Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Intrusive on board "information"

I've recently started flying CX a lot around Asia/Pacific and generally like them a lot, however I've recently noticed one rather annoying practice whereby they put the IFE screens on and then proceed to show an informational video at sometimes very loud volume. On one recent flight back from Singapore the CSD was trying to introduce herself to me and couldn't be heard because of the volume. I don't recall this always being the case though to be fair my use of CX has increased dramatically in the last six months. Is this something recent and indeed does anyone else find it annoying or am I just oversensitive?

Yes it's relatively new - say in the last 2 months. The health video is bad enough, and now they've extended the video with this garbage marketing drivel. I actually find it quite offensive to see images of J class food, clouds and attentive flight attendants when I'm seated in Y, and the crew appears to be one of the more brusque recent trainees.

I agree - it's too much now: on short regional flights you hardly get any peace at all.

Personally I don't think there's a need for any health or marketing information on the PA system. Every seat on every plane has a personal video and headphones - if people want that stuff they can watch / listen to it there.

Thank you for bringing this up!

It's the worst part of flying CX - especially on short flights. On a 2 hour regional flight it seems that the promotional videos, health videos and inflight announcements NEVER stop.

I have timed the announcements many times and find we are at cruising altitude and the announcements have not yet completed. Why are they telling us to "step on the spot whilst waiting to check-in for our flight" when we are at 37,000 feet?

There is no reason CX can't do like other airlines and let us watch health tips interspersed with the airshow.

My solution ,which works well is to turn on my iPod right after boarding, volume high and not turn it off until we have reached cruise altitude.

Very good topic!

Personally I don't think there's a need for any health or marketing information on the PA system.
I agree - but I think CX ensures it is publicly played so as to stop any DVT lawsuits.

The marketing video is very, very irritiating. :mad: It tells you nothing at all and delays the IFE getting started. At least the health video has some value, albeit very limited when viewed for the 4th time that week.

It's actually worse than one of BA's love-my-own-voice CSD's who like telling you everything about the flight on the PA. And then repeating in three other languages.

I read in the "CX World" recently, don't have it with me right now, but it is supposed to decrease the lead in time to the inflight entertainment because it will replace ISM's lengthy announcement, and also to free up time for the ISM to do other stuff. They also described the purpose of the clouds background is to create a more smoothing and comforting environment or something like that.

i had 4 CX flights on CX in the past three days in F class and especially the health video is disturbing, and the advertisment as well. if i buy a ticket for a certain product, i expect it to come without any other advertisement that i cannot switch off. really really bad. unfortunately, most of the airlines do the same.
i also dont know if it makes sense to show the DVT movie on a 1:10 HKG-TPE flight.

I agree - it's too much now: on short regional flights you hardly get any peace at all.
For the past few years, I always fly with earplugs. On the one or two occasions I've forgotten, and the earplugs have been left in my checked luggage, I have been appalled at the high-volume cacophony of almost all cabins. Do get earplugs, and you'll be astonished by how much more relaxed flights are ('What screaming baby?"...you can hear in the far distance, but not enough to really bother you)

i also dont know if it makes sense to show the DVT movie on a 1:10 HKG-TPE flight.
^
I was wondering why they showed that both ways out of TPE to HKG. So strange. The announcements are terribly annoying.

At least they show the funny videos for landing at TPE about stuff you can and can't bring into the ROC... I'm starting to like them... :D

When did this start? I had a a SIN-HKG flight three weeks ago and don't recall seeing this.

It's been on all the flights I have been on for the past 3-4 months - you get the safety video, then the health/stretching video, then the "old uniforms video" and then the Jackie Chan UNICEF video.

On a TPE flight you're then almost at top of descent...

...you get the safety video, then the health/stretching video, then the "old uniforms video" and then the Jackie Chan UNICEF video.

Well, at least the vintage uniforms video will be gone soon when they wrap up all of the 60th anniversary stuff. I'll be happy to see the video go, but I wouldn't mind if they continued with the uniforms. The current uniforms are nice, but a little variety is good, too.

