Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - CX inflight service

I would be intersted to hear what other pax think about the consistency of CX inflight service. Sometimnes the chief purser or under their new Inflight Service Manager name makes a point of saying hello to Diamond and Gold members; other times (my last 5 flights) they just did not bother. Sometimes they put up the connecting CX flights on the screen before landing in HKG and tell you the baggage carousel number, others do not bother. I found that whenever the ISM pays attention to details like this, the whole crew under his/her control seems to be more efficient also.

Marco Polo,

As a Diamond Card member, I find CX's Inflight Service to be "top notch".

I am also SQ's PPS Club member and I do not get greeted onboard by the Inflight Service Manager so I find getting a special greetings from CX ISM is excellent. Therefore, CX has a far lead from SQ in flight service.

For the most part, CX inflight service is superb. ISMs do make a difference, however, in my experience on CX flights between HKG and LAX, YYZ and JFK, the arrival greetings are standard for all passengers in business - and I'm MPO Silver and AAdvantage Gold.

My flight from HKG-YVR last month had superb inflight service which I believe helped limit the effects of jetlag. I'm hoping that my flight out of JFK this week will have service as good. The bar has been set much higher now.

Service at The Wing is another story, however...

Who is it on this board that said "coach is coach is coach"?
My family recently returned from LAX-HKG-JNB on CX in coach. These were AA award tix, so perhaps I'm not entitled to complain, but...we were disappointed in our CX experience. Maybe the buildup was too much, and our expectations therefore too high.
For starters, CX doesn't appear to realize that cancelling flights means remaining flights are likely to be full. They seemed unprepared for the coach crowds. It was way beyond not having meal choice available---I even had to let the FAs know that the rear toilets were out of tp. (Sitting near them I was 'privy' to this info.) Women were complaining that CX did not even stock female sanitary supplies. The lines for the toilets were horrendous. Even getting the infamous noodles midflight was a hassle, since crowds were clustered around the snack area with only one FA on hand. And don't get me started on the attitude of the ground staff.
Were the FAs beautiful? Yes. But perhaps there are not enough of them on board to attend to everything that needs getting done.
The dreamy F and Wing tales notwithstanding, I can't imagine that CX will have much of a future based on our experience.

I agree with ErthCrclr 100%. This is why my colleagues and I will be checking out JAL in a couple of weeks. I will be in first and they will be in business and coach. CX might have a better lounge but we prefer better inflight services in all section of the aircraft.

In my experience, having flown both economy and business quite a bit in CX, there is a huge difference, and there is a second difference between intra-Asia and long haul flights. Seems that long haul business class service is very good (and yes, the ISM always greets me), and coach service usually OK, depending on the crew and day (though the plane is normally packed, so yes, there are long bathroom waits). Intra-Asia flights are a bit different, and coach service can be quite minimal.

Ground service is another matter, and I've found that when a problem comes up, staff members tend to be unsure as to how to proceed, so if, for example, a flight is delayed or canceled, it's very difficult to get information regarding why and how long the wait will be. My sense is that individual staff have very limited latitude in making decisions, and must wait for decisions from their superiors. I could be wrong, but this is my perception.

Overall, I'd still choose CX over most other airlines, even with the occasional problems I've run into. They appear to invest more heavily in facilities than most airlines, and in general take passenger comfort fairly seriously. Nothing is perfect, but after about 30-40 flights with them, I'm willing to say that things could have been a lot worse with other airlines!

Well, that's my 2 cents.

Retraction re my post on 12/6/01...

Flew CX889 JFK-YVR-HKG since my 12/6/01 post. Business Class service was good although some FAs were not addressing passengers by name. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif On the YVR-HKG segment, some fool in Business Class made a real mess in the lavatory and at least 4 passengers had to remind 2 FAs to please clean up the mess. While the mess was not a problem caused by CX, the response time of FAs was on the slow side. Nevertheless, FAs cleaned up. I thought that if I were on a UA or NW flight, I'm sure FAs would have made even more of a stink!

Flew CX882 to LAX on my return and I didn't even notice the ISM, she made her presence quite scarce. I have noticed her from a previous flight and wasn't expecting much from her service-wise. However, food on this flight was fantastic!

cx svc r superb in J/F

but i found ISM do not usually 'serve' you. their responsiblity is defined as supervision rather than 'serving', i believe.

they always greet all emerald members, sometimes even CX Gold.

but it is the rest of the F.A. that made the service superb. the best staff are usually those FA in red uniform, then the pursers in blue

Thank God that I have not taken any coach class in CX. The tought of CX intra-asia coach class just horrifies me....

I just love their long-haul First class service. Service par excellence. ( except some of those abide-by-the-rule ground staff ). I am looing forward to my upcoming CDG-HKG flight in three weeks.

[This message has been edited by ils de paradis (edited 12-14-2001).]

Major problem with CDG-HKG is ground service which comes close to abominable. Club is suffocating and the all-too-often bus ride to the plane is simply ugly. Down and up stairs, all crammed together. First class or Business avails ye not. And finally they are in no rush to rescue you from the overpacked bus. Probably do better to wait for the second bus as the first one doesn't leave until the second one is filled and second one tends to be less crowded and therefor more tolerable.

