Hong Kong/Cathay Pacific
The start of our second trip around the world – albeit a much quicker trip than the last one. Alyce was pretty anxious heading in to the last trip, and I couldn’t really blame her. We were going to be away from everything that we knew and was familiar to us for nearly 3 months.
This time, she was much more relaxed (relatively speaking, of course). We would only be gone for 12 nights. And although neither of us were particularly happy about having to board Moose at the vet for that time, we knew he’d be taken care of. Our parents watched the pain in the butt – aka Chunk.
We spent the night before we left in New Orleans, making things easier for the following morning. Our flight to Chicago left New Orleans at about 7:30 a.m. It was on an American Airlines Embraer E175 regional jet and we were in business class. As with most domestic flights, it was pretty standard. Though, I will say that the plane was actually pretty nice. Many regional jets can be cramped/not good to fly on, but we liked this one. And it was clearly a pretty new plane…I think it even had a new plane smell.
Upon arriving in Chicago, the cold air took our breath away on the brief walk up the gate bridge (I think it was 6 degrees F). We followed the signs to the international terminal, and recleared security then waited for the lounge to open.
It was a little past noon, and the Swiss lounge was still pretty dead looking. I finally found someone there and asked when they’d be opening, at which point I was informed that Cathay Pacific no longer uses the Swiss Lounge. Oops. I should have checked on that.
Now, Cathay uses the BA First lounge. It is a bigger, much more spacious lounge compared to the Swiss Lounge. That said, the food and drink selections were without a doubt superior in the Swiss Lounge. It was not a big deal, and the extra space was nice. Plus, you get your fill of food on the plane.
