Cathay Pacific Airways Reviews 739

We flew from NZ to Manchester UK, we went for the premium Economic seats ,due to their advert of bigger seats ,being such a along flight we both needed comfort well never again Will I pay for those seats ,The seat width feels narrower because of chunky, immovable armrests/seat dividers that store a TV screen and food tray and no underseat storage in front, we felt cramped, dont do it save your money!

What the. #%### is wrong with this company. My first and LAST TIME EVER TRAVELLING WITH THEM, I GOT STUCK IN CHINA BECAUSE OF THEM.... ARE YOU KIDDING ME.... 1300 to change a ticket when I was 3 hours early to the flight. TERRIBLE SERVICE THE GUY DOESNT CARE, THIS IS GOING ON YOUTUBE TOMORROW.

I am writing this review to warn potential customers about Cathay Pacific's complete operational failure, shocking lack of integrity, and contempt for passenger rights.

My ordeal began with a 7.5+ hour delay on flight CX805 from Toronto to Hong Kong, initially blamed on weather but later admitted in their correspondence to involve "aircraft rotations" (an operational issue). This delay caused a missed connection and turned a routine trip into a 44-hour journey.

The service failures were egregious:

· 11 Hours Without Food: On a long-haul flight, there was an 11-hour period where no meal service was provided.
· Forced Downgrade: I was downgraded from Premium Economy to Economy due to an aircraft change.
· Refusal to Refund: Cathay Pacific has repeatedly refused to refund the significant fare difference for the service I paid for but did not receive.

However, the most damning evidence of their bad faith is their customer "service." After 9 hours of being passed around on WhatsApp, I received the message shown in the screenshot. An agent finally wrote: "I apologize - I overlooked. We can get you a refund for your delayed flight."

Crucially, this admission and offer came only after I had already been forced to check in and was waiting at the boarding gate for the severely delayed flight. They offered a solution they knew was impossible to accept.

This proves two things:

1. They knew a refund was owed.
2. Their operational incompetence ("I overlooked") is matched only by their lack of integrity, offering help only when it was too late to be useful.

Cathay Pacific's official position is to hide behind "weather" to avoid all accountability. Their actual practice, as evidenced here, is to ignore passengers until they have no choice left.

This is not just poor service; it is a calculated strategy to avoid its contractual and legal obligations. Do not trust this airline with your money or your travel plans. There is zero accountability and a complete absence of integrity at every level of customer interaction.

Booking Reference: FTNJ2F Case

No consideration whatsoever given to people traveling with kids. No boarding announcement and no seating area at the gate. The inflight meal for kids is saltier than the adult meals. Absolutely vile. Horrible airline and won’t be using again.

Terrible policy. I am an emerald member and while they offer to seat me, my family on the same PNR was not accommodated. Customer service was terrible and even the supervisor would not adhere to what is common practice for One World airlines.

Overbooked my flight and had to place me in a completely different seat. I paid for extra room and got a standard seat. The staff then blamed me for not booking the correct seat.

Cancels the flight and doesn’t pays back the compensation amount.

Just wanted to update my details on my account simple as mob number....

It was a huge almighty task NOT only did they provide me with the wrong steps, they didn't realise that hence it took a long period of time. I even wrote a complaint and they said they would touch base within in 2x weeks... and I am still waiting....

Worse service ever... customer care dept....unsure what they do but it certainly isn't that.

What a disappointment. I booked a long haul trip with them and was downgraded from business to Economy on two legs of the trip. There was no apology or compensation from them.

Cathay Pacific did not allow me to check in online or select my seat. Even the staff from the airline operating the first leg of my journey attempted to change it, but they were also denied. As a result, I had to endure a long-haul flight seated directly in front of the lavatory, facing constant noise, odors, and a restricted recline. On top of this, I was not able to receive my preferred meal.

