MY $23,000 FIRST CLASS TICKET ON CATHAY PACIFIC

I travel quite a bit, but usually it’s either for work or I’m trying to find the cheapest, budget flight I can, but for my recent trip from Hong Kong to San Francisco I wanted to do something impulsive, so I booked First Class with Cathay Pacific. The retail cost of this flight is over $23,000 one-way. Naturally, I couldn’t afford a $23,000 ticket (far more than my student loans) so I redeemed 110,000 miles on my Chase Sapphire Card.

I arrived at the MTR check-in counter in Hong Kong about 5 hours before my departure time. I’d heard about the new First Class lounge at HKG and didn’t want to miss a minute exploring it. After hoping on a quick train to the airport, checking-in, and passing through security, I headed towards Cathay Pacific’s new, The Pier First Lounge.

After arriving at the lounge, I headed to the restaurant for a 3-course dinner. I ordered the Pasta Salad, Walnut Pesto Linguini, and Creme Brulee.

After dinner and a quick nap, I boarded the flight and got settled into seat 1A. My first impression of the seat was just how insanely big it was. Cathay Pacific only has three seats per row, making them one of the widest airline seats in the air today. The first class suite also doesn’t have sliding doors, with Cathay preferring to have an open layout, unlike Emirates.

However, it is more than made up by the fact there are only six seats in the entire cabin, making it one of the smallest and most exclusive first cabins in the sky. Overall, there were only two flight attendants serving three paying passengers and a Cathay Pacific pilot. This was going to fun!

After I sat down, my two first class flight attendants and the pilot introduced themselves. Surprisingly, the entire crew was San Francisco-based, instead of Hong Kong-based and have been doing 2 flights a week for several years. I almost felt like I shouldn’t be there. I was surrounded by people more than double my age.

A young gentleman then asked me what I would like to drink. I asked for a glass of champagne and he quickly brought over a glass of Krug. Soon after, the doors were closed and I was off to San Francisco. After a quick champagne refill, I was ready to order supper.

The server came over and set the table with a table cloth, silverware, and glassware. I ordered the Mushroom cream soup as an appetizer,

and the Grilled Eggplant Stack along with a glass of Pinot Noir.

After dinner and a few movies, I was ready for bed. I put on my complimentary Cathay Pacific pajamas,

while the flight attendant came over and made my bed.

Emirates may have the enclosed suite, but the extra width and open design made my seat feel like a real bed that I could stretch out in. The bed lining was perfect and I had probably the biggest pillow I’ve slept on so far on a plane. I had the most comfortable sleep on a flight I’d ever had.

I woke up as we were somewhere over the pacific, 3 hours from San Francisco. The flight attendant came over and gave me the breakfast menu. I started with a plate of fruit, croissants, and orange juice.

and ordered the Breakfast Egg Scramble.

We then began our descent into San Francisco and landed shortly. I spent the next couple minutes talking with The flight crew, thanked them for their amazing service, and deboarded.

Overall, Cathay Pacific’s first class lives up to the hype. Although their seats are not the most groundbreaking, what stands out is the level of sophistication and elegance at every turn. The service was top notch and you can easily tell they paid attention to the minor details.

*If you’re interested in earning flight miles or credit card points, check out my other article 3 No-Brainer Credit Cards Everyone Must Have in Their Wallet.