Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Flying old father from JFK-BKK need J class help

Hello:

I am looking into flying my father from JFK-BKK in business class. Cathay is quoting outrageous fares online like $7,700 r/t. Are there consolidators which I can use to buy a discounted ticket from the USA? China town bucket shops perhaps? I am fine paying in the range of $3000, however I cannot afford the full fare business and we are running out of miles.

Thank you in advance.

Hello:

I am looking into flying my father from JFK-BKK in business class. Cathay is quoting outrageous fares online like $7,700 r/t. Are there consolidators which I can use to buy a discounted ticket from the USA? China town bucket shops perhaps? I am fine paying in the range of $3000, however I cannot afford the full fare business and we are running out of miles.

Thank you in advance.

Try booking LAX-HKG-BKK vv. in "D" class for around USD 3700 RT on weekdays and USD 4600 RT on weekends.

(Maybe use whatever miles you have left for an upgrade on JFK-LAX using a seperate ticket?)

If your dad does not need to stop in Hong Kong, you may want to investigate the Thai Airways JFK-BKK nonstop service. I suspect it would be as good if not better than Cathay J and your dad can avoid the extra transit.

If your dad does not need to stop in Hong Kong, you may want to investigate the Thai Airways JFK-BKK nonstop service. I suspect it would be as good if not better than Cathay J...
Whaddya' basing that on?

Well, if one is flying for the sake of convenience, then it would be ok to assume that a nonstop is better than one with a couple of stops..

TG does have a very good product even when compared to CX. It may have it's little quirks here and there.. but the seat offered by TG is reported to be better than CX's due to its larger seat pitch.

TG's fares to BKK are currently as competitive if not better than CX's. Try calling up local chinatown agencies to see if you can a good fare.

Whaddya' basing that on?

TG direct flights to JFK are all on new Airbus A340s which have the new TG product fully embodied in a 3 class configuration J, Y+ and Y. Since this is a long range service you stand practically zero chance of suffering from the perennial TG problem of aircraft substitution.

The TG 3 class configuration appears to be remarkably similar to a 777 service on BA in the Y and Y+ cabins (the Y+ seats look practically identical to me). The new TG J seat is almost exactly like the QF J seat bar some differences in the hard shell. The QF J seat is very comfortable, being longer (and I think better designed) than the CX J seat.

TG onboard service (for non Thais) tends to be extremely good and has a warmth that seems lacking somehow in the nonetheless professional CX service. In addition there is immigration prioritisation at BKK for TG C customers on the JFK flight (arrivals and departures as I understand it).

Thus the TG service is a VERY credible alternative to CX on this route. I would add the caveat though that on other routes with the old seat etc. (which is disgracefully poor in J) that I would not even think of paying to fly TG J.

I've seen those new seats, they appear to be the same as JL's new seats.

I've actually flown Thai BKK-JFK twice in J (old J) and except for the food-- which was really wonderful-- I would never recommend Thai to anyone-- YMMV, big time, needless to say. I know none of my Thai friends ever seem fly Thai if they have a choice. That having been said, the convenience and budget factor might make it a logical choice for the OP, as pointed out.

What's YMMV?

YMMV = your mileage might vary

I've seen those new seats, they appear to be the same as JL's new seats.

I've actually flown Thai BKK-JFK twice in J (old J) and except for the food-- which was really wonderful-- I would never recommend Thai to anyone-- YMMV, big time, needless to say. I know none of my Thai friends ever seem fly Thai if they have a choice. That having been said, the convenience and budget factor might make it a logical choice for the OP, as pointed out.

TG has a really bad reputation for giving Thais poor service and prioritising foreign travellers hence my rider in my earlier post that service is good for non Thais. The extremely poor old seats are liable to bias any judgements against TG, but I have always found there onboard service top notch. Having a modern cabin environment with an up to date seat and good IFE should address the core shortcomings in the old TG product.

I will not fly TG from LHR because they have not upgraded their fleet and no way would I pay the same fare as I would on BA or CX, or even LH to travel in the old TG seat. On the up side, the old TG J product is probably one of the few international J products which makes UA and AA Intercontinental J look acceptable ;)

The fact that the new aircraft and service is guaranteed on the JFK route would be a clincher for me.

TG has a really bad reputation for giving Thais poor service and prioritising foreign travellers hence my rider in my earlier post that service is good for non Thais. The extremely poor old seats are liable to bias any judgements against TG, but I have always found there onboard service top notch. Having a modern cabin environment with an up to date seat and good IFE should address the core shortcomings in the old TG product.

I will not fly TG from LHR because they have not upgraded their fleet and no way would I pay the same fare as I would on BA or CX, or even LH to travel in the old TG seat. On the up side, the old TG J product is probably one of the few international J products which makes UA and AA Intercontinental J look acceptable ;)

The fact that the new aircraft and service is guaranteed on the JFK route would be a clincher for me.
Yeah, those new seats look great (and are-- assuming they are the JL ones-- which is what they look like to me.)

One other thought-- as far as service to Thai's vs. non-Thai's-- that would explain why so many of my Thai friends dislike Thai, however, some of them are citizens here, albeit still Thai-born, and, I guess "Thai appearing." So, in the case of the OP, there might be some reason to assume to OP's dad might be in that category?

However, regardless of all that, it's an obvious choice-- to fly non-stop JFK-BKK (for a non-FFer type, and an older person) especially if it's cheaper, etc. I was only saying that for my $$ I certainly don't put TG in CX's catagory as (one of) the world's great air carriers.

TG's new aircraft is a lot better than CX's any aircraft, IMHO, in Y and C. (I never had a chance to fly F on TG.)

I really don't see any advantages of opting for CX particularly on JFK-BKK.

However, regardless of all that, it's an obvious choice-- to fly non-stop JFK-BKK (for a non-FFer type, and an older person) especially if it's cheaper, etc. I was only saying that for my $$ I certainly don't put TG in CX's catagory as (one of) the world's great air carriers.

Glad you agree it's an obvious choice... I don't think anyone was saying TG is one of the "great carriers". However, on this particular route, I would choose TG over CX anyday.

And thanks to Guy Betsy, Chiangi and Land-of-Miles for their input.