Absolutely dreadful! Terrible website and customer service which is practically non-existent. So disappointed ...they had a first class reputation in HongKong where I lived for many years, hence my decision to book my ticket to HongKong and Shanghai this time. I wish I hadn't but it is too late and costly to throw away hard earned money. Tried calling them twice today, held on for an hour each time with no result! Then tried to change booking myself using their "Manage My Booking"...Change to my Flight 1 was OK, Flights 2 and 3? Website went on strike and I was left in limbo so had to exit. I will NEVER fly with Cathay again.

My experience with Cathay Pacific Airways was nothing short of appalling, and I will never travel with them again. I strongly urge anyone considering this airline to think twice before booking.

My partner and I had booked a holiday to Bali. While the outbound journey was acceptable, the return trip to England turned into an ordeal of delays, poor treatment, and blatant disregard for passengers’ comfort.

The first leg of our journey, from Bali to Hong Kong, was delayed by three hours. While frustrating, I accepted it as an unfortunate but possible occurrence. However, what followed was entirely unacceptable. Upon arriving in Hong Kong for our connecting flight to Manchester, we were informed of a 10-hour delay. The reason given was “bad weather,” yet I could see numerous aircraft taking off and landing without difficulty. Other flights were clearly boarding on schedule, raising serious questions about the truthfulness of the explanation we were given.

To make matters worse, this delay began at midnight. No accommodation was offered, no upgrades were provided, and we were not granted access to a lounge or any facility with comfortable seating. Instead, passengers were left to endure an exhausting overnight wait in the main terminal. The staff’s behaviour compounded the frustration—rude, unhelpful, and entirely indifferent to the inconvenience they had caused.

This experience has destroyed any trust I might have had in Cathay Pacific Airways. Their lack of transparency, customer care, and basic decency is unacceptable for any airline claiming to operate at an international standard. I will never use their services again and would advise others to avoid them entirely.

On June 30 2025, I lost over 100,000 Asia Miles without receiving any visible alerts or reminders in my account dashboard or notification center. I later learned that Cathay claims to have sent an email reminder in December 2025 — which is concerning, as we are still in August 2025.

The only place where it states that certain transactions (such as refunds or cancellations) do not extend expiry is buried in the legal Terms and Conditions. This is inconsistent with their main FAQ and not mentioned anywhere visible in the member dashboard. No clear in-platform notifications were shown about miles expiring.

When I contacted customer service, there was no response due to my low status. After reaching out publicly through social media, I received a reply stating the miles could be reinstated for a fee of USD $3,000, later reduced to $2,000. Their tone was dismissive, and no willingness to provide any evidence.

While I have always appreciated Cathay Pacific’s in-flight service, this experience has made me lose trust in their loyalty program. Policies may be within the fine print, but in 2025, customers should expect transparent, proactive communication — not hidden clauses and costly reinstatement fees.

Our journey with Cathay Pacific was a masterclass in how not to handle delays, rebookings, and customer care. We arrived in London 14.5 hours late after a chaotic series of flight changes, misinformation, and poor decisions by the airline — all made worse by the fact we were travelling with our infant daughter.

The problems began with a delayed flight we were only told about hours before departure, which was then even later, ensuring we missed our connecting flight and got stuck in Hing Kong. From there, we endured a shambolic rebooking process involving multiple unsuitable flights (including to different airports), false claims about seat and bassinet availability, and constant last-minute switches. At one point, we were even booked onto a different flight without consent.

Customer service was abysmal. Representatives repeatedly ignored details I had already explained, failed to escalate the issue when asked, and at times even laughed inappropriately at our situation. Patrick Lai’s conduct was especially disgraceful — he reduced my wife to tears with a patronising and insulting comment about her parenting when we raised concerns about baby food, a problem entirely created by the airline’s own chaos. Escalations to management went nowhere, and when I emailed the CEO directly, there was no response at all, which I find incredibly poor.

