Cathay Pacific "New" First Class - Vancouver to New York

so a couple weeks ago cathay pacific announced that they would be refreshing their first class offering but before you get too excited it's not like they're getting new cabins or anything it's more along the lines of them refreshing their food bedding and other amenities but it's still a significant change so it's an excuse as good as any to spend an exorbitant amount of airline monopoly money on something that is otherwise kind of vapid but you see there is just this teeny weeny little issue and that is cathay pacific mostly operates out of hong kong the very same hong kong that is undergoing some minor civil issues and that is why we're going to where we're going and that place would be vancouver why vancouver you ask well you see kathy pursu well you see cafe pacific they operate a daily flight from hong kong all the way to new york but along the way they make a stop in vancouver and you can actually buy a separate ticket on this segment from yvr to jfk and that is exactly what i'm doing [Music] if you're at all interested as to how fifth freedom flights work such as the one we're about to take you should check out bend over productions video he does a pretty good job of explaining it i've linked it in the description below anyways after parting my ways with about 50 000 or so avios i'm ready to be impressed [Music] however while i'm in town i do have a little bit of work to do but this won't take long i promise [Applause] [Music] and that just about concludes all the business i have to do here so let's head back to the airport now vancouver international airport officially named after its iata code ypr is sandwiched on an island between the population centers of vancouver canada and richmond china getting to the airport is facilitated by the canada line skytrain the name skytrain comes from the fact that one third of it is elevator rail and along with the other skytrain and transit lines getting here is very convenient for the plebians who take public transit but for me i'm not a plebeian today so arrive in style i must and thus i rope my friend into dropping me off in her toyota prius when you get to the airport you'll find one continuous terminal building divided into three departure zones domestic transborder and international for those of you who don't know the transborder section entails that you pre-clear us customs and immigration so ostensibly you're boarding your flight as if you're in the us so that when you land you would as a domestic flight our flight for tonight is however an exception for it originates in hong kong so we'll have to go through border control after we land in jfk just like everyone else thus we'll be going to the international section instead i'll take this time to mention that this is a medium haul first class flight and won't have the long haul service the main difference being the lack of a caviar course and full dinner menu if i ever do the ladder again i'll be sure to bring my camera anyways our flight tonight will be quite straightforward a hop across the continent totaling 2 40 miles over five and a half hours all right i'm back at the airport so let's go get checked in with quite a few daily flights departing out of yvr cathay pacific's check-in setup is quite substantial it takes up about half a dozen counters on the south end of the international departure section queues were separated into economy premium economy business class and first with respective status holders granted access to the latter two when i checked in at 7 pm there was absolutely no one here but myself the agent greeted me by name and courteously took my bag and sent it on its way i was then given instructions as to how to get to the security gates but unlike the first class check-in at hong kong there were no chaperones that take me through security no matter i've come through this part of the airport over a hundred times and i've only gotten lost on about half of those attempts at the d-gate security point fast track was available and i soon found myself through to the other side right after security you'll find the international maple leaf lounge it feels a little odd not going in here if you're watching this please don't tell air canada i'm having an affair with another airline anyways vancouver's international departures is no slouch when it comes to luxury retail for those with unspent canadian dollars at dispose of there are quite a few outlets from which to do so there's also this quite impressive aquatic display from the vancouver aquarium but watching all these fish was making me a little hungry and so i had another destination in mind so cathay pacific has a lounge here and their lounges are pretty well known for having really good food and so for that express purpose the only thing i've eaten today was a banana and call me low class actually just call me low class because that's that's pretty low class of me whatever it's fine in addition to my boarding pass the check-in agent also gave me this lounge invitation which grants me access to this cathay pacific lounge uh um oh jeez i really thought this one through didn't i the subtle entrance to this lounge is located next to gate d71 which is conveniently also the gate from which