We’re sharing our review of our experience flying Premium Economy with Cathay Pacific Airlines.This was the first premium economy experience we’ve booked. This was a 16 hour, red eye flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong taking off just after midnight, so we wanted to be comfortable and some good good sleep on the plane.
In this episode we give a detailed review of our booking experience, seat comfort, service, food, entertainment, and overall experience so you can assess if it will be worth the points or money to upgrade for your own trip.
Check out our other airline reviews for more insights from the air:
Cathay Pacific Premium Economy Review
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Travel Squad Podcast is back with Just the Tip, our Friday mini episode series where we give you quick travel stories, hacks and recommendations to set you off into the weekend.
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Right.Today you have myself, Brittany and Jamal as your host and we’re sharing our review of our experience flying premium economy with Cathay Pacific Airlines.This was our first premium economy experience that we’ve booked.Yes.So we were flying from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, which was the first leg of our epic Asian adventures this year, going to Hong Kong, South Korea and then on to Japan.
1:13
And so we wanted to utilize a block of points that we had and we were able to find direct flights from Los Angeles to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific, which is actually Hong Kong’s flagship carrier.So we had a really good point value exchange to get these premium economy flights.
1:30
And this was a 16 hour flight scheduled to be 16 hours, really was 15 1/2 when all was said and done.But that long of a flight if you have the points, get a little bit of comfort.We were several points shy of being able to get business class.So here we are experiencing their premium economy.
1:49
And we were actually taking a red eye flight, we were taking off just after midnight.And so we really wanted to be comfortable and we’re going to be talking about our booking experience, seek comfort, the service, the food, the entertainment and the overall experience that we had with our Cathay Pacific Premium Economy experience.
2:08
As we had mentioned, the primary portion of this ticket was purchased with points.Of course when you utilize points, it doesn’t matter with airline, you always have to pay the taxes and fees.We chose to sit in the bulkhead section, which if you are unfamiliar with the terminology bulkhead, it’s the compartmentalized portion of the plane where you have the walls either separating the galley or different cabin classes in front of you.
2:33
So we were sitting on the emergency exit side, had the door right by us and and some airlines, even if you book the bulkhead, they charge you extra for it.Cathay Pacific did not.Another perk of flying premium economy is that when you do arrive to the check in counter, you do get priority check in and you’re able to board early.
2:53
So you don’t board with the economy class, you board after first in business class before economy.We were also allowed to check up to 2 bags up to 50 lbs each, but we only brought one.So let’s talk about the seat itself.Let’s talk about the cabin, the comfort of the seat.
3:11
When we first arrived at our seats, we did notice that there was a pillow and blanket included.And a lot of times when you fly a long haul flight such as this, even an economy class, you are going to get a pillow and a blanket that’s already there waiting for you.
3:26
However, here in premium economy, we did notice that it was a thicker, more comfortable blanket and the pillow was a lot more plush and comfortable just as well.So these little things really add up to giving you a little bit more comfort.So they did give us something that was different than normal economy in terms of the blanket and pillow.
3:45
We also had a water bottle and premium headphones on our seat, as well as an amenity kit that concluded chapstick and eye cover and socks.I really love the headphone aspect that they give you in premium economy because of course in economy class they just have the string headphones with the little sockets that fit into your.
4:03
These are legitimate headphones, similar to the style that they gave us when we flew business class on Singapore Airlines.They fully go over your head.They’re the muff headphones and they really do block out a lot of that external noise coming from the plane itself and even noise within the cabin.
4:20
So it gives you a little bit more seclusion that way and I think is a really seat nice touch.And so our seats in premium economy were laid out in a 242 fashion, whereas in normal economy it’s a 343.So you can already see that there’s two less seats per row and that equates to more comfort because one, you’re not necessarily sitting in the middle between somebody unless you’re in those four seats.
4:46
But realistically, if they’re able to take out two seats, you have a little bit more width on your seat too.So it gives you more width in the seat, more armrest space and more comfort all around.And because we were sitting in the bulkhead seat, we had ample leg room.Jamal could get up out of his seat and not even have to ask me to get up to to go to the bathroom.
5:07
He was able to get up and go around me.There was just so much space.But if you were sitting in a regular premium economy seat, the normal pitch is 40 inches.And comparing that to normal economy seats, it’s 32 inches in normal economy.So you get 8 more inches of space.
