Earlier this year I traveled to Phuket for my college roommate’s wedding in Phuket. As luck would have it, I managed to redeem some American Aadvantage miles prior to American’s most recent devaluation to travel in Cathay Pacific Business class for the main long-haul portion of the journey. Here’s how the trip went.

Flight Stats

Seat: 11A
Carrier: CX 845
Route: New York, NY to Hong Kong, PRC
Flight Time: 15 hours, 20 minutes

Departure Time: 1:30 a.m.
Arrival Time: 5:15 a.m.
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER

At the Airport

After working a long day down in DC and catching a flight up to JFK, I was in desperate need for a shower to wash the stresses of the day away. Luckily, the JFK lounge had private showers!

Private shower at JFK Lounge

Entrance to the shower

After getting all cleaned up, I hung out at the lounge for a few hours before my late night flight. The spread at the bar.

In-Flight Experience

After boarding the plane, I made my way to my seat: 11A.

Plenty of legroom and storage!

In-flight entertainment system.

My amenity kit and the menu.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Amenity Kit

One thing that I liked about this flight was that it was the first time flying right over the Arctic!

Cathay Pacific Business Class Dining

Here’s the menu.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Menu

For a 15hr 20min flight, I ate quite a bit!

My dinner.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Dinner

I also had a couple of snacks during the flight.

Singapore noodles

Noodle soup

And towards the end of the flight I had a light breakfast.

Cathay Pacific Lounge

On this particular trip my final destination was Bangkok. As a result, upon arrival at Hong Kong I got a chance to freshen up at Cathay’s Business Class Lounge. Because I arrived so early, I had the lounge to myself for nearly half an hour.

Interesting art piece at the entrance of the Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge

Early morning at the Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge

Breakfast buffet at the Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge

Breakfast bar

My breakfast

Breakfast at Hong Kong Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Bathroom. After a 15 hour flight, it felt great to take a hot shower!

Overall

This trip was the first time I’ve flown Cathay Pacific Business Class, and only my second time flying international business class on a non-US carrier. The on-ground experience at both JFK and HKG were excellent, and I particularly enjoyed the food options available throughout the flight. With a retail cost of about ~$4500 for the one-way ticket, I’m glad I was able to redeem my points for this flight!

This review is a long time in the making. The Suites Class was my first time flying in international first class, and without a doubt it was certainly memorable. Here’s how that experience went:

Flight Stats:

Seat: 3C
Carrier: SQ 11
Route: Los Angeles, CA to Tokyo, JP
Flight Time: 11 hours

Departure Time: 3:45 p.m.
Arrival Time: 7:15 p.m.
Aircraft: Airbus A380-800

At the Airport:

Check-in at Thomas Bradley International Terminal at LAX went smoothly.

SQ11 Check-In at LAX

Despite being a first class passenger and having access to priority lanes at LAX, it still took quite a bit of time to get through security, something that I’d imagine should be taken care of considering how expensive this flight would’ve been had I bought it using cash.

Star Alliance First Class Lounge at LAX

Singapore Airlines doesn’t have a dedicated lounge at LAX. First class passengers instead have access to the Star Alliance First Class lounge. The lounge itself was nothing fancy, and compared to other first class lounges, rather small. I completely forgot to take a picture of it!

Here’s the menu.

And some of the drinks available.

After spending some time in the lounge, I headed over to the gate. View of the plane:

Singapore Airlines Flight 11

In-Flight Experience

After boarding the plane, I made my way to my very own suite!

Singapore Suites Class Suite 3C

Seating configuration on flights operating the suites class is in a 1-2-1 configuration. And here’s my seat!

Singapore Suites Class Seat 3C

Here’s some perspective on just how much space the two middle seats occupy on the plane. It’s huge!

Checking out the inflight entertainment system.

Singapore Suites Class Entertainment System

Waiting before departure.

Each suite comes with a small amenity kit.

Singapore Suites Class Amenity Kit

And of course Bose headphones.

Singapore Suites Bose Headphones

Singapore Suites Class Dining

The menu. Guests can also order a la carte through the duration of the flight.

Singapore Suites Class Menu

I opted to try out the caviar — my first time ever!

Caviar appetizer

How to eat caviar

For my main I had the lobster. To be completely honest, it wasn’t that great. I should’ve gone with the Japanese food.

Dinner!

And for dessert I had the strawberry shortcake.

Singapore Suites Class Bathroom

Singapore Suites Class Bathroom

Bathroom products.

Singapore Suites Class Toiletries

I thought this was pretty cool: pull-down seat that goes on top of the toilet.

Singapore Suites Class Bathroom Seat

Singapore Suites Class Turn-Down Service:

A few hours after dinner I requested my seat to be made up into a bed. Look at how much space there is!

Singapore Suites Class Bed

Linens were also top class. In this case, Givenchy.

Singapore Suites Class Givenchy Linens

For those that wanted to know, guests in the middle two suites don’t have complete privacy on the plane. The blinds located on both sides of the door don’t pull all the way down.

Singapore Suites Class with door closed

Overall

I experienced a number of “firsts” with this flight:

• First time flying international first class
• First time flying on the A380. I was shocked that the takeoff and landing was so quiet!
• First time sleeping on a completely lie-flat “seat” on an airplane.
• First time sipping Dom Perignon and eating caviar.

This flight would typically cost ~$6,000. I would’ve not been able to do this flight if it weren’t for my Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which I had been saving up to redeem specifically for this flight.  It was absolutely worth it!
*Note: As of October 23, 2016, this route will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, which means the Suites Class option won’t be available on this route. If you’re stateside, your only option to fly the Suites Class going forward will be on Singapore’s New York to Frankfurt route. H/T onemileatatime