Round The World and other travel

Flight Log: CX841

New York Kennedy (JFK) - Hong Kong (HKG)


ABOVE: It's Thanksgiving Day 2015, and we're starting as we mean to continue in Cathay Pacific's wonderful First Class.

As explained in the background to this trip, flight CX841 didn't provide the original inspiration for visiting Cambodia and Laos; that idea had been on the table for quite some time. It was, however, directly responsible for turning what would otherwise have been a relatively straightforward visit to Southeast Asia into a round-the-world itinerary. As such, from the moment that this flight arrived on the scene during the trip's planning phase, it was assumed that CX841 would prove to be one of the enduring memories of the trip - high expectations indeed!

After spending some time in the British Airways First lounge at JFK's Terminal 7, we made our way to the gate to find that the boarding process was already well underway. Entering the Boeing 777-300ER through door 2L, we were given a warm welcome and shown to our seats, turning sharp left to access the first-class cabin via the two-row business-class 'mini-cabin' containing rows 11 and 12 only. We would be the only two passengers to do so in precisely this manner. Due to the presence of a waist-high wall running the full length of our six-seat cabin and separating 1A and 2A from the other four seats, the remaining two first-class passengers would arrive via their own, starboard-side aisle. There being no sign of them at the moment, I was able to photograph the cabin layout (below) without intruding on anyone's privacy.

		FAR LEFT: Seats 1A and 2A, together with 'the wall' LEFT: Looking over the wall in Row 2
		RIGHT: My own seat (2A), with a glimpse of the Business Class mini-cabin behind

With that first order of business out of the way, I could now concentrate in settling into my home for the next 15-16 hours. My jacket was hung in my own personal closet and I was served an amuse bouche of salmon and crème fraîche, accompanied by a glass of Krug champagne (which would later be topped up). Ah, what a splendid way to begin Thanksgiving Day! As I enjoyed this truly first-class welcome, pyjamas, an Aesop-branded amenity kit and a set of Bose headphones were all delivered, followed by a well presented hot towel on a black tray.

Doors were closed at 0850 and the expected flying time was given with spurious precision as 15hrs 11mins. The safety video was shown at the gate and we pushed back six minutes ahead of schedule. As always at JFK, there was a wait for the runway, and the senior cabin crew member took the opportunity to do a round of the cabin and wish each of us a Happy Thanksgiving. Our Boeing 777 finally took to the air at 0913 and a flight deck announcement shortly thereafter confirmed that today we would be taking the transpolar route, initially heading up through New England and passing to the west of Boston. This was to be a first for both Bruce and me. A few years previously, I had been on a Frankfurt-Seattle flight in December, where it got fairly dark in the middle of the day and then daylight returned prior to arrival. That had been caused by following an unusually northerly course that saw us briefly flying inside the Arctic Circle. Today, however, would bring my first crossing of the polar region, to emerge on the other side of the world.

But back to the initial stages of the flight: menu booklets were distributed at this point and the breakfast service got underway shortly thereafter.

BREAKFAST		SNACKS
*Starters*		Shui gow in noodle soup
Orange or apple juice
Mixed berry smoothie		Grilled prime beef burger, bacon, cheddar cheese and
Fresh seasonal fruit		barbecue sauce on a kaiser roll, with tomato ketchup
Natural or fruit yoghurt
Assorted cereals		Prosciutto, Grana, Brie, mango chutney on Bergsteiger
		bread
Main courses
Freshly scrambled free-range eggs, fried or boiled pork		Potato-and-peas samosa
sausage, slab bacon, spinach, mushroom and potatoes
		Haagen-Dazs ice cream
Dim sum: glutinous rice with pork, chive dumpling, siu
mai, shrimp dumpling

Sliced beef congee and steamed shrimp rice roll

*Bread basket*
Assorted breakfast bread and fresh toast, preserves,
honey and butter

Freshly brewed coffee

Also available are espresso, cappuccino, caffe latte and a
selection of teas

I started with some fresh fruit and an apple juice, then nibbled some toast and drank a cappuccino while my western-option main course was prepared (see photos in column to right). After a satisfying breakfast, I began what I expected to be a long day at the movies by settling down to watch Jurassic World, a new release from 2015 that continued (following a gap of 14 years) the well-known series of films based on Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park novel.

