Cathay Pacific Airways
283 reviews
They are extremely good at managing the norm. It is the only airline I've flown with who can board everyone with no queues. - that was great! But when something went wrong they were pretty bad. We were delayed by a plane undercarriage fault and after an hour sitting on the runway, were disembarked and put on another plane. We missed our… Read more
connection and were put up in a scungey hotel - had to fight for an appropriate room - and the transport to and from the hotel was not funded. Poor. So 5 star for the norm + 1 star for management of the delay and the hotel = 3 stars
Staff rushed. Lights off entire flight. Only 1 bathroom in premium economy. Passengers climbing over seats to get to bathroom on other side of plane. TV screen attached to armrest had to br secured with sticky tape to keep it upright.
I recently had to fly with Cathay Pacific from Australia to the UK very suddenly after the heartbreaking loss of my younger brother. It was an incredibly emotional trip, and throughout my journey I felt so genuinely cared for. On my return flight on 26th August, it happened to be my birthday. I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate — I simply wanted to… Read more
get home safely after such a difficult week. When one of the lovely crew asked what I’d like to drink, I said, “Pour me a good glass… it’s my birthday, so I might as well.”
A few hours later, the beautiful crew surprised me with the most thoughtful card and a gorgeous arrangement of cake and fruit. I don’t think you’ll ever realise how much that small act of kindness meant to me at such an emotional time. It brought me to tears and reminded me just how wonderful people can be.
Thank you, Cathay Pacific, and especially the incredible crew who looked after me. You truly are angels in the air. ️
I’ll cherish this memory forever, and I hope the next time I fly with you, it will be under much happier circumstances.
Love Ewa
Reviews with attachments
Subject: Formal Complaint Regarding Missed Connecting Flight and Passenger Handling Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to lodge a formal complaint regarding my travel experience on 9 June 2026 from Melbourne, Australia, to Dhaka, Bangladesh, via Hong Kong. My flight from Melbourne to Hong Kong was delayed by approximately 5–10 minutes. The scheduled… Read more
transit time in Hong Kong was only one hour, which proved insufficient for passengers to complete the necessary transfer procedures and reach their connecting flights. Upon arrival in Hong Kong, I received no assistance, guidance, or support from airline or airport staff despite the extremely short connection time.
As a result, I missed my connecting flight from Hong Kong to Dhaka. Instead of travelling directly to my destination, I was rebooked on an alternative route via Bangkok (Hong Kong–Bangkok–Dhaka). This caused an additional delay of approximately 18 hours, during which I was required to remain in transit and spend extended periods at airports.
The delay had serious consequences for me. I was travelling for an urgent matter and needed to arrive in Dhaka on time to attend an important meeting. Due to the missed connection and subsequent delay, I was unable to attend the meeting and suffered significant financial losses estimated at approximately AUD $20,000.
In addition, during my return journey from Bangladesh, passengers were required to have their laptop bags weighed separately at the airport. This created considerable inconvenience and delays for travellers. In my experience, laptop bags are generally treated as personal items and are not routinely weighed separately at most international airports. The process caused unnecessary inconvenience for many passengers.
I respectfully request that this matter be investigated and that I receive a detailed explanation regarding:
Why such a short connection time was scheduled. Why no assistance was provided to affected passengers when the inbound flight was delayed. What measures are in place to support passengers at risk of missing connecting flights. Consideration of compensation for the financial loss, inconvenience, and additional travel time caused by this incident.
I look forward to your prompt response and a fair resolution of this matter.
Yours faithfully,
[shakhawat Hossain] [Booking Reference] [flight number CX667 22:55 hongkong to dhaka] [Contact +[Content Removed]]
IT DOESN'T GET BETTER THAN THIS The Cathay Pacific business class Aria Suite is proof that there’s never been a better time to fly. I chose 23A for its seclusion and the service was as prompt and as attentive as the front row. The typical bright cabin lights are gone, replaced by defused lighting combined with colours and finishes that are warm… Read more
and elegant. There is heaps of storage space, plus, you have the benefit of a 24” 4K entertainment screen.
Close the door to your suite and it’s a personal and private hide-away.
With the seat in the fully flat position and the luxurious bedding, I slept peacefully for 5 hours and when you wake up there’s a real-time map to show which bathrooms are free.
The meals were exceptional, and the in-flight service was outstanding. I must say – Cathay Pacific has nailed it.
