That’s entertainment

lovely and soft. Of course, it helped that I had the whole row to stretch out in, but my seat did feel wider than other economy cabins. There was an 11-inch touchscreen TV on the back of the seat in front which worked like a dream – it responded to the lightest touch without lagging. There was a mixture of Western and Asian inflight movies, and I was surprised by the number of Kiwi offerings – like Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople and What We Do in the Shadows. You can also watch satellite TV news, and inflight wi-fi is available for a fee.

The service

Overall, friendly and efficient, except for a hiccup at the check in desk at Auckland Airport. We were lined up waiting for the counters to open, but when they did, we were rather haphazardly directed to self-service kiosks. All the machines ended up crashing, so we had to be shepherded back into the line for the ‘‘human’’ counters. The staff seemed frazzled, and it made for a bit of a stressful experience.

Feeding time

In Economy, we were handed a dining menu before takeoff, which was a nice touch. Lunch was served shortly after, with a choice of three meals. I had whiting fish with hot bean sauce and rice, followed by New Zealand ice cream. It was tasty and I polished off the lot - and I can never usually finish all of my plane food. Dinner was about halfway through the flight - this time there were two choices, and I got the black pepper beef and rice, followed by mango mousse cake. Again, I managed to eat it all. I think the portion sizes are on point, but if you get peckish, there are also cup noodles available as a snack throughout flight.

One more thing

Usually I come off a long-haul flight with my face resembling a pizza, but this time my skin stayed miraculously clear, and I think it was because of the facial moisturiser in the bathrooms which I applied liberally throughout the flight (unfortunately, Cathay Pacific are unable to tell me exactly what the brand is). I liked that it was freely available for anyone to use usually that sort of luxury is reserved for the Business Class amenity kits.

The verdict

I felt well-rested and fresh at the end of my flight. But it’s hard to know if that was because of the A350’s whizz-bang technology, or if my body was just being kind to me on that particular day. For the record, I was upgraded to business class on the way back, and felt rotten the whole time. No matter how good the plane is - or your seat, for that matter - sometimes travelling simply takes its toll.

Frequency

Cathay Pacific flies the A350 daily from Auckland to Hong Kong.

More information

cathaypacific.co.nz.

The writer travelled courtesy of Cathay Pacific.