Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - CX! This is what you call an Airline...Wow!!

Op-Up galore on my recent trip. I flew JFK-HKG-MNL-HKG-JFK this past holiday weekend and I paid an H-Fare to fly Y on all segments

HKG-MNL-HKG was upgraded to C as usual (It's has been rare for me to get this upgrade)

Proceeded to board HKG-JFK yesterday after spending several hours stuffing my stomach with salmon and sushi in the first class lounge when I heard the famous words...."We have changed your boarding pass". KACHING!! I went from 31C to 20G. It was a lovely flight and although I still prefer AA's C seats, I couldn't complain about CX's as I was able to stretch my legs and not get dinged by the trolley (I'm 6ft 3inches tall)

It's going to be very difficult not choosing CX as my preferred carrier to Asia going forward (although I still intend to use my EVIPs on AA for JFK-NRT-JFK flights).

Y and C on the JFK-HKG-JFK was full on both flights.

Good for you :cool:

Waiting to see if the load is full for the Easter Holiday where I am planning to take my wife to Paris, so that we can be both op-upped to F :D

and all this as an AA EXP? wow.. thats great scoring NYC1K... i'm hope this happens to me too in June.

Got to love them when you do have status. The senior purser comes and greets you during the flight in Y, got to love that.

Got to love them when you do have status. The senior purser comes and greets you during the flight in Y, got to love that.

Why?

I agree with hau cheng. If travelling in Y, the greeting from ISM serves no purpose if the BCs in Y aren't aware of your presence. Rather, it's much more important to have the section leader (usually an FP) acknowledge your presence in the cabin. He (or she) is the one who alerts the BCs to be aware of the presence of MPO elites. I've had preferential treatment becuase of that - priority meals and etc.

...and although I still prefer AA's C seats...
Whoa! Stop the presses! Really???

When in Y, I most enjoy the ISM visit for the bottle of water I'm usually given. Always a very nice touch on a 15 hour journey.

Why?

Coz this is the only time that anyone will give a stuff about you on a plane when flying Y.

As Oneworldboy said, this is nice to be able to get something from them... I used to ask for a glass of champagne.

Whoa! Stop the presses! Really???

I could not sleep comfortably on the CX seat and I have the same problem when I fly BA in C. I'm 6' 3" and my legs protude when I try to lie flat on the seat. With AA's seat, not only do I get the width but the length when the seat recline. I don't mind lying at +120 degrees instead of 180 degrees.

Call me slow if you want but I'm still one of the few laggards around that still like the Biz Class seats of AA and say Continental Airlines.

I flew 5 CX segements over the CNY period and not once was I acknowledged as a OW emerald by the inflight crew. No op-ups for me either.

Doesn't really matter. CX Y is excellent! I love the new Y seat. I appreciate the fact that the person in front of me can't recline onto my lap. Also, I love:

- the inflight seat power outlet so that I can work on my laptop with no adapter needed for US plugs
- tasty meals and free snacks between meals
- outstanding in-flight entertainment. I'm an opera fan and I couldn't believe that CX studio has complete recordings of La Traviata, Don Gionvani and Le Nozze di Figaro as well as solo albums from Rolando Villazon and Juan Diego Florez. It really makes the 12 to 16 hours fly by.
- clean blankets and pillows
- flight attendants who genuinely care about passengers' comfort

Coz this is the only time that anyone will give a stuff about you on a plane when flying Y.

As Oneworldboy said, this is nice to be able to get something from them... I used to ask for a glass of champagne.

I think it all comes down to the regular FAs, and they absolutely should know who the DMs are. I like your optimism, but I really don't care if the purser comes by and goes through the robotic motions of saying "I'm (name), how are you Mr. xxx? I just wanted to say thanks for flying CX, if you need anything (now already looking at sheet of who to visit next) let me know". And then gone, meanwhile the FAs in your cabin 85% of the time have no idea who you are, and you still get CX's average Y service or J service. I'd rather have the FAs or person heading the section know who I am instead of the purser. It's a bit comical if you're on CX/KA multiple times a week, because it feels rather shallow and gimmicky instead of adding value. I wish there was a codeword I could use that just made the purser go away when she showed up, instead of hearing it all. I got it exactly 5 times last week, and not once could I say my service was any better than anyone around me.

