CX596 HKG-KIX (Hong Kong – Osaka), Airbus A350-1000
This was a family holiday to Osaka and we wanted to take the kids to Universal Studios Japan and other sites around the city. We booked for the wife in business class and everyone else in coach.
Since the wife is Diamond level on Cathay, we were able to use the first class lounge. The biggest difference between the business class lounge, is that the buffet is a little better and there is a full service restaurant. There are also massages available, but we didn’t have time for that.
After the lovely time at the lounge, we made our way to the gate and boarded. The flight was full (of course), and soon we were off. Service on the flight was fantastic, and the flight was uneventful. Breakfast on Cathay is always a hit–to me it’s their best meal consistently. The crew is always pretty awesome on Cathay too, and this flight was no different.
The Airbus A350-1000 is an amazing plane and probably my favorite in the Cathay fleet. I don’t mind the 777s either, but there are fewer of them. In this case, our A35K flew over to Taiwan as all the Japan flights do, and turned once, then it felt like it was more or less straight into Osaka. I honestly don’t remember another turn to line up for the runway.
The Osaka airport I was looking forward to because I hadn’t been before and it was one of the first artificial island airports I remember being constructed. This flight was in autumn in 2024. The airport seemed like it could use a bit of grooming on the grassy areas and the terminal is loooooooong. We parked at the far end, and after deplaning had to walk a little bit before catching a smallish train to immigration.
That area is under construction and there was a lot of people landing around the same time, so it took over an hour to clear immigration and customs. Then we took a train to Osaka Central, and a cab to our hotel.
Osaka is a great place to visit too!