Bus: yep, same thing in Johannesburg. First off the plane F and J and no airbridge, onto the bus followed by the hordes, ergo last off and last into the immigration queue ( 95 minutes there)
CX Service should start where you check in and end when you get your bags the other end.
SQ have a separate bus for the F and J pax at JNB.
I wrote to the CX GM Africa about it.
he said he would check into it and get back to me - he didn't - ah well I am only a Diamond member.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Marco Polo:
Bus: yep, same thing in Johannesburg. First off the plane F and J and no airbridge, onto the bus followed by the hordes, ergo last off and last into the immigration queue ( 95 minutes there)
CX Service should start where you check in and end when you get your bags the other end.
SQ have a separate bus for the F and J pax at JNB.
I wrote to the CX GM Africa about it.
he said he would check into it and get back to me - he didn't - ah well I am only a Diamond member.

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Just wondering...

Is the following possible?

Ask the travel agent/airline agent to input the following into the SSR (Special Service Request) section of the PNR:

IF NO AIRBRIDGE AVAILABLE FOR BOARDING/DEPLANING, PAX WOULD LIKE TO BE TRANSPORTED TO/FROM AIRCRAFT IN A PRIVATE CHAUFFEURED LIMOUSINE INSTEAD OF BUS SERVICE AND WILL PAY THE COST. PLS ADVISE PAX OF COST AND COLLECT PAYMENT AT CHECK-IN OR UPON ARRIVAL

Will such a message be ignored by airline personnel, or will they take it seriously?



[This message has been edited by daniellam (edited 12-14-2001).]

It is indeed a pity that a sublime CX in-flight experience ceases with such a dramatic welcome upon arriving CDG Terminal 2A. I have been lucky that my every single flight was parked at the gate; although its a fairly long walk to immigration.

No concierge or CX staff to escort you what so ever. When I reached the passport control, there were several Africans who seemed have been rejected entry to France and they just were just laying down in front of passport control. Quel Supris?! Those
French officials literally kicked them so that they can open their passport control gates. Only two officers for 300 plus passengers. Luckiy I was among the first, but
then the situation just witnessed got me really concerned. Sure enough, upon reaching the baggage claim, I saw signs of earlier arrivals by AF from Bamako, Luanda and etc. Boy, how I wished there would have
been CX personel to assist on the ground.
Realize, CDG 2 has one of the highest rates
of professional pickpockets and thieves.

Once again, it is nearly a disgrace to disembark from the superlative flight of CX to experience what I have witnessed nearly each time I arrive early in the morning at CDG. This is truly mighty stronger than a cup of cappucino to get me on the guard.
ther

[This message has been edited by Kaoru Kanetaka (edited 12-15-2001).]

I have personally received great service when flying CX. I suppose when I compare that to flying UA/AA all the time, it is a big difference.

I've been lucky to fly first or business most of the time and I think service is always great. I've flown economy last year on a trip (HKG-DPS-HKG) and both times the ISM came back to personally thank me for flying CX. Service wasn't bad either. I don't expect too much service in economy because there are so many passengers to serve.

I flew a leg from BKK-HKG on CX Business, and the ISM did come to greet me, even though I had no status with CX.. only AA emerald.. so I think it depends on the ISM to decide who she wants to greet or not... but I usually find that it's not much of a big deal... doesn't make much of a difference to me if I'm greeted or not... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/tongue.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by daniellam:
Just wondering...

Is the following possible?

Ask the travel agent/airline agent to input the following into the SSR (Special Service Request) section of the PNR:


IF NO AIRBRIDGE AVAILABLE FOR BOARDING/DEPLANING, PAX WOULD LIKE TO BE TRANSPORTED TO/FROM AIRCRAFT IN A PRIVATE CHAUFFEURED LIMOUSINE INSTEAD OF BUS SERVICE AND WILL PAY THE COST. PLS ADVISE PAX OF COST AND COLLECT PAYMENT AT CHECK-IN OR UPON ARRIVAL

Will such a message be ignored by airline personnel, or will they take it seriously?

[This message has been edited by daniellam (edited 12-14-2001).]</font>

For starters:

The message is TOO LONG!
Second: SSR messages are for Wheelchairs and other information relevant to the passenger. Not for jokes like the one above!

If your are indeed a VIP or important enough, CX will note your PNR accordingly but only by the sales department and not through SSR messages. That message will then be transmitted to ALL the relevant departments concerned and they will be waiting for you accordingly.

Unless you have something to prove, then take it through your CX Sales Rep department with such requests.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Guy Betsy:
If your are indeed a VIP or important enough, CX will note your PNR accordingly but only by the sales department and not through SSR messages. That message will then be transmitted to ALL the relevant departments concerned and they will be waiting for you accordingly.

Unless you have something to prove, then take it through your CX Sales Rep department with such requests.

[/B]</font>

What if I am not a VIP but insist on getting VIP treatment (such as limousine between aircraft and gate if no airbridge available) if I am willing to PAY for it? Will the Sales Office let me pay? Does it help if my travel agent is a "CX Preferred Agent" and has direct contacts with their sales reps?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by daniellam:
What if I am not a VIP but insist on getting VIP treatment (such as limousine between aircraft and gate if no airbridge available) if I am willing to PAY for it? Will the Sales Office let me pay? Does it help if my travel agent is a "CX Preferred Agent" and has direct contacts with their sales reps?

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you must be kidding right? That's the most preposterous thing I've heard so far.... even VIPs don't ask or insist on those things....

everything has a price, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif
since u r soooo rich, why not purchase enough CX stocks to buy u a seat in the boardroom. u will then have all the priorities and be always seated in F

Remember the old adage: If you have to ask, then it's not for you!