Cathay Pacific :: LAX-HKG :: Oct 2012

CX 881 Flight	LAX Los Angeles		HKG Hong Kong
Economy Class	7,248 miles		14:45 Flying Time

Supper
Appetizer	Smoked salmon with potato salad
Main Course	Chicken with black bean sauce, steamed jasmine rice, carrots and broccoli -or- Braised beef with shiitake mushroom, spinach mash potatoes, green peas and carrots -or- Ziti pasta with Asiago cheese, asparagus, eggplant and red bell peppers
Dessert	Vanilla Haagan-Dazs ice cream

   

Breakfast
Appetizer	Seasonal fresh fruits Fruit yoghurt
Main Course	Seafood congee -or- Ham frittata with salsa, roasted red skin potatoes, creamed spinach and streaky bacon

American Airlines :: ORD-LAX :: Oct 2012

AA 1617 Flight	ORD Chicago O'Hare		LAX Los Angeles
Economy Class	1,743 miles		4:25 Flying Time

Three days in Chicago did not seem enough, yet it was time to go.  Traffic in Chicago could be quite bad during peak hours, so we decided to head to airport a little earlier.  It turned out that the traffic was smooth.  We arrived at the car rental facility way earlier than estimated, and hopped on the shuttle bus to Terminal 3 where American Airlines operates out of.  We asked the ticketing agent if we could catch the 6:55pm flight instead of our original 7:40pm flight.  She said we could stand by at the gate and wished us good luck.

Flight AA1617 bound for Los Angeles would be leaving from Gate H11B at 6:55pm.  The waiting lounge was small and claustrophobic.  I decided to walk away for some fresh air.  Starbucks was around the corner, so I got myself a frappucino and a gigantic blueberry muffin.  Yum!  When I returned, boarding was in progress and the standby list was being cleared.  What I like about the U.S. carriers is they have a monitor at the gate that shows who are on standby, the priority and how many more seats are available on the flight.  Altogether eleven passengers were on standby for this flight including us two.  Our names were seen at the very bottom of the list indicating our priority was the lowest amongst all.  In front of us were a family of four and two couples.  The family and one of the couples were cleared.  With three seats remaining, either the couple and one of us could get on, or none of them but us two.  I could recall the agent paging for them for over five times and in our mind we were hoping they would not show up.  Yay!!  They could not be located and our names were called.  Both of us got on despite being seated separately.  Doors were closed right after we took our seats.  I was in the window seat this time.  Next to me was a daddy with a young kid and a lap baby.  Oh my god.

Push back was on schedule.  After what I thought was a normal stop on the taxiway to disconnect the tow bar, there was no further movement for some fifteen minutes and we found ourselves stranded on the taxiway.  The Captain regrettably announced that the tow truck might have damaged the nose gear assembly during push back.  He informed us that the mechanics were on their way to check on us and would advise us on the progress.

For another fifteen minutes, the mechanics had not arrived yet. The purser turned on the inflight entertainment system to keep passengers occupied with NBC programmes.  I looked out the window and realized that all aircraft movements at the nearby gates stopped.  Departing flights could not leave the gates; flights that just landed could not get to the gates simply because we blocked the taxiway!  They must hate us so much!

here we were towed back to the gate. the 737-800 next to us was supposed to leave for miami at 7:10pm.

At about 7:45pm, mechanics arrived and found no damage.  Captain informed us that we would be towed back to the gate so that the mechanics could sign off our flight.  Papers were signed.  Priority was given to the aircraft nearby to leave first and let the inbound flights taxi in.  We were finally on our way at 8:10pm.  Had we taken our original flight, we would have been airborne already!  The night view of Chicago skyline never failed to impress me.  It was gorgeous!

The gigantic muffin from Starbucks was very stomach-filling.  I passed the snacks for purchase and just ordered a cranberry juice.  I was served the whole can.

