Review - Cathay Pacific Airways First Class B777-300ER New York Kennedy to Hong Kong

CX831 JFK-HKG

February, 2026

Check-in:

I recently went to China for Chinese New Year and flew with Cathay Pacific. When I lived in Asia, I flew with Cathay all the time, so it has a very special place in my heart. Just the other day, I was in Cathay’s lounge at Heathrow and texted my mom a picture of the dan dan noodles, saying how I’ve been eating these noodles as a teenager and now I’m almost 30 years old.

I was never crazy about Cathay’s onboard experience. However, the best thing about Cathay has always been its lounges in Hong Kong. I last reviewed Cathay in December of 2019, days before the pandemic. You can see that review here. Cathay has been through a lot over the past few years - the airline shrank during the pandemic under Hong Kong’s strict measures. But the airline is back in the upswing of things. I managed to find award availability via Cathay’s own AsiaMiles program. Gone with the old Cathay is the opportunity to redeem AAdvantage miles for travel in Cathay’s premium cabins. Good days sure go by fast.

I booked JFK-HKG in first class and HKG to Chengdu in business. The total cost was 155,900 miles plus HK$1,451 in taxes and fees. Note that if you add a connecting flight in business class, it actually lowers the mileage requirement slightly. Cathay is planning a new first class product called the Halo Suite on its B777X orders. That’s if B777X ever enters commercial service…

Per usual, I flew in from Miami. It irks me deeply that AA refuses to through-check any bags not on the same itinerary, even on partner airlines. Like it’s a company policy that explicitly prohibits check-in agents from doing this. AA’s rationale is they can’t accurately collect baggage fees across airlines, but we all know it’s BS. Guess what happens when you actively choose to be customer-unfriendly? You fail. In terms them Texans can understand, it’s called fuck around and find out. Fortunately, AA’s rude awakening is well underway. The company has had several disappointing quarters. Meanwhile, its rivals United and Delta are more profitable than ever. Both AA’s flight attendant and pilot unions have recently demanded change in management, citing the management’s ineffectiveness and lack of vision. And I couldn’t agree with them more. Although some of AA’s ground staff are truly pieces of work, I’ve never had a bad experience with the FAs. That’s kind of shocking for the world’s largest airline.

Au contraire, Cathay used to be known for having some FAs with attitude towards Mainlanders. I think they’ve been humbled since then, for one reason or another. Exhibit B of fucking around and finding out, some might say?

Since we already trashed everyone else, why stop now? Y’all, when they say we have Third World infrastructure, where’s the lie? I mean look at what a cute mom-and-pop airport JFK is!

John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

I digress, lol. Check-in was efficient at JFK. Cathay currently has 3 daily flights out of JFK, and the midday flight is the only one with first class. That said, Cathay is very good about setting up first class counters and boarding lanes even for flights without first class, since oneworld emerald members can use those.

Lounge:

First class passengers on Cathay and emerald members can use the Soho Lounge, which I’ve reviewed before here. It’s an okay lounge, but it does have a very cool vantage on the planes below.

Boarding:

Unbefitting of a flight bound for Hong Kong, boarding was extremely chaotic. It was primarily caused by the amount of wheelchairs that inundated the gate and the jet bridge. Did the East Asians learn a new trick from the South Asians? The ground staff was partially to blame as well - they lined up the wheelchairs in all lanes, rather than in one single lane.

Once onboard, I was directed to turn left for first class, which took me past the mini business class cabin.

Cathay Pacific B777-300ER Business Class Cabin

The first class cabin should feel familiar to many, as Cathay has had this product for well over a decade. I’ve flown in these seats many times before. They’re not the fanciest, but they sure are spacious and held up well.

