The 'atmosphere in Hong Kong' certainly has changed since I started making regular visits in the late '80s. There used to be a stark contrast when you crossed the border into mainline China CX was hit hard by the pandemic - plus one of two major scandals.

We used to visit HK regularly until 'they' got hold of it.......................last visit was in Nov 2018, and said it would be our last. We then travelled on to Delhi ( for Agra ) from HK on CX695 ( B777-300 in Business ) and the whole experience was just fab....................I feel the catering was much better than you got and the cabin was not darkened. The crew were watchful the whole journey.

Another great video mate! Shame to see Cathay still not back to their previous service levels. I've not flown with them yet, but had always heard them held in high regard before the you-know-what. You also now have me humming "Son be a Dentist!", so thanks for that (such a great film!)

Great review as always, but most interested in the comments about Hong Kong. Not somewhere I've ever been, but it seems a bit less desirable now!

Always a pleasure watching your reviews. Thanks for the information!

Hey Matt- id just first like to say you are my favourite flight reviewer by far! I like how specific you are with positives and negatives- and also the fact that you actually accept the crew are human beings and things go wrong. On another note, what’s the chance of you doing an Air France video anytime soon?

Great video again, Matt. I believe the lower latch 6:00 allows the lower extension padding to be pulled up? You can see it move a little when you press on control.

Another great vid, I do love your reviews. I've only flown Cathay once back in 2019 and they were very good - catering, brand new A350-1000, comfy seat although space was a little tight. It was all the way to Adelaide in economy from Manchester, but had a couple of days in Hong Kong to break up the journey. Loved the city, but it was during the protests so there was an air of unease about the place, which doesn't seem to have gone away after watching your video sadly.

Thanks for the info + video!

Fond memories of business trips to Honkers in the 90s. The sense of excitement and the sheer buzz of the place. It was intoxicating. But it already had changed so much by the time of my last trip in 2000, a few years after handover. Lan Kwai Fong was already a shadow of its former inglory.

HK may well have changed, but I had a week there in January and it was fantastic. The people are lovely, very friendly.

Another good one Matt and I have to agree wholeheartedly on the little shop of horrors review you give 😊

This is a night flight in HK time, of course lights were turned off so that pax can rest. It's not Cathay's problem that you alone didn't want to sleep, and you can always use the call light should you need anything.

Absolutely love that film, and teched the show! It is such a weird show!

I look forward to your videos every week!!! I was devastated yesterday wasnt sunday because I was jetlagged…

Another great video! I do not fly as much as I used to, but if I spotted you at the airport I'd definitely be waving at you like a looney!

Good as stuff as usual Matt, we were in HK in March for the horse racing and stayed on HK island. I cannot say I noticed the signage mainly in mandarin, we did go to a restaurant where the language issues were very complicated but that is all part of the fun. We love HK and I would recommend anyone to try it but beware during months Jun-Sep its soooo humid. We flew Singapore airlines from Melbourne so cannot give a view on CP.

Matt sacrificing himself to drink cognac is like Arthur Denton suffering from Dr. Scrivello´s dental treatment

Oneworld Emerald status is only worth pursuing if your travels involve London (BA First Lounge/First Wing check in), Hong Kong (The Wing/Pier First lounges/check-in area), Singapore (QF First Lounge), Sydney/Melbourne (QF First Lounge/check-in), Los Angeles (QF First Lounge), Tokyo Narita/Haneda (JL First Class Lounge), New York JFK (Soho Lounge), Helsinki (Finnair Platinum Wing). If you don't normally travel through these cities, Oneworld Sapphire is enough IMHO.

Big fan of those funky check in desks

The fast track security thing is only for Cathay Marco Polo Diamond and F pax, not other OWEs: I asked the day I met you on the BKK-HKG flight. I have also been escorted through there when travelling Swiss F fairly recently. Emirates F doesn't work, it's off to the hoi polloi security line, but IME it doesn't take long. I agree regarding the Pier F, it's worth a detour to plonk yourself down at the bar: I bought a throwaway ticket to TPE for the privilege the day I met you! I've never experienced it being particularly full, although Wing F can be. Both are definitely better than the HKG Emirates lounge.