I booked a business class ticket with Cathay Pacific expecting comfort and a premium experience, but it was extremely disappointing. I was seated next to an unclosed toilet and near airline staff, making the cabin noisy and uncomfortable. The toilet smell was unpleasant, and the service did not meet the standards expected for the price paid. I… Read more
contacted Cathay Pacific about this, but their response was generic and offered no proper solution. After paying a premium fare, I expected a serious response, not a standard reply.
If I could give a negative star rating, I would. I strongly advise others to avoid this airline, as my experience shows it fails to deliver the service promised, even in business class.
Plane was clean, business class was comfortable, The level of hosting was poor. Not all staff understood English to a basic level, and my pre ordered vegan dietary meals were inedible. So a small bowl of nuts were my only real option. I had to repeatedly request for champagne before receiving a stingy amount,( at one stage the hostess served me… Read more
beef which I returned).My husband has no dietary requirements and found his meals of hospital quality. The door to my Aria suite on my returning flight and also my husbands were broken and only partially operated. Over all a disappointing flight experience. I was expecting much more for business class. My trip was Sydney to Hong Kong return.
Latest follow-ups
Food was very average on premium Economy class Pillow and as disgusting all fluff coming out Foot pedals broken, meal tray broken Show details
Follow-up · No alternative seat offered. Staff could not help with issues too busy.
It's been 8 years since the last time I'd flown with Cathay, and I can happily report, that it's as good as I remember. Seats were comfortable, way better that Qatar, Emerites, China Southern, Viet Air and many other cheaper full service airlines. I… Read more
travel economy, on the cheapest full service flight. Must include luggage and food. Cathay affords you 23kg, some other may give 46kg (China Southern), but I rarely get to even 18kg per person. Food, Cathay wins hands down, comparable to our own Qantas, which is saying something. Service is of a high standard,...I think all major airlines have good if not great service. No complaints here. The plane itself, a Boeing 777/300er, was an aging craft, you can tell by the very old toilets, but everything still worked as it should. So the most important aspect?....the seats. As mentioned earlier, they were the best Economy class seats I've tried.....and I've sat in heaps!...My tip.... If there's no more than say $100-$150 difference in fares, go Cathay every time. PS, I also appreciated them (Cathay), not placing a fuel surcharge on my fare, despite the current oil crisis. (under $2k for Syd to Madrid return)...plane was packed. not one spare seat on all four flights.
Follow-up · The in-flight entertainment was great too. I watched 2 whole seasons of Netflix crime dramas. No...I didn't sleep much, I never do when flying. Boarding process was smooth, despite fears of crazy passengers jumping in front of queues. Everything was controlled very well, with each plane section boarding orderly. Baggage was similar, though there was a slight delay with the carousel. Our bags arrived unscathed
Positive reviews
This is the second time I have flown Cathay Pacific from Sydney to Hong Kong then onto Chiang Mai via their subsidiary, Hong Kong Express. I chose Cathay as I wanted premium economy for the Syd-HKG legs of the flights. I was very happy with both flights and enjoyed premium economy. There was plenty of inflight movies etc to watch. The seat was… Read more
comfortable, inflight service was very good including the food and drinks. There was so much food provided, I couldn't eat it all. I opted for the Chinese food which was tasty.
Checking - online and at the counter was very easy and quick. I used to be a platinum frequent flyer many years ago flying business class. I enjoyed Cathay's premium economy and would book it again.
Well, we flew business class so it was always going to be good. But then they cancelled our flights back to Melb from Barcelona. Why? Because of the typhoon that was about to hit HK. And this is where they really excelled, they automatically rebooked us on Qatar flights, also business, via Doha instead of via HK, with no effort or input whatsover needed from us, more or less on similar timings. Brilliant. Show details
Perth Vancouver return via Hong Kong I flew out in economy light and back business light in June 2025. First off, I was worried about China and authoritarian government though less so than had I had to connect via USA, but I got over my jitters as this is the quickest route from Perth avoiding Australian domestic terminal nightmare. The flight… Read more
crew was excellent both ways and the return trip a delightful worthwhile upgrade. HK airport is vast but the economy lounge is very basic, whereas business lounge very nice. The big plus was the extremely professional Cathay crew who saved me on the return flight from Vancouver with a delayed connection. For a second I thought I was sunk, but they got me onboard in the nick of time. Many thanks Cathay crew
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Negative reviews
Extremely disappointing experience with Cathay Pacific. Our checked baggage was delayed after arriving in Hong Kong, leaving us without clothing, toiletries, and essential personal belongings during a short holiday. We reported the issue immediately and were advised to purchase the essential items we needed and keep the receipts for… Read more
reimbursement. Instead of enjoying our holiday, we had to spend valuable time buying basic necessities, changing our plans, and dealing with the consequences of Cathay Pacific’s baggage handling failure.
