Cathay Pacific

These were my second and third flight with CX, the first being an A330 in 2007. Both legs were on a 744 and far more comfortable than the Airbus.

CX uses "coffin" seats which are angled so business class seat has direct access to the aisle. On one leg, I was in the last row of business class on the main deck (zone b), and the other was in back of the mid cabin exit on the upper deck. It was a bit confining, but better than climbing over someone else. And in fully flat mode, it was somewhat comfortable for sleeping. Managed to get about six hours of sleep, which is more than my norm on airplanes...

What I didn't like was the total inability to see out the windows. Even turned on an angle, it was painful to see. There's also very little storage... Seat gets a B-

Food was very good, extremely attentive service, and a good mix of Asian and Western choices. lie-flat seat was fairly comfortable. Entrees were presented on a cart, similar to Iberia. I'm starting to prefer that -- an option I'd chosen from the description looked a lot less appealing in person. Since I love Asian, the choices were easier. A+ for quality and portion sizes...

The movie choices overwhelming... 100 movies, 350 tv shorts, and 888 tracks of music... Watched State of Play, The Hangover, The Boat That Rocked (not even released yet in US). Did a lot of work, too... Only wish was for a USB port in addition to the 110v plug. Headset stowage was in an akward location -- slightly behind the seatback, and best accessed with the seat slightly reclined. A+ for IFE.

Lounges at HKG are outstanding. In the First Class portions of both The Wing and The Pier, they offer a self-serve buffet with a wide variety of hot choices, sushi, and salads. They also have private rooms, where you can sleep, dine, and watch TV, and a separate showers area. Again, extremely attentive staff. Arrivals lounge was smaller and hard to find, but provisioned equally well.

Lounges at LAX were less impressive. It's essentially a Qantas Club. Variety of food was greater in the business class side than in the first class, but the liquor and wines were much better on the first side. I don't drink a lot of wine, and had to go to the business class side for a draft beer or a fountain soda. Seats were less comfortable and it was definitely more crowded, but I didn't feel like walking back and forth repeatedly for three hours, so I just stayed on the business class side.

A++ for lounges at HKG. B+ for the QF Club at LAX...