5:23
And one thing I want to say about our bulkhead seats real quick here is that we originally chose these ones.That way no one was sitting in front of us.We knew it was an emergency row exit when we were looking at our seat selection on the seat map when booking our flight, but we didn’t want anybody in front of us.
5:39
We wanted all that legroom.The good news is the premium economy seats does have a recline where a foot rest does come out for you.Problem with that though is if you are sitting not in the bulkhead seats, the chairs and in front of you, even though you will also have that foot rest recline that comes out from your seat.
5:59
It also has a foot pedestal that you can actually put your feet on for a little bit more comfort if you didn’t want to use that recline function of it.So because we’re sitting in an emergency exit and the wall is so far in front of us, we do not have that on top of losing that aspect of comfort too.
6:16
You don’t have a seat in front of you to put your belongings under.It’s an emergency row exit.So it either has to be up or cramped to your side.So so pros and cons was sitting in the bulkhead.So do keep that in mind and pick what you think you might want and be more comfortable with.Another con too is that there is no window from where we were sitting and the seat trays and entertainment come from between the seats, so you can’t watch any entertainment during takeoff or landing.
6:41
But the seats do recline back 9 inches.Like Jamal said, they do have full length calf rest.They have adjustable headrest.And I will say this is probably the best sleep I’ve gotten on a plane overnight.I probably slept 7 to 8 hours.Would you say you got better sleep in this premium economy seat than you did when we flew business class on a live lap, Brittany?
7:03
Well, the first time we flew business class on the way to Singapore, I didn’t sleep great, I will say that.But I think it was just from all of the excitement on the way home.I did sleep really well because I medicated myself.So I wouldn’t say it was better than business class, but it’s the best I’ve gotten in economy.
7:21
So let’s put it this way, best sleep you ever got on a non fully live flat airplane seat.I would wager to say the same.We slept a good solid 7 to 8 hours and it made that 15 1/2 hours go by pretty fast.The flight crew is really, really friendly in premium economy, but they’re definitely not like they are in business class.
7:40
In business class, they call you by name, they come and check on your meals.Of course they ask us what our meal selection was and they were friendly, but it’s just not that elevated service.When we were seated, welcome drinks were also provided to us where I know in original economy, regular economy that is not necessarily the case.
7:59
So it is a nice little touch to make you feel like a little bit more elevated because you did pay more for this seat.But like Brittany said and I wholeheartedly agree, nothing like the service that you would get in business class.Now depending on what airline you fly and of course what the airplane layout is, is it a Boeing, is it an Airbus, what model, etcetera, etcetera.
8:21
Some premium economies have their own restroom and some do not.We did have one bathroom in premium economy, but there really wasn’t a good way for us to access it on the side of the plane that we were sitting on.Brittany and I were sitting on the left side of the plane as we were facing forward and the solo bathroom was on the front end on the right side.
8:44
So we would have to go back, step into economy, go through the bulkhead section there and work our way back into our own cabin class of premium economy to utilize it.Because the only other way to avoid doing that would be to cross in front of the four people sitting in the middle in the bulkhead.
9:01
And we didn’t really want to do that because they have less space than we had in front of us since we were in an emergency row.Their wall comes back a little bit further.So you would be stepping over people and it wouldn’t be the right way to do that.I wouldn’t want somebody to do that.
9:16
So for us, where we sat on our side, the bathroom in our cabin class didn’t really make a difference to us because we still had to leave.And so I just used the ones in regular economy which were actually a little bit bigger when you went all the way to the back of the plane.So let’s talk about the food and beverage experience.
9:34
We got 2 meals on this flight and unlike Singapore Airlines, which has booked the cook for their premium economy, Cathay Pacific does not offer that.So they did come around and for our first meal, Jamal and I both ordered the same thing.We ordered the beef with roasted veggies and mashed potatoes and that came with a of coleslaw and ham, a fruit bowl, A roll and butter crackers and gouda, A Ghirardelli chocolate square and some ice cream.
10:02
Some Haagen Dazs chocolate chocolate chip and we also got glasses of red wine.Yeah.So the food and premium economy is of course nothing like you’re going to get in business class.When it is served to you, it looks exactly like you would expect an economy meal to come out for you and it’s square little container, little cups of water, not really any actual glass, it’s the plastic paper cups, etcetera.
