Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - If we slightly lower our expectations.........

I arrived from CX251 the other day in F. Overall I thought I had a pretty good flight. The crews were good and efficient. Not surprisingly only two crews served the full 9/9 cabin but the supper service only took 2.5 hours to complete after we took-off. And also unlike the meal I had on last year's HKG-LHR, the ones I got on this sector weren't bad to boot as well. I got the 74A once again (operated by B-HKU) and had a really decent lengthy sleep on the new seat (which I adore) for most of the flight and did not request the crew to have my breakfast in front of me until 1hr 15min prior to landing which they did. Speaking of the seat, it was pretty much the one single area I cared the most during the flight as I wanted as much much much rest & sleep as possible so I can get to my meeting in London feeling fresh. I mean unless you're a night owl or something, what else is there to do in an overnight flight sector to be staying awake for many many hours. :rolleyes:

But the last two months I have somewhat lowered my expectation on what I'll be getting from CX in terms of crew and meals. In that I no longer have the extreme high expectations with them that I did in the past and no longer have the expectation that CX is the best nor 2nd best airline there is out there. To be honest with everyone, it seems to be working in the last 3 CX F flights I have taken. In that at the end I seem to be more or less satisfied.

Having said so, I wonder to myself how I would have reacted if I had not lowered those expectations slightly? Would I still be view the glass towards the service as half empty or perhaps I would still have rated them the same way I did on the description above? Nonetheless, it seems to be an approach I'm comfortable with and I'll be taking with me from now on. If I do get something over excellence with CX, then I'll take it as an additional bonus. Of course those expectations have not been lowered to the point that I'll be tolerating rock bottom service.

So sometimes I guess it does help to lower one's expectations. May not necessarily be true for everyone but seems to be fine with my approach to CX thus far.

I arrived from CX251 the other day in F. Overall I thought I had a pretty good flight. The crews were good and efficient. Not surprisingly only two crews served the full 9/9 cabin but the supper service only took 2.5 hours to complete after we took-off. And also unlike the meal I had on last year's HKG-LHR, the ones I got on this sector weren't bad to boot as well. I got the 74A once again (operated by B-HKU) and had a really decent lengthy sleep on the new seat (which I adore) for most of the flight and did not request the crew to have my breakfast in front of me until 1hr 15min prior to landing which they did. Speaking of the seat, it was pretty much the one single area I cared the most during the flight as I wanted as much much much rest & sleep as possible so I can get to my meeting in London feeling fresh. I mean unless you're a night owl or something, what else is there to do in an overnight flight sector to be staying awake for many many hours. :rolleyes:

But the last two months I have somewhat lowered my expectation on what I'll be getting from CX in terms of crew and meals. In that I no longer have the extreme high expectations with them that I did in the past and no longer have the expectation that CX is the best nor 2nd best airline there is out there. To be honest with everyone, it seems to be working in the last 3 CX F flights I have taken. In that at the end I seem to be more or less satisfied.

Having said so, I wonder to myself how I would have reacted if I had not lowered those expectations slightly? Would I still be view the glass towards the service as half empty or perhaps I would still have rated them the same way I did on the description above? Nonetheless, it seems to be an approach I'm comfortable with and I'll be taking with me from now on. If I do get something over excellence with CX, then I'll take it as an additional bonus. Of course those expectations have not been lowered to the point that I'll be tolerating rock bottom service.

So sometimes I guess it does help to lower one's expectations. May not necessarily be true for everyone but seems to be fine with my approach to CX thus far.

I agree with you Rejunevated. I just flew F CDG-HKG and had an excellent flight. My first flight in new F (CDG only rarely get the 74A).
The seat is the most important element, and it is a great F seat, with the mattress, duvet, many pillows... and great screen/IFE. Food and wine have gone down a bit in the past couple of years, but that is made up by the better seat. Service was excellent on this 9/9 flight, never any wait. I have read all the threads about having only two dedicated FAs, but there was a third one periodically helping in the kitchen (I verified when going to the toilet in mid-meal). IMO CX F onboard is still one of the best, maybe slightly below SQ and NH, but still well above many other airlines. I had lowered my expectations slightly, as Rejunevated, but got pleasantly surprised.
C seems another story.

