Cathay Pacific to Begin A350 Service Between Hong Kong and Vancouver
Earlier this summer, Cathay Pacific took delivery of its first A350. The airline has been flying it within Asia for the past few months, with service to Europe (Dusseldorf and London-Gatwick) set to launch next week (September 5 and September 4, respectively). Until now, Cathay had yet to announce A350 service to North America, but we have some good news: The airline just shared plans to operate its Hong Kong (HKG) to Vancouver (YVR) route with the new A350 as of March 26, 2017.
With the upgrade in aircraft, Cathay also announced that it's increasing its service from 14 to 17 weekly flights. Here's the schedule, which will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays in both directions:
- Cx856 Hong Kong (HKG) 11:00am Departure ⇒ Vancouver (YVR) 7:55am Arrival
- CX855 Vancouver (YVR) 9:25am Departure ⇒ Hong Kong (HKG) 1:45pm (+1) Arrival
The A350 is comprised of three cabins: business, premium economy and economy. The business-class cabin offers 38 lie-flat suites that have 45 inches of pitch and are 20 inches wide in a 1-2-1 configuration. The premium economy cabin is comprised of 28 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration. Each seat has 40 inches of pitch and is 20 inches wide. The economy cabin, meanwhile, has 214 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration. Each seat has 32 inches of pitch and is 18 inches wide.

There appears to be excellent award availability on the route, with two seats on almost every flight:

If you're interested in booking this award, you'd get the best value out of using American AAdvantage miles (70,000 one-way in business class) or Alaska Mileage Plan miles (50,000 one-way in business class). Keep in mind that even if you don't have Alaska Mileage Plan miles in your account, you could buy more with a 50% bonus through September 29, 2016.
H/T: One Mile at a Time
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| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
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Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month