The situation was made even worse by the way the complaint was handled afterwards. We had to repeatedly follow up, wait a long time for responses, and continue explaining the impact the baggage delay had caused.
Rather than taking proper responsibility and resolving the matter fairly, Cathay Pacific relied on internal policies to reduce the reimbursement and eventually told us that their decision was final.
The customer service throughout this process was extremely poor. There was very little sense of urgency, accountability, or genuine effort to make things right.
A baggage delay can happen, but how an airline responds afterwards says a lot about the company. Unfortunately, Cathay Pacific made an already bad situation much worse through the way they handled the claim and complaint.
Very poor customer service and a very disappointing experience. I would think very carefully before choosing Cathay Pacific again.
Please don’t both flying with Cathy pacific especially paying the extra for Business class. From start to finish both flights and the return flight was terrible. Seats are hard and a lot smaller my husband said than other airlines. First they use quanta’s lounge which is terrible, I ended up getting food poisoning and bumped into 2 other ladies… Read more
in the line to get on the next flight in Hong Kong that also had food poisoning. This sector of the flight the food was ok but the staff kept dropping things ever 10 mins and talking loud. Then tried having a shower at the lounge in Hong Kong after being sick that’s all I wanted but it was over a 2 hr wait so didn’t have time to have 1. The return flight. I asked for a lasanga and was told they had run out. My husband said this is not good enough we have had thousands of $$$ to be in business. Then second sector of flight we both ordered gnocchi and ask for it to be kept till we woke up. We were told that would be fine. When I woke up I received mine but my husband was told he was asleep so his was given to another person. I have written to their customer care team but you just get excuses and a generic answer all the time. Then with the points for the flight they won’t back date our 1st flight as it was a few days over the 30 days when I tried adding them. Just not good enough.
The customer support of Cathay is lacking. I do appreciate it being 24/7 availability because I've had to call multiple times, speaking to multiple representatives who all tell me different things. I wanted to re-route one of my flights. The first attendant I spoke to said it wasn't available. The second said it was possible but that I'd have to… Read more
open a case up to receive a quote for changes - and subsequently hung up on me after saying he would open a case for me. The third popped the case through with incorrect details after I sat on call with him for an hour going through the different route options. Because the case was put through with incorrect details, it was declined so I had to call them back a FOURTH time to clarify the CORRECT details. There is also no email address for me to get this down in writing because apparently for some reason it's hard to understand I just want to change one leg of my trip. Not sure what the experience would be like on the flight but based on the customer service I have received, I wish I had never booked Cathay.
Recent reviews
Tried to book a airticket from Brisbane to Sapporo and the web site said 100% full refund if cancelled within 24 hours if you are Cathay Pacific Loyalty member which I am. I cancelled the booking but it only refunded partially where the coupon $100 used was not refunded. Very untrustworthy and cutting corner company! Never buy ticket from CX anymore.
I flew flight CX876 from Hong Kong to Dallas. The service was absolutely terrible and the food was below average. Some of the flight attendants were not so nice to customers which is not surprising. I would highly recommend using a different airline. Show details
Shambolic check using the new system at Sydney international airport. Queue up once to get a boarding pass from a machine. Then queue up again for bag drop. Complete confusion from all passengers queuing. Only one completely overwhelmed staff (who did his best). This criticism is squarely at management. I invite them down to try it. Worst I’ve ever seen.
Flying premium economy from Melbourne through Hong Kong to London, one of the longest flights in the world and the 777 aircraft Cathay have used for these legs are dated, very old, they have ashtrays in the toilets! The toilet sink clogged and no staff member attended to it Food was actually ok but the tv units and the headphone plugs created… Read more
massive distortion and can’t be used which in a 14 hour flight is not a premium experience I am sorry No sign of Aria business class in either leg do not sure where they are rolling this out if not on the longest most expensive route
We flew from Osaka back to Melbourne with one extre oversized fishing rod Weighing 1.3kg , we were charged AUD$250! We weren’t even overweight with the other 2 checked in luggage’s and had no carry on luggage. Manager at Osaka airport was not helping and rude, basically pay or don’t get on the flight altitude. NEVER had any issues with other… Read more
airlines changing for an oversized luggage, NO MORE CATHY ! After 2 months, they finally refunded the extra charge.
