Originally Posted by
SilverChris
F is F. The difference isn’t limited to champagne - there’s the better food, bed, space, privacy and service.
I find it easier to fall asleep on 882 since it leaves later but that’s a personal thing. Unless timing is a big concern to me I’d stick to 884 in F.
Originally Posted by
G-CIVC
884 over 882 any day. 882 is operated by LAX base crew and they are just unpleasant to fly with. Besides, since 882 does not turn back to HKG directly, you will be docked at a remote gate then bussed which is quite a painful experience at LAX. 884 F also gets you the legendary tea set if you're interested as only a handful of CX long haul flights remain with it now.
Good comments above.
Personally, despite the poor LAX-based crews, I still have begrudgingly picked CX882 F my last 3 (actually, maybe 4?) times to LAX . I find the sleeping time far more attractive as
SilverChris says. Get on board, have a big dinner and some wine, and sleep the rest of the flight. Then land midday/early afternoon, enough time to do something important, have a dinner and get to bed before succumbing to jet lag. I just can't sleep well on CX884 until it's close to landing time, and the flight also lands in the morning at 9am or whatever. I find that day very hard and IIRC if I haven't slept on board.
Since we're comparing CX882 J vs CX884 F, despite my problems with CX884's timing I think I'd go with F on CX884 because the LAX crews are bad (this includes in J class), and you can't sleep straight until the end anyway in J because they're going to wake you up 2 hours before landing for the second service and coming through with the carts. (in F, if someone's asleep they'll generally leave the lights down until 30 minutes before landing, and there are no carts. You really can sleep until it's time to land in F, which is one of the best benefits of F IMO).
It might be moot, because that connection is so tight any marginal delay from SIN will have them push you back to CX882. I don't think it's a crazy scenario where you'll be flying on that in F instead, provided there was a seat. They'll protect you assuming your SIN and LAX legs are part of one itinerary. Which brings up a good question...ARE they the same redemption? 50 minutes is too tight in my book to risk it otherwise.
Point above about CX882 remote gate is also accurate. That flight gets the remote gate at TBIT and so you get to smash on the bus with everyone. Very enjoyable experience. (Not).
I guess summing it all up I'd still chose CX882 in First if that was the choice, but since it's not here I think CX884 in F is the way to go. It's definitely superior to the better timing but J class on CX882. And even if CX882 in First does open up instead of J, I think it's probably not the "once in a lifetime" flight I'd recommend for travelers trying out F. Because the crew is going to be worse than average, the remote gate stinks, and it's well-timed for 7-8 hours of sleep because darkness comes rather quickly outside. I find the sleep the best part but understand that may not be what people are after, especially if it's a special treat.