Cathay Pacific B777-300ER First Class Cabin

Cathay Pacific B777-300ER First Class Seat

With only six seats, this is an intimate cabin. A cuckoo woman was seated behind me. I’m not saying they are all this way, but to help set the scene, I think the best way to describe her is a middle-aged Jewish woman who lives on the Upper West Side. You know, curly hair, dark-framed glasses and all that. It’s not that she was necessarily rude. Within two minutes of her arrival, I (and the entire cabin) was (regrettably) informed that she had a bad back, and that her arthroplasty was four weeks ago. After she was served her welcome drink, she spilt on herself and loudly yelled “shit” that drew the attention of a pilot. Everyone else in first class was Asian, who were taught to read the room very early in life, so we all exchanged a look and went back to minding our own businesses.

Soon after settling in, the purser Audrey and two first class flight attendants, Gilbert and Ethan, all came separately to introduce themselves. I could immediately tell they were seasoned professionals, and that’s not because they wore reading glasses when using their iPads, lol. Every passenger received a welcome ritual consisting of sparkling jasmine tea from Jing, a handwritten note from the crew and a scented hot towel.

Cathay Pacific First Class Pre-departure Drink JFK-HKG

Did you really think I was not going to point out that the towel was served on a towel dish? Whenever an airline passes a hot towel directly onto my hands, I wonder if it’s my lucky day to sue someone for negligence😉.

I was also offered a pre-departure drink of choice. I just asked for some sparkling water, which was served along a small plate of warmed nuts.

PYE, a Hong-Kong-based shirting company, has been the supplier of Cathay’s pajamas for as long as I can remember.

Cathay Pacific First Class Pajamas JFK-HKG

I checked out one of the two first class lavatories to change into the pajamas. The one near the cockpit is larger. Both were stocked with Bamford amenities and stayed spotless until the end of the flight. I love there’s always facial cleanser on Cathay planes and in Cathay lounges.

Cathay Pacific B777-300ER First Class Lavatory

The design of the pajamas has only seen slight tweaks over the years.

A pair of cotton slippers was also provided.

Cathay Pacific First Class Slippers JFK-HKG

While the rest of the plane boarded, I perused the menu and wine list of our flight, which read as follows:

Cathay does allow you to pre-order meals. The selection is exactly the same as the inflight menu, though.

Lastly, a decent Bamford amenity kit with skincare products and a pillow menu.

Cathay Pacific First Class Amenity Kit JFK-HKG

Our pushback was delayed by 30 minutes, and I turned on the admittedly low-resolution belly camera on the 777. 5/6 seats were occupied in first class.

Cathay Pacific B777-300ER Exterior Camera

Inflight:

For a fully loaded B777-300ER beginning her 16-hour journey to Hong Kong, our takeoff roll was surprisingly brief. I feel like we were airborne halfway down the runway. It has been an unusually cold winter on the East Coast this year. Even Miami was at one point near freezing.

Cathay doesn’t come to my mind first when I think of fast wifi, but I was shocked on this flight. I’m not one of those nerds who run speed tests on plane wifi. My test is whether the configurator on the Rolex website would load, and Cathay passed with flying colors.

The other good news was first class (and I believe business) passengers get free wifi for the entire flight. You just need to input your seat number. The bad news was we were taking the polar route, so there was no coverage inside the Arctic Circle.

Lunch service commenced with apéritif and amuse-bouche. I was under the impression that Cathay served vintage Krug? However, the menu suggested nv, so I went with Rare - my preference between the two.

Cathay Pacific First Class Lunch Apéritif JFK-HKG

To follow, my table was set for caviar service. I was delighted to see Cathay chose Kaluga Queen, arguably the most renowned Chinese caviar brand. I just tried their beluga at Glattfelder in St. Moritz a couple months ago, and it was outstanding.

Cathay Pacific First Class Lunch Caviar Service JFK-HKG

I’m a low-maintenance girlie🥺, so any airline with Deadliest Catch in its entertainment system automatically gets the top mark. But if you’re fussier, Cathay’s CX Studio is commonly regarded as one of the best IFE systems.

I want to manage everyone’s expectation by pointing out that the catering was out of JFK. With that in mind, I think everything was, you know, not offensive. For starter, I selected the roasted carrot hummus with toasted pearl barley, pistachio, feta cheese and rosemary spiked spring lamb cutlets. They were about as dry as they appeared.

