Cathay Pacific Airways - Reviews and experiences

I reported it, they went back and brought the bag to me, which I appreciated (really, that part was smooth). Trouble is, when I checked the contents later my watch — the one I wear for meds and travel timing — was gone. At first I thought maybe I’d misplaced it, then I remembered putting it in before boarding. I’m skeptical (and annoyed), but overall I’m kind of relieved the bag came back. I’d like Cathay to look into this properly and let me know what they find — hoping for a clear answer soon.

I was already at the check‑in counter, bag on the floor and mentally counting minutes, when they told me I couldn’t board — because I didn’t have a transit visa for the stopover. That moment pretty much set the tone. Booking went through via an online agent, so I bounced between Cathay and the agent for hours. Cathay kept insisting refunds were the agent’s job; the agent said the airline had to do it. In the end it looked like I cancelled, and a cancellation fee showed up. My extra baggage charge was deemed non‑refundable, which stung. I did get out — paid for an emergency flight that cost a lot more than the original ticket — but the whole process felt clumsy and not very helpful. Customer service reps sounded sympathetic sometimes, but nothing was easy to sort and phone queues were long. If you plan to transit through Hong Kong, double‑check visa rules and get written confirmation from whoever you book with. It’s not all terrible — the flights themselves were fine once I was on board — but the delivery and the way the refund/cancellation was handled needs to be clearer and more customer‑friendly.

roomy, quiet, and I had a row to myself so I actually slept a bit. That did raise my hopes, but the return on a 777 wiped those away. The 3-4-3 layout is cramped, you’re bumping elbows every few steps and it feels like you’re on a short-haul budget carrier, even though you’re not. I’m 5'3", by the way, and still couldn’t get comfortable. The crew were on a different page — woke people to lower blinds, nudged me upright when I’d dozed, all so the person behind could eat. It felt strict and a little unfriendly, which surprised me given the brand’s rep. I didn’t eat on board, and refilling my water bottle was oddly like asking for a favour, the water tasted… off, not fresh. So my pre-booking doubts weren’t really addressed: one flight shows what’s possible, the other shows inconsistency. Would I fly Cathay again? Maybe, but only if I can pick the A350 sector or if I go indirect. Glad one leg went well, annoyed the other didn’t — mixed bag, really.

my two-year-old had to be on our laps for the whole 13‑hour leg, my wife carried him most of the time and was exhausted and upset by the end, and some of her clothes smelled so bad we threw them out after landing (crew saw it and noted it — I kept receipts). We paid for three seats and effectively had two usable ones for the whole trip. I spent months trying to get proper redress — emails, hotline calls, even stopped at the airport desk on the return — and the airline’s “maximum” offer was 30,000 Asia Miles, which I rejected as inadequate. I’m not looking for drama, just reasonable accountability. The small satisfaction I had was that the crew acknowledged the problem right away; beyond that, the operational response and the compensation fell short. If you travel with a toddler, this was a hard lesson about what can go wrong and how far an airline will go to make it right.

standing at the check-in desk in Singapore, explaining my neurosurgeon's note for the hundredth time and getting that polite shrug. I had booked Premium Economy on purpose, paid extra because my back needs space and an aisle so I can stand and move. I called ahead, I wrote emails, I even asked whether they could block an aisle seat for medical reasons. The answer kept bouncing back: "first come, first served" and "try again at check-in." At check-in they said they couldn't help for the Hong Kong–Dallas leg; in Hong Kong they shrugged and sent me on. Passed around like a clipboard.

a bus or a ferry that would tack on another six-plus hours. No rebooking on the next flight, no offer to cover the difference, nothing that looked like sensible compensation. They basically shrugged and said, if you don’t like it, find your own way.
I’ve flown a lot — pre-COVID I was on planes all the time, usually Air Canada — so I know a reroute when I see one. The thing that stuck with me was not even the delay, it was the customer service response. The rep at the desk was pleasant enough, in that resigned airline kind of way, but absolutely useless when it came to helping us. We paid for an hour flight and got options that would have eaten up the day. So we swallowed it and bought train tickets out of pocket, which felt ridiculous but it got us there.
I called customer service later and asked for at least a partial refund. The answer was flat no. Not responsible, they said. I couldn’t believe it — I paid for a seat I never used, and they wouldn’t budge. There are worse travel days, sure, but the mix of time lost and the non-existent accountability made this one especially frustrating. Won’t be choosing them again, at least not for anything important.