Staff tickets are 10% of the full fare. A LAX J class ticket is around $73k plus taxes so yes a J class return ticket can be $1000 USD.
And I have been also told that staff travel is very difficult to get on unless you’re very flexible - even for pilots.
Sorry, but your information is incorrect.
CX uses zone pricing based on distance.
Current one-way ID fare for Europe in J is USD214. To SFO it is USD264. Tax has to be added. USD64 to BKK.
It is a bit in the order of 10% of Business saver fare, not Flex.
Two additional comments.
- Sure, it is not easy for the 20,000 CX employees to get space on busy days. But pilots come first, so they have a big chance on most days. As you probably know, CX has a tool that predicts the probability of getting a staff seat in each class and flight. That is not fool-proof and a delayed/cancelled flight on the same route can drastically change the odds. But it helps planning, especially when you know that you are number 1.
- When you have a total compensation package of numerous HKD millions with salary, bonuses, housing package, schooling package,etc, I would tend to agree with
Christep that traveling in business (you and your family) at these fares is nearly free.