Review - Cathay Pacific Business Class A330-300 Hong Kong to Chengdu Tianfu
CX986 HKG-TFU
February, 2026
Check-in:
Following my first class flight from JFK, I connected onwards to Chengdu the next day. Cathay has these standing check-in kiosks for first class, which I thought were sleek, albeit not necessarily luxurious or private. The nice feature here is that you can just pass off your checked bags to the agents, and you don’t have to lift them up onto a belt. It also means they’re not even trying to weigh how heavy your bag is, lol.
Cathay Pacific Check-in at HKG
Cathay Pacific Check-in at HKG
Check-in, security and immigration were all efficient. I was able to use the e-gates, which saved quite a bit of time.
Lounge:
I’ve reviewed Cathay’s lounges here at Hong Kong pretty extensively. You can check out the reviews here. This time, I visited the Deck First Class Lounge - one I hadn’t checked out before, at least in its current form.
Boarding:
Boarding promptly started at our scheduled time and was orderly.
Cathay Pacific Boarding at HKG
Funny enough, I arrived here yesterday at gate 9, which had possibly the longest jet bridge at HKG. And today’s flight was departing from gate 9 again. The universe sure wanted me to get my steps in before the Chinese New Year feasts.
Cathay Pacific Boarding at HKG
When I say I grew up with these seats, I am not exaggerating. Cathay has had these hard shell recliners for its regional business class since the Dragonair days. The real ones know.
Cathay Pacific A330-300 Business Class Cabin
Cathay Pacific A330-300 Business Class Cabin
Cathay Pacific A330-300 Business Class Cabin
While not the most comfortable seats, the cabin was bright and seemingly in perfect shape. How do they do it? You can’t tell that this cabin is over 10 years old.
Cathay Pacific A330-300 Business Class Seat
Cathay Pacific A330-300 Business Class Seat
Cathay Pacific A330-300 Business Class Seat
Cathay Pacific A330-300 Business Class Seat
On my return flight, the cabin was slightly updated with reupholstered fabrics.
Cathay Pacific A330-300 Business Class Cabin
Cathay Pacific A330-300 Business Class Seat
Amenities on this two-hour flight included a plush Bamford pillow, a blanket, slippers and headphones. I find it odd that the Evian label was taken off from every bottle. What is that about?
The menu and wine list read as follows:
It’s a Cathay tradition to have pursers greet oneworld emerald passengers before takeoff. After that, a business class flight attendant came by to offer pre-departure drinks. I asked for my favorite airline beverage - Cathay Delight. Standard options like champagne, water and juices were available.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Pre-departure Drink HKG-TFU
This was then followed by a hot towel. Unfortunately, business class hot towels were not served on a towel dish😝.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Hot Towel HKG-TFU
We pushed back on time and were airborne shortly after. Business class had one empty seat.
Inflight:
For these old birds, I was glad to see wifi installed. Business class passengers of course get free access, and the speeds were excellent.
Within 20 minutes of lifting off, lunch was served on one tray. For main course, I selected the braised pork ribs with bitter melon and fried bean curd in soy bean sauce. It ended up being quite substantial, given how many pieces of ribs there were. This was accompanied by a surprisingly flavorful fruit plate, a seared scallop appetizer with saffron aioli and some dried out white rice. Overcooked rice is almost an essential aspect of the Cathay experience at this point.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lunch HKG-TFU
You can’t fly Cathay and not have the garlic bread. To wash everything down, I ordered the 2022 Silver Heights Chardonnay Reserve, from one of the better regarded Chinese vineyards in Ningxia province. I’ve heard good things about Silver Heights, and this one did not disappoint.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lunch HKG-TFU
Häagen-Dazs ice cream for dessert has been another Cathay staple for as long as I can remember. I skipped it, but I know it’s favored by many.
On Arrival:
We touched down at Tianfu Airport just a few minutes ahead of schedule and taxied across the airfield. I spotted this beautiful Maldivian A330 along the way. What a rare sight for us based in North America.
Maldivian A330-200 at TFU
Maldivian A330-200 at TFU
I’ve been flying Cathay business class for almost 15 years now, and it is nothing but consistent. It’s not the best business class in Asia, but it’s not too far behind either. Granted these recliners are becoming less desirable by the day, and they severely lack storage for the modern lifestyle. The good news is Cathay is in the process of eliminating these recliners, which will certainly make it much more competitive. In reality, having a lie-flat seat on a two-hour flight within Asia is often the norm rather than the exception. Cathay is a Hong Kong-based airline, but its massive network to mainland China served a critical role in connecting the mainland to the rest of the world. For many international students from China, Cathay is the airline they flew when they went to a foreign country for the first time. As China’s commercial aviation grows with more direct links, Cathay’s role slowly diminishes. I can now fly nonstop from Chengdu to Jakarta or Brussels, both of which I had to fly Cathay via HK a decade ago. Flying with Cathay is nostalgic. It reminds me that even when the world was less connected, I was still resolved to see more of it.