09:35+1

Sitting down in my seat, the first thing I noticed was how small the Airbus A330 windows are compared to the Boeing 777 I came in on. The seat was pretty much identical though.

The bedding pack is situated in the foot well, however on this flight I noted there were no slippers. No problem, I had kept the pair from my other flight, so I was well set.

Almost Time To Go

Cabin crew come around offering a welcome drink and I took a Champagne, which is Billecart-Salmon Brut. While waiting, I filled in my breakfast menu card and hung it on the coat hook at my seat.

Stemless glasses are all the rage at the moment and all drinks are served in this way. A large newspaper style menu details the offerings on board and also has a couple of interesting articles to peruse while you wait. Soon enough we were ready to go and we departed.

Hong Kong to Sydney Dinner Service

Once airborne, dinner is served on a Hong Kong to Sydney flight. Drinks orders are taken when it is delivered, you also receive some nice warm nuts.

Choices to start the meal are Thai marinated shrimp with glass noodles salad or a Sweet potato soup. I chose the former and was delighted I did as it is an absolute taste sensation! Bread is also offered by the crew and you can’t go past the hot garlic bread! I devoured all that and next up it was time for the main course. I was not overly hungry so I had the Shrimp wonton with noodles in soup. Other options were Steamed black cod, Grilled beef tenderloin or Cavatelli pasta. I would recommend getting a soup like this on board as all that liquid can’t be bad for you at the beginning of a flight. The meal was very nice indeed!

Okay Fatty, Let’s Have Another Starter!

The Thai marinated shrimp was haunting me, so I asked the crew if they had another one left over. Happily they did, and starter number two arrived and I got to experience the deliciousness again!

My dessert choice , Chilled pomelo, sago pearls in mango and coconut milk was not available. Instead I received both the Cheese plate and Seasonal fresh fruit. These were very filling and good enough. Completely bursting with food, I made my seat into a bed and watched a movie or two before laying down to sleep some of the flight away. I find the Cathay Pacific seat wide, comfortable and it is as good a sleep as any on a flight.

Toilets And Wake Up Time

Tonight’s flight was just over eight hours, so I got up about two and a half hours before landing. Visiting the toilet found the facilities to be clean and fresh, which I like.

On my way back, I spotted some Kettle Chips which are not on the menu, nor are they for passengers. They’re part of the meal for the flight crew. Soon enough the lights began to ‘dawn’ and I had a Pineapple, lime and Asian pear juice which was scrummy and so refreshing. At this point, I had put all my bedding back into the overhead compartment and changed back into my civilian clothes. Breakfast was about to start!

Hong Kong to Sydney Breakfast

With a 9:35am arrival time in Sydney, breakfast two hours before landing is perfect on this service. You are eating breakfast exactly when you should be. I always have the Chinese Breakfast when flying Cathay Pacific, which on this flight was Salted chicken congee with spring onion puff.

This was the breakfast of champions, with literally everything including my requested Hong Kong Milk Tea. It was some challenge to finish it all, but finish it all I did. The congee was divine and the rest fresh and fantastic just as it should be.

Arriving In Sydney

When landing in Sydney, the best side of the aircraft to sit on is the left. This gives you views of the city and harbour if you have an approach from the north. A southerly approach gives you views of the coast.

For this flight, we came in from the north, then came back and landed from the south. A sight for sore eyes as I hadn’t been home for over two years. We landed on time, and I was through the airport and had my baggage in about 40 minutes total. A win!

Overall Thoughts

Flying Hong Kong to Sydney in business class on Cathay Pacific is an excellent experience. Plenty of decent food with lots of options, a comfortable seat, great crew and overall a stellar experience.

Happily they had the HBO series Chernobyl on the entertainment system, so I watched two episodes of that and saved the rest for the return. Since I don’t have access to that legally in Dublin, it was great to have it on board.

All in all I thoroughly recommend Cathay Pacific. Have you flown business class with Cathay Pacific? How do you find it? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

To never miss a post, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
All my flight and lounge reviews are indexed here so check them out!

Featured image by Aero Icarus, Zurich, Switzerland via Wikimedia Commons.