we'll be departing the space itself is actually one level up so it requires an elevator ride at the front desk a super friendly lady welcomed and offered to show me around i politely declined for it as i who i'm about to show you around some say this is the nicest lounge in all of yvr and i don't disagree although cafes lounges throughout their network almost all look the same to their credit they all look quite amazing [Music] and the secret ingredient of all their lounges a noodle bar [Music] we'll come back to the actual noodle bar itself later but first let me show you around let's start back here where you'll find a self-serve bar complete with all the tinctures and tonics you'll need to fix yourself a drink whether it be alcoholic or caffeinated on the other end wines both red and white were laid out along with a medium rate champagne further out in the main space the salad bar featured a spread of fruits snacks and other cold food options desserts were also available both outside and in this fridge and there was also another espresso machine and even beer on tap behind that a small but elegantly adorned business center overlooked the apron i suspect these are here more for vanity than productivity in the center of the space was a spread of canadian and chinese periodicals and magazines alright let's go back to the noodle bar itself the menu was small but definitely not lacking and just like mcdonald's they featured all day breakfast in true noodle shop fashion a selection of condiments were provided i can vouch for the chili oil it definitely did not hold back on the heat after placing my order i was given this puck that buzzes when my food is ready and for my order well it was a weird combination of dandan mian and chicken risotto paired with champagne it definitely made me reconsider my choices regardless each dish on its own was really good the risotto rice was a little hard on the inside but otherwise creamy and flavorful the tandan was oh man it was amazing i'd say it's up there along with what the best noodle shops have to offer it definitely hit the spot and made me a little sad that i wasn't going to china having had a little taste of home sufficiently warmed up after a hot bowl of noodles i decided to indulge in my favorite lounge amenity a shower along with being beautifully appointed these shower suites made me feel right at home thanks to the copious amounts of aesop products on offer the rain shower was very bougie what you would expect from a five-star hotel of course everything was immaculately clean and there was a slight botanical fragrance and after a change into fresh clothes i was feeling squeaky clean and what i can only describe as reinvigorated [Music] i then found myself situated quite comfortably in one of these lounge chases with a front row view of our ride in fact one entire side of this lounge is made up entirely of these curtain walls giving unobstructed views of the aprons in true vancouver fashion it was raining but if anything it just made things a little bit more atmospheric this boeing triple 7-300 er is our ride to jfk tonight embellished in the old delivery it brings back a flood of childhood memories flying on kathy's triple sevens a little while later one of the staff came around to ask me if i would like some dessert and then promptly returned with a selection of them on another note these drawers on the side tables open up to reveal a whole host of charging outlets which was quite a convenience considering all my things required charging [Music] and while i was waiting for that to happen i decided to take a little nap on one of these cube sofas ten minutes before boarding was slated to commence i made my way down to the gate have i mentioned how yvr is my favorite north american airport boarding commenced on time and was done through zones separating first class from business class from the proletariat class embarkation was conducted through one bridge leading to the l2 door waiting at the door was a whole swarm of cabin crew one of whom graciously escorted me to my seat after passing through the forward business class mini cabin she then introduced me to the first class cabin and offered to show me around my suite 1a cafe does not have the newest first class seat nor the most private nor the most luxurious but the sure as hell are wide so wide in fact i'd wager you can fit two normal sized human adults side by side on it or one medium-sized american lengthwise there's really no need for me to tell you how much space you have regardless of who you are you'll be comfortable unless you're a giraffe in which case it might still be a little tight of a fit [Music] the cabin altogether is configured in a 1-1-1 layout with two rows for a total of six suites now you might be wondering why the ottoman is equipped with a seat belt well it doubles as a seat should any other first class passenger wish to join you for a meal upon boarding i was provided with this sleeper set which we'll look at later and also all this stuff was waiting at the seat this pillow mess in particular is a new addition to the service [Music] i was then offered a class of 2004 vintage krug and not being a lunatic i happily accepted uh mom i know you're watching this please don't call me spoiled