INCREDIBLE First Class on Cathay Pacific's 777-300ER

Hello and welcome to a very special trip report. This is flight number 11 of my round the world

tour and I'm flying today with Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong to New York JFK in first class

It's going to be great. Let's go check it out. Before we start, let's discuss the unusual nature

of this flight. Cathay operate three non-stop flights a day to JFK, but a fourth, Cathay AAA

stops en route at Vancouver. The total mileage of this flight is 8,835 miles. Including the stop in

Vancouver, it'll take over 18 hours. You'll see two sunrises, yet still arrive on the same morning

we left. So one of the really cool things about flying from Hong Kong Airport is that you can

check in your bags downtown at two of the airport express stations

Cafe Pacific have two of the world's most incredible first-class lounges at Hong Kong

The airy, brash wing lounge is complemented by the pier, which is a subdued and classy affair

I don't get too excited about lounges, but made an exception for these. There's so much to show you about these two different but brilliant spaces that I'll review them separately in future videos

Cafe Pacific have earned a strong reputation for luxury travel, so my expectations for these lounges were sky high

I was definitely not disappointed. My personal highlights were the foot massage service and the world class food and drink in the pier

The restaurant here is absolutely stunning with personal service to match. Finally, in the wing lurks something quite special

A private cabana complete with a stunning deep bath. It's safe to say that this is my favourite airport amenity ever, ever, ever

My flight leaves just after midnight. The airport is full of aircraft heading west to Europe at this time

making the most of the time difference, travelling overnight. I can't begin to tell you how exciting it was

to see my 777-300ER aircraft arrive from a remote stand. We'll be heading east, of course

Boarding is organised and straightforward. First class has its own line

As I board, let's reflect on the cost of this trip. A one-way first class ticket costs an

astonishing £14,000. Fortunately, there's another way to pay. I parted with 140,000

which I'd saved up over a few years. I also had to pay the relevant fees, in this case just £44

I don't claim to know much about champagne, or even like it too much, but Café serve Krug 2004 in first class

which retails for about £250 a bottle. That's an astonishing price for a drink

but I'll admit it did taste incredible. The head of the cabin crew personally introduced herself

and took an early order for dinner. I'll show you the full menu later

Caf first suites are quite a few years old now and lack the ultimate privacy of a closing door but are absolutely huge The video clip doesn do it justice here Seats on the A side are preferred This is because there a solid

wall next to the aisle and the central seats don't look into your space. You can spend the

whole flight in your seat and not be aware of any other passengers on the aircraft

Immediately behind us is business class. Pyjamas are also delivered before takeoff, shortly followed by an amenity kit, both of

which we'll look at later. There are some good quality Bose headphones too and here's

the first of many hot towels on this flight

As you can see, legroom is definitely not a problem here in first class

Thank you

As we depart Hong Kong I'll show you the features of the seat. There's a reasonably

sized entertainment screen which swings out from its stow space. There's no shortage

of useful storage either, with everything within easy reach. The remote controls the screen as well as the call bell and some other functions, and

there are powerful reading lights too. There's USB and universal power outlets, and also a good sized ottoman

It's worth pointing out that a second person can join you in the suite for meals, by sitting

on the ottoman, which is why there's a seatbelt here. All the seat features are intuitive and sensible

the life vest is much easier to reach than it would be an economy. The first class bathroom

is pleasant and comes with some very nice toiletries

One of my pro tips for flying long haul business or first class is to change in-tier pyjamas

which they usually give you as soon as you can. Seatbelt sign has just gone off so let's

to find out exactly what the Cathay Pacific pyjamas are like. I quite like them

They are really comfortable, although I don't think I'm going to win any fashion competitions anytime soon in these

I like the Chinese collar though. Turbulence prevented me from enjoying my tea

but fortunately my nuts were undisturbed. Let's have a look at the menu, or skip ahead if you prefer

Of course I ordered the caviar which came with a free serving of choppy turbulence and

a mother of pearl spoon. There must be a way of eating caviar in a dignified way but I've yet to find it

