Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Coach service on CX, how is it ?

In the AA forum there is a thread about the cheap JFK-HKG fare during the 1st quarter of 2002. Sounds good to me, but how is the CX coach product ? I am used to AA’s more room in coach and it does make a difference. I just flew ZRH-DFW, 11 hours in coach and it was fine (except for the 6 screaming babies). My interest is for the miles first and foremost and maybe some shopping for noise cancelling headphones. I could not find much in the way of useful info about CX’s coach product other than, first and biz are great while coach is awful. Is that really true ? Thanks for any hints.

Last flew CX in coach on a 747-400 for NRT-TPE, a mere 3 hour trip. That made me more uncomfortable and claustrophobic than a 12 hour SJC-TPE flight on a AA 777 MRTC.

The seat was very narrow, and I couldn't possible cross my legs. Once the person in front of you reclines, you better do so as well because his headrest will be right in your face.

It's not really a reflection on CX, just 747 coach in general.

The seat pitch is very tight. I didn't notice the narrownest too much but I am sure it is. The foot rest (must be put there for those 5' or under) get in the way of your shins. It will be torture as you're not permitted to deplane in YVR currently.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Plato90s:
It's not really a reflection on CX, just 747 coach in general.</font>

Hmmm... I've flown 747's on SR, SN and UA, all in coach. Seats seemed to be more comfortable than 777 on UA and pre-MRTC AA.

I find Y on Airbus is more comfortable than 777. The seat seems to recline more and already a bit reclined when it's supposed to be upright.

Seating questions, JFK-HKG (couldn't find an answer through search):

1.) Are exit rows allowed to be reserved ahead of time?

2.) If yes, does CX give Oneworld Emeralds access to them?

3.) If not, are there other "best" coach seats available at time of booking?

Thanks.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by landspeed:

Seating questions, JFK-HKG (couldn't find an answer through search):

1.) Are exit rows allowed to be reserved ahead of time?

2.) If yes, does CX give Oneworld Emeralds access to them?

3.) If not, are there other "best" coach seats available at time of booking?

Thanks.</font>

This is what I have heard:

In coach, 67A and 67K are best on 747.

If you are OW emerald, you have very high (but not the highest) priority for an operational upgrade.

I did CX 110 SYD-HKG last Sunday in economy/coach. If you can wait for my report (which will appear in the next week or so, I'll give you a full account.

In short, however, seat pitch is tight-ish (32"). The 744 economy seat has winged headrests and is quite comfortable. There is not much lower-back support, so use the cushion that they bring you (failing that, ask for one). That helped a lot. The footrest restricts legroom but is ok for use once in a while. Mind you, I'm about 5'8", so I'm not overly tall. I'm reasonably thin too, so width was ok.

Food from SYD was very good, FA's were very attentive, requests were fulfilled accurately and quickly (no request took longer than 30 seconds!)

What I think is very important, is not to expect too much. The economy service is very good, but don't expect too much. You might be disappointed, but hopefully you won't. I'll see what the A330-300 legroom is like when I leave HKG tomorrow, and as I said, a trip report will be forthcoming in the next week or so. It'll be long, cos I wrote about 10 pgs of notes. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

You might want to pray for an emptyish plane (the outbound for me was about 75% load). My flight back home is listed as waitlisted in ALL classes.

I'll write more later,

Clement

Hi!

I flew a year ago to HKG and SIN with CX from LHR in Economy.

I must say, what a transformation it is between the classes. I have flown J and F on CX and they are fantastic. Then I fly Y.

There's a 32" seat pitch. For some reason it is more cramped than SQ and UA. I haven't got a reason for this, but it is. It feels like the 31" in a BA plane.

Food is above average, and the IFE is great as always. Service though.... Hmmm. Let's just say that other airlines (Like EK, SQ) take more care of their passengers in Y Class than CX I'm afraid. The flight attendants are a little slow and can be patronising which I do not like. The one thing I hate is patronising!

I suppose it is Economy though and you get what you pay for. CX is above average in this department, but if you've flown J and F with them, prepare for a little shock.

People mentioned few things about the seat pitch on Yclass. Well, it IS very tight. I'm 5'6" and weigh less than 135lbs (quite small figure), but even with my size I feel very "compacted" in the Y-cabin of CX. And as someone mentioned, their Airbus fleet seems to have tighter seat pitch than the 747s. This is mainly due to the PTV, I would say. The TV is located right behind the head rest in the seat in front of you, so this kills about an inch of space.

