Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - New NEW Longhaul Business (SPECULATION)

All,

During their recent talks in DFW with AA and DFW airport (re: future HKG-DFW service with the 777-300ER), a word was dropped among meeting participants about the new new biz class being launched with the introduction of the 777-300ER. No details were given.

Anyone care to speculate/guess/give insider information?

My GUESSES are as follows:

1. True Flat a la British Airways
2. Large Dividers
3. Detachable screens (like the new AA Biz class)
4. Possible Funky Configuration of Biz Class Seats to save space. It could be like BA with Backwards/Forwards. Or it could be the new angled installation that is quite the rage in the conventions
5. Upgraded service product to make it Biz First. The word in the meetings was that the new 777-300ERs would not have a First. I find this the most exciting as I normally travel in J. I look forward to a better menu and getting some of their LEGENDARY First Class Cabin FAs in J.
6. NO Internet. Boeing is about to sell/close its Connexion division and the word is that they are no longer subsidising that product. So dont know who else is left in the market (except for the similar and much smaller Airbus division)

That is all for now.

Thanks,

Panjabi

No need to speculate. Get it from CathayTalk..

http://www.cathaytalk.com/showthread.php?t=2110

CX will not do away with F. Especially if the first aircrafts are to do HKG-JFK nonstop.

CX will also attempt the BTC ala SQ but ex-HKG only I think.

[QUOTE=Guy Betsy]
....
CX will not do away with F. Especially if the first aircrafts are to do HKG-JFK nonstop.

QUOTE]

Guy,

Thank you for the link. That thread and the other similar thread in that forum both say that Long Haul F will dissapear from most Long Haul routes with the 777-300ER. It may survive the JFK route (your example) but will definitely not be used in routes like HKG-DFW. AA (and One World) was informed about ticketing codes and it is a virtual certainity that when the HKG-DFW route starts (the FIRST new addition to N. America) it will be without F.

The other problem that does exist in DFW is that CX has commited to the Admirals Club and not the BA Terraces Lounge in the D Terminal in DFW. That is a bummer to the Elite folks as the Admirals Club in DFW D Terminal is equivalent to a J Lounge and not the F Lounge (which is the Flagship Lounge in JFK and LHR).

Thanks,

Panjabi

P.S. I know some of you are going to say that OW Elites can visit the BA Lounge too, but the BA Dragons there are real mean and invoke "capacity control" at the drop of a hat.

6. NO Internet. Boeing is about to sell/close its Connexion division and the word is that they are no longer subsidising that product. So dont know who else is left in the market (except for the similar and much smaller Airbus division)

I doubt that Cathay will be installing Connexion even if Boeing is selling off their subsid, due to their connection with Tenzing.

The other problem that does exist in DFW is that CX has commited to the Admirals Club and not the BA Terraces Lounge in the D Terminal in DFW. That is a bummer to the Elite folks as the Admirals Club in DFW D Terminal is equivalent to a J Lounge and not the F Lounge (which is the Flagship Lounge in JFK and LHR).

The AC in Terminal D blows the (DFW) Terraces Lounge out of the water. In fact, I would even venture to say if they had the proper catering setup(bar / food), it's as nice as the Flagship Lounge at LAX. CX made a wise decision.

I doubt that Cathay will be installing Connexion even if Boeing is selling off their subsid, due to their connection with Tenzing.

Tenzing is no more on CX aircraft....

if they had the proper catering setup(bar / food), it's as nice as the Flagship Lounge at LAX. CX made a wise decision.

Well the fact isw that they doNOT have any thing edible and the stupid drink voucher system jsut wont' go down well.

I went to the BA lounge in terminal D and I actually think it is not bad and they do offer something to eat and drink

CX in AAdmirals Club is probably due to their working relationship with AA in AA's HUB headquarters.. and probably because of AA's codesharing on CX flights.

Jag and Others,

There is no doubt that the AC in D Terminal in DFW is gorgeous. I am an AC Paid member and I enjoy the beautiful infrastructure, wide open spaces and great views. On an infrastructure level it is one of the great clubs in the world.

However, there are three issues that will give CX elites trouble:

1. Alcohol: There is no free alcohol in any of the ACs. This problem will be solved by giving free drink vouchers
2. Wi-Fi: There is no free wi-fi in the ACs. I dont know how CX will handle that. They may give Wifi vouchers to their pax
3. Food: This is the BIGGEST problem for CX Elites. ACs have no free food. On top of it, their paid menu food is very limited and very American. On the other hand even the worst CX Lounge (LAX) has free food and especially Chinese food. I have no clue as to how they can fix this. Are they going to give CX pax food vouchers? What about the rice cooker etc? Are they going to put it out just before the CX flight?


Thanks,

Panjabi

Tenzing is no more on CX aircraft....
I know that but Tenzing is a Cathay subsidiary as I've said before to panjabi:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=568010&highlight=tenzing

Therefore, I doubt that Cathay would buy one of their competitor's products.