love you oh that's crisp let's now do a comprehensive sweet tour starting with the storage there are no overhead bins instead each seat has a sizeable closet complete with clothes hangers i'm 181 centimeters tall or in units my american audience would understand about three and a half times the length of a standard ar-15 barrel and there was no way i could reach the ottoman the ife screen was about 20 inches wide and featured a very high resolution display it also slides out like this to give you a better viewing angle it's also a great way to abruptly end a conversation should there be anyone sitting on the ottoman and just below that is a cuppy hole for some literature and a bottle of water [Music] moving on to the isle side you'll find a reading light up here [Music] and a rack for all your literature and to once again illustrate just how wide this seat is this partition comes down and acts as an armrest should you need it it might look as if it opens up to provide some storage but it doesn't down here you'll find three physical buttons for seat presets and lighting all right moving on uh let's check out the underneath of the ottoman well there's nothing here but i would like to point out this carpet is very thick and lush and you can also observe the rails on which the seat moves moving on to the outboard side you'll find a universal power outlet and a usb type-a charging port this entire shelf is finished in this warm wooden material and as you can see provides copious amounts of surface space this little holder here is where they usually place a lilac or some other flower but it was missing on this flight and here is where you'll find the tray table and it comes out if you push it really really hard there we go it looks a lot bigger in person than it does on camera wow that is an amazing tinder pickup line anyways the table is very sturdy it's finished in the same wood as the shelf and is surprisingly heavy [Music] there is also this leather padded drink holder which provides a little bit more grip to the base of your drink vessel back here there's quite a bit going on let's start off with this touchscreen which houses your seat controls starting off with the articulation you can move the seat back and the footrest individually see it also has a massage function but you shouldn't really have that high of an expectation for it and the final menu allows you to control some of the lighting elements around your suite [Music] moving on there's this ubiquitous panasonic ife controller that's found on almost every other plane these days and in here is another small cubby hole perfect for storing the contents of your pockets should you not wish to lose them and down here next to you is where you will find your life vest next to that are your headphone ports and finally up here is another reading light this seat does have three windows to itself which is kind of ridiculous considering air france has four they are however not motorized so it is three times the effort to close or open them like i've mentioned before there are no overhead bins meaning the ceilings are very high giving an elevated sense of spaciousness there are however no traditional individual air vents there is only this vent over here [Music] although they're not enclosed the suites high walls make them very private on top of that if you're seated in the a column you have no neighbor instead there's only this wall that separates you from the b seats on this flight privacy wasn't really an issue considering there was only one other person in the cabin before long we began pushing back and can i just say having three windows is definitely not as good as having four when it comes to the view if you're actually thinking that i'm complaining about having only three windows then you should really go outside more to take off the erection for tonight was towards the east meaning we had quite a long taxi but you didn't hear me complaining considering the purse or topped up my champagne [Music] [Music] bye all right so we've just taken off i think the plan is that i'm gonna eat and then i'm gonna sleep and then i'm gonna stop sleeping because then we would have gone there uh with that said let me show you the menu this is the first class supper menu and it comes attached this piece of wood i don't quite understand it but i do appreciate it given that this was an 11 o'clock departure there weren't that many menu choices with that said all the dishes on offer did sound really good in terms of drinks cathay's full cellar was on offer i'm not incredibly well versed in the world of any culture but the wines that i did recognize were all superb choices however i didn't opt for a wine or liqueur to start with instead i asked for a cathay delight made fresh on board this kiwi smoothie brings back a lot of childhood memories for me ah the good old days when they give you this an economy even though i didn't get an alcoholic drink it still came with a dish of warm nuts which were warm my choice for the first course were the prawns the shrimp itself was very succulent and fresh though i wasn't a huge fan of the accompanying lentils the presentation of everything was superb having been set piece by piece individually and not on the tray as is the norman business class