Never got to experience CX in in all its 'glory' but i've flown a few biz to HKG and LHR, and Short hauls to TPE and SIN, the service is most definetly better in Asia then it is coming back to hong kong. it almost felt like some flights they were doing you a favour, some flights though in economy are really good. maybe its because i can speak some cantonese though haha..

On the Cathay vs BA point on trips from LHR-HKG, I found that Cathay was significantly more expensive, in fact I've got a trip to HK booked later this year in BA WTP, and WTP on BA was the same price as Cathay's economy, which made BA a no brainer

Matt, I think that lower latch releases a small flap that comes up to widen a little portion when the seat is in bed mode. Might be wrong but I saw it release something when you pressed it. Another great vid 😀

Great video. I recently booked Cathay Pacific for Bangkok-Hong Kong-London, so this video was a must-see for me. I've also booked a lot of Finnair, so safe to say I am also looking forward to that video too. 😁

Dear Matt, I must thank u for your Inspiration. 28.6.2024: I acomplished A3 Gold Status after 11 Flights in 7 Days. Thats just because of your great content. It was a great and very exhausting week with only 2 nights of sleep. All A3. All Business Class. Crazy Stuff but now Iam fed up with flying... till the 14.7.2024. This time on Tk from IST -LEJ. Looking forward to see the M/S Lounge at IST Airport. Thats this flying Virus , you know^^ should contact a Doctor, I guess :)

Great video as ever Matt! I'm surprised Cathay scored so low, given that it's often rated as having the best lounges! Do you think it was just this route or Cathay's business class offering overall?

You are not being a cynic. I had exactly the same experience on return CX flights between LHR and MNL in 2023. I was in economy and all the cabin staff completely disappeared between meal services. The meals were very average. I will not use them again when I visit my family in MNL as they are not a patch on Singapore Air.

It rains a LOT,and I don't mean the Polish airline!,in Hong Kong but a warm humid rain it being just under the Tropic.Hong Kong is changing I'm afraid and becoming increasingly integrated into the PRC.... thanks Lady Thatcher thanks a bunch!

What a pity to hear CX have gone a bit off the boil. I’ve always seen them as innovators, with the first and only shell reclining seat I’ve ever been in.

I recently flew CX on an intra Asian regional flight in Economy and was very pleasantly surprised. Asian carriers typically do not place any emphasis on Economy. Singapore Airlines (who I love on long-haul business for their impeccable offering) are as bad as any LCC on these routes in the back of the bus - they serve a paperbox meal which is typically too disgusting to touch. But CX, next to an efficient and energetic crew, also offered a proper meal with proper cutlery. Also their lounges (which I have access to as a JL Saphire status client) in Singapore and Bangkok compare well to others.

I last flew Cathay in 2016 and really rated them. It's a shame they're still a long way off what they once were.

We do also have A350-1000 in Cathay Pacific. The delay due to weather not every time is due to the weather at the departure airport but en route weather, where some airspace can accommodate not many aeroplanes. Wondering what will happen to Singapore Airlines service since it seems now their policy is to stop the service anytime the seat belts sign is on.

Matt how do you book your Cathy pacific flights with Avios is it through the Ba site Also I commented on one of your previous videos about me also flying Doha to bkk first class and guess what just had a email I’ve been downgraded to business class looks like there not flying the a380 there at least not in September when I’m due to fly I’m on a Boeing 777 with no q suite now I hope it has the onboard lounge keep making the videos matey 😊

Fast track in HK is only for First and CX Diamonds :)

Been to HK 3 times and loved it - but that was 15+ years ago. Sad if it's changed so much. I've flown CP Business four times; the long haul the seats were excellent, the food/staff ok but I didn't like absence of Dine on Demand or the food being served from trolleys. CP looks even less impressive now - surely it's not difficult to design a seat with a wider footwell...and having single wine option for red/white/etc. is very poor!

I have recently come across the youtube channels of some Indians who aspire to be flight attendant. It looks like that CX is actively hiring new flight attendants from India to be based in Hong Kong. Did you see a lot more Indian flight attendants on your flight compared to previous flights?