Plus the fact that Cathay has uninstalled their ancient Tenzing servers from their a/c might signal quite a big step forward. It could mean that they might be switching over to the wireless servers like the Tenzing offers to EK as well as potential mobile phone connectivity via Tenzing's OnAir product which AF is commited to.

when is this service supposed to start?

any est date?

when is this service supposed to start?

any est date?


Not before 2008.

Hamallu,

Hello. I think you and I are making about the same point. If you read my post above I state that CX will NOT get Connexion due to the fact that Boeing wants to shut it down or spin it off and is not subsidizing it.

Anaggie & Guy,

I will look into the delivery schedule again but I could have sworn that the first 777-300ERs are supposed to arrive Aug-2007 and allegedly HKG-DFW is the first routing (although on Cathay Talk, an insider posted that HKG-JFK direct is the first routing).

Thanks,

Panjabi

As I suspected, CX gets its first 777-300ER in Aug/Sep 2007 from Boeing (as per Boeing website).

However, there is a wild card here. CX also has 4 777-300ERs on order (as a lease) from ILFC. I have no dates on those. Those may be coming earlier.

Thanks,

Panjabi

P.S. Just for curiosity's sake can anyone publish the arrival schedule of the new aircraft please. I am sure that someone on this board or Cathay Talk is very familiar with it.

3. Food: This is the BIGGEST problem for CX Elites. ACs have no free food. On top of it, their paid menu food is very limited and very American. On the other hand even the worst CX Lounge (LAX) has free food and especially Chinese food. I have no clue as to how they can fix this. Are they going to give CX pax food vouchers? What about the rice cooker etc? Are they going to put it out just before the CX flight?

You raise an excellent point here and I'll have to agree with you now...

It would be much easier to use Terraces due to it's smaller and more exclusive nature. I can only imagine what the AC would be like if they put out a proper buffet for the CX flight - everyone who wasn't on the CX flight would flock to it and would cost CX $$$ to replenish.

Giving food vouchers to premium pax seems like a tacky solution so I hope they don't do that. Although I wouldn't mind eating at Reata Grill or Cool River before my flight ;)

You raise an excellent point here and I'll have to agree with you now...

....
Giving food vouchers to premium pax seems like a tacky solution so I hope they don't do that. Although I wouldn't mind eating at Reata Grill or Cool River before my flight ;)

Jag,

If they gave Reata or Cool River vouchers I would fly CX JUST to eat at those places. I love the Reata. It is an old FW institution.

I did ask this question back a few months ago to an AA marketing guy (take it for whatever it is worth) and he said that the solution they were thinking of was to have the menu offerings increase to include Chinese dishes and soups and then each pax would get 4 food vouchers which could be used for appetizers, soups or main dishes. He also said that they were thinking of putting the rice cooker behind the bar and a person would have to request rice from the bartender when they ordered the Chinese dish.

If you ask me, this whole voucher thing (Drink Voucher, Wifi Voucher, Food Voucher) will drive CX elites nuts. We AA Elites have been beaten down to a pulp already, so we accept anything. But CX Elites are used to world class treatment and will not put up with this (although the LAX Lounge is ALWAYS a counter argument in this regard).

Thanks,

Panjabi

You raise an excellent point here and I'll have to agree with you now...

It would be much easier to use Terraces due to it's smaller and more exclusive nature. I can only imagine what the AC would be like if they put out a proper buffet for the CX flight - everyone who wasn't on the CX flight would flock to it and would cost CX $$$ to replenish.

Giving food vouchers to premium pax seems like a tacky solution so I hope they don't do that. Although I wouldn't mind eating at Reata Grill or Cool River before my flight ;)
Maybe scheduling is part of the problem. Only one experience, but it seems like Terraces would have a difficult time handling all of the premium passengers if both BA and CX had flights scheduled close together.

But handing out vouchers for everything that the AC does not provide would be messy (as well as tacky).

But can the experience be any worse than LAX?

...I went to the BA lounge in terminal D and I actually think it is not bad and they do offer something to eat and drinkI visited the BA lounge in DFW terminal D last week and I was shocked at how bad the food/drink situation was -- very poor compared to a normal BA lounge, much less a terraces lounge. Calling this "not bad" would mean the AC is "superior". For those who don't know, there are no actual alcoholic drinks available in the BA lounge, instead they have a shelf of empty bottles and a sign "please see lounge attendant for drinks"....which is fine, if there was actually a lounge attendant to see. There are 2 attendants, and you wait many minutes to get a rather miserly drink (featuring such stellar products as JW Red, to give you an idea of the quality they are aiming at). Getting 2 drinks per hour takes a minor miracle and much sweet talking of the attendant. As for the "food", it consists of shortbread cookies and apples. Actually makes the AC free food selection seem sumptious (at least they have carrot and celery sticks with ranch dressing).

Make no mistake, the BA DFW lounge is one of the worst BA lounges in the world in terms of food/drink. The furniture is OK (similar to the AC, but not as nice). Internet access is available for a "mere" USD 15 per hour.

Now, on the topic of CX lounge space, there are 5 "contract" lounges in the D lounge complex, and 4 are taken (used by BA, LH, priority club). The 5th lounge is free, so CX could choose to have a CX lounge at DFW, separate from BA and AA. We'll see what actually happens.