i also received a basket of various bakery items but i endeavored not to be enticed by such fruitless wastes of gastronomic space and calories my next course was the lemongrass ginger carrot soup the cabin crew said this dish goes really well with some freshly ground pepper and so it was true the soup was absolutely delicious and on the subject of the flight attendants they were incredibly attentive and brought out the next dish as soon as i was finished the main course was the grilled angus triple a tenderloin and it tasted as good as it looks and for those of you not paying attention let me tell you that it looks fantastic it was a little more medium than i would have liked but that's more of an observation than it is a complaint they didn't mess around with the knives either they straight up gave me a steak knife not sure if that's tsa compliant i then chose to skip the cheese course because despite not touching my bread at all i was running out of room in my stomach and i was glad i did because this lava cake and ice cream combo both looked and tasted amazing the lava cake was actually hot on the inside it smelled like it was freshly baked which i'm sure it was it was perfectly balanced with the vanilla ice cream which wasn't too creamy nor too sweet [Music] while i was eating i connected to the onboard wi-fi the prices were an absolute steal mostly because first-class passengers received wi-fi access for free and the speeds are really good too i was able to stream my favorite show to watch on airplanes air crash investigation sometimes i get terrified looks from other passengers when i watch this show on an airplane i'm not sure why having finished my dessert and refusing any more food the purser convinced me to have a glass of port which was sneakily accompanied with a box of pralines and another hot towel [Music] let's have a quick look at cx studio cathay pacific's premier on-board entertainment system first-class passengers receive these noise-canceling bose headphones which i believe are qc25s they're probably the best you're going to get on an airplane but i still prefer my own qc35s which are marginally better [Music] the main ifc screen is large as you would expect and was touch sensitive the main menu is a little hectic but everything was located sensibly where it should be the in-flight map was highly interactive allowing you to move around and explore the globe freely there were also outboard cameras although there was not much to see given the darkness outside the media library hosted a sizable selection of both western and asian films with new releases and permanent collections under tv shows there were a ton of korean dramas enough to fill a bathtub to the brim with tears oh and this abomination of a tv program there was also a news section with newspaper articles which is something you don't see that often i think is kind of cool the kids section was what you would expect although i was curious to know what they think are children appropriate music choices [Music] i wish i hadn't asked for the moms and dads out there there was an extensive duty free catalog and also respectable collection of games also present are your standard array of passenger functions such as enabling do not disturb mode and notifying the crew as to if and when you would like to be woken up in the end i settled on watching ad astra a well reviewed movie despite having half the plot told through expositional voice over ironic isn't it that i'm berating a voice over in the form of a voiceover anywho at this point i was ready for bed but before i go change into my pjs let's have a quick look at the amenity kit the pouch this new bamford kit comes in is a lot nicer than the old one inside the contents are still pretty much the same albeit the aesop products have been replaced with these banfred ones and there is a distinct absence of a comb for the men's version however you do get an additional pillow mist which is nice i guess welcome to the bathroom there's nothing particularly exciting here it's not all that big but it does have wood accents embellishing the walls to remind you that you still are in fact in first class toilet seat comes with a seat cover pre-equipped by the crew and everything including the mirror is cleaned every time someone uses the bathroom bizarrely there is a baby change station i applaud anyone who flies first class and changes their own baby's diaper there was also a trio of skin care products anyways here's my bag of stuff to change into let's take a look inside you get a pajama shirt and pants another eye mask and a pair of slippers you know that thing that travel youtubers do where they snap their fingers and magically change into their pajamas well let's do that alright here we go um uh i guess i don't have the magic i'm gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way so on these pye pajamas there's a little mandarin collar which is a nice touch but honestly the shanghai 10 pjs from a couple years ago were the best i still wear those on occasion since there were only two passengers in the entire first class cabin the crew made the seat behind mine into a bed while i was changing in the bathroom and when i say bed i do mean it these seats may not be that new but they are aging