Economy can be tight. One thing you can do if you are a Marco Polo member is to ask them to block the seat next to you and keep it open. In my experience, they will do their best to help you out, as long as economy is not completely full. This will give you some more space, at least laterally.

Hey, I wrote a trip report on my flight JFK-HKG last Jan in the trip report forum. (have not figured out how to imbed links though) Briefly, not bad, but exit row seats or rows 66-67 are best.

[This message has been edited by headinclouds (edited 02-09-2002).]

I flew YVR-HKG and was near tears by the time I got to HKG. I was in a window seat in the last row of the first coach cabin and had limited recline. The seats in front of me, when reclined, literally touched my kneecaps. To make matters worse, when I needed to use the lavatory, I had to climb out by STANDING on the armrests of my seatmates as so not to wake them.

From a service standpoint, however, I was very impressed with how attentive the FAs were, which was very important seeing as that I was trapped in my seat for a dozen hours.

My return HKG-LAX was less eventful, mainly because I found a block of empty seats towards the back of the economy cabin right at the door shut and I staked my claim. I slept from takeoff until about an hour before landing, so that was much better.

The Wing is fabulous, BTW. Given a choice in the future, however, if I had to go coach, I would go to NRT on AA and then take a shorter CX flight to HKG. I am ticketed to fly paid F on CX, however, so I do like the airline.

As Commuter pointed out, "blocking" the seat next to you is a hidden previlidge of MPC, not so known by the public. (So let's keep it to ourselves http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif) On the 747, it doesn't make too much of a difference, because if you are seated on the window seat, you still have to climb out the last pax on asile. Also, the row 66-68 are almost guranteed full, so you will almost "never" get an empty seat if you are seated there.

On their airbus fleet, however, having an empty seat will greatly change your flight experience. My previous flights to Australia and back were always accomodated by an empty seat next to me, and I have to say it's just as comfortable as it can be in the Y class cabin. In addition, I would prefer to have an empty seat next to me rather than bigger leg space, because it gives me sense of privacy.

What you have to do, is to call MPC and simply request "Could I have the seat next to me blocked/empty". Some agents might be really nasty and say "we don't do that". If you hold status with MPC, probably they would accomodate you, but if they refuse, simply hang up, and call to another agent (probably at the different shift).

You can do so at the time of check-in, simply ask if the seat is occupied... HOWEVER, to do so, you will need to check in with the senior ground agent who are usually located at Biz/First class counters.

Enjoy.

i actually find ey to be ok. so far their service are great as i tend to 'choose' flights that has certain F/A's (basically wherever they go i go). it's sort of like J class service in ey. obviously the best is when your own girlfriend serves you!
i find the seats on the triple 7 more comfortable than the bus' and -400's. i feel that there's more width, though all of my friends disagree.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by techgirl:
I flew YVR-HKG and was near tears by the time I got to HKG. I was in a window seat in the last row of the first coach cabin and had limited recline. The seats in front of me, when reclined, literally touched my kneecaps. To make matters worse, when I needed to use the lavatory, I had to climb out by STANDING on the armrests of my seatmates as so not to wake them.
</font>

Thanks to all who've responded since I reactivated this thread.

The above is exactly what I would "fear" on CX JFK-YVR-HKG (and the fare rules I've seen so far don't even allow a stopover in YVR to break the trip up).

I've come to be spoiled on AA- While I've just started upgrading Int'l flights (thank you, VIPOWs), I was already used to AA 777 and A300 exit rows (~ 3-5 feet of leg room), or a normal MRTC seat at the very least.

A middle seat on a full Jet Blue flight JFK-OAK reminded of what "normal" coach is like- the fact I could watch live tv didn't make up for the fact that I was really uncomfortable the whole flight!

So- AA to NRT and CX onward is what I'd be likely to consider if it prices out ok (and if I couldn't earn enough Asia Miles to upgrade on CX).



[This message has been edited by landspeed (edited 02-10-2002).]

Well... YMMV. I'm pretty high maintenance, I'll admit. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

If you are used to flying coach, it may not seem so bad. Service is a several notches above AA coach domestically (and I've never flown AA coach internationally, so I couldn't compare to that). The seat pitch is at or slightly less than domestic MRTC. On the up side, you do get an ammenity kit and large pillow in CX coach which you don't on AA and you have a footrest.