Even the so-called compensation and hotel accommodation were insulting — vouchers that didn’t cover basic meals, a dirty, substandard hotel (that we had to fight for), and no written guarantee of reimbursement. At every stage, Cathay Pacific failed to show transparency, competence, or empathy.

While I eventually received some compensation, which I also had to fight for, this was far outweighed by the stress, inconvenience, and outright disrespect we endured. This experience has completely destroyed my trust in Cathay Pacific, and I strongly urge other travellers — especially those with young children — to avoid this low quality airline.

What a pathetic approach to 'customer service' - left 3 emails and 2 Whatsapp messages - all ignored! Spent 5 HOURS on chat with 'customer services advisor' only to be eventually told that they couldn't do anything and they would ' log my complaint'.

After a gruelling 14 hour flight in a group of 9 including children - we were rushed to another building to catch the connecting flight but after joining a very long queue and sitting for an hour in the aircraft without air conditioning in 35 degrees weather, we were ushered off the flight due to faulty air conditioning and left to find out where to go and what to do next. At final destination, local press reported that passengers were given 150 dollars coupons and food and drink - we were offered nothing. I am still waiting for an explanation/callback 3 weeks later - well after the 2 weeks they said that they would be in touch - pathetic - 20 yrs I have been flying with them, customer loyalty means nothing to them!!!

I flew business class with Cathay Pacific to Sydney and was really impressed. The seat was super comfortable, meals were top-notch, and service was flawless.

absolutely zero customer service. Waiting at HKG transfer desk for 2+ hours.

Wow phoning customer service is like pulling teeth. I have made 2 calls and in total was on phone for over 2 hours!
Communicating is arduous, looking up a simple seat request means being on hold for 10minutes. Told I was too old to sit in exit row (I’m 57!) then after asking steak to a supervisor, he realised he was mid-calculating my age. Painful. Shane as otherwise a Top Airline

First time flying CX. Likely will be my last. I'm Oneworld Emerald with AA, so I fly alot.

The trip started fine in Singapore. Upon checking in, I asked the agent if there was a chance of an upgrade. She said no. However, for the HKG-ORD leg, she could move me from my preferred seat to a row of seats in the back of the plane, and block off the other 2 seats in my row so I could have extra room and lay down to sleep. Sounded good, so I agreed.

When I connected in HKG I went to the Pier 1st class lounge, which was super. I didn't sleep in the napping room because I was confident that I could sleep on the plane.

When I arrived at the gate, I went up to the agent to confirm that an upgrade wasn't possible. She mentioned that the plane was full so no upgrades. OK fine. But what about my row of seats in the back that the agent in Singapore had blocked off for me? That's gone she said. Since the plane was full, no rows could be blocked.

So I had given up my preferred seat at the suggestion of the agent in Singapore, and by the time I got to Hong Kong I had basically been downgraded. I was now in a cramped seat in the very back of the plane. The gate agent was impatient because she was readying for boarding.

I asked her if there were still empty seats in PE or business and she said Yes, but she couldn't move me because Economy wasn't full. 3 minutes prior she had told me that Economy was full.

OK so my downgrade was complete and the gate agent wouldn't help fix the mistake that her fellow agent in Singapore had made. I was stuck. She said if I wanted an upgrade I should have asked for one when I checked in at Singapore. I told her that's exactly what I did.

The experience in the back of Economy was pathetic. Cramped seating, so tight I couldn't even open my laptop. My plan to work on the flight was ruined. Then I tried to work on my tablet but the wifi was extremely slow. After multiple attempts, three tablet restarts, and the Pursar restarting the plane's wifi, I still couldn't even get my email before my browser timed out. This persisted throughout the flight.

My meal was "Peking Duck." Shaped like a square...my seatmates were laughing so hard. Everyone was snapping pics of my square shaped duck. No duck looks like a square, not even in Peking.

Overall I found CX to be poor-- better than Ryanair or Spirit, but just barely. Certainty NOT a 5 Star airline.