Some things in life sound too good to be true. When you hear someone say “I flew business class to Asia for $12.50“, this statement would make the list for most people. By applying for several credit cards over a two year period, Lindsay and I accrued over 490,000 American Airlines miles. Fortunately, we booked the one way journey before the AA devaluation last March for a mere 55,000 miles per person.

Cathay Pacific offers great award availability using American Airlines miles, which is why we chose this flight to get to Asia. We ended up flying through Chicago, but there are daily flights from JFK, LAX, and DFW (on AA from Dallas).

Cathay is routinely awarded 5 stars from Skytrax, which rates airlines around the world. People might think that any business class on a long haul flight will generally all be the same in terms of quality. The truth is that most American carriers are generally sub par in terms of service and food quality.

Our flight was 16 hours from Chicago to Hong Kong. We had two meals and snacks in between. The only complaint I have about the flight is the cabin temperature. I read on many blogs that Cathay keeps their cabin warm, easily getting as warm as 74°-75°.  The only thing that interrupted my sleep was the warm temperature in the cabin. Otherwise, the seat was very comfortable.  They even provide a down comforter and pillow to make it feel like a real bed.

Lindsay had no idea what kind of seat or plane we were flying on before boarding. I was the complete opposite, choosing this flight and exact plane for the seating arrangement. Needless to say Lindsay was not disappointed.

We had lunch shortly after takeoff. Snacks were offered upon request in the 12 hour break between lunch and the dinner being served two hours prior to landing. We both had steak for lunch and it was very good, as was the wine.

I slept a solid 8 hours after dinner, but Lindsay napped periodically.  Once we were both up and fully rested, we decided to split a hamburger, and it was very good. The ice cream was too tempting to pass up as well.

The dinner served before landing was also delicious.

Overall, the flight was wonderful. The arrival lounge in Hong Kong was also great because we were able to take a shower after 23 hours of traveling. We are very lucky to have experienced such a luxurious way to travel to the other side of the planet.