Airline: Cathay Pacific
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER (77D)
Seat: 54C (“Premium” Exit Row Seat)
Class: Economy
Book (support modhop):Orbitz

Cathay Pacific's Studio CX features an above average number of entertainment options.

The Seat: Compared to my recent review of a typical economy seat aboard Cathay Pacific’s 777-300ER, this one clearly is champion of leg space. It’s also not my first near-galley rodeo either. I spoke quite fondly of my experience watching flight attendants drop countless meal-time items at my feet while preparing to serve the gang in steerage aboard a Singapore Airlines 747. In this case, the galley is a little better separated from the seat, giving you more space to stretch out and relax even when the crew parks carts in front of you. Where recline is concerned, you’ll find that these newer fixed-back seats push your lower half forward into a recline position instead of the more common back-recline. This keeps you from jamming into the seat behind you but feels a little less than comfortable. As is typical with exit seating, You give up an ever-so-slight amount of seat width to allow for the tray table inclusive armrest. Your video entertainment screen pulls out from underneath the seat and is loaded with an impressive number of movies, full seasons of TV series (not just one or two episodes), a great moving map and an external camera (which comes in handy as this row is windowless).

Service: You’ll feel spoiled a little if you’re used to flying US or UK domestic flights. Cathay is one of the worlds 5 star airlines as rated by SkyTrax and service is a big reason why.

Notes: Electrical outlets are located under the seat instead of behind the tray table, as with typical economy seats on this plane. (Just so you don’t freak out when you go to plug in your iPod.)

Summary: Like I had mentioned in my earlier review Cathay Pacific has done a good job updating their cabins, most recently to their international business class and super awesome first class cabins. I still don’t like the lack of lumbar support in these seats, but do love this exit seat for the added legroom and little bit of extra spacing from the nearby galley.

Rating: 4 hops (of 5).

Strategy: Cathay Pacific offers “Premium” seats like this one for $25 on shorter routes (like this one between New Yorks JFK and Vancouver) or $100 for transpacific and longer routes. Either way a phenomenal deal for that much extra legroom.

How I got it: Called the airline shortly after making the reservation and checking the online seatmap for availability. Process was simple and took less than a few minutes.

Airline: Cathay Pacific
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER (77D)
Seat: 57H
Class: Economy
Book (support modhop):Orbitz

Fixed seats allow more knee-space. Cathay Pacific 777-300ER

The Seat: Cathay Pacific has consistently been rated a top airline, including accolades for being the Best TransPacific Airline in 2010. They have a sparkly reputation for service and comfort, so I naturally expected this seat to be in the shape of a la-z-boy and made of memory foam. It was neither. It was however, pretty comfortable for about the first three hours before I noticed that the lumbar area of the seat curves inward (away from your back), making it pretty uncomfortable for the long flights this aircraft typically flies. The seat’s amenities are top notch, in that they exist. There’s a 1992 Toyota Corrola-esque cup holder if you’d like a place for your beverage without having to lower your tray table. Recharging your phone or mp3 player? That will require you to lower your tray table as the outlet is found directly behind it. I think that’s weird…and inconvenient. The entertainment system is pretty well loaded with movies and TV shows. Full seasons of network sitcoms, cartoons and more were available along with movies in several languages and tons of games to pass the time.

Service: Excellent. Although I’m pretty sure this didn’t happen for everyone, I was shown all the way to my seat by a series of flight attendants handing me off to each other. NBA Basketball All-Star Steve Nash was also on my flight and seated (oddly) a number of rows behind me in economy. Perhaps they thought I was him (minus about a foot). Food & drink came early for me as I had ordered the low-sodium/low cholesterol meal option at the airlines’ website a few days before the flight simply to be first and get some sleep…and my wife is hinting that I should eat better.

Notes: Did I mention the cup holder?

Summary: Cathay Pacific has done a good job updating their cabins, most recently to their international business class and not-shabby-at-all first class cabins. While their intentions were good in their latest version of economy, the seat comes up a little short. The intended benefits of the fixed seat are cancelled out (at least partially) by the lumbar discomfort and lack of cushioning. Relative to economy class, entertainment, customer service and seat extras (power, cup holder) were well above average.

Rating: 4 hops (of 5).

Strategy: There’s no strategy in finding basic economy seats. If you decide not to opt-up to an exit row or other “premium” seat, it’s best to choose something mid-cabin (away from galleys and lavatories) to avoid pesky foot traffic and noise.

How I got it: This one was not a discount purchase. Cathay sometimes offered specials at their website, but I just paid a competitive price when booking and it was the best option for the route I was flying: Between New York and Vancouver. The in-flight service far surpasses that of North American competitors, so it was an easy choice.

Airline/Club Name: Qantas Club Lounge – American Admirals Club
Location: Honolulu International (HNL)
Terminal/Concourse: Overseas Terminal above Gate 26
How we got in (support modhop): Priority Pass

Notes: I was traveling on a Delta Vacations itinerary but found this lounge close to my departure gate so I whipped out the Priority Pass card and ducked in. Shared by One World partners Qantas and American Airlines, this is a small lounge decorated nicely with locally themed wall art and fairly typical lounge furnishings. The view is nice as you can position yourself to either look out onto the tarmac or back toward the stunning topography of the island…if you can find a place to sit.