Something flashing outside the cabin caught my attention when we were over Las Vegas.  I thought it was the flashing strobe on the wingtip.  In fact it was the lightning striking and it literally lit up the sky!  Rather impressive.

The remainder of the flight was uneventful.  It was almost midnight when we touched down in LAX.  The crew apologized for the delay once again and thanked everyone for choosing American Airlines.

American Airlines :: LAX-ORD :: Oct 2012

AA 1120 Flight	LAX Los Angeles		ORD Chicago O'Hare
Economy Class	1,743 miles		4:00 Flying Time

It was an uneventful early morning flight with clear sky along the way. Following the warm welcome from the Purser over the PA, our flight pushed back ahead of schedule.  We took off from Runway 25L, which was usually used for arrivals as the parallel Runway 25R was closed for routine maintenance.  Do not ever underestimate the power of the two Rolls Royce engines.  They were really powerful.  That must have been one of the shortest take-off roll I've ever encountered and the climb rate was steep!  Soon after we have reached the crusing altitude, breakfast service commenced.  In addition to the standard selection of junk food, a more hearty breakfast menu was available for purchase.

Fresh-Made Breakfast

Breakfast Sandwich Smoked turkey, cheddar cheese and a tomato slice on a brioche roll, served with biscoff cookies ($6.79) -or- Fruit and Cheese Plate Enjoy a selection of classic cheese: Cheddar, Swiss and Muenster, along with gourmet cracker, red and green grape clusters, almonds, walnuts and cranberries ($8.29)

    

Episodes of The Office were played on the two-decade-old CRT monitors mounted on the ceiling.  As one could imagine, the screens were flickering and I didn't bother to watch.  I spent the rest of the time enjoying the blue sky outside.  Approach into Chicago was bumpy, REALLY bumpy.  Shouldn't it be that way?  I was arriving in the Windy City!

    

Cathay Pacific :: HKG-LAX :: Sep 2012

CX 884 Flight	HKG Hong Kong		LAX Los Angeles
Economy Class	7,255 miles		13:15 Flying Time

We were on board one of the few Boeing 777-300ER in the 3-class configuration, featuring the latest Business Class, Premium Economy, and Economy Class cabins.  Everything seemed routine as one would expect on a typical Cathay Pacific long haul flight.  Immigration forms and menu were handed out after airborne, followed by cocktail and lunch service.

Lunch
Appetizer	Creamy vegetable salad with ham
Main Course	Hong Kong style dry beef curry on steamed jasmine rice  -or- Braised chicken with tomato, mushroom and oregano sauce, parsley and mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots -or- Penne pasta with creamy tomato mushroom sauce, oregano, feta cheese and green peas
Dessert	Chocolate flavor Haagen-Dazs ice cream

    

Despite cabin lights were dimmed and window shades were closed after meal service, passengers were wide-awake and energetic as their body clocks were telling them it was too early to sleep.  Requests for cup noodles never stopped until half way over the Pacific Ocean.

This aircraft is equipped with the newest inflight entertainment system in economy class.  In addition to the 9-inch touch screen personal television, passengers are now able to stream their iPhone media and watch it over the personal television using a special cable.  For me I found the selection of movies and TV programmes on Studio^CX fabulous enough to keep me occupied for the whole flight.  After spending hours watching The five-year engagement, American Reunion, What to expect when you're expecting, Love in the buff, I finally managed to get some sleep.  The cabin was cold enough to warrant an undisturbed rest also.

By the time I woke up, we were soon reaching the coast of California and breakfast service was about to commence.  Cabin crew came around with a selection of fruit juices and water.  Breakfast trays were distributed soon after that.

Breakfast
Appetizer	Seasonal fresh fruits Fruit Yoghurt
Main Course	Omelette with creamy spinach, streaky bacon, hash brown, baked beans and baked tomato with herb -or- Braised seafood with egg noodles and choy sum

Headphones were collected and cabin was secured in preparation for the landing.  Our plane headed towards the east and flew over Downtown L.A. before making a 180-degree turn somewhere over East L.A. and City of Commerce to align with the landing path of Runway 24R.  The early morning arrival allowed us to park at the Tom Bradley International Terminal, which had saved us a shuttle bus ride from the remote stand at the far west end of the airport.

