Cathay Pacific Is Refreshing Their First Class Seat (Again)

Amazing credit to CX design that this seat is a decade old and still is competitive. It's only the tech parts that age it, so a new screen and handset seems like a smart move.

" I hate how slow so many USB ports charge" i never use USB port for charging, always bring your own AC charger to guarantee fast charging.

Hmmm...I have a CX F flight coming up in late January HKG-LAX. I imagine they'll start rolling these out on the LHR and JFK flights, but LAX seems like a possible third city for the refreshed product.

Not trying to troll here, I promise... but is there really a big deal with "slow charging" for a transpacific flight (obviously on a <3 hour flight this is a bigger concern)?

I can't imagine my experience using a device would change one bit on a 9+ hour flight whether it took 45 minutes or an hour and 45 minutes to get a full charge.

@ Evan -- It's a fair point, though keep in mind that CX also operates these planes on some shorter routes, including HKG-BKK. Regardless of how long the flight, is though, it's nice to have something charge efficiently. Sometimes I only remember to charge my phone towards the end of the flight, and it's nice when you can still get a full charge at that point. It's not a huge deal or game changer, but anything that improves performance is a positive, in my opinion.

@ Ben L. -- I don't suspect they'll intentionally put the product on any routes. Since the configuration is identical, it'll likely just be filtered through the system as efficiently as possible. At least that was the case when the last refresh happened, if I recall correctly.

I've only flew CX F once from HKG-BOS. That IFE screen is long overdue for a replacement. Also, CX's 77W doesn't have wifi (not when I flew it) so putting my phone and tablet on airplane mode without any radios turned on fully charged them for the nearly 16 hour flight.

I second anon's advice.
Don't use a public USB port if you value your privacy.
A rogue USB port can compromise your device's security.

That is the best way of travel. I'm always VIP.

use public usb charge ports to charge your power pack, not your phone

@mike murphy, USB is too slow for charging power packs , especially if you are in public and presumably on the go. After trying a USB-only charging power pack, now I only buy power packs with built-in AC plugs

@anon

I agree, I should have specified usb onboard for long flights, worked for me on a 11 hr jal flight a few days ago, took about 3 hrs to charge.

best thing I have found is a clone phone that can swap out batteries, ( and 2 sim cards too)

What's the point of a bigger screen if the IFE source material is garbage quality in the first place?

@evan @ lucky It's also helpful to have a faster charge when you're actually using your phone. If it's a slow charge, like in some cars, you are sometimes still draining the battery faster than the USB is charging it. So, if you forget or procrastinate charging your phone on the flight, it could be the different between a charged phone and living the 3% life on arrival.

Just use the seat plugs to keep your device alive, and charge at your destination.