On 7 September, CX549 from Haneda to Hong Kong. The flight, scheduled for 16:20, left nearly an hour and a half late; boarding was not at a jet bridge but by bus from Gate 139 to a remote stand. Yet the moment I settled into 2A, time slowed down. Cathay Pacific's First Class on the Boeing 777-300ER has flown for many years — the open suite, the dark walnut, the burgundy cushion are familiar old faces. But the beauty of First was never about being new.

The 2A suite in wide angle: seat, buddy ottoman and three windows along a walnut sill.

Seat and buddy ottoman opposite: dine face to face, or fold everything flat into a bed.

From the suite toward the cabin, the moving map already tracing the flight.

White pillows, a burgundy cushion and sealed bedding; the old palette still works.

A Delay, Absorbed by Champagne

The crew did not let the ground delay sit empty. A welcome drink and a hot towel first, then the bottle presented at the seat: Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicolas François Brut 2006 — a vintage champagne shown before it was poured. Still on the ground, sunlight already slanting through the windows, the ninety-minute wait was quietly absorbed by a glass of 2006.

First pour of the flight: the crew presents the bottle — Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicolas François Brut 2006.

Poured at the seat, bubbles rising slowly up the glass.

Sunlight slants in; a glass of champagne settles the delay.

A welcome drink and a hot towel: the boarding ritual begins.

Menus, a Wine List, and a Handwritten Card

The dark-covered menu and the purple wine list rest side by side on the sill. The cellar would flatter any First cabin flying today: William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir 2022, Château Branaire-Ducru 2015 from St-Julien, Argiano Brunello di Montalcino 2020, and for dessert Château Rieussec 2014, a Sauternes premier grand cru classé; the drinks pages add the signature Cloud Nine, a Cathay Delight and a 21-year-old Benromach single malt.

The dark-covered First menu and the purple wine list, side by side on the sill.

The dinner menu: two starters, three mains, and a full Japanese set besides.

The wine list runs deep: a Chablis Grand Cru, a classified Bordeaux, a Brunello and a Sauternes.

Pyjamas and overnight essentials come in a grey drawstring pouch; with slippers on, the legroom is unapologetically vast. What made me pause was a handwritten card served with the flight — crew members Mel and Keevin had written 'CX549, HND–HKG, 7 SEP 2025'. Beyond the scripted welcome, someone wrote this day's flight out by hand, for you. That is the warmth of the software.

Inside the grey drawstring pouch: pyjamas and overnight essentials.

Slippers on, legroom to spare; the suite's sheer scale wins half the argument.

A handwritten card from crew members Mel and Keevin: CX549, HND–HKG, 7 September 2025.

A Sunset Departure

At 18:08 the aircraft finally lifted off. While taxiing, another jet climbed straight into the sunset — Haneda compensating for the delay with a dusk. After the climb, the horizon was a single orange line, and twilight poured into the suite, warming the walnut sill.

Taxiing into the sunset, menu still open on the sill, the world outside turning gold.

Another aircraft climbs straight into the sunset: Haneda's farewell ceremony.

The runway slips away. At 18:08, CX549 is finally airborne.

Dusk after the climb: the horizon reduced to a single orange line.

Twilight pours into the suite, warming the walnut sill.

Sea and sky through three windows — the best screen in First is the window.

The StudioCX interface and screen size honestly admit the product's age; the catalogue and the moving map want for nothing, though. Against the dusk in three windows, the screen was always going to be a supporting act.

StudioCX lights up with HND → HKG; the system is not new, but nothing is missing.

Dinner: The Japanese Set

Dinner began with a green pea soup — minted crème fraîche and croutons, clean and bright. A Thai beef glass vermicelli salad in nam jim dressing woke the palate with sour heat; the seasonal Japanese delicacies arranged angel shrimp, fish cake, smoked salmon sushi, sesame whiting, roasted mullet roe and egg roll into a small plate of the season. For the main I took the Japanese set — chicken roll with abalone crabmeat sauce, Japanese mixed vegetables, steamed rice and miso soup, presented whole on white linen. Seasonal fruit and a strawberry filo with vanilla sauce closed the meal, the pastry light, the berries fresh.

Dinner opens: champagne and a first bite on the sill, in the dusk.

To start: green pea soup with minted crème fraîche and croutons — a reset button of a dish.

Seasonal Japanese delicacies: angel shrimp, fish cake, smoked salmon sushi, sesame whiting, mullet roe and egg roll.

Thai beef glass vermicelli salad with nam jim dressing — sour heat that wakes the palate.

The Japanese main, served as a set: chicken roll, mixed vegetables, rice and miso soup on white linen.

Chicken roll with abalone crabmeat sauce and Japanese vegetables, sliced clean.

Seasonal fresh fruit — passion fruit, kiwi, strawberries and melon — to clear the palate.

Dessert: strawberry filo with vanilla sauce, pastry light as a page.

Down into Hong Kong

After dinner the cabin turned deep red; the seat folded flat under its red duvet, a film played, and the sea sank into night beyond the windows. At 20:44 we landed in Hong Kong, the apron washed bright by rain, a row of Cathay tails under the floodlights. One last look at 2A before leaving: yes, the product is old now — but from a 2006 vintage champagne and a handwritten card to a complete Japanese dinner, the hardware keeps its composure and the software its care. The beauty of First still holds. My verdict: 92.