10:26
What I will say though, about where the food is a little bit different in premium economy than regular economy is that even though it’s served to you economy style, they give you actual cutlery that’s not plastic.The trays that they serve it to you in are actually porcelain versus aluminum.
10:42
So you do feel a little bit more classed up that way because of how they serve it to you, even though it looks like a normal economy meal.But I will say this, the quality, both Brittany and I could taste the difference.It was of better quality even though it was presented to you in the same fashion of course, just with those minor touch ups to make it feel a little bit more elegant with real cutlery and plates.
11:06
It was a good first meal, I actually liked it more than the second meal we got which was a fried pork noodle dish and this was served closer to when we were going to land.So we could have opted for breakfast, which had an egg option, but I don’t really like eggs on a plane so we went with the fried pork noodles.
11:23
This was a decent dish.I know Brittany said she didn’t really like it as much.It was fried pork noodles, so part of it was dry, but the area where it actually had the sauce was really good.The meat quality on it I thought was good, so it just needed to be a little bit more sauced up and I think it would be better.
11:39
But again, still I feel like you can tell a difference of the quality, but again, not anything like you’ll ever experience in business class meal wise if you’ve ever flown it.One thing I didn’t mention too about food and beverage experience is at our seats they did have a menu so we got to know what our meal options were going to be for our first meal service.
12:00
Second meal service, it gave a full list of beverages that were available available as well as snacks that we could get mid flight that weren’t during meal service such as certain cup of noodles, sandwiches, other types of snacks.So a little bit nice touch to give you a menu again to make it feel a little bit more elegant since you are in a different cabin class and differentiating you from economy.
12:24
So the last topic we’re going to talk about is the entertainment and Wi-Fi.So in the premium economy cabin, we did not get any Wi-Fi or free Wi-Fi, I should say.And I actually did not watch any movies or any show.So Jamal’s going to have to talk about that piece.
12:41
Well, their movie and entertainment selection is pretty standard and par for the course.They did have a good selection of Asian films, Indian films, and of course Western Hollywood style films just as well.They had a game selection that you couldn’t go ahead and utilize.
12:57
And also I didn’t mention this, our televisions, they were touchscreen that we had that came out of the seat compartment for us.But we also did have a remote control which acted as a remote control if you were playing games.And of course as you are surfing your entertainment options.
13:15
So nothing really above average than the normal that you would expect.I will say this, our screens definitely were larger than normal economy.So you had that.But of course, what really adds to the experience, and we mentioned this a little bit earlier, is they do give you the better noise cancelling headphones, which is way better than economy by far.
13:33
So you have that aspect going for it.But entertainment is just the entertainment.I feel like it’s pretty standard all around on the plane.Yeah.So Jamal, now that we’ve talked about everything, what would you rate your experience on Cathay Pacific Airlines premium economy?I would give it honestly a good 7 1/2 or 8 out of 10.
13:55
I really enjoyed my experience.I will undoubtedly say that the seats were way more comfortable than regular economy.I wonder too if we didn’t sit in the bulkhead.I’m not talking about the feet space, but if we actually had the other foot rest that was available to us and then the ability to put our belongings under a seat, if I would have felt a little bit more comfortable.
14:16
But in terms of seat pitch, the recline, etcetera, they’re all pretty much the same.And that is really what you are buying premium economy for.You’re not buying it for the extra service, you’re not really buying it for the food, even though it can be better and was better as we experienced, but still not anything.Oh my gosh, fantastic.
14:32
But in terms of comfort, this was a much more comfortable way to spend a 15 hour flight.And I’m glad we utilized our points to do that versus sitting in regular economy.So seven and a half 8 is my final score on Cathay Pacific.And my score fell right within that range.
14:47
I was going to give it a 7.8.I did not like that They offered a premium economy bathroom, but we didn’t really have a way to get to it.That was kind of a bummer.And although there was that calf rest because I’m sure it was comfortable, but not as comfortable as it could have been, I feel like the foot rest didn’t go up enough and so as a Shorty, it wasn’t the most comfortable thing for me.
15:10
But other than that, I really enjoyed my experience there.Give it a solid 7.8.And that’s a review of Cathay Pacific Premium Economy.Thanks for tuning in to just the tip.Make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and follow us on all the socials at Travel Squad Podcast.And have fun traveling this weekend.
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