LESS THAN IMPRESSED

Cathay Pacific has always been my airline of choice. So I was truly looking forward to our flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco. It turned out not to be the best of experiences.

CX’s lounge in Hong Kong International Airport was full. While I appreciate their wide choice of newspapers and food/ drinks, the music was much too loud. The lounge staff said they could not do anything about lowering the volume. Not the most relaxing place to be, especially when one has to fight for an empty lounge chair.

Our flight, CX 872, was overbooked. Passengers in business class were being individually called up to the counter and being asked if they would give up their seats. This may have been the reason for the one-hour delay. I love the business class seats that recline to full horizontal position. I was able to sleep a full six hours. Waking up at what would have been the breakfast hour in Hong Kong, I requested noodle soup for a snack. When I attempted to put up my seat into sitting position, I could not do so. I was therefore left with no choice but to eat my soup in a semi-reclining position. Unfortunately, everything spilled onto my blanket and seeped into my clothes. The attendants helped me clean the seat and gave me a new blanket. I was very upset, since I had no choice but to launder my clothes in the restroom.

Worse yet, after the attendants manually put my reclining seat into the landing position, I was told that I would have to sit upright for the rest of the four hours until landing – whilst smelling of duck noodle soup! For the steep price CX charges for its HKG-SFO business class fare, the passenger expects a seat that is fully functional. I did not get that in this flight. I also would have appreciated the offer of pyjamas while I washed my clothes.

For the inconvenience, I was offered an apology and a US$100 voucher. Not the best flight at all.

CATHAY PACIFIC REPLIES:

We are committed to offering quality products and services to all our passengers and we welcome feedback from them, as it helps us identify the areas that may need improvements. We recommend Ms Sharp contact our Customer Relations Department (tel +852 2596 0825, online feedback form: www.cathaypacific. com/cpa/en_HK/contactus/customerrelations) and provide us more details of her experience such as the flight date. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and we appreciate our passenger’s kind understanding.