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Browsing Tag: Cathay

Photo + Video Report: Cathay Pacific A350 Premium Economy

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I love writing about long-haul premium economy. Mostly because the judgement comes down to one straightforward question: does the product feel like economy with a bit of extra, or more like business class lite? Seats in the first category do enough to take the pain out of the coach class space crunch. Which, to be fair, is what premium economy was designed to do. But seats in that second category delight in their own right, enough that you might even go out of your way to fly them.

We put Cathay Pacific’s long-haul premium economy to that test over the course of two flights on their Airbus A350 subfleet. Those planes are capable of handling some seriously lengthy routes. In our case, between a flight from New York to Hong Kong and then a connection on to Sydney, we spent over 25 hours onboard.

What did we think after all that time putting the seat and service to the test? Read on to find out. Plus we have plenty of video, including a nose-cam and tail-cam treat at the end.

The “Bandit” Sneaks into YVR – Cathay Pacific Begins A350 Service to Vancouver

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Cathay Pacific's first A350 from HKG to YVR is ready for a tug to pull it to the gate

Cathay Pacific’s first A350 from HKG to YVR is ready for a tug to pull it to the gate

Almost 35 years ago, Cathay Pacific Airways (CX) began its international expansion to North America, flying a Boeing 747-200 from Hong Kong (HKG) to Vancouver, BC (YVR). It was the first airline to fly nonstop between the two key Pacific Rim cities, and on Tuesday morning, Cathay Pacific introduced a new aircraft type on the route.

The airline’s Airbus A350-900XWB, B-LRI, touched down in the pouring rain just after sunrise, almost an hour ahead of its 8:00 AM scheduled arrival time. I was with the media group, set up on the south ramp for the A350’s expected arrival on YVR’s runway 08R. But just a few minutes before landing, the plane’s approach was changed to the north runway, 08L.