I arrived from CX251 the other day in F. Overall I thought I had a pretty good flight. The crews were good and efficient. Not surprisingly only two crews served the full 9/9 cabin but the supper service only took 2.5 hours to complete after we took-off.

Only 2.5 hours? I can't remember the last time I spent 2.5 hours in a restaurant, let alone taking that long for dinner on a plane.

I think he did not mean that the meal lasted 2.5 hours. I never timed the meal service, but it probably started about 60-75 minutes after take-off, and lasted for another 75-90 minutes.

Only 2.5 hours? I can't remember the last time I spent 2.5 hours in a restaurant, let alone taking that long for dinner on a plane.

Last time I had a degustation meal at a resto it went from 9pm (earliest I could get a res - 'tis quite a popular place) to almost 1am...:eek::D Didn't feel long though as we were enjoying the food, wines and the service.

Last time I had a degustation meal at a resto it went from 9pm (earliest I could get a res - 'tis quite a popular place) to almost 1am...:eek::D Didn't feel long though as we were enjoying the food, wines and the service.

Although CX's F class dinner is no degustation meal....

Although CX's F class dinner is no degustation meal....

I realised that. Just responding to the restaurant bit of your comment and pointing out that it might well be possible to sit down at a restaurant for at least 2.5 hrs. :)

Though I also think that Rejuvenated meant all supper service activity was completed 2.5 hrs after take off, which sounds like a reasonable amount of time.

I think he did not mean that the meal lasted 2.5 hours. I never timed the meal service, but it probably started about 60-75 minutes after take-off, and lasted for another 75-90 minutes.
That's why I said 2.5 hours after takeoff as oppose to 2.5 hours from the start of the meal service. Basically it began approximately 1 hour after takeoff and then approximately 1.5 hours to complete.

Perhaps since it was an overnight sector that the two crews were more pressured to work faster so everyone can get to sleep ASAP? But last month on my day flight SFO-HKG, the lunch service in F took about the same amount of time as well with the same amount of crew & passenger. So two crews for 9 passengers can work out in a timely manner though having a 3rd one certainly doesn't hurt. :)

Anyhow going back to my subject regarding expectations, do we feel that we tend to be more demanding when our expectations are very high? I don't mean being more demanding in an unreasonable manner but rather demanding to the point of minute detail. So perhaps a little of this and a little of that which did not go flawless, we would voice our displeasure? Having said that though I don't think this question necessarily has a black and white answer all the time. For example when looking at it from a passenger's perspective, perhaps it is all human nature when let's say someone paid $15K USD for a F ticket and end up complaining on the little details that did not go perfect. While on the other hand trying to see it from a crew's perspective, they see it as being humans themselves and are subject to mistakes no matter how much training & experience they've gotten.

I will not disagree that the overall CX F & J experience these days are not at the same high level as it was before. But the downhill trend tends to be more extreme in J compared to F. And while the overall CX F experience may no longer be at the same high bar with SQ F, CX still has one heck of a F product (especially the seat). Considering how many airlines are out there in the industry that have F class products, being ranked 2nd or 3rd isn't bad at all. ;) :p

But the downhill trend tends to be more extreme in J compared to F.
TBH, that's what concerns me more, as I had expected CX J to be a treat above my average travel experience expectations. My recent J flights have been loudly average, as far as J Class experiences go. That wasn't what I expected from CX. I was more delighted (as you rightly point out, a function of expectations) with BA Club World.

I'd really rather not expect something lower from CX J. :(

...it looks like I have missed the memo about the lowered prices.

...it looks like I have missed the memo about the lowered prices.
That's exactly what was going through my mind.

But the downhill trend tends to be more extreme in J compared to F. This bring up an interesting point. So CX raises F fares and lowers the quality of service. That would normally drive some people to say "F isn't worth it, I'll just fly J". So they drop the service quality in J even more, to "encourage" those folks to pay back up for F. Sneaky ba5tards. :)

That's exactly what was going through my mind.

Ditto.

The problem is they are marketing themselves as a premium carrier, charging a premium price but delivering less than promised.