Next up is the soup which was excellent. The best advice I can give you on how not to spill expensive wine during turbulence is

to remove it from the glass as quickly as you can. The dinner on this flight was outstanding and I mixed up some of the Western and Chinese

choices for variety. There's not much point in travelling if you don't try at least some of the local food

The entertainment choices on Cathay Pacific are very extensive. Despite the incredibly long flight time, there was no risk of running out of things to watch or games to play

Here's the amenity kit, which I gave away to a lucky follower on Instagram

It's smart and contains everything you need. I'm pleased to see more airlines, including a screen wipe, in amenity kits these days

It's easy for airlines to deliver on big things like five-course meals and miss small basics like this

It's time for bed, just as the first sunrise appears on the horizon. The crew provide turndown service

The seat folds flat into a bed and a mattress topper and bedding completely set up

This bed is the best I've ever had on a moving vehicle. I had no problem at all getting a solid six hours of uninterrupted sleep

I woke up about three hours from Vancouver, south of Alaska. Cathay Pacific crew have access to a CCTV camera overlooking the cabin

This means they can see when you wake up. In my case, they asked me before I went to bed what my preferred drink was when waking up

and brought it to me six hours later when they saw I was awake. Breakfast was as fresh and delicious as dinner was

Like many Asian carriers, Cathay get the presentation spot on. If I could mark Cathay Pacific down on just one small thing here

it would be presenting the yoghurt in its original packaging. I reckon it would look better in a small bowl

However, I'm not sure they need tips from someone who watches The League of Gentlemen with his breakfast

Our approach to Vancouver is smooth and we land right on time

Okay, so here we are in Vancouver, the end of part one

My flight leaves again for New York in about an hour and 20 minutes time

So we're in a transit lounge. I can't actually show you the whole lounge because sort of behind the camera is a security check

The United States requires that even though I've cleared security back in Hong Kong

that all passengers be rescreened prior to getting on the aircraft to New York So I can really show you the whole lounge otherwise I going to unintentionally film the security which is not a good idea but

yeah there's pretty much nothing here it's just basically a gate area there's a

there's a Tim Horton's concession there so you know you're in Canada but it's not manned

anyway it's just coming up to 9 p.m. in the evening now and I've just got to wait here for

an hour and kill some time probably going to go on the Instagram stories you should definitely follow me on Instagram if you don't already I live blog all of my trips through the Instagram stories function

So off we go on the final 5 hour stretch to JFK, with a new crew and new catering

It's also time for another meal. This crab starter was simply incredible and probably the most photogenic food I've ever

had on a plane. This was followed by a light pea soup and a stunning fillet of beef

This was cooked medium rare, exactly how I'd ordered. Steak is something I do know something about and I can safely say this was very good indeed

A small glass of port and banana cake completes my food odyssey

Overall, the food on board was outstanding. Our second sunrise happens over Canada, and we have a glorious run down into New York

Incidentally, the Café On Board magazine tells us that their Washington DC route is their longest

pipping us by 81 miles. So what more can I add

I cleared out my entire stash of Avios points to secure this flight

140,000 Avios could have bought me 17 weekends in Paris, but I'm glad I blew them on this flight

It's not every day you get to fly in this kind of style, although it is worth mentioning that getting into this cabin using miles

is easier than you'd think. You do need to save miles hard, but availability is usually very good

Personally, I think this is one of the best uses of Avios points out there

Cathay Pacific First Class is simply wonderful. It doesn't come with the glitzy obscenity of some Middle Eastern carriers

but from the lounges to boarding, flying, sleeping, eating, you name it

It's calm, understated, classy and thoughtful. If you ever get the chance, do it

And that's it. Welcome to John F. Kennedy's Terminal 8. I've been privileged to land in a very unceasably mild and dry New York City

which is a relief after going around Southeast Asia in all that humidity for the last week

I really hope that you've enjoyed coming with me on that fantastic trip

Please leave some comments below, give me a thumbs up, and I really hope that you will subscribe to the channel

Until next time, see you around