.....

Now, on the topic of CX lounge space, there are 5 "contract" lounges in the D lounge complex, and 4 are taken (used by BA, LH, priority club). The 5th lounge is free, so CX could choose to have a CX lounge at DFW, separate from BA and AA. We'll see what actually happens.


Hi,

I doubt that. One of the things I heard was that CX is really counting the pennies on this flight and is looking to AA to effectively guarantee this run. AA is doing that through code share. DFW Airport is also subsidizing the gate. DFW Airport has been after CX for 4 years and about three years ago they almost got CX in (they were going to use a 744 with a tech stop. But then CX decided to wait for Airbus or Boeing to deliver a non stop capable aircraft). So, while DFW Airport can "throw" in the lounge for a subsidized rate, I doubt CX will put in the capital investment to finish it out and operate it. It is going to be the AC (although I STILL can figure out how they will do the food and drink thingy).

Thanks,

Panjabi

That AC actually has several meeting rooms and other enclosed spaces ... it would be pretty easy to make one of those a "CX only" room, providing any supplemental food/drink there for CX pax. Though I personally don't see a problem with providing food/drink vouchers, and adding some food service. The existing AC staff are pretty idle much of the time in the afternoon/evenings, at least whenever I've been in there.

3. Food: This is the BIGGEST problem for CX Elites. ACs have no free food. On top of it, their paid menu food is very limited and very American. On the other hand even the worst CX Lounge (LAX) has free food and especially Chinese food. I have no clue as to how they can fix this. Are they going to give CX pax food vouchers? What about the rice cooker etc? Are they going to put it out just before the CX flight?

Where is the rice cooker in the LAX lounge? The only food I see at LAX is sandwiches, dippers, fruit, cup noodles and other snack items.

I visited the BA lounge in DFW terminal D last week and I was shocked at how bad the food/drink situation was -- very poor compared to a normal BA lounge, much less a terraces lounge. Calling this "not bad" would mean the AC is "superior". For those who don't know, there are no actual alcoholic drinks available in the BA lounge, instead they have a shelf of empty bottles and a sign "please see lounge attendant for drinks"....which is fine, if there was actually a lounge attendant to see. There are 2 attendants, and you wait many minutes to get a rather miserly drink (featuring such stellar products as JW Red, to give you an idea of the quality they are aiming at). Getting 2 drinks per hour takes a minor miracle and much sweet talking of the attendant. As for the "food", it consists of shortbread cookies and apples. Actually makes the AC free food selection seem sumptious (at least they have carrot and celery sticks with ranch dressing).

Make no mistake, the BA DFW lounge is one of the worst BA lounges in the world in terms of food/drink. The furniture is OK (similar to the AC, but not as nice). Internet access is available for a "mere" USD 15 per hour.

.


Well when I was there last year in December, there were definitely drinks (both ahcoholic and non alcoholic) in a self serve bar ( I have photos to proof this).

There are also some nobbles (nuts, cheese, bisbuits, crisps, sandwiches etcc.)

Definitely much better than the AC. except they don't offer free internet.

I think maybe because of the AA people keep on using it Ba have reduced the offerings (most likely to happen to the MIA lounge soon!)

If I recall correctly, when DFW had an AA Flagship Lounge, they didn't have a self-serve bar either. I think it has something to with local alcohol licensing restrictions.

If I recall correctly, when DFW had an AA Flagship Lounge, they didn't have a self-serve bar either. I think it has something to with local alcohol licensing restrictions.

Definitely had a self-service bar in both FL lounges in Terminal A - in fact, the refrigerators are still there. The only restriction is on Sundays before noon ;)

Well when I was there last year in December, there were definitely drinks (both ahcoholic and non alcoholic) in a self serve bar ( I have photos to proof this).

There are also some nobbles (nuts, cheese, bisbuits, crisps, sandwiches etcc.)BA appears to have left the empty bottles on the shelf in memory of your visit. The problem is that all of the liquor is low-grade (not like any of the Terraces lounges) as well as being tightly rationed. Plus the attendant inquired if I wanted ice with my port ....

As for the food, there were no sandwiches or cheese, but some biscuits, etc. Lounge was about half full and a bit over an hour before departure time (so presumably all the food was out already). There is zero chance for any AA elite getting into the lounge, they make a big fuss about that (probably using the "not a oneworld lounge" defence). I did discuss the BA situation with the lounge dragon, and they agreed that BA has been losing lots of premium (F/J) traffic to LH from DFW. So they reacted to the premium pax defecting to LH by cutting back on lounge benefits? Interesting strategy for attracting high-fare pax.

As for the rice cooker at LAX, I have seen freshly cooked rice put out prior to the AA flight to NRT (circa noon). There is also sushi and soba noodles served in the FL then, but it doesn't last long.

3. Detachable screens (like the new AA Biz class)

What "detachable screens"? :confused:

What "detachable screens"? :confused:
It's not a detachable screen, it's a handheld multimedia player similar to a Digiplayer or whatever they're being called by the airline PRs.