Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Day or Night flight ex-SFO

I have a close friend's banquet party to attend on Jun 14 in Hong Kong and have to be at the spot at around 10:30 am that day. But before I do any bookings, I would like recommendations on which of the flights to take so my body clock can be in the best shape to enjoy the party without the jetlag doing much damage. Should I take the daytime CX879 on June 12 leaving SFO at 1:35pm thus arriving HKG 6:40pm on the evening of June 13, overnight in HKG, and then wake up the next morning ready for the party? Or should I take CX873 leaving SFO at 1:20am on June 13 (Hence checking in at the airport on the night of June 12) and arriving HKG at 6:25 am on the morning of June 14 and head straight to the banquet 3 hours after arrival? I can only depart the afternoon of the 12th or the night of the 12th.

Will be traveling in F and can someone confirm that the meal service on the day flight is less rushed than the night flight since many passengers will be in a hurry to go to sleep on the night flight? Is the meal service on the day flight lunch after takeoff followed by dinner before landing or is it lunch after takeoff and then breakfast prior to landing?

I would go ahead and get a charter to ensure proper meal service and arrival time.

If you want the best flight purely for body clock, take the night flight.

if you can sleep on the plane take the night flight. have dinner and some drinks at sfo- good food choices- and get a good nights sleep. in the alternative drinks and dinner on the plane and then sleep.

I would take the night flight, as I can sleep through most of the flight.

You need not worry about meal times. You can just let the SP know when you like to have the meals.

I always take the night flight 873 westbound back to HK. It is rarely full since they added the day flight and if you can sleep on the plane, you should be fine for the working day that follows.
It is also rarely delayed as the plane sits around waiting at SFO for a good 10 hours.

I always take the night flight 873 westbound back to HK. It is rarely full since they added the day flight and if you can sleep on the plane, you should be fine for the working day that follows.
It is also rarely delayed as the plane sits around waiting at SFO for a good 10 hours.

OP is flying F. It should not matter whether the plane is full or not.

If flying First for the bed, & the sleeping oppurtunity, I'd take the night flight. If your flying First for the experience & service, take the dayflight.

Either way, jetlag shouldn't be that much of a problem. On the overnight, you can enjoy the dinner service, watch a movie, sleep, lie in & have breakfast & you'll be perfectly refreshed when you step off the plane in Hong Kong.
If you take the dayflight, take a nap after lunch, then stay awake for the rest of the flight. You should arrive exhausted & ready to sleep in your hotel.

The day after your flight you should be fine in terms of jetlag. Enjoy CX First!

Both flights will be fine in F!

But I actually will take the day flight just to be safe... simply to make sure you get to HK before the wedding starts.

Despite being summer and a shorter flight, there are always this remote 0.0001% chance of having to refuel at Taipei or Osaka, and even a slight delay on the night flight will affect your arrival time. SFO is also a very delay-prone airport. I just hate to get to an important occasion with no time to spare.

Followed flyboy advice, have lunch, take a nice nap after lunch, and watch movies till arrival! So you will be at HK in time for a nice supper and then have a good night of sleep!

Meal schedule for 873 is supper after takeoff, snacks on demand, and breakfast prior to arrival.

For 879 (day time), the meal is a full lunch after takeoff, snacks on demand, and a supper/refreshment prior to arrival (fruit appetizer, choice of entree, and then a dessert service).

Check out the 2007 F class menu thread... the meal schedule on CX 885 LAX-HKG daytime flight is the same as CX 879 daytime flight. I believe there are also a couple CX 881 and 883 F menus (late night LAX-HKG) which is the same as CX 873 redeye to HKG from SFO. It is a good reference.

Carfield

Does anyone think that the night flight (873) is geared more towards those who have connection to make while the day flight (879) will rely more on O/D traffic since the connection is more limited compared to the night flight?

Definitely take the day flight.

Get a good night's sleep after you arrive and avoid any potential mishaps with delays.

I'd take the day flight - because I love HK and the more time there the better.

You don't tell us enough about yourself (age, health, etc...) to make a real determination. And to be absolutely certain you'll be at full speed you should leave at least one day earlier - you say that's not an option...

The problem with the flight that arrives that morning - if there is turbulence (or some other type of annoyance - e.g. brats, rude people, etc.) and you're a light sleeper, even in F you might not sleep that well and will arrive in bad shape.


http://www.angrybackhand.com

Does anyone think that the night flight (873) is geared more towards those who have connection to make while the day flight (879) will rely more on O/D traffic since the connection is more limited compared to the night flight?

i think the original lax and sfo flights were always night flights because that is the way they thought they could best fill their flights. work all day and fly and sleep at night so that you can go to work or connect the next day. my feeling is that now that they are doing well on those flights they are adding day flights to poach business from the american airlines and jal whose flights are day flights. if you have the best product why limit yourself to red eyes.