If you are used to upgrading, like I am, definitely go AA to NRT if it is the difference between J on AA and Y on CX.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by gear down:
i actually find ey to be ok. so far their service are great as i tend to 'choose' flights that has certain F/A's (basically wherever they go i go). it's sort of like J class service in ey. obviously the best is when your own girlfriend serves you!
</font>

So how exactly do you know which FAs go where?

"basically wherever they go i go" so....what exactly do you do? full-time CX FA stalker?

I have always been given operational upgrades when flying Cathay across the Pacific. It helps that I am AA EP but my batting average is 100% on 6 flights.

Tango, that's a good record! Just as a point of interest, which route are you flying? I've gotten upgrades about 75% of the time (CX Gold) YVR-BKK, and felt pretty lucky. You're probably doing better than most. What kind of lucky trinkets and charms do you carry with you?

flying pig, my girlfriend works for cx as f/a and will introduce them to me when i travel with her. we will talk about flying and where they will be flying to. after all they are my friends. CX FA stalker? noooo.

Hard to imagine... but even I've done economy class flights LHR-HKG return , many times! But that's a couple of years ago when I held no status on CX then.

But even now and then, a short flight between SIN-HKG vv or SIN-BKK vv can be okay in economy.

I fly mostly the LAX to HKG routes. I fly out on Saturday and my returns are Thursday or Friday. When I check in at LAX, I have always been given the OP Upgrade at check in. From Hong Kong, most of the time it happens at the gate when my boarding pass gets rejected by the card reader.

I get opug when I am flying out of HKG (2 out of 3).

Honestly, I don't know whether I was "in the system to be opug" at the third one. I was AA PLT and never greet by the ISM in all Y or J seats except this particular time.

I saw more than 20 BPs of F and J at the gate, I board with my Y BP at Buz line, somehow that reader is broken so the GA just hand collect my BP and I has my coach seat. However, the first and only time, the IMS holding a list greeted me during the flight at the coach. (the family of 5 seating next to me loooking at me thinking I am some sort of strange people.. HAha)

Maybe next time just make sure my BP get scanned by the computer....

Hi HK-UMICH, it doesn't mean that if the BP Reader doesn't read your card that you won't be upgraded. Operational upgrade is being done from as early as 12 hours prior to flight time to last minute upgrades after the flight closes. If you have been selected, the gate agents will have made a mental note of your name already and even if they take your BP by hand, they will still know which name has been picked by the computer.

The greeting by the ISM for all passengers is not regular. It depends on the flight load and if the ISM feels like doing it or not. If you think about it - no other OneWorld airline does this sort of public relations, so it's kinda nice to be recognised... even if it just to say hello and welcome aboard.

True GB, somehow the visit by ISM make me feel "CX" (well the ISM I should say) is a little bit reconise your my loyality and I think I just have the same feeling as a lady wearing brand-name purse or clothing...(pride in a negative sense, evil but tempting) and making me emotionally happiler to fly in coach! I am only a Plt at that time BTW.

I basically flown what I paid for, but this nicely touch make the trip worth more than I paid.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Guy Betsy:
The greeting by the ISM for all passengers is not regular. It depends on the flight load and if the ISM feels like doing it or not. If you think about it - no other OneWorld airline does this sort of public relations,</font>

Not to deride your experience with CX which is much more than mine but I can't remember a CX ISM greeting me on my 2 CX flights in Y back in '99 (CP Gold) or 7 BC flights (AA PLT) last year. However, as an AA PLT in '99, the QF purser did come to greet me on a HNL-YVR flight in Y (can't remember if they did the same YVR-HNL).

Last week, I flew 747 out of NRT in economy and the seat was a bit different from conventional ones. When it reclines, the seat pad (the one you are sitting on -- what would you call it in English?) also lifted up slightly in front. So it was a bit more like an ergonomic chair? Have they revamped economy seats, too?

I've been through this "greeting" a number of times now. Seems to me that the ISM will greet me:
1) As MPC Gold, only when sitting in Bus. or First.
2) As MPC Diamond, anywhere I sit (though the "greeting" may be rather brief). As Diamond, I always get some sort of greeting. I'm not sure if this is enough to prompt me to fly another 60,000 miles per year, but......Oh, when I made Diamond I got an invite for a 6 month free membership in Butterfields, some club in HK. Of course, since I'm never in HK, it's not too great, but for the first time in my life, I can say I'm a club member, though keeping in mind Groucho Marx's caveat: I'd never want to be a member of a club that would accept people like me......