As for that DVT video, I wish they would let you fast forward through it the way you can zip past all those hotel commercials before the AVOD movies. I understand the whole liability angle, but if they try to show it and you opt to fast forward past it, I don't see how you can pin it on them if you get DVT. (But then again, I'm not a lawyer.)

And as long as I'm griping about the DVT video, why make it so abstract with a guy in shorts and sandals in a park? What's wrong with showing someone in an airplane? Maybe they think that the guy would look so ridiculous doing them in an airplane that it'll keep people from trying out the exercises themselves?

It's been on all the flights I have been on for the past 3-4 months - you get the safety video, then the health/stretching video, then the "old uniforms video" and then the Jackie Chan UNICEF video.

On a TPE flight you're then almost at top of descent...

I was on an A330 with the older IFE down to KL yesterday in J and it wasn't quite as bad as they can only show it via the main screen at the front of the cabin. It's at it's most annoying when it's in the seat-back IFE such as the 744 where you can't switch it off. Seems louder as well.

i had 4 CX flights on CX in the past three days in F class and especially the health video is disturbing, and the advertisment as well. if i buy a ticket for a certain product, i expect it to come without any other advertisement that i cannot switch off. really really bad. unfortunately, most of the airlines do the same.
i also dont know if it makes sense to show the DVT movie on a 1:10 HKG-TPE flight.

Agreed ! Just came back from HKG earlier this month in Biz Class and was annoyed when i could not turn off the promo vid on UNICEF donation drive. (In relation with Christep's post too..)

Agreed. CX has the best IFE but they waste about 30-40 minutes of the flight on announcements and forced video. They also have the most long winded announcements for things like seat belts. Each time the seat belt sign comes on they remind you that there won't be any hot beverages.

On one flight they played the announcements before takeoff. Brilliant! I'd like to see all announcements shortened and completed as much as possible before takeoff. It's my only major complaint with CX. I hope they're watching this thread.

Agreed. CX has the best IFE but they waste about 30-40 minutes of the flight on announcements and forced video. They also have the most long winded announcements for things like seat belts. Each time the seat belt sign comes on they remind you that there won't be any hot beverages.

On one flight they played the announcements before takeoff. Brilliant! I'd like to see all announcements shortened and completed as much as possible before takeoff. It's my only major complaint with CX. I hope they're watching this thread.

What drives me nuts the most is that there is always a pause between the three languages that they make their damn announcements in. Can't they just time them so that we only get our movie interrupted once? I flew CI from TPE the other day, and it was so much more pleasant in this regard. No commercials before the movie, no DVT video, no long-winded announcements. And AVOD in coach, to boot.

Everyone obviously agrees that this is a problem. So what do you suggest we (as passengers) do about it?

Well, good news for those who *love* watching CX safety video. There will be a new version out in Feb which will be animated and... longer than the current one! Yippeeeeeeeeee

i personally dun like that UNICEF and health video too, but safety video is a must, i guess? However i dun see the point for cabin crew to point out those exits actually?

Anyway, CX is introducing their new animated safety video in feb! Looking forward!

i personally dun like that UNICEF and health video too, but safety video is a must, i guess? However i dun see the point for cabin crew to point out those exits actually?

Anyway, CX is introducing their new animated safety video in feb! Looking forward!

People might actually be drawn to attention when a 'live' person shows them the exits. Because how many people actually listen to the inflight safety video and know where to go in case of an emergency...?

Next time someone gets a comment card suggest all of these things...in a nice way, of course!

Before a movie begins, SQ screens a 5 second long "ad" that tells passengers (if they're interested) to go look for a health video buried somewhere (can't remember where exactly). Maybe CX should do this too?

Next time someone gets a comment card suggest all of these things...in a nice way, of course!

Before a movie begins, SQ screens a 5 second long "ad" that tells passengers (if they're interested) to go look for a health video buried somewhere (can't remember where exactly). Maybe CX should do this too?

