2019-03-01 Business Traveller

TRIED AND TESTED FLIGHT

businesstraveller.com

92

MARCH 2019

Measuring 18

inches wide and

with a pitch

of 32 inches, the

seat initially felt

spacious until

averytall

gentleman sat

down next to me

BEST FOR

The new IFE system, a significant

improvement on the older offering

CONFIGURATION

3-3-3

SEAT WIDTH

18 inches

SEAT PITCH

32 inches

SEAT RECLINE

6 inches

FLIGHT TIME

1 hour 50 minutes

PRICE

Internet rates for a return economy

flight from Taipei to Hong Kong in

April ranged between TWD 5,963

(£150) and TWD 29,772 (£751)

depending on flexibility

CONTACT

cathaypacific.com

BACKGROUNDCathay

Pacific took delivery of its

first A350-900 in 2016. Hong

Kong-Taipei was the busiest

commercial international flight

route in the world in 2017. It is

also Cathay’s busiest route.

CHECK-INCathay had five

economy class check-in desks

open at Terminal 1 of Taipei

Taoyuan International and

there was only a short queue.

Security was reasonably busy

but the queue moved quickly.

At immigration, non-citizens

are directed to use an e-gate

where you scan your passport

and fingerprints. A staff member

assists with this.

BOARDINGMy flight CX499

departed from Gate B6. We

started boarding just after 0935,

with departure due at 0945.

My seat was at the back of the

aircraft, so I was among the first

to board (besides those with

Marco Polo Oneworld status).

THE SEAT The aircraft had

214 economy class seats, 28

premium economy seats and

38 in business class. Economy

class is set across two cabins

separated by washrooms and is

mainly in a 3-3-3 configuration

(A-B-C, D-E-G, H-J-K). I was in

window seat 73K in the back

row. Measuring 18 inches wide

with a pitch of 32 inches, it

initially felt spacious until a very

tall gentleman sat down next

to me. The cabin felt clean and

new, and was fresher-looking

than the A330 I had taken on

my outbound flight. The in-flight

entertainment system was also

more user-friendly than on the

A330, with a larger screen that

could be operated by touch, and

a selection of digital magazines.

BEST SEAT The exit row

(59, plus seats 60A and K)

Cathay Pacific A350-900

economy class

TAIPEI-HONG KONG

offers more legroom, as do

the bulkhead seats at the front

of the first cabin (39D-E-G,

40A-B-C and 40H-J-K),

although note that there are

washrooms in front of row 59.

THE FLIGHT At 1023, having

taxied to the runway, the pilot

announced we would have to

return to the gate owing to a

technical issue with one of the

onboard computers. At about

1100, we were told that the

issue was resolved. However,

soon afterwards the captain

announced there was a medical

emergency on board. We finally

took off at 1153, once the unwell

passenger was disembarked,

with a more than two-hour delay.

Lunch was a scrambled

egg and smoked ham lattice

pastry, which had too little

filling. Alarmingly, it had more

than 50 ingredients, not all

natural-sounding. I ate it only

because I was hungry and

there was nothing else. The

accompanying Anzac cookie

had a more innocent seven

ingredients but, combined with

the carton of iced tea, which

was essentially tea-flavoured

sugar water with more than four

teaspoons of sugar in 250ml,

it made for a rather unhealthy

meal. We were not offered any

alternative drinks, even water,

despite the length of the delay.

Some passengers were given

hot drinks, but no one offered

me one, and I felt a bit forgotten

about at the rear of the aircraft.

ARRIVAL We landed just

before 1330, an hour and 50

minutes behind schedule.

VERDICT The A350-900 has

newer seating and a better IFE

system than the A330-300, but

Cathay needs to step up its

food and drink offering on this

route. It’s just a short hop, at

under two hours, but customers

would be right to expect more

from this world-class airline.

Michael Allen