With the yen dropping to all time low in 2014, we decided to make a trip to Japan in November. Planning a F&E trip in Japan is not easy due to language barrier. Fortunately, with the help of google translate and google maps, the missus was able to piece together a nine-day trip in Osaka,Kyoto and Tokyo. The first step will be to land in Osaka airport. Due to limited premium cabin redemption options, I convinced the wife to fly on Cathay instead and experience their new first class cabin as well as their much lauded lounges in Hong Kong International Airport(HKIA).
We first flew a red-eye flight on CX714 from Singapore to HKIA. Flying Cathay business class out from Changi Airport Terminal 1 gave us the chance to experience the newly refurbished Qantas Lounge. It was a really nice lounge with ample seating. There was a separate dining area where we could order food off the menu and also a small buffet spread. The plane was a regional type with non-flat 2-3-2 seating which was not too comfortable(still better than economy though). We arrived at HKIA at 5.30am with my wife feeling pretty exhausted(sorry dear!). Our outgoing flight to Osaka was in Cathay first class. That gave us the opportunity to visit the cabana at the Pier. After a invigorating shower, we had breakfast at the restaurant, tried the noodles at the noodle bar and bread from the bakery before boarding the plane that will take us to Osaka.
The plane features Cathay new herringbone seats with 1-2-1 arrangement in business class and 1-1-1 arrangement in first class. It was refreshing trying out a product other than SQ(not that I am complaining). We had lunch together in the cabin sitting opposite each other. Before long we were approaching Osaka airport(KIX) and I found the landing gear camera extremely fascinating. Overall, it was a good lounge and flight on Cathay airlines although the red eye experience is not favored by the missus.
absolute honesty 