well there's ample room near your torso so that your arms have room to flail around as you sleep and it's more than long enough for even the longest of humans to lie straight the new sheets and bedding felt incredibly opulent and as advertised they did do a good job of dissipating body heat so you don't feel too hot when sleeping if you ask me what the difference between business class and first class is on cathay pacific it would be this bed in business class you're paying extra to be able to lie flat in first class you're paying even more for a bed that is closer to that of a hotels than an [Music] airlines [Music] good morning guys it's currently 20 in the morning eastern time which means we have about 70 minutes or so until we get to jfk despite the duration that was perhaps the best sleep i've ever had on an airplane i don't really know how it could have been any better i guess there could have been a king-sized bed okay you know what let's put a pin in this conversation anyways i think i'm gonna change out of these pajamas and find some caffeine and do some waking up okay so i found another bathroom this one being quite a little bit larger than the last one this one also had hand towels and the change table doubles as a seat upholstered in leather no less overall a very nice place to be when i returned to my seat i found a double cappuccino waiting for me along with another cathay delight at this point we had begun our descent into new york so i settled down to finish my drink and watch the yet unawoken world go by [Music] as we begin our approach into kennedy airport i'll tell you what i think about this cabin product cathay pacific has a great business class and in today's world where many airlines choose to forgo first class altogether there needs to be a tangible distinction between business and first one thing airlines do is provide better service in first class and that is definitely the case here now the experience may be skewed given i was only one of two passengers in the first class cabin but i can say that i was quite heavily pampered throughout the flight the cabin crew were professional and incredibly accommodating when they noticed that i was filming they went out of their way to make sure that everything looked good and even asked if i wanted the cabin lights on for a better shot another thing would be the seat cafe's business class herringbone seats are no slouch when it comes to comfort both as a lounger and as a bed but these super wide first class seats are on another level they were simply phenomenal absolutely phenomenal they're not ettahad's apartments nor emirates suite class or even closest singapore's take which is closer to a hotel room than an airplane seat but they are still better than any business seat out there and most competing first class products the food was also really good not the best airline food i've ever had that distinction stays with turkish airlines but nonetheless the presentation portions and flavors were all there the purser did tell me that cathay flights departing out of jfk are now being catered by dough and co who are the same people who do the food on turkish so it's supposed to be noticeably better than the fair on this flight one final difference between business and first would be the price now business class tickets are definitely not cheap but first class tickets are on a whole new level sometimes a one-way fare in first class on cathay pacific can cost about the same as a new toyota prius while there's no doubt it offers better value than a toyota prius that's still a ridiculous amount of money to spend on airfare especially with the inflation of quality of business class as a whole and a deflation in price of private aviation it leaves the market for first class dwindling i use british airways avios for this flight as i'm sure many of you would too i can ramble on for hours on the economics of first class but this video is already long enough anyways this flight cx8 is sadly being discontinued in the march of 2020 and so too does one of the only north american transcon flights operated by an asian airline cathay will still fly to new york and vancouver directly from its home in hong kong but it will still be sad knowing these two cities will be losing this link on one of the world's best airlines nice please be careful when opening the over compartment since items inside may fall out challenging going with you and leaving the aircraft first electron devices the cellular functions made now and so here we are at the end of my journey and the end of this film thank you guys for watching i hope you enjoyed it or at the very least not had 30 minutes of your life wasted by my antics and until the next time safe travels [Music] you

Channel: Vicarious Voyager

Views: 384,975

Rating: 4.8571429 out of 5

Keywords: Cathay Pacific First Class, Cathay Pacific, First Class, Vancouver, New York, YVR, JFK, John F. Kennedy, Oneworld, Cathay Pacific Vancouver Lounge, Cathay Pacific Lounge, Vancouver Lounge, Cathay Pacific YVR Lounge, Boeing 777, Boeing, 777-300, 777-300ER, Cathay Pacific 777 First Class, Flight Review, Trip Report, Frequent Flyer, Flying

Id: RnirKgJA0rM

Length: 29min 23sec (1763 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 19 2019