Does Cathay Pacific provide headphones?

Cathay Pacific provides headphones at each seat. The type of headphones received can vary by cabin, but you should receive something to use with the inflight entertainment system.

Is Cathay Pacific a good airline to fly with?

The airline has a strong safety record and has numerous positive reviews. Individual experiences will vary, but the airline can get you from A to B and should do so safely.

Is Cathay Pacific economy good?

As airlines race to reduce offerings in economy class, Cathay Pacific hasn’t taken the drastic steps seen with some other airlines. You still get complimentary meals, drinks, and headsets, and you’ll find 32 inches of pitch between seats, making your knees happy.

Is Cathay Pacific a budget airline?

No, it isn’t, if you mean “low-cost carrier” like Ryanair or AirAsia. Cathay Pacific is a full-service airline, meaning you get a meal on your flight, even in economy — a key difference. However, Cathay Pacific is the full owner of HK Express (also known as Hong Kong Express), which is a low-cost airline.

What It’s Like Flying Cathay Pacific Short-Haul in China [Detailed Review]

Updated: July 26, 2024, 8:00am CDT

Edited by:

Cathay Pacific Short-Haul Positives
Cathay Pacific Short-Haul Negatives
Key Differences We Noticed on the 2 Flights
Final Thoughts

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You’ve likely seen online posts and YouTube videos reviewing Cathay Pacific’s much-heralded first and business class on long-haul flights. I know people who consider it their favorite airline.

But those are all flights across long distances, typically crossing an ocean. Flying between Hong Kong and the U.S. is one thing, but what’s it like flying short-haul on Cathay Pacific for flights around China?

Is Cathay Pacific a good carrier for these short-haul flights in economy? Is it like the reputation for Aeroflot, where long-haul flights are great but I’d never again consider a flight inside Russia with that airline? Luckily, the situation with Cathay Pacific’s short-haul flights is much better.

That said, while there were some definite positives on Cathay Pacific flights from my trip to China, there were also some definite negatives. These were my experiences in June 2024.

Cathay Pacific Short-Haul Positives

My wife and I flew 2 short-haul flights with Cathay Pacific recently, flying from the airline’s home base at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) to Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (TFU) and then later flying from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) to Hong Kong.

Along with flying into and out of a different airport, we also flew on 2 different plane types: the first on an Airbus A330-300 and the second on a Boeing 777-300. Additionally, we booked the flights in 2 different ways: The first was a redemption with Cathay Asia Miles; we booked the second with Iberia Plus Avios.

Hot Tip:

There are many ways to earn miles with Cathay Pacific, such as transferring points from programs like American Express Membership Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards to spending on the Cathay Pacific Visa Signature^® card.

Cathay Pacific A330 300 wingtip — Looking out the window on the A330-300 flight to Chengdu.

Despite the different plane types, routes, and booking methods, a few commonalities emerged, and several were positive.

On-Time Boarding

Boarding will also resurface in the negatives, but it’s worth pointing out that boarding started on time for both of our flights. Moreover, my curiosity led me to several nearby gates and staring at departure boards to see how punctual Cathay Pacific’s flights were. The vast majority of flights I checked started boarding exactly when they said they would. That’s important for travelers, so props on this element.

Convenience on the Seat Back

At our seats, we found several built-in items that provided convenience on both flights. While you may just see a tray table here, there was more to it.

Cathay Pacific A330 300 seat back — Seat back on the A330-300.

On both the A330-300 and the B777-300, the tray table used a folding layout, meaning you had options for how much space you wanted.

Cathay Pacific A330 300 tray table — A330-300 tray table.

In terms of look, though, the darker tones on the B777-300 definitely looked cooler.

Cathay Pacific B777 300 tray table — Boeing 777-300 tray table.

The tray table itself played second fiddle, however. What I really appreciated was the ability to hold a drink without needing to open the entire tray table. Enter the cup holder, which I’d love more airlines to adopt. On the A330-300, it was a foldout cup holder that stood alone.

Cathay Pacific A330 300 cup holder — Cup holder on the A330-300.

The B777-300, however, had a cup holder built into a device holder that you could use to rest your phone or tablet against the seat back, letting you watch videos without needing to hold the device in your hand.

Cathay Pacific B777 300 mini tray and cup holder — B777-300 device and cup holder.

Additionally, both plane types had double pockets on the seat backs, which I found convenient. The large, main pocket (what you’re used to on most planes) held literature, and I put my laptop in here. However, the smaller pocket was great for items you didn’t want to lose in the abyss of the larger pocket — think of your passport or AirPods case.

Cathay Pacific B777 300 seat pocket — Dual pocket on the B777-300.

Abundant Entertainment

The obviously newer cabin on our Boeing 777-300 flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong gets bonus points here, but both flights provided solid options for entertainment and included a personal entertainment system at each seat — in contrast to many airlines that are making you bring your own device these days.

Cathay Pacific B777 300 entertainment screen home page — Home page on the B777-300 entertainment screen.

The screens provided options for multiple languages, and the home menu was easy to navigate, letting you choose the type of entertainment you wanted. Movie options were abundant and easy to peruse.