Exactly.. I don't understand why I have to lower my expectations because the carrier is lowering their service levels.. If they were lowering the price at the same time, then it makes sense.. However, as they keep on raising the fares while reducing everything else, it makes no sense to my why I should be the one to lower my expectations...

I just got off a longhaul on Austrian Airlines in business class, and I was absolutely blown away with their service and food offerings... makes CX J class meals seem like Economy class crap... Besides having excellent food and presentation (they have an onboard chef), they have a list of 10 different types of coffees to choose from and a very good wine list. For breakfast, there was even freshly made sunny side up eggs.. Service was immaculate and the flight attendants came by every 20 mins or so to ask if I wanted anything... and this was on a completely full flight...

When it seems a lot of other airlines are trying to improve their service, I really don't see why I need to lower my expectations, when there are still airlines out there that can still fulfill my expectations... There are plenty of other airlines out there who care about the customer, but unfortunately CX is just not one of them IMHO...

I don't think I could face a long haul flight being served by people in those awful red stockings! :D

Exactly.. I don't understand why I have to lower my expectations because the carrier is lowering their service levels.. If they were lowering the price at the same time, then it makes sense.. However, as they keep on raising the fares while reducing everything else, it makes no sense to my why I should be the one to lower my expectations...



^^^

Ditto.

The problem is they are marketing themselves as a premium carrier, charging a premium price but delivering less than promised.


I completely agree with the above comment. It'[s not about lowering our expectations but if your charging a premium over other carriers, claiming you've got something to offer, then definately they should step up to the plate. Lately i've found that (in terms of CX J only) that they charge a premium but the service is nothing exceptional. As far as the new seats are concerned you never know if your going to get it or if CX switch the flights hence it comes down to the service which these days is a little lower then par....

I just got off a longhaul on Austrian Airlines in business class, and I was absolutely blown away with their service and food offerings... makes CX J class meals seem like Economy class crap... Besides having excellent food and presentation (they have an onboard chef), they have a list of 10 different types of coffees to choose from and a very good wine list. For breakfast, there was even freshly made sunny side up eggs.. Service was immaculate and the flight attendants came by every 20 mins or so to ask if I wanted anything... and this was on a completely full flight...

Yea, Austrian is insane...

Exactly.. I don't understand why I have to lower my expectations because the carrier is lowering their service levels.. If they were lowering the price at the same time, then it makes sense.. However, as they keep on raising the fares while reducing everything else, it makes no sense to my why I should be the one to lower my expectations...

I just got off a longhaul on Austrian Airlines in business class, and I was absolutely blown away with their service and food offerings... makes CX J class meals seem like Economy class crap... Besides having excellent food and presentation (they have an onboard chef), they have a list of 10 different types of coffees to choose from and a very good wine list. For breakfast, there was even freshly made sunny side up eggs.. Service was immaculate and the flight attendants came by every 20 mins or so to ask if I wanted anything... and this was on a completely full flight...

When it seems a lot of other airlines are trying to improve their service, I really don't see why I need to lower my expectations, when there are still airlines out there that can still fulfill my expectations... There are plenty of other airlines out there who care about the customer, but unfortunately CX is just not one of them IMHO...
I understand your point and I don't disagree. :) More specifically what I meant is that I have decided to "lower my expectations" when "I have to" fly CX because on the route that I'm flying:

1) they are the only choice
or
2) there are no better alternatives
or
3) competition is worse
or
4) pricing

For example two months ago when I was in the process of booking my flights for my recent trip, my HK TA quoted me FC prices in which CX was slightly cheaper than BA and QF, which was quite a surprise because one rarely gets anything cheaper on CX ex-HKG. But this time it turned out like that so at the end I decided to book CX because of the pricing and the fact that I've been addicted to their new F seat (which neither BA nor QF have seats as comfortable as this one). So bascially I just said to myself, enjoy the seat and don't expect the meals and service to be as high as they were before.

But I'm with you and all the others that If I can get something better than CX these days where I'm flying, etc I'll take my money with those other carriers and if I get stuck with CX for reasons mentioned above, then this is where my expectation with them will not be as high as they were before.