Cathay Pacific Airways - Reviews and experiences

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.