Having done more than half a dozen intra-Asia hops with Cathay as a BA Silver this year, I find their Economy product far more competitive than their Business product. Decent (yet far from personal) services, great meals with metal cutleries, above-average IFEs and world-class Biz/Sapphire-tier lounges, CX is more often than not the better intra-Asian regional option compared to the likes of MH, SQ (which I always find a little hit-or-miss), the Taiwanese, Korean and Japanese carriers, and certainly miles ahead of any mainland Chinese carriers. Though contrary to your lounge crawl video, I don’t see any reason how the Pier biz is worse than the Deck except for maybe… the deck? I have a soft spot for Cathay… I’m from the (spooky) mainland China (quite close to Hong Kong actually - there was a running joke that Cathay’s the “real” international carrier out from my city), and Cathay was my first experience flying international. I fondly remember the sophisticated touches, down to the little gift they sent out to kids, and their fleet of mighty 747s and A340s. They lost the race of being Asia’s best a decade or so ago with huge losses from hedging fuel prices, and they certainly took a huge toll during the 2019 protests and more critically the “you-know-what”. Having absorbed Dragonair’s operations during COVID, they are, as Hong Kong had, admittedly focused more towards China, yet last year’s “blanket incident” didn’t quite pan out well in their most important market. Fortunately route and operation wise they’re recovering quite okay in 2024 so far (the latest is they’re resuming Riyadh and Cairns services and restorations of overseas crew bases). However I can’t wait for their long overdue Business product, even though that’d take years to be fitted in their entire fleet and the current Zodiac (aka Safran) Cirrus seat is 13 years old for the carrier. Wishing Cathay (and Hong Kong) the best, yet some things aren’t anymore the same…

why would you prefer BA to CX even for London-HKG??? Purely because of a wider seat? I believe CX uses a bigger plane for longer flights than this "short haul" flight. Also CX offers some bedding, better food selection. Crew is really flight specific. Some BA staff are extremely grumpy but some CX staff are let's say, don't speak English very well either.

I’d proffer that the best oneworld airline for premium service is probably JAL, then Qatar and don’t hate me - BA. All crew dependent for BA though. Their hard product is good enough.

I flew Cathay Biz class Hong Kong to LHR in April. I was impressed with the food and beverage offering. Two full meals, but the best food was the mid flight snack hamburger and chips. Assume the limited choice of wines on Matt's flight to India was due to the shorter sector as there was a much wider choice on my flight. Totally agree the Pier First class lounge is amazing.

Personally, I would have to say that neither the seat, nor the food & beverage options would make me feel that Cathay's offerings would say that they are trying to become their previous selves. I suspect that they are now catering more than before to their Chinese mainalnd customers who, arguably do not know any better.

If i understand correctly BA is for a long time already competing with ryanair to see who can hit rock bottom first for customer satisfaction

Where was the oneworld pin????

Спасибо за интересный и полный обзор перелета! Успехов вам! Лайк! Приглашаю на новинку с острова Занзибар!🤩

Reading some western people making comments about not bothering to visit hk because it has changed well frankly the change are inevitable as Hong Kong was brutally stolen from it motherland and I am 100% will preferred Hong Kong to New York or London when u are constantly being threaten to be shot or stabbed and contrary to what the western media has portrayed the place we are as free and has as much human right as any of you ! Thank you very much

Where were you staying? Not sure english sign criticism is fair for most of hk. Secondly there is no fast track security!!!! Old people, vips, cathay diamond members, and airport/airline staff can skip it nobody else... (I agree there should be one but alas there is not)

My comment

RIP Hong Kong. I've been there many times, but I wouldn't bother now. And unless you are actually going to HK, Cathay is irrelevant. Asia is full of top notch airlines, and Cathay isn't one of them.

Old style business class.

I find CX cabin crew much improved since the HK based racist cabin crew got fired. .... vast improvement of attitude from those remaining.

You sound so elitist.

RIP Hong Kong, just another bland Chinese city. All the flair, culture and unique bland of Cantonese/British culture has gone.

Another brilliant video, i find Cathay crews really hit and miss, however my experience of them since the pandemic has only been limited to a few trips out of Hong Kong. When returning to the UK next time I've already booked with Qatar in Business to Paris, which even with a short economy connection on, was still a fare almost 50% cheaper than Cathay direct to LHR