Economy class is rarely exciting particularly on short haul services. While I was looking forward to the next segment of my journey from Hong Kong to Paris in Business, Cathay Pacific’s Economy experience surprised me and here’s five reasons why.

How I paid for this flight

I paid 75,000 Miles for this journey from Taipei to Paris via Hong Kong using American Airlines AAdvantage. This fare should have been Business all the way, but I opted for Economy on the Taipei to Hong Kong segment due to lack of availability in any higher cabin. While Business would’ve been preferable and I would have chosen it otherwise, it’s completely unnecessary on a journey of this length.

This one-way Economy leg would have cost:

• 12,500 Alaska miles + ~$29

• 7500 Avios (BA, Iberia, Qatar) + ~ £40

• 7500 Asia Miles (Cathay Pacific) + HKD 380

• Average of £174 for cash fares in low season

Today’s aircraft

This flight was operated using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, registered B-KPQ, which services short haul destinations such as Taipei and Shanghai as well as long haul services to places like Los Angeles and Paris.

The aircraft features four cabins across First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy for a total of 294 passengers.

Comfortable, spacious seats

I was sat in row 40 for this flight, the second available row in Economy. The cabin features a striking green-turquoise colour scheme that is a departure from the swathes of blues on other airlines. The colour scheme is both fetching and smart, while I suspect it will age quite well compared to the older light blue seats Cathay Pacific had.

The seats were well padded providing a decent recline, while the headrest is adjustable in four directions (up, down, left and right adjustment). Masks were required on flights to/from Hong Kong as mandated by the H.K. SAR Government at the time of flying - this doesn’t bother me and all passengers abided by the rules.

Legroom is 32 inches, and I was comfortable for a flight of this length. The more bothersome element was the leg of the seat in front which is awkwardly placed to fit your feet. This would become irritating on a longer flight as your leg would need to wedge into the gap particularly for those with larger shoe sizes.

Extra legroom seats are available but were all reserved at the time of booking (which was approximately thirty days from departure). On the window sides of the plane in row 40, there is lots of room to stretch out one’s legs without disturbance.

Excellent seat design features

Cathay Pacific’s modern Economy seats feature an excellent design that is very versatile - and amongst some of the best in service. Beneath the display, is a flip out section that can hold your own personal electronic device. This is very convenient for when you can’t quite find what you want on the entertainment system - or if you want to watch your own video and the in-flight map at the same time. Behind this is a little nook to store items such as a wallet or mobile phone.

The tray table is also well designed with it folding in half to be a designated cup holder. While this is a small detail, it can make the experience of having a drink in Economy that little bit more comfortable than have a single sized tray table. Positively, this doesn’t impact the sturdiness of the tray table when flipped out to the full size.

A fabric literature pocket with two designated sections completes the seat allowing for sufficient storage of items - with enough space to fit a MacBook Pro in the larger portion. I doubt there will be many passengers who do not feel this is enough space for an Economy seat.

A huge selection for in-flight entertainment

Travelling intra-Asia on legacy carriers is a real treat compared to what we get in Europe. The continued inclusion of in-flight entertainment on intra-Asia flights across airlines such as Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, JAL and many others is exceptional. This aircraft featured newly retrofitted displays with the latest version of Studio CX, Cathay Pacific’s in-flight entertainment system - as well as a ‘proper’ multitouch display!

The screen is an excellent size at 11.6 inches, about the same size as modern iPads, with a good definition - I suspect 1080p HD. Not only that, but Cathay Pacific loaded content on the flight that would take advantage of the added resolution, rather than sticking to poor Standard Definition quality as many airlines do. I stuck with the in-flight map for most of the two-hour journey.

Each seat features a USB-A port beneath the screen as well as universal power outlet between seats (according to Young Travellers Hong Kong blog) - meaning two outlets per row of three, or two between four in the central seats.

Passengers can use the provided Cathay Pacific headphones, which are quite flimsy but usable, or connect their own set to the in-flight entertainment. Unlike their latest A321neo aircraft, you cannot connect over Bluetooth to the system.

Decent food…for a plane…in Economy…

Beyond some stellar food examples on Air France La Premiere or Singapore Airlines Suites Class, plane food is not my favourite cuisine available… For this short hop across to Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific provided an okay dining option to provide some nutrition on the flight.

The airline served up a Hong Kong-inspired Chicken dish served with rice and plentiful vegetables which featured a soy sauce flavoured jus. This is not the panacea of dining options, but it did fill me up until I headed across to the lounges in Hong Kong International Airport. Equally, it could have been a lot worse - or nothing at all - which Cathay Pacific should be commended for. The airline also provides a selection of drinks on the flights including alcoholic beverages.

Economy is better than Premium on this aircraft

While a little subjective, I feel that on this aircraft and route the Premium Economy cabin does not warrant the upgrade or increase in cost - whether that is the extra cash or points.

The clearest aspect here is the older seat style. While the Economy cabin was replaced around 2018-2020, the Premium Economy cabin still features the original seats - as well as the worse in-flight entertainment screens. These will provide a worse experience with poor touch screens and lower definition which one would not expect on a higher cabin.

While passengers do still benefit from extra legroom and more padding, I would not recommend the upgrade on these short intra-Asia flight unless there is only a negligible increase in price. It’s simply not worth it - opt for extra legroom seats instead if you really need more room.

BONUS: Some of the best landing views in the world

Along with other sea-adjacent cities like San Francisco and Singapore, the landing into Hong Kong is absolutely stunning with picturesque natural scenery intertwined with the mountains and busy shipping lanes to the port. I love this view when landing at HKIA.

Conclusion

It still stands that Economy experiences are less jazzy and exciting to review, however I still believe that as far as these go Cathay Pacific provides a leading Economy product within the competitive Asian market. This was my first time on Cathay Pacific, and it may be that service has reduced in recent years, they have an excellent Economy cabin product. On a short haul journey within Asia, I wouldn’t hesitate to fly them once again.