Wi-Fi & Workstations: There are just a few workstations (as seen in the video review) each equipped with desktop computers. The computers themselves take up quite a bit of room leaving little space to work. You’ll be better off just firing up the laptop in a more comfortable seat in the lounge. Wi-fi was complimentary and worked well.

Service/Food & Drink: Service was outstanding. Check-in was quick and I was welcomed with a smile and a full (albeit brief) rundown of the clubs features. Various reviews across the web have given this lounge high marks for service as well. Food and drink was however a disappointment. Few snacks and and a very limited selection of alcoholic beverages were available and really not worth it if you’re paying per-visit.

Convenience to gate: Great if you’re flying Qantas but not so great if you’re flying American. That said the entire terminal isn’t huge so it’s not terribly inconvenient. Surprisingly very close to the gate my Delta flight departed from.

Rating: 2 hops (of 5)

How we got in/Strategy: Priority Pass membership (recommended) will get you into this lounge or 2 others at Honolulu including United Airlines’ Red Carpet Club.  Other ways to get in: American Airlines Admiral Club members, Qantas Club Lounge members and OneWorld Alliance highest tier members can enter. Additionally you can purchase an Admirals Club One Day Pass for entry.

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Airline: American Eagle (American Airlines)
Aircraft: Canadair CRJ-700 (CR7)
Seat: 1a
Class: First

The Seat: Seat review sites don’t give us much reason to believe this American Eagle bulkhead seat is anything special but the promise of a little extra legroom made us curious. As expected the extra room was stilted by the lack of any sort of cutout that would allow for further leg extension. That said, there is plenty of room for someone of average height (or shorter).

I’m 5’8″ and was able to stretch fully in front of me or even push forward a bit to rest my legs on the wall…Not exactly classy, but comfortable. The other seats in this cabin appeared to have less in the way of knee space but give you the option of stretching your legs under the seat in front of you.

Service: Friendly, personable service but not much in the way of perks on this New York-Minneapolis flight. Warmed nuts and snack mix was the extent of food service (although nuts and beverages were in glassware and not plastic).

Notes: There’s just one lavatory aboard this aircraft. Advantage: It’s at the rear of the aircraft so there’s no pesky odor or anyone congregating near your seat. Disadvantage: It’s at the rear of the aircraft so you may find yourself congregating at the back of the plane with many others near said odors.

Summary: Elite level fliers are not-so-quietly rejoicing as more first class seats find their way to regional jets…and for good reason. While  smaller than domestic first class seats aboard larger aircraft, these cabins make regional jet flying a little more tolerable. We would however, like to see an extension of service to include a sandwich…or even just a snack box.

Rating: 2.5 hops (of 5).

Strategy: American Airlines offers 1 class upgrades (where available) to all members of their “AAdvantage” program in exchange for miles (sign up for free at aa.com. For general members there’s a co-pay of $75. Upgrades may also be offered at kiosk check-in for a fee starting from $90 when space is available.

How we got it: When we flew this was a brand new route for American. Because word had yet to get out to business travelers, there were several first class seats available on this weekday flight. If you’re find yourself flying a new route like this, your chances of purchasing a standby upgrade (and even getting that upgrade) are much better.

Airline: American Airlines
Aircraft:767-200 (Transcon)
Seat: 8H
Class: Business

The Seat:Compared with seats offered aboard legacy competitors like those in Delta’s new Business Elite and United’s P.S. business class products, American’s Flagship transcon in business class falls short by a few inches in regards to legroom and seat width, but unless you’re nearing 7 foot tall my guess is that you’ll hardly notice. Seat review websites like seatguru mention that this is one of very few rows in business that is correctly aligned with the window, so cloud-gazers will have to lean forward if seated in a different row. Seat controls are, shall we say: “old school”, using manual levers and lacking the multiple and sometimes confusing seat controls of more modern seats. Winged headrests make it easy to nap and recline is sufficient for short term snoozing. Duvets and full pillows are provided as well.

Service:Service from the flight attendants and gate agents was standard. Everyone was attentive and helpful but nothing extraordinary when considering this is business class.

Summary:While I would have preferred an updated seat with a few more recline and lumbar options, I was pleased overall. Decent food selection, inflight wi-fi and abundant entertainment options helped to make the flight very pleasant. With as little as I had to do to get the upgrade, I was impressed.

Rating:3.5 hops (of 5).

Strategy: American Airlines offers 1 class upgrades (where available) to all members of their “AAdvantage” program in exchange for miles. In this case, I used just 15,000 miles and a $50 co-pay for a confirmed one-way upgrade from discount economy fare to business class. (*Update: As of December 2009, American has raised the co-pay to $75).

How I got it:AA Advantage mileage upgrade requested online.

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