Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Y seats from HKG to the US

Greetings, AA EXP here looking forward to my first experience on CX.

In the process of booking from HKG and have been doing a lot of reading.
Honestly I'm worried about the hard shell seats in Y in such long flights.

The most likely route for me is HKG-ORD, and from the FAQ it seems that it is covered by the 77D, 3 class service, no premium Y and hard shells. Is this correct?? If so, what are my options to book a flight with cradle seats in Y to the US?? I saw some (but not all) routes to JFK, including the one with stopover in YVR.

Is it correct to assume that cradle Y is installed on all planes with PE, so if I search for PE I know which flights have cradles? Any other way to find out?

Another complication is that I must book an AA codeshare flight, which means that not al CX flights will be available as codeshare.

Thanks in advance.

Of corse this all holds until there is an equipment change...how often does it happen?

Of corse this all holds until there is an equipment change...how often does it happen?
CX is famous for its frequent last minute equipment swap.

CX is famous for its frequent last minute equipment swap.

Yes but only on shorter flights, flights to the US & Canada rarely see equipment changes if never

The newest economy craddle seats are only fitted on 2 or 3 aircraft currently and fly to YYZ (Toronto) and one of the JFK flights (nonstop). The flight which stops in YVR (CX889/888) does not have the new economy seats, only the shell design 77D. If it's really gonna be a pain for you, fly to YYZ and connect to ORD because Chicago doesn't have the new seats yet. Also YYZ gets premium economy service aswell.

Anyway don't be worried the shell seats aren't that bad and CX is a great airline, enjoy your travels !

I just flew CX long-haul Y with the hard shell seats for the first time (HKG-LAX). I always fly J or F so I was worried a bit after reading about those seats here, but it wasn't bad at all. I had a good nap and woke up feeling about the same as I do in J.

I'm sure the newest Y product is better, but the vast majority of flyers won't notice the difference. Mostly just the hardcore folks around here. ;)

I just flew CX long-haul Y with the hard shell seats for the first time (HKG-LAX). I always fly J or F so I was worried a bit after reading about those seats here, but it wasn't bad at all. I had a good nap and woke up feeling about the same as I do in J.

I'm sure the newest Y product is better, but the vast majority of flyers won't notice the difference. Mostly just the hardcore folks around here. ;)

This is good to hear! We are doing ORD-HKG next month and everything I have read about the shell seats is terrible. I am not looking for anything spectacular, but was worried about being 6'3" since I had read that they are terrible for tall people.

Is it correct to assume that cradle Y is installed on all planes with PE, so if I search for PE I know which flights have cradles? Any other way to find out?

The FAQ on this forum leads me to believe this is true.

SFO is getting a PE equipped 777 starting in August - I hope it has the cradle Y as I will be on a couple of those flights!

This is good to hear! We are doing ORD-HKG next month and everything I have read about the shell seats is terrible. I am not looking for anything spectacular, but was worried about being 6'3" since I had read that they are terrible for tell people.

Well, I should probably footnote that. I'm kinda short, so I have nothing to say about how these seats fit tall people. I imagine this would be a function of seat pitch instead of the style (cradle vs. hard shell).

It just seemed like the hard shell seat was about 90-95% exactly the same as every other economy seat I've flown. It reclines a little differently (more of a slouch than a recline) but being a short guy I had plenty of leg room to accommodate it. YMMV of course.

I am a bit short or actually average (for a gal anyway), but the hard-shelled seats aren't bad at all. (and I was sitting in a middle seats next to two people I know - otherwise, I wouldn't take a middle because 14+ hours on a flight in the middle seat stuck between two strangers isn't really my idea of fun.

I honestly don't think it was too bad (I took it two years ago for the first time) and I'd take it again if I have to (over other airlines anyway, since CX has a superior IFE system).

My dad is almost 6 feet tall and he took the aisle seat and he was fine with it too.

Having said that, the next time I'm flying into HKG, I'm going to be on the J product, so I may never say the same for the Y product thereafter. :p

It's not that bad. Tolerable. But not painful. And you don't have to worry about other people leaning their chairs back into your space - I love that. If you're tall or have back problems, I can see that those may not be the most comfortable seats.

Any YYZ or JFK flight with Y+ will have the new cradle Y seats.

For LAX/SFO it's not guaranteed that flights with Y+ will have the new Y as they could also use a 747 on those routes and no 747 aircraft have new Y seats.

Yes but only on shorter flights, flights to the US & Canada rarely see equipment changes if never

Well there are 77A and 77D swaps

I just flew CX long-haul Y with the hard shell seats for the first time (HKG-LAX). I always fly J or F so I was worried a bit after reading about those seats here, but it wasn't bad at all. I had a good nap and woke up feeling about the same as I do in J.

Are you sitting at the exit row?

Are you sitting at the exit row?

On the long haul (HKG-LAX) I was in the middle front bulkhead. IIRC this was a 77W so I was in 30F. Not quite as much legroom as the exits to my left and right, but maybe a little more than everyone behind me.

