CX 291 Hong Kong - Brussels
12 Jan 2026 : 00:30 - 07:40
Business Class
Although my final destination is London, I'm always open to flying to a nearby city to connect if the price is right. Brussels, Amsterdam, and Paris were all on my radar, as were Frankfurt and Zurich, all of which are only a short flight from the UK.
I had flown to Hong Kong from London via Munich a few weeks earlier, and saved quite a lot of money.
Tonight, I'm flying to Brussels, a flight I've never tried with Cathay Pacific. With an A350 aircraft, it would be comfortable up front and I hope to sleep a fairly good portion of the almost 14-hour flight.
Check-in was smooth and I headed to the bag drop, where there was no line. Unlike other cities that have installed scanners to automatically pick up the luggage tag when you place it on the belt, here in Hong Kong, you have to pick up a physical scanner yourself to scan the bag in. They haven't picked the best automation tools and I still need to touch a lot of surfaces to get the bag going.
Security and immigration didn't take long and I soon exited into a relatively quiet air-side zone. I would need to take the people mover to the far flung gates tonight, passing by the standard duty-free shops from luxury brands to a local version of Jellycat featuring dim sum plush toys.
It was a little difficult to plane spot at this hour with the bright terminal causing a lot of glare at the windows.
However, I liked the locally-themed boards with recognizable icons that they've put up on the empty shopfronts.
The airport's gate infrastructure has been refurbished recently with new carpets and seats offering UBS charging. There are also more working desks along the windows, offering a really good panoramic view as you wait for boarding.
Being at the front of the plane, I didn't have to figure out the new zone boarding groups and headed straight in when boarding was called half an hour before departure. We don't need to show our boarding passes or IDs anymore as the facial recognition had picked up who I was at the entrance to the restricted area ealier. Hope that personal data won't be hacked and leaked later on though ...
I settled in the small mini-cabin at the back end of Business Class behind the doors. There are only 2 rows here and is my preferred secluded space. However, since Economy passengers board just ahead of me, there was a steady stream of people passing on their way to their cattle pens for the night. I heard a little jealously as a few passed, but I was too busy reviewing the food menu, sipping on my Cathay Delight welcome drink, and spreading my essentials around my seat to look up to see the poor plebians lamenting their fate.
Cathay Delight is by far my favourite drink in the sky. I still fondly remember my first sip of this kiwi-based drink some 20 years ago on my first Business Class flight with them. I'm glad they haven't phased it out and replaced it over the years.
The main and drinks menu were already placed on my seat while a bottle of water was in the side cabinet.
My initial observations were good - this set of crew was attentive and on top of their game tonight. One came by with a first round of hot towels and he made sure to remind each one of us it is hot indeed! The flight deck then announced a journey time of 13h45, and we pushed back at 39 minutes past midnight, taxing for 15 minutes to take off towards the east.
I couldn't score a window seat tonight, but the IFE featured outside cameras which were very high quality.
I debated whether to skip dinner entirely since it was well past midnight by now and I had a proper dinner earlier in the evening. But upon scanning the menu, the winter seasonal favourite claypot rice caught my attention and won me over. I skipped the dessert and fruit course at the end so I could finish dinner quickly and go to sleep. While the crew came to take my order beforehand, I wished they reminded me whether I wanted more besides the main for that little extra touch.
Traditional claypot rice includes Chinese sausages and would be cooked with an open flame so the rice sticks to the claypot's edges to form a delicious crust. This isn't possible on the plane, so I was surprised the crust-like texture was present in my claypot. It didn't taste the same as the real thing but close enough and a great effort.
2 members of crew took care of my side of the cabin and they kept a good eye on us, quickly clearing empty plates and checking on us frequently to see if we need anything. This is far better service than I've received on my London flights upfront, and reminds me of the good old days from before the pandemic, when Cathay crew consistently and continuously impressed. Nowadays, it's a hit and miss, but today's crew overall performed at the top end of the scale.
I fell asleep soon after and was surprised I woke up 7 hours later. The mattress cover and duvet made the space quite comfortable, although the footwell space felt a little tighter than the older 777's that I previously flew to London with.
Business Class bathrooms were well-kept and clean although they didn't look any bigger than the Economy ones out back. I never had to wait long for one to become available though. The galley had some snacks and fruits available for us to help ourselves.
I then started browsing the IFE to populate my playlist. Lately, Hong Kong has been abuzz with a really old TV series which has been re-made into a movie. The original series was available on board, and there was also live TV for the BBC and CNN, a feature not available on the older 777.
By now, we were a little over 2 hours from arrival and I was starting to get hungry. I initially called service for a signature wonton noodle soup, a long-time favourite from the snack menu. The crew quickly came but told me we'll soon get breakfast, and took my order for the wellness option consisting of museli.
The lights slowly brightened and we got another hot towel to prepare for breakfast.
It turned out this museli was absolutely delicious because I love cinnamon and it had plenty of it. The pairing with a buttery croissant was a bit odd though since that is not exactly healthy, but I gulped it down with a tea to feel less guilty. Cathay has a good variety of different teas from Jing on offer, so I always order one or two to go with my meals.
Being still deep in winter, we landed on time at 7:31am in the dark, slightly earlier than scheduled.
I've visited Brussels twice in the last year and a bit, and quite like Belgium in general. The airport was a bit smaller and more manageable, while it's an easy bus ride into the city for some sightseeing before I continue on a short flight across the English Channel later in the afternoon.
What I didn't expect was a huge line for immigration at this early hour. It took 1.5 hours to cross for the 'other passports' line. Luckily, I was at the front the plane. I can't imagine how much more it'll take for the last few rows in Economy to get through. There is also no priority lane for premium passengers here.
During the wait, I checked the airport arrivals page to understand why 7am is a peak hour here. There are actually many international arrivals from Africa, Asia, and North America, and only 2 counters to process us. There are a few more counters for 'other passports' requiring visas, but the big picture is this airport doesn't have enough equipment to take in all these international flights.
By the time I got through, my flight no longer appeared on the screens, so I had to hunt around the hall to find my suitcase, which was already taken out of the belt and neatly placed in a line just off it.
Since BA's first flight of the day is mid-afternoon, I could only check-in at a kiosk (but not every kiosk enabled BA flights) and there was no way I can send my big bag away. I ended up storing my luggage in a locker next to the bus terminus. This was a fairly straight forward process on the machine, which takes contactless. An extra large locker was big enough to fit my big case and hand carry. Then you set your own password and you're all set.
The airport bus Line 12 is a cheaper alternative to get into the city compared to the train, charging 7.9 euros only while it's only 2.3 euros for the way back. Contactless is accepted but look for the specific card reader on the bus since some take their local smart cards and not credit cards. My destination was not Grand Place in the heart of the old city but a bit further out at Parc du Cinquantenaire near the European Union headquarters, where there is a bus stop and overall under 30 minutes from the airport.