An example of what I think is great: one of the good flights two weeks ago PEK-HKG, where the section leader/regular FAs knew I was DM. I fell asleep before takeoff, and didn't wake up until we were flying nearly flying over Guangzhou, aka quite close to landing. No matter...FAs noticed as soon as I was awake, had saved me dinner and brought it, all the while extremely gracious, all of them knew my name. I actually felt like they were really going out on a limb and cared for me as a customer. And during that flight no purser came by to say hi, which was just fine by me. Take the opposite: J class SFO-HKG a few weeks back. Not too many pax on the flight. Purser comes by as usual 15-20 minutes into the flight, does her schtick, and that's it. FA doesn't know who I am, I have to proactively get them to clear my tray, I have to proactively get more water, my AVOD stopped working and the FA literally told me "I don't know what to do," so I told her "go get another FA" (did the restart thing, it worked) and to make matters worse they spilled a full glass of champagne on my lap. I got a "sorry" for that from the FA, but that's about it. Above-average service isn't a right by any means, but I'd rather drop the "if you need anything let me know" bit for a more genuine personal touch.

My solution is just to tell the FAs in each section who DMs are, seems pretty simple and painless and would be a great improvement.

My thoughts exactly, QRC3288! When I was still GO, I flew LHR-HKG and asked for a bottle of Evian. The BC actually said "we don't offer this", I asked her to check with her seniors and come back to me. And of course, she didn't.

On another flight, a DM was seated next to me and the ISM came and the pax asked for some champagne. The ISM gave him some in a plastic cup (ewww) and they ended up chatting by the exit near row 44 for about half an hour. IMHO it was quite pointless really - the DM was not recognised by any of the FAs in Y.

What bugs me is the lack of consistency of the greet from the section leader - when he or she comes to you, you can be assured that it's not going to be a bad flight. And if they don't, it can piss you off sometimes.

CX occasionally goes much further than just a bottle of water, but not necessarily without some prompting. ;) Just have to learn a bit about the Hongkong way of doing things...

I've had very different experiences as gold - if the ism comes round you can really ask her for anything - they do say let me know if there is anything you need/want. i've been offered business class food, bottles of water, been served before the rest of the cabin etc.

I had one rather interesting experience however - I was sitting in the exit row - 44G, there was a diamond member across the aisle. I asked i think a fairly junior crew for an extra pillow - she went off to look for one. Anyway she came back saying there were no extra pillows and offered me a blanket. About 10 minutes later i see a different flight attendant handing 3 extra pillows to the diamond member. Certainly felt a bit miffed.

When in Y, I most enjoy the ISM visit for the bottle of water I'm usually given. Always a very nice touch on a 15 hour journey.

yes i definately agree. the one person who can help with small requests that make u feel just a little bit more comfortable on ur flight....

In regards to greetings, etc., on flights, things vary quite a bit:
* I was on a flight TPE-HKG about two years ago with my friend, he was GO. The ISM spent about 2/3 of her time greeting people. There are many DMs on that flight already, but the ISM greeted my friend as well.
* I was on a SFO-HKG flight a week ago, I only saw the ISM only once - when I boarded the plane - and never afterwards. She didn't even walk by in the 8-9 hours I was awake. However, the SP greeted me and was very friendly throughout the flight. I think she probably was the only person who knew my tier level on that flight.
* I was on many flights that the BCs knew I was a DM.
* I was on a flight this morning and I was greeted several times by the ISM and the FPs, including one FP who spent a few minutes with me, but I don't think any BCs knew I am a DM.

It is inconsistent.