Cathay Pacific B777 300 entertainment — B777-300 entertainment screen.

However, the larger layout on the B777-300’s screen was better than the often small text on the screen when flying on the A330-300.

Cathay Pacific A330 300 movies — Movies on the A330-300.

However, more was available than just shows and movies, such as numerous games. There was also an entire kids section for movies, TV, games, and music.

Cathay Pacific B777 300 games — Games on the B777-300 entertainment screen.

The airline provided complimentary headsets to all passengers, found in the seat back pocket during boarding.

Cathay Pacific B777 300 headphones — Headphones were the same on both flights.

Honoring Special Meal Requests

If you know, you know. Some airlines routinely mess up special meal requests, either not providing the promised meals at all or providing a meal that doesn’t match the description. I’m happy to report that Cathay Pacific did a great job here.

Cathay Pacific A330 300 vegan meal — Meal service on the A330-300 flight to Chengdu.

Not only did the airline make requesting the meals online simple, it also actually provided them (*cough* unlike LATAM *cough*) to passengers. On both of our flight segments, we saw numerous passengers receiving their requested meals, delivered before general meal service began, and we didn’t overhear a single person inquiring about a confirmed meal that wasn’t on board. That’s rare, unfortunately.

Cathay Pacific Short-Haul Negatives

It wasn’t all perfect, sadly. Let’s look at the elements of our Cathay Pacific flights that could’ve been better.

Chaotic Boarding

“Now boarding: everyone.” It’s my least favorite boarding model. And everyone seems to be aware of it, because every family seemed to send 1 parent to line up as soon as they arrived at the gate, while the other parent and the kids took a seat until boarding time.

Just look at this snaking, no-way-it’s-necessary line for our flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong.

Cathay Pacific boarding line Shanghai PVG — The singular boarding line at Shanghai PVG airport.

We didn’t observe any Cathay Pacific flights using boarding groups, boarding by row numbers, or anything other than telling people they could get on the plane now. There were separate aisles for business and first class, though lines also formed there. The airline could really use an overhaul in the boarding method.

Empty Playlists

For some reason, playlists are where I find the most issues for airline entertainment systems. Here’s a Bob Marley playlist with a solid 13 songs. It covers the greatest hits. Solid.

Cathay Pacific B777 300 Bob Marley playlist — Bob Marley playlist with 13 songs on the B777-300.

If I had wanted to relax on this flight, the relaxation playlist wouldn’t have helped. This playlist, along with a few others, was completely empty.

Cathay Pacific B777 300 relaxation playlist — Not very relaxing, eh?

Lack of Attention to Lavatories

Get a paper towel … if you dare. Given the 2 cups of coffee and orange juice I had at the airport, I made a dash for the lavatory as soon as the seatbelt sign went off on our flight from Hong Kong to Chengdu. Imagine my surprise when I found this busted wall compartment.

Cathay Pacific A330 300 broken paper towel holder — Broken paper towel holder on our flight to Chengdu.

And our B777-300 flight fared better, though it also had loose pieces of plastic in 1 bathroom plus an empty soap container in another. Attention to the lavatories was lacking on both of our flights.

Key Differences We Noticed on the 2 Flights

Everything inside the Boeing 777-300 plane looked and felt newer. For example, look at the layout and seats on the A330-300.

Cathay Pacific A330 300 economy seat pitch — Seat pitch (spacing) on the A330-300.

And here’s the B777-300 for comparison. These seats had a much fresher look.

Cathay Pacific B777 300 economy seat pitch — B777-300 economy seat pitch.

The good news, however, is that seat pitch (the distance from you to the seat in front of you) is the same across all Cathay Pacific economy cabins. While the actual seat width can vary, you’ll always find 32 inches of pitch.

Cathay Pacific B777 300 economy seats — B777-300 economy seats.

Additionally, the seating layout on the A330-300 is always 2-4-2 in Cathay Pacific economy cabins. That’s true, regardless of plane variants. This is good news for anyone traveling in pairs, as you can claim the 2 seats near either window and have the whole section to yourselves.

On the B777-300, you may find 2-4-2 seating or even 3-4-3 seating on some versions of the B777-300ER. If you’re traveling as a couple, you have to decide between taking the window-plus-middle approach or aisle-plus-middle approach if you want to ensure you’re seated next to one another. You could try booking the aisle plus window and hope no one sits between you, but that’s not a guarantee. Both of our flights were 100% full, so we booked aisle-plus-aisle, meaning neither of us had to be in a middle seat.

Cathay Pacific B777 300 economy aisle — Looking up the aisle between our seats on the B777-300.

Final Thoughts

Cathay Pacific provided an overall good flying experience on short-haul flights in China. The cabins were clean when we boarded, boarding started on time, and both the tray tables and cup holders provided small elements of convenience while we were packed into a metal tube for a few hours.

However, the airline needs to pay attention to its bathroom situation, and the boarding process needs to move into the 21st century.

If you’re considering a Cathay Pacific flight for an upcoming trip and wondered how shorter flights compare to those long-haul reviews you’ve seen, these experiences should help you know what to expect.

The information regarding the Cathay Pacific Airways Visa^® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.