Cathay Pacific :: ICN-HKG :: Sep 2012

CX 411 Flight	ICN Seoul Incheon		HKG Hong Kong
Economy Class	1,282 miles		3:35 Flying Time

Our ride arrived from Hong Kong ahead of schedule.  There was a change of equipment from 33B to 330 that featured the oldest cabin products.  This did not come with a surprise as last minute equipment swap is normal practice on Cathay Pacific's regional flights.  On the positive note, most passengers had got an extra seat as a result of the increased capacity of this aircraft.

If you are hoping to sample authentic Korean cuisine on this flight, you may be disappointed.  The meals served on this flight were prepared by Cathay Pacific Catering Services in Hong Kong.  Among the two choices available, one was meant to be a Korean dish yet it did not turn out to be too "Korean."  Instead of a proper dessert, a cookie was served.

Lunch
Appetizer	Seasonal fresh fruits
Main Course	Braised pork with yellow bean sauce and steamed jasmine rice -or- Baked basa in Korean gravy, steamed jasmine rice, sauteed mushroom and big bean sprouts
Dessert	Macadamia short bread cookie

    

Cathay Pacific :: HKG-ICN :: Sep 2012

CX 434 Flight	HKG Hong Kong		ICN Seoul Incheon
Economy Class	1,282 miles		3:35 Flying Time

    

Breakfast
Appetizer	Seasonal fresh fruits Fruit Yoghurt
Main Course	Braised chicken with mixed vegetable in light soya sauce, rice vermicelli and choy sum -or- Baked egg with ham and cheese, streaky bacon, chicken sausage, fried potatoes, herb cherry tomato

    

Cathay Pacific :: SYD-HKG :: Aug 2012

CX 100 Flight	SYD Sydney		HKG Hong Kong
Economy Class	4,599 miles		9:35 Flying Time

Cocktail service: apple juice with peanuts

Lunch
Appetizer	Sesame marinated chicken, carrot and cucumber salad
Main Course	Soy braised chicken with black mushrooms, steamed jasmine rice and mixed vegetables -or- Braised beef in stout with mashed potatoes, beans and carrots -or- Tortellini with tomato and chilli sauce, crumbled feta and zucchini
Dessert	Banana cake with chopped almond

Refreshment
Appetizer	Seasonal fresh fruit
Main Course	Stir-fried Fukien noodles with black pepper beef, carrot and kailan -or- Ham and cheese panini
Dessert	Weiss mango and vanilla ice cream sherbet bar

Cathay Pacific :: HKG-SYD :: Aug 2012

CX 161 Flight	HKG Hong Kong		SYD Sydney
Business Class	4,599 miles		9:15 Flying Time

Dinner
Starter	Smoked gravlax salmon with green and white asparagus
Salad	Mixed seasonal salad with balsamic vinegar dressing
Main Course	Hong Kong style curry prawns, steamed jasmine rice, jade melon with red melar seeds and garlic -or- Pan-fried lamb loin with Madeira sauce, chive new potatoes and ratatouille -or- Chicken teriyaki with steamed Japanese rice and seasonal vegetables -or- Wild mushroom and ricotta cheese agnolotti with tomato concasse and cherry tomato
Cheese and Dessert	Fourme d'Ambert, Cheddar, Reblochon with green apple, quince paste and crackers Fresh seasonal fruits Yuze and milk chocolate mousse cake with pear chutney

    

Japan Airlines :: GUM-NRT :: May 2012

JL 942 Flight	GUM Guam		NRT Tokyo Narita
Economy Class	1,565 miles		3:45 Flying Time

Photo courtesy of Yuki Jung