Flying to the newly-3D Tianfu for the first time with a staple of Cathay Pacific’s intra-Asian fleet, the A330-300. The Hong Kong-based airline operates the type with several different seating configurations on routes primarily within East Asia. Older airframes are scheduled to be replaced in the relative near future by the A330-900neo, while the rest of the fleet undergoes renovations to remain at the front of the pack in an extremely competitive market.
Server: Solo
Airline: Cathay Pacific
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Origin: Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong (HKG)
Destination: Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, Jianyang, China (TFU)
Route: VHHH-ZUTF
Seat: 20K (Business)
Time En Route: 2 Hours 29 Minutes
Boarding at Gate 68 in Hong Kong. Our aircraft, B-LAN, is one of 43 A330s operated by Cathay Pacific, with the 33E seating configuration of 262 seats devided between 39 in business and 223 in economy.
Turning onto Runway 25L for takeoff. While Cathay’s A330s are mostly seen around Mainland China, the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea, they are seen as far west as Colombo in Sri Lanka.
Trent 700s getting us airborne for Chengdu-Tianfu. Tianfu Airport opened in 2021 to keep up with the expansion of both the city it serves and the consequent passenger traffic, which threatened to overwhelm the old Shuangliu Airport, one of the oldest airports in China.
Climbout over Hong Kong, near the site of the old Kai Tak Airport
Cruising over Guangzhou. Service by the cabin crew has started, and if it’s anything like previous trips on Cathay Pacific, it’s sure to be top-notch.
Passing through the cirrus layer during the initial descent
Final approach into Chengdu
Landing in the early afternoon at Tianfu
Taxiing into Terminal 1, which handles primarily international flights, though some domestic ones use it as well. Due to passenger numbers, Chinese airlines commonly deploy widebody aircraft on routes with flight times commonly associated with narrowbodies and even regional jets.
Deplaned while B-LAN is prepared for the return trip to Hong Kong. Great work from Project China on this one, I really enjoyed it!