|
We review the Cathay Pacific A350-1000
A jump in sales backed by an award-winning aircraft has given French aircraft manufacturer – Airbus - a shot in the arm against rival US counterpart, Boeing. The A350-1000, the bigger version of the A350-900, has been snapped up by top airlines such as Cathay Pacific and, as features editor - John Newton - found out, there’ll surely be many more orders on the way. The A350-1000 lives up to its glowing reputation. On a Cathay flight of 12-hours 24 minutes from Hong Kong to Barcelona, it proved to be a quiet, smooth operator and the 312 passengers could surely have had no complaints. There’s something intoxicating about a new aircraft and this A350-1000 had that lingering smell of one just off the assembly line, even though it was four months old. It was French champagne (Deutz Brut Classic NV, France) all the way round in business before CX121 took off and gradually climbed to more than 41,000 feet at over 870kph. Time to settle back in anticipation of a late dinner, as we’d taken off just after midnight. And it didn’t take long |
|
Cathay introduced ‘The Menu’ last year an eight-page magazine featuring, among other things, food articles by award-winning chefs and food and drinks menus for the full flight.
Supper was in front of me under an hour after take-off, having plumped for steamed cod fish with black garlic sauce. Gently steamed until just cooked through, paired with a dense, umami-laden black garlic sauce, sautéed broccoli, carrots and steamed jasmine rice. Cathay’s chefs say the dish is “comfort on a plate and a tribute to the quintessential flavours of our Hong Kong home”.
It was delicious – even more so when washed down a glass or two of Cave d’Aze Macon Villages ‘Clocher’, 2017, Burgundy, France.
To finish, there was a choice of a cheese plate (Reblochon, Tomme, crackers, apple and rosemary paste and grapes, sherry trifle, seasonal fresh fruit and selection of ice cream.
A Chinese, Continental, Western and Express breakfast made up the early morning offerings available an hour before landing in Barcelona. But any business class passenger feeling peckish during the night could request dishes such Thai-style Tom Yam Kung soup with prawns and noodles and broccoli, spinach, peas, almonds, preserved lemon and goat cheese – even a beef burger.
For those more interested in dozing off, Cathay is in the process of introducing a ‘sleep upgrade’ in business class on overnight flights. Full details will be released soon, but Amelie Cazzulino, the airline’s marketing and public relations manager, Australia and New Zealand, says the new sleep service will come on top of new technology and upgrading the fleet.
“We want to build our existing world-class products by continuing to improve current services and products, such as lounges, soft furnishings and inflight entertainment, including live sport on-board”.
Currently, Cathay operates 12 A350-1000s, with eight more on order, and 24 A350 -900s - four on order.
The airline has expanded its A350-1000 Australian routes to include Melbourne and Perth, while an A35-900 has replaced the A330 on Sydney’s CX111 and CX110 services and says it is “constantly reviewing the requirements and needs of every port”.
It says that with the arrival of more A350-1000 aircraft over the coming years, a majority of flights to and from Australia will be served by A350 aircraft.
The -1000 for the Melbourne and Perth routes carries a total of 334 passengers – 54 more than the airline’s A350-900 aircraft serving Sydney – 46 flat-bed business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration; 32 seats in premium economy (2-4-2); and 256 in economy (3-3-3)
And while it shares 95 per cent of its groundbreaking systems with the A350-900, the A350-1000 is seven metres longer than its smaller brother.
Cathay – the first airline to launch the A350-1000 in Australia - claims the aircraft brings together the very latest aerodynamics, state-of-the-art design and advanced technologies. The result, it says, is an environmentally friendly long-range aircraft that boasts the world’s most efficient large aero-engine and an extensive use of composite materials in its airframe.
To check all the great fares and offers: https://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_AU.html
Supper was in front of me under an hour after take-off, having plumped for steamed cod fish with black garlic sauce. Gently steamed until just cooked through, paired with a dense, umami-laden black garlic sauce, sautéed broccoli, carrots and steamed jasmine rice. Cathay’s chefs say the dish is “comfort on a plate and a tribute to the quintessential flavours of our Hong Kong home”.
It was delicious – even more so when washed down a glass or two of Cave d’Aze Macon Villages ‘Clocher’, 2017, Burgundy, France.
To finish, there was a choice of a cheese plate (Reblochon, Tomme, crackers, apple and rosemary paste and grapes, sherry trifle, seasonal fresh fruit and selection of ice cream.
A Chinese, Continental, Western and Express breakfast made up the early morning offerings available an hour before landing in Barcelona. But any business class passenger feeling peckish during the night could request dishes such Thai-style Tom Yam Kung soup with prawns and noodles and broccoli, spinach, peas, almonds, preserved lemon and goat cheese – even a beef burger.
For those more interested in dozing off, Cathay is in the process of introducing a ‘sleep upgrade’ in business class on overnight flights. Full details will be released soon, but Amelie Cazzulino, the airline’s marketing and public relations manager, Australia and New Zealand, says the new sleep service will come on top of new technology and upgrading the fleet.
“We want to build our existing world-class products by continuing to improve current services and products, such as lounges, soft furnishings and inflight entertainment, including live sport on-board”.
Currently, Cathay operates 12 A350-1000s, with eight more on order, and 24 A350 -900s - four on order.
The airline has expanded its A350-1000 Australian routes to include Melbourne and Perth, while an A35-900 has replaced the A330 on Sydney’s CX111 and CX110 services and says it is “constantly reviewing the requirements and needs of every port”.
It says that with the arrival of more A350-1000 aircraft over the coming years, a majority of flights to and from Australia will be served by A350 aircraft.
The -1000 for the Melbourne and Perth routes carries a total of 334 passengers – 54 more than the airline’s A350-900 aircraft serving Sydney – 46 flat-bed business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration; 32 seats in premium economy (2-4-2); and 256 in economy (3-3-3)
And while it shares 95 per cent of its groundbreaking systems with the A350-900, the A350-1000 is seven metres longer than its smaller brother.
Cathay – the first airline to launch the A350-1000 in Australia - claims the aircraft brings together the very latest aerodynamics, state-of-the-art design and advanced technologies. The result, it says, is an environmentally friendly long-range aircraft that boasts the world’s most efficient large aero-engine and an extensive use of composite materials in its airframe.
To check all the great fares and offers: https://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_AU.html