Such a disappointment. Booked flights from Australia to Finland. Where do I start.... All 4 checked-in bags were delayed between 6-15 days, 1 bag damaged, my daughter who is a minor was seated 13 rows away, her booking was hacked into with the email changed (still wondering what other private information was taken), points to Finland was not… Read more
credited to my frequent flyer (was told it was rejected when I claimed, but no reason given) although the return leg points were credited.
Formally complained, but all I got were excuses why they are not responsible, nonsense and kept passing the buck. Now they are completely ignoring all my emails as I can only assume that they don't have any logical answers.
Worst customer service ever!
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The following email I sent them sums up the shambles I was met with. So far no response I fly worldwide. Yesterday for first time with your airline which had been recommended . That was a mistake! My flight details as follows if these items are found. Upcoming flight flight-info-icon Mon, 29 Dec 2025 | CX 250 London, Heathrow to Hong Kong LHR… Read more
17:50 LHR Terminal 3 12h45m flight-icon dot-timeline HKG14:35 +1 HKG Terminal 1 Economy Class L Operated by Cathay Pacific flight-info-icon Tue, 30 Dec 2025 | CX 605 Hong Kong to Phnom Penh HKG 16:00 HKG Terminal 1 2h45m flight-icon dot-timeline KTI 17:45 KTI Economy Class L Operated by Cathay Pacific
You lost my baggage. Never happened to me ever before. However today, 27 hours later, I get a call saying you now have my bag and that you will deliver HOPEFULLY tomorrow. I want it today. I am told no one to deliver it. The country is full of taxi drivers.
I am now told that tomorrow you will despatch it to some local bus station for me to travel to and collect
No doubt you will blame this on third parties. Please don’t
Paul Anderson
MEL/HKG/HND/HKG/MEL Business Class Booked the flights through Webjet based on price and good timings via connections in Hong Kong. Surprisingly the check in was DIY instead of a designated counter although helpful staff were on hand to assist with the process. Seating in the 1-2-1 configuration was comfortable for both the long haul 10 hour… Read more
sectors. I have had some great breakfasts on planes, but unfortunately Cathay was lacking on this occasion. Breakfast was soggy and un-appetizing and I was regretting not eating in the lounge prior to departure. Service on both the long haul sectors was just average at best. The remainder of the meals were good without being outstanding but the main issue was the lack of service during the flights. Crew seemed more intent on clearing up as quick as possible rather than providing an appropriate level of service. Even though wine was pre-ordered at the same time as requesting the meal, it was not until half way through eating that it appeared for some customers. I had 4 drinks in 8 hours and had to request every one. It was the same on the return flight to Melbourne. What a difference to the short haul flights to and from Japan. The crew never stopped providing a great service to all passengers in the much larger and more crowded Business Class cabin. I was actually asked if I wanted another glass of wine as opposed to the crew wanting to take my glass without asking. It had been a number of years since last flying with Cathay and I was looking forward to the experience, given their Top 3 ranking among airlines. I can now only wonder at the accuracy of such a ranking based on my experience.
Our flight experience with Cathay Pacific was very disappointing. We paid for additional leg room, which was fine for the first leg from Sydney to Hong Kong. The second part of our journey was Hong Kong to London. My husbands seat was changed so that he was squashed in a corner with minimal extra leg room. We were not provided with an explanation… Read more
why this happened. The food from Sydney to Hong Kong was lovely, good choice, delicious. The flight from Hong Kong to London and return trip from London to Sydney was frankly woeful. By the time the food trolley got to us there was usually only one or two choices. The food was bland and very disappointing. Staff were quite unhelpful about offering alternative options. Our return flight from London to Hong Kong was cancelled due to an engineering issue, fair enough! This was a 8pm flight. We sat on the plane for sometime before being told the flight needed to be cancelled. We were then told that a bus would take us to a hotel. We stood in the airport for over 1.5 hours waiting for the bus. We were not offered any seating, food or drink. When we finally arrived at the hotel, about 1am the hotel staff were very good at allocating everyone a room, which while tiny, couldn't even open a suitcase without lifting onto the bed, had a nice shower and comfy bed. We were still not offered any food or drink and there were no facilities at the hotel to buy food, as it was the middle of the night. I received a txt message to say that our flight had been rebooked for the following day, that was good. When we arrived at the airport we were told that the additional leg room seats were unavailable. We were told that we would be reimbursed by Cathay Pacific for this. THIS DID NOT HAPPEN. NOR DID I RECIEVE A REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE UBER I NEEDED TO BOOK TO GET FROM THE HOTEL TO THE AIRPORT. I have asked Cathay Pacific twice for a reimbursement but this has been denied. I do not understand why this airline has such a good reputation. I do not recommend Cathay Pacific at all.