LEFT: Heading into the Arctic Circle and polar twilight. Polar night would follow as we got closer to the North Pole.

When the dino-horror had run its course, I noticed that as we continued to head towards the top of the world at this time of year, well after the autumn equinox, we were already encountering the zone of polar twilight. I knew that it wouldn't be long before we flew into the area of months-long darkness that marks the polar winter. It seemed very strange at this point to ponder the obvious fact that the flight was taking me to a place where air conditioning and lightweight clothing would be very much the order of the day.

I adjusted my watch for the 13-hour difference with Hong Kong time, and prompted by one of the cabin crew, arranged to have lunch at 0400 (HK). Next up was another recent movie that extended a tried and tested theme: Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation. As well as all the inevitable action, I enjoyed seeing two of my favourite cities (Vienna and London), as well as Casablanca (visited in 2014). Sipping a couple of glasses of the Puligny-Montrachet also helped to pass the time.

Two movies down and after a few episodes of Modern Family to follow, suddenly my agreed lunchtime had arrived.

LUNCH		WINES
*Caviar and Champagne*		*Champagne*
A perfect match, served with traditional garnishes of		Krug Grande Cuvée
blinis, chive crème fraîche and chopped egg
		*White wines*
*International favourites*		Domäne Gobelsburg Kamptal Grüner Veltliner 2013
Tomato basil soup		(Austria)
		Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes 2010
Jumbo prawns, pink grapefruit, papaya, pomegranate,		(Burgundy, France)
seasonal leaf salad and raspberry vinaigrette
		*Red wines*
US prime beef fillet, sautéed wild mushrooms, beetroot,		Shingleback McClaren Vale Shiraz 2009
shallots, wasabi butter and barolo jus		(South Australia)
or		Hahn Winery Central Coast Meritage 2011
Grilled Chilean sea bass, zucchini, cauliflower mash and		(California, USA)
octopus red pepper sabayon
or		*Port*
Zucchini-wrapped pappardelle, grilled artichokes, cherry		Ramos Pinta Quinto da Ervamoira 10-year-old tawny port
tomato and Parmesan sauce
		PROMOTIONAL WINES (Pessac-Léognan)
*Chinese favourites*		*White wines*
Black bean, red date and silky chicken soup		Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2011
		Château Bouscaut 2012
Cold plate: sweet and pickled lotus root, chayote
		*Red wines*
Steamed chicken, mushroom, kailan, carrot and steamed		Château Haut-Bergey 2005
jasmine rice		Château Olivier Red 2009
		Domaine de Chevalier 2012
*Cheese and dessert*
Chaumes, Gruyere, Cambozola, Bouchon de Chevre

Fresh seasonal berries and rose syrup

Warm baked apple and raspberry filo pastry, vanilla
sauce, raspberry coulis and dolce de leche ice cream

Red bean soup and lotus seeds

Freshly brewed coffee

Also available are espresso, cappuccino, caffe latte and a
selection of teas

Pralines

After an introductory glass of the Grüner Veltliner and some mixed nuts, I naturally opted in for the Caviar and Champagne starter course. (If ever there was a classic distinguishing feature of first-class service, this is it!) It seemed only right on board Cathay Pacific to go for the Chinese soup and main course, so that's exactly what I decided to do next. I finished off with the cheese course and a glass of the lovely wood-aged port (see photos in column to right).

Feeling completely satisfied and with a pleasantly full stomach, I asked the cabin crew to make up my bed, changed into the supplied pyjamas, settled down and easily fell asleep.

* * * * *



ABOVE: Pre-arrival freshen-up and snack

I got up at 1045 Hong Kong time, around 2hrs and 45mins before our expected arrival. After an initial period of sound sleep, I had been merely dozing for the last hour or so. I decided to have a light meal of tomato soup and an ice cream to tide me over during the remaining flying time, and then I prevented myself from drifting back to sleep by watching a few assorted TV comedy shows.

Our flight path took us over Macau and gave me a clear view of the new Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, still under construction. After that, we flew past the airport and executed a U-turn in order to make our final approach from the opposite direction, touching down at 1329 local time. After a short taxi, we reached our stand half an hour behind schedule. (Did it matter? Not a bit!)

This long journey in a twin-engine aircraft - my first transpolar flight - was over, and the promised aviation-related highlight of the trip had fully lived up to my high expectations.