Flight Review: Cathay Pacific Regional Hanoi (HAN) to Hong Kong (HKG) Business Class A321neo
Cathay Pacific Airbus A321neo at Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport
NOTEWORTHY DETAILS
Cathay Pacific CX740
Hanoi to Hong Kong
Airbus A321neo business class
Excellent seat for short flights despite no flat bed
Best in-flight entertainment screen I've used
Impressive menu options
Noi Bai International’s Song Hong Lounge
Spacious, comfortable lounge with a broad variety of high quality food and drink options, complete with tended bar.
Clean facilities.
Quiet, with charging in every seat.
Bottled water and snacks available to take with you on the flight.
Detailed description of the Song Hong lounge:
The lounge features a fully stocked and tended bar, mixing cocktails and serving wine and beer to keep you well hydrated (or not?), and though I did not indulge in a cocktail being earlier in the day, the espresso martinis coming out looked fantastic!.
In terms of food, the buffet featured a wide variety of offerings including steamed BBQ pork buns and assorted dumplings, a selection of fresh salads and cold cuts, croissants, breads and bread rolls with various spreads. A wide variety of teas and coffees (machine made) were available along with bottled water and soft drinks self -serve, plus snacks, cereals, and dessert pastries were abundant. Boiled eggs, spring rolls, breakfast sausages and other breakfast fare was also made available at the buffet, as well as curries and noodle dishes for lunch or dinner.
The lounge itself was certainly large enough and not overly crowded with charging available from every chair that I could see. Song Hong featured a contemporary look which added to the relaxed and surprisingly quiet vibe this lounge delivered. In terms of facilities, restrooms were adequate and very well maintained, and I did notice a shower room in the men's bathroom, however I did not enquire about this or see the shower room for myself, however, it was certainly there!.
THE FLIGHT
Official Cathay Pacific video introducing the new a321neo business class seat.
As a bit of an introduction, the official Cathay Pacific video for the new business class product shows some of the features available.
After leaving the lounge I made my way to the gate and boarded the A321neo, and I was immediately impressed with the new Cathay Pacific offering:
THE BOTTOM LINE
As you can see from the images, there really isn’t much to complain about for this offering on a two hour flight. I honestly felt this is a perfectly designed product for this type of route, which surprised me as I was skeptical over there being no flat bed. The recline offered is ample, and space around is very generous, you defintely do not feel restricted in any way.
The seats featured ample storage space also, with plenty of well deisgned cabinets and storage areas. Combined with more than enough overhead cabin storage, you won’t have any issues here.
I certainly hope you’ve enjoyed this review, and get the opportunity to enjoy this lovely way of flying for yourself.