The on-board crew were excellent and I have no complaints about flying the airline but god forbid you have an administrative issue that requires attention. I tried to upgrade our economy flights to Japan and back from economy to either premium economy or business. Neither were available except for our last leg home from Hong Kong to Sydney. … Read more
Meantime, I paid about $260 for extra legroom for myself and my wife on each leg, not cheap compared to other airlines, but worth it for us. All up I spent about $1500 extra for the privilege. In the end we got premium economy upgrades for the last leg home after bidding online. Problem was that the extra legroom seats I had locked in were now superfluous and I wanted a credit......well......what a marathon. The first time I called the airline, the woman kept me on the line for over an hour, repeatedly explaining the situation until she understood. She kept putting me on hold for 10-15min at a time only to come back and ask more questions. When she finally understood the issue, she reassured me the credit was being processed and it would take up to 10 working days to process the credit!! Ten working days is excessive in anyone's language. Anyway, two weeks later I called back again and spoke to another woman asking about the refund. She claimed there was no record, so I had to explain my self once again. Guess what? It took me another hour to repeat the whole process but this time I received a case number! Fed up with wasting two hours on a telephone and having to wait another two weeks, I contacted Paypal, my payment gateway. They reversed the charge within 2 business days after I explained to them the issue. I then lodged a formal complaint to Cathay Pacific, to be advised it could take up to 4 weeks for a reply. They were not joking! Four weeks later I received a reply to apologise for taking so long to reply to my complaint and that they resolved my issue anyway. I wish anyone the best of luck having any sort of claim against this company as they may die of old age either waiting on the phone, or getting an email reply, or even getting some money back. Again, I have no issue with their flight operations, but the "back room" is a shambles of incompetency and understaffing........good luck. I wont even redeem any points I have accumulated through them, let alone fly them again.
We booked a flight five months ago for travel in another month, selected seats etc in premium economy to treat ourselves on the long trip. I have just gone on to check information and we have been changed to a row of four without any notification or choice in the matter Trying to get hold of someone is a nightmare. Tried calling several times on… Read more
hold an hour at a time. Finally get to talk to someone who has no idea why and just quotes scripted response. I then go to whats app for assistance. Get responded to 24hrs later in the middle of the night, I respond as soon as I see.the message, no response , so next day it ends my session. I then try to engage again and get the virtual robot who spins me in circles So no help. No customer service and no responsibility. Never again will I use Cathay pacific, only Singapore Airlines for us
⭐☆☆☆☆ I booked a multi-stop ticket with Cathay Pacific from Sydney to Kathmandu via Hong Kong, with a planned 4-night stay in Hong Kong. They cancelled my Hong Kong to Kathmandu flight, and instead of re-booking me on the closest available date, they pushed my ticket a whole week later. This completely ruined my travel plans and makes no sense at… Read more
all. A passenger should be re-booked on the next available flight, not forced to wait a week. Very poor handling and extremely disappointing service from Cathay Pacific.
My husband and myself flew from Melbourne to Hong Kong to Mumbai. If you want to pay business class prices and get treated like you’re in less than economy class. This is the airline for you. The service was disgraceful. The food was unable as offered one glass of champagne, which was horrible and sheep. I was giving a praline and had to ask for… Read more
more. I felt totally ripped off and I would never in 1 million years fly cafe Pacific again. I just hope people read this so they know where to book elsewhere. I complained and they gave me 18,000 Asian points Help pathetic what disgraceful airline.
My wife and I ust completed check-in at Sydney. Advised that we won't be able to sit together, despite having booked our seats together months ago. We had tried doing seat selection on-line but was "not available '. Tickets cost us $13k AUD. Not good enough. Show details
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