Cathay Pacific is a 5-star airline based in Hong Kong with a long and proud history. They have received a lot of awards and praise over the years and were my favorite airline when I started to fly to Asia. But in recent years they have encountered some turbulence. Find out more in my “Travel Made Easy” about the fleet, destinations, safety record, experience and reward program!
The Airline: Cathay Pacific (CX) was founded in 1946 and is based out of Hong Kong (HKG) airport. Cathay Pacific is serving 75 destinations in 44 countries with a fleet of 146 wide-body planes with an average age of 8 years, one of the younger fleets in the sky. T heir subsidiary Cathay Dragon serves Asian destinations with a fleet of narrow-body planes.
SkyTrax rates Cathay Pacific as a 5-star airline and CX has been in the top 10 airlines every year for the last 8 years!
AirlineRatings is giving Cathay a perfect 7 (out of 7) safety rating, making it a safe bet to fly!
Read more about the fleet, destinations and awards in Cathay Pacific – Facts & Figures.
The Experience: Cathay Pacific offers four classes of service, dependent on the routes, including First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy. First Class is only offered on a handful of Boeing B777 and has a fantastic reputation. Business Class is offered throughout their fleet, but consists of true lie-flat beds on long-haul flights and old-fashioned recliners on short- and medium-haul routes. I was unimpressed on my most recent flight! The Premium Economy service offers slightly better seats with more width and legroom, combined with mediocre economy class service. I was disappointed and wouldn’t pay the significant premium again. Cathay Economy Class similarly is resting on its history of laurels and today offers a mediocre product at premium prices. Click on the links above to read the detailed reviews of each cabin. Luckily, sometimes Cathay Pacific offers great deals to compete and then is decent value.
The Rewards: Probably the best aspect of Cathay Pacific these days is that they are part of the OneWorld alliance. You can earn and redeem points on Cathay Pacific flights world wide, often at good value for their premium cabins. They also have a partnership with Alaska Air, giving you even more choices. Cathay Pacific has a rewards program, Asia Miles, as well as a Loyalty Program, offering elite perks to frequent flyers, Marco Polo. It’s an unnecessarily complex set-up and you can read more about what you can do here! Unless you live in Hong Kong or the region, it’s best for most people to earn and redeem in other programs and keep an Asia Miles membership for convenient point transfers from credit cards like Citibank Prestige!