Cathay Pacific First Class Lunch Appetizer JFK-HKG

I asked the flight attendant if I could have the Chinese soup instead of the western one, and he gladly obliged. I didn’t realize he would serve me the appetizer from the Chinese menu also, which was poached prawns with chili sauce. These were quite fresh and plump, but the sauce was a bit imbalanced.

This was followed by the double boiled pork shin soup with snow fungus and coconut. The taste was okay, but I commend the crew for the way it was served. I was first brought the empty bowl, which was pre-heated by the way, then the soup was poured table-side. While we’re on the subject, every bottle of wine was presented at my seat, tasted and then poured. Having gone to boarding school in Asia, I thought Europeans were so proper, until I flew Lufthansa and British Airways for the first time…🤪

Cathay Pacific First Class Lunch Soup JFK-HKG

For my main course, I ordered the grilled Maine lobster with brown butter, mixed vegetables and wasabi mousseline. I like how the lobster was prepared simply, as opposed to being drenched in some nasty gloopy sauce like the thermidor on Singapore Airlines. The wasabi mousseline was the best part of the dish, though - creamy yet light.

Cathay Pacific First Class Lunch Main Course JFK-HKG

To conclude the meal, I opted for the cheese plate in lieu of dessert. This was paired with a representative Brunello di Montalcino from Frescobaldi.

Cathay Pacific First Class Lunch Cheese Plate JFK-HKG

After lunch, Ethan offered to turn down my seat for better comfort. I would say aside from lacking privacy, this seat is still rather competitive in 2026.

I napped for about an hour and decided to just get up and adjust to GMT+8. Ethan stopped by and asked if he could get me anything. I asked for a Cathay Delight, made with kiwi and coconut milk. It’s my favorite airline drink of all time.

Cathay Pacific First Class Beverage JFK-HKG

A movie later I got some Hong Kong milk tea. I think the Taiwanese won this category, haha.

Around 7 hours into the flight, I figured I’d just have my breakfast now. It’s of course dine on demand in first class. I started with a tart cold-pressed juice.

Cathay Pacific First Class Breakfast Beverage JFK-HKG

Followed by a bread basket.

Cathay Pacific First Class Breakfast Bread Basket JFK-HKG

I also had a raspberry, banana and coconut smoothie. Ethan definitely made sure that I never had an empty glass on this flight.

To eat, I mixed things up with the braised pork and egg noodles in soup from the snack menu, as well as the seafood congee with pumpkin and wolfberries from the breakfast menu.

Cathay Pacific First Class Breakfast Main Course JFK-HKG

Cathay always had great noodles onboard, and this was no exception. Guys, look at how beautiful this piece of pork is??!!

The congee was loaded with scallops and grouper slices. There was a small dim sum steamer with har gow, shumai and veggie dumpling.

Similar to Lufthansa first class, Cathay also has a hot plate in the galley, so egg dishes can be made to order. I asked for a fried egg, which was nicely executed. Having freshly made eggs in the sky is just one of those things.

A few more movies, including one from Wong Kar-wai later, we were finally hugging the coast of Guangdong Province. Prior to descent, Ethan politely enquired if I could complete the survey for today’s flight, which I was happy to provide.

Cathay Pacific First Class Survey JFK-HKG

The last bit of sunset accompanied us on our descent into Hong Kong International Airport. I thought about this movie I watched years ago as the ambient light was turned on. It was a trash movie, but the title Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong felt fitting.

On Arrival:

We touched down at HKG’s new runway and taxied to gate 9. I swear if this jet bridge was any longer it would’ve gotten us across the bay to Macau.

Cathay first class has always and still got it. Much like the city it calls home, Cathay enjoys glitzy but loves practical. You won’t come away thinking Cathay is the most lavish first class the same way you do about Emirates. However, it’s well rounded, approachable and dependable. Cathay lounges are fantastic, the hard products are competitive and are about to get more competitive, and the soft products fit solidly in the top quartile.

We disembarked at 7:13, and at 7:25 I retrieved my luggage. At 8, I arrived at my hotel in Central. The way people respect and value your time in Asia is just so refreshing.

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