Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Ventilation and AirCon --- a few questions

Recently flew CX 888 HKG - JFK, upstairs on the 74A.

HKG - YVR leg was comfortable --- no need either for either the blanket or disrobing for comfortable sleep.

After the required deplaning at YVR, everything changed. The cabin was frigid on reboarding, and got worse from there. On takeoff, the ventillation was on full-tilt, causing air-swirls. The new crew delivered 2 blankets to each passenger, and offered a third. Upstairs passengers were offered seats downstairs (very light load in BC). Finally the temperature moderated, but the ventillation was still noticeably at a higher (highest?) level, very draughty, requiring sweaters and blankets throughout.

My questions begin: what (and who) controls the ventillation levels and temperature upstairs?

The new FA cabin crew asserted that they had only a single control for the upstairs cabin. When they came around offering upstairs passengers a 3rd blanket, I asked whether they needed to contact the cockpit, to determine whether they may need to return to YVR for maintenance. They asserted that they couldn't contact the cockpit about such matters for several more minutes (plane not yet levelled out).

I'd always thought that pre-flight and in-flight temps and ventillation levels were carefully controlled ---- and would appreciate insights into what factors may cause one leg to be normal (very comfortable, imho) and the next to be so different (and miserable).

Despite what you've were told by the flight crew, each compartment has a thermostat and they can control the temperature. They are meant to leave it on 23 degrees C.

Some crews like it hot (mostly too hot in my experience on CX), others like it cold.

Many crews don't want to change the temperature for the passengers so they are good at making up lame excuses (this is what you got I think). Also depending on who is on duty during a long flight, the temperature may be changed.

Some crews are only too happy to turn the temperature down (~75% of CX flights I request this - it just gets so hot, and CX has economised and not included overhead ventilation). Last time I asked the temperature was set on 28 degrees C - this is just ridiculous.

On the 747s I find the worst seats those upstairs and row 1 in F.

Thanks for your insights!

My wife reminded me of one other thing that changed between the first and second legs of the flight recently taken (beyond the HUGE changes in temperature and amount of ventiallation): between Hong Kong and Vancouver neither the individual overhead seat lights nor the attendant call buttons worked upstairs, while both worked during the second leg. [Neither was an inconvenience from HKG to YVR as enough reading light was available from other light sources, including the seat reading light, and attendants were constantly strolling about available for any requests).

I had imagined only that a fuse was replaced in Vancouver ---- but am now wondering whether that failing fuse impacted upstairs ventiallation fans and temperature controls as well.

My continued interest is due to my previous assumption, based empirically on 50+ years of airplane travel, that uncomfortable spikes in temperature and draughtiness were idiosyncracies of individual aircraft ---- and that one and the same aircraft would not be perfectly fine for one 12 hour stint and positively unbearable for the next 5 hours.....

To the extent that we need to be carrying personal thermometers, fuses, wrenches, or bribe money instead of needing to accept unpleasant envirnoments for ever longer flights, I'm open to advice/suggestions....!

They can control the temp via these really cool touch things (each cabin section has one), but I'm inclined to believe they weren't completely ........ting you. I was on a 77A two months ago where the ventilation system was definitely stuck mid-flight (or the crew just couldn't operate it correctly), the ISM kept apologizing because it was a bit frigid (it was stuck at 19C and blowing constant air). She said it had been working fine for the first half of the flight, then they tried to adjust it downwards after a passenger request and for some reason it just "froze" at 19C. Not exactly a reason to land an airplane, but enough for second rounds of blankets and those dumb vouchers to make an appearance. I suppose she could've been lying to me, but they gave me $125 in vouchers so I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Now for me 19 degrees would be pretty much perfect. It's much easier for people who are too cold to put on a sweater or a blanket than it is for someone who is too hot to cool down, particularly since CX made the mistake of getting rid of individual air vents.