I was on CX502 and the flight was 95% full. Someone kindly explain why (1 day before flight) the seat inventory looked like the one below, which is definitely not what I was expecting (in terms of load factor).
J9 C9 D9 I9 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 HKGKIX 1635 2125 773 0
L9 V9 S9 N9 Q9 O9
Thanks for explaining!
CX tries to sell as many last minute seats as possible to fill the aircraft. They are often very aggressive with this. Even if if all the classes show 9, it might be just 9 seats for sale total. Very common on certain routes. Also, in your case a 773Z with a 95% load factor still leaves you with around 20 empty seats.
Could also be due to a last minute equipment change, wherein the sudden increased capacity results in a fire sale. Either way, it's a very common situation.