Those ads are a PITA, why do we need advertising aren't we doing enough paying for the ticket?

Agreed. CX has the best IFE..

In J perhaps (I have only flown J on QF and CX), but in Y - Air NZ and QF's respective AVOD systems blow the CX Y offering out of the water.

QF's respective AVOD systems blow the CX Y offering out of the water.

Yeah it does, if your lucky enough to get it on your flight, and the even more remote possibility it actually works.

Yeah it does, if your lucky enough to get it on your flight, and the even more remote possibility it actually works.

Aha - I have taken two flights with QF in the last two months and both had them (and both worked a treat) - rub me for luck if you like...

The Air NZ one has been rolled out across the board though, so all long haul should have it. Buttons when in menu are a tad slow to react, but it's very intuitive and the variety of stuff to watch and listen to is the best I've come across.

Heading a little OT here, but waiting for the IFE to cycle and restart is one of the suckiest things about the CX Y long haul product. I seem to recall that the new seats being rolled out will all have AVOD?

Ahhhrggggh. Came back from SIN on the 716 last night. As we engaged on final approach, the cabin crew decided to serenade us with some "soothing" music that was so loud that it came out of the tinny speaker above my head on the upper deck in a very heavily distorted format that was very uncomfortable. Crew has sat down by this stage so no chance of getting hold of one of them to ask for it to be turned down. Come on Cathay, sort it out - it marred an otherwise very pleasant flight.

Ahhhrggggh. Came back from SIN on the 716 last night. As we engaged on final approach, the cabin crew decided to serenade us with some "soothing" music that was so loud that it came out of the tinny speaker above my head on the upper deck in a very heavily distorted format that was very uncomfortable. Crew has sat down by this stage so no chance of getting hold of one of them to ask for it to be turned down. Come on Cathay, sort it out - it marred an otherwise very pleasant flight.

Mistakes do happen - and it seemed like someone forgot to turn down the volume.

No need to get angst about. It happens to everyone - not just CX alone...

Were u sitting at Row 87A?

BEcause I just notinced that there is a special speaker on the ceiling (jsut next to the lights) and it is only on this row. I think it is for the hearing impaired.

Were u sitting at Row 87A?

BEcause I just notinced that there is a special speaker on the ceiling (jsut next to the lights) and it is only on this row. I think it is for the hearing impaired.

88A in my case Dave - but it looked to me that 87 and 88 both had the same speakers on the ceiling.

Everyone obviously agrees that this is a problem. So what do you suggest we (as passengers) do about it?

I always write about this on the surveys CX hands out sometimes. There often isn't a space on the survey but I write it somewhere anyhow.

Keeping conversations like this going hopefully help too. Maybe someone at CX will notice and start shortening the announcements or getting some out of the way before takeoff.

The most vexing PA is the "Excuse me everyone, if those bumps didn't wake you up please let me wake you up. Just in case you didn't notice we're passing through an area of rough air. Please make sure your seatbelt is fastened. We're going to stop serving coffee and other hot beverages for a while. Don't go back to sleep because in about 2 minutes we're going to repeat this announcement in Cantonese. If you still manage to go back to sleep we'll wake you two minutes later for the Mandarin version. I apologize for my extreme verboseness and any other inconvenience caused. Repeat in Cantonese. Repeat in Mandarin."

I think it would be much classier if CX made no announcement at all but just went through the cabin to check for fastened seatbelts. Any non-complying pax can be woken and asked personally. I think they check anyhow so why use the PA?

Don't get me wrong GB, CX is a fantastic airline. This is just an area for improvement.

Or do what Emirates does - hook a tape recording up to their seat belt sign so every time it comes on a voice goes "please fasten your seat belt" automatically repeated in arabic (or mandarin/cantonese in CX's case). Quick, easy, no pause, interruption only for about 10 seconds max and saves the scurry around the plane looking for mandarin/cantonese crew to translate if the ISM is not a chinese speaker.