Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - CX seat inventory release

Greetings,

I have redeemed a first class award on CX from Portland, Oregon to Hong Kong via my Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan account. The return is confirmed in first, but the outbound is in coach (only thing available at time of booking). I was told to call the mileage plan desk often to see if a first class seat opens up for the outbound flight.

My question to CX'ers out there -- is there a certain time of day (GMT) that CX releases its inventory. I know here in the states many airlines release inventory at midnight at the location of their world headquarters, but wasn't sure about CX. Thanks in advance for any advice.


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Brett Patterson
www.abrivostudio.com
*It's not the crown that
makes you a prince* --
words to live by from my
five year-old daughter

Welcome to FT!

You should really get this cleared ASAP - what routing are you flying? Keep in mind that you could look at YVR, SFO and LAX giving you 5 flights a day to work with

Thanks for you help! I'm flying the PDX-SFO-HKG routing, but the way I understand it, and correct me if I'm wrong, I could fly out (as you suggested) via LAX, YVR, or SFO since Alaska provides feeders to each of those airports, regardless of my return routing.

I have the coach seat for the outbound, but since I'm spilling the miles for a "first" award, may as well try to get the outbound first class also. I'm just wondering if there is a particular time of day I should call that would give me a better chance of snagging a first class seat, taking advantage of the CX release of inventory. I have tried calling once a day at different times and have gotten the same polite "no seats available" answer for a few days now. I'm just wondering if I'm calling the right time of the day. Thanks again for your help. I love this forum and have to admit I'm a bit addicted...

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Brett Patterson
www.abrivostudio.com
*It's not the crown that
makes you a prince* --
words to live by from my
five year-old daughter

Not sure about the time of the day to call but I'm sitting in BKK right now courtesy of my Alaska miles putting me in CX Business Class. I was originally booked in Business outbound and Coach on the return but after calling about every other day, I got Business to open up about three weeks before departure.

I also connected via YVR rather than SFO or LAX on the outbound as I prefered the afternoon departure.

I would suggest just checking everyday.

CS

Thanks for the info, China Shark. Your story at least gives me hope. Guess I'll just keep calling. Good tip on that afternoon departure out of YVR, as I also prefer afternoon to past-midnight. Hope you're having a great time in BKK!

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Brett Patterson
www.abrivostudio.com
*It's not the crown that
makes you a prince* --
words to live by from my
five year-old daughter

travelphoto,

"Good Times" in Thailand as always.

A few other thoughts:

Maybe obvious, but if you can't get First on the outbound when you keep calling back, at least try to get Business.

My HKG-BKK-HKG (709/750) don't have a First Cabin, just Business and Y. So if you do decide to take advantage of connecting through YVR (which I prefer so that I can at least enjoy some of the pleasures of flying in Business rather than falling asleep upon takeoff) than your HKG-BKK flight will be limited to Business (but your YVR-HKG will have First).


Happy Travels.

CS

Can you perhaps shed some light as to *when* you are travelling?

CX is a bit finicky when it comes to releasing F award space. It really depends on the date that you're travelling. If it's near holiday seasons, ie Easter, you can bet that CX won't be releasing seats.

You just have to keep trying. And some members here suggested, try departing from YVR, LAX as these have 2 flights a day compared to SFO with only 1. Also, the "F" experience you're going to get between PDX and SFO on AS is like comparing AS's First to CX's economy! So, give it a miss if you have to.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ChinaShark:
My HKG-BKK-HKG (709/750) don't have a First Cabin, just Business and Y. So if you do decide to take advantage of connecting through YVR (which I prefer so that I can at least enjoy some of the pleasures of flying in Business rather than falling asleep upon takeoff) than your HKG-BKK flight will be limited to Business (but your YVR-HKG will have First).</font>

I, too, am in BKK at the moment.

These days, most of the flights between HKG-BKK on CX are only business and coach... no first class except on certain days and times. If you and when you do get F on the HKG-BKK route, the loads tend to be pretty light; since it's difficult to book a roundtrip in F between BKK and HKG, most people just end up booking the whole thing in J.

Hello Guy Betsy,

To answer your question, I'm flying out April 17 and returning on the 24th. I think Easter is the 11th. I flew coach last year to Vietnam on CX via HKG, so I know I can survive. But rumor has it, the F experience on Cathay is a true pleasure that must be experienced by everyone at least once in their lifetime. So even if it's only on the return, it's all good!

------------------
Brett Patterson
www.abrivostudio.com
*It's not the crown that
makes you a prince* --
words to live by from my
five year-old daughter

Hello Guy Betsy,

To answer your question, I'm flying out April 17 and returning on the 24th. I think Easter is the 11th. I flew coach last year to Vietnam on CX via HKG, so I know I can survive. But rumor has it, the F experience on Cathay is a true pleasure that must be experienced by everyone at least once in their lifetime. So even if it's only on the return, it's all good!

------------------
Brett Patterson
www.abrivostudio.com
*It's not the crown that
makes you a prince* --
words to live by from my
five year-old daughter