I'm sure the newest Y product is better, but the vast majority of flyers won't notice the difference. Mostly just the hardcore folks around here. ;)

Please don't make comments like this as if people criticizing Y seats here are making something out of nothing. A simple read of any on-line review/survey/complaint about airlines/Cathay Pacific and you will notice all of the criticism towards CX Y is on their seats. So obviously it's not just "hardcore folks" but many people that flew Y has the same protests.

I'm glad it worked out for you, but that does not change the fact that the hardshell Y seat is a failure and CX lost many pax because of it.

I did put a smiley at the end to signify that I was just joking around. I know a lot of folks who do or don't like the hard shell for various reasons. But yes, I stand by my opinion that on an online forum of flying enthusiasts like FT, you are liable to encounter people with more pronounced opinions than the general public.

When I get on a CX flight with hard shell Y what do I see? I see a plane full of people who look about as happy as any other flight. Nobody is complaining loudly to the ISM. Most of them probably fly once every couple of years and they barely even knew they were going to be flying CX until they got to the airport. I suspect that the average economy passenger probably cares more about the meal or the IFE than which model seat their flight is equipped with.

IIRC this was a 77W so I was in 30F.

Do they have Y+ (77G or 77H) now for LAX? I didn't catch that. If it were 77A or 77D, there is no 30F, so 30E maybe?

I did put a smiley at the end to signify that I was just joking around. I know a lot of folks who do or don't like the hard shell for various reasons. But yes, I stand by my opinion that on an online forum of flying enthusiasts like FT, you are liable to encounter people with more pronounced opinions than the general public.

Well - believe or not, except from CX (AFAIK), a lot of airlines have official representatives present in FT for see our disappointments. Here are samples of what FT has accomplished:

1. UA switched back boarding procedures
2. AA status matched with unhappy UA flyers.
3. BD elites have extensive status match offers because of ignorance of BA.

When I get on a CX flight with hard shell Y what do I see? I see a plane full of people who look about as happy as any other flight. Nobody is complaining loudly to the ISM. Most of them probably fly once every couple of years and they barely even knew they were going to be flying CX until they got to the airport. I suspect that the average economy passenger probably cares more about the meal or the IFE than which model seat their flight is equipped with.

No one cares about IFE/AVOD anymore - iPad/Tablet/laptops...

In a CX flight with hardshell Y, you will see me standing at least half of the flights if I am on the flight. At this is the best - the flight is a TPAC.

Do they have Y+ (77G or 77H) now for LAX? I didn't catch that. If it were 77A or 77D, there is no 30F, so 30E maybe?

This flight had no Y+ cabin at all... I just got an email from CX saying Y+ starts on the HKG-LAX route on December 1, 2012:

Premium Economy Class is currently available in London and New York flights and will be made available on the other destinations on the following dates:

Los Angeles - effective 01 December 2012
Frankfurt, San Francisco - effective 01 September 2012
Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth - effective 01 August 2012
Brisbane, Mumbai - effective 01 October 2012

Well - believe or not, except from CX (AFAIK), a lot of airlines have official representatives present in FT for see our disappointments. Here are samples of what FT has accomplished:

1. UA switched back boarding procedures
2. AA status matched with unhappy UA flyers.
3. BD elites have extensive status match offers because of ignorance of BA.


Agreed. What we are talking about here is not mutually exclusive. Both can be true.

In addition, all of this is a moot point since CX already got the message and is rolling out a newer Y product that gets better reviews than the hard shell seat. I don't think CX is going to see my silly joke and immediately put the hard shells back in.

No one cares about IFE/AVOD anymore - iPad/Tablet/laptops...

In a CX flight with hardshell Y, you will see me standing at least half of the flights if I am on the flight. At this is the best - the flight is a TPAC.

Yeah I guess IFE is a declining feature at this point.

Standing/walking/stretching is good for you anyway, regardless of what kind of seat you are in. I do that in all classes on long haul flights, even when I'm flying CX J or F.

This flight had no Y+ cabin at all... I just got an email from CX saying Y+ starts on the HKG-LAX route on December 1, 2012:

Yeah so there could not be a 30F. Maybe you meant 30E?

Yeah so there could not be a 30F. Maybe you meant 30E?

Oops yep you are correct. I just checked my stubs and I was in 30G. My group took up the whole row (30 D/E/G) and I hadn't noticed that it skips a letter in there, my mistake.

The flight which stops in YVR (CX889/888) does not have the new economy seats, only the shell design 77D.

This is not true, I was on the CX889 flight to HKG from YVR and it was served with the new Economy Class seat. The new Y seats on the bulkhead and window aren't that bad. On my return (CX888), the flight was served by the old fixed-shell seats. Comparing both, the new Y seats are much better, though the old one in the same bulkhead location aren't as bad. Just get extra pillows for your back, and it should be fine.