Airline review: This premium economy feels close to business class

The flight

Cathay Pacific CX0138; Airbus A350-1000, premium economy; Sydney to Hong Kong; departs 10.20pm; scheduled flight time 9 hours, 40 minutes (we land 40 minutes ahead of schedule). Frequency is two to three flights daily.

Cathay Pacific’s premium economy is ideal for long-haul flights if you don’t want to fork out for business class.

The loyalty scheme

“Cathay” is the new loyalty program, replacing Asia Miles and Marco Polo Club. Members earn points when flying Cathay Pacific, Oneworld Alliance airlines and select partner airlines.

Carbon emissions

For this flight, 1.66 tonnes. Fly Greener is the airline’s carbon offset program. Since 2007, more than 160,000 tonnes of CO2 offsets have been purchased, the equivalent of 30 million taxi journeys from downtown Hong Kong to the international airport.

Checking in

There’s nobody ahead of me in the premium economy line at check-in, nor at immigration and security, so I’m through to airside within 15 minutes.

The seat

There’s plenty of legroom at the bulkhead.Credit: Cathay Pacific

There are 32 seats in premium economy, four rows in a 2-4-2 configuration. I’m in 30H, an aisle seat in the first row of the cabin. There’s a huge amount of legroom, so much that the touchscreen TV fixed to the wall is beyond my reach without unbuckling and leaning forward. It’s significantly more than the 40-inch pitch (101.6 centimetres) of premium economy seats in other rows. Width is 20 inches (50.8 centimetres). Armrests are fixed in place and there are buttons for adjusting the leg rest and recline. An amenity kit includes toothbrush, socks, earplugs and an eye mask. Noise-cancelling headphones and a 600ml bottle of water are placed in the seat pocket.

Baggage

Two checked suitcases, up to 23 kilograms each. Cabin baggage limited to a personal item and a larger item, up to 7 kilograms. My handbag must be stowed overhead during takeoff and landing.

Entertainment

A wide selection of TV series, music, games and latest-release movies, plus plenty of Asian content. Inflight duty-free shopping has everything from fragrance to phone chargers. There’s also Wi-Fi for purchase at $US19.95 ($30) for the duration, but I can’t get through the paying/set-up process and am not motivated enough to ask for assistance.

Service

Attendants are friendly, but they seem rushed and stressed, moving so quickly they almost jog through the aisles. There’s a medical emergency in economy early in the flight, and flustered requests for doctors to come forward. Even when serving meals, the pace borders on frantic. I’m seated next to the curtain that separates premium economy from business class and it’s hard to sleep as the curtain opens and closes at least a dozen times. Women wear a bold red skirt and white patterned shirt, while men wear black pants, a white shirt and a gold vest.

Food

Greeted with the offer of water, juice or champagne, the cabin experience feels closer to business than economy. Dinner is served soon after takeoff and it’s very good. I choose the stir-fried beef and mushrooms with oyster sauce, greens and jasmine rice. It comes with fresh fruit and ice cream. Breakfast is served at 5am, but I’m not hungry and leave almost all of the stir-fried noodles with mixed vegetables and ginger soy fish, served with fruit salad, yoghurt, bread and oolong tea.

One more thing

Cathay Pacific has partnered with Michelin-starred Hong Kong restaurant Duddell’s to celebrate local flavours and culinary heritage.

The verdict

Ideal for long-haul flights when you don’t want to fork out for business class, but need more space than economy.

Our rating out of five

★★★★

The writer travelled as a guest of Cathay Pacific. See cathaypacific.com

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