Last February 2016, My friends and I were lucky enough to
experience the best delayed flight experience anyone could’ve experience. Both
of our flights leaving and coming back to Manila were delayed. Nobody likes
flight delays but if you’re not in a hurry and the Airline good compensation
for delayed flight then you can turn a delayed flight to a wonderful
experience.
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| Drinking some of my favorite drinks in the Cathay Pacific Lounge |
Our delayed started when 2 of our friends who arrived in the
airport early were transferred to the earlier flight because of the 3-4 hrs delay
of our flights. Majority of the people on the same flight were transferred to
the earlier flight. Some even got a free upgrade including the couple who were
right in front of us. You can just
imagine how pissed we were when we were that close to getting a free upgrade.
What we don’t know is that we’re about to experience the best flight ever.
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| Dinner at Cathay Pacific Lounge |
After checking in, we immediately went to the boarding gate
even if we know we had to stay there for the next 5 or more hours. Cathay
Pacific immediately offered free sandwiches and drinks. After an hour of
waiting, I asked them if there is any pay lounge within the terminal and they
endorsed me to a pay lounge but I wasn’t able to find it. Fair enough after a
few minutes they invited all the passengers to go to the Cathay Pacific Lounge.
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| A taste of Business Class |
We were so happy because the lounge was so nice. Free
flowing of drinks, food, desserts, and so on. My supposed drinking session in
Lan Kwai Fong was spent inside Cathay Pacific Lounge. I tried all the food
offering available and tried different cocktails and hard drinks as well. It’s
been a while since I experience waiting inside a lounge. I usually travel
Economy. The last time I was able to travel business was when I was with my Mom
way back when I was a kid. Being able to experience lounging made me a happy
kid once again. We spent a good 2 hours inside the lounge before we went to the
plane.
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| Owning the plane |
Once inside the plane, we found out that there are only a
little over 10 people inside a huge Cathay Pacific Plane. We owned the whole
plane. We were literally roaming around trying all kinds of classes. We were
free to sit anywhere. The crews were very accommodating. They are willing to
give us extra food if we want. We can even request for the whole 1 liter bottle
of soda. I wasn’t able to enjoy the inflight entertainment because we were busy
roaming around the airplane. We were given souvenir playing cards before leaving
the aeroplane.
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| Delayed Flight |
On our way back to the Philippines, we found out that our
flight was 12 hours delayed. Instead of leaving around 8pm at night, our flight
was moved morning the following day. When we arrived in the check in counter,
the attendants informed us that our flight was delayed. They gave us two options.
The first option was to be transferred to Philippine Airlines for free. The
second option to wait for the flight but we will be given free hotel and meals.
We obviously picked the latter option. Who will say no to free accommodation
and buffet dinner and breakfast?
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| Photo Op inside the Airport Hotel. |
We immediately went to the hotel to check in. We freshen up
a bit then we immediately proceeded to the buffet restaurant to eat our dinner.
It was so good we forgot that we were there because our flight was delayed. A
supposed inconvenient event turned into a great experience. After the dinner
buffet, we decided to roam around the hotel and we also went back to the
airport to roam around as well. We were supposed to swim but the cold weather
refrain us from doing so.
Come flight day. We weren’t able to go to the buffet
restaurant for breakfast. We were given meal vouchers to be spent in side the
airside area of the airport. After checking in, I went immediately to Popeyes
then rushed to the boarding gate.
Overall, my experience with Cathay was amazing. I cannot
thank them enough for pampering us. I don’t think I will receive the same
experience if I flew budget. One thing I learned about this experience is that
if the price of a full service carrier and budget airline is almost the same or
there’s a small difference. Always go for full service airlines. I fly budget
most of the time but given the choice I’ll fly full service.
