Originally Posted by
KhemaneyBoy
I am sure they will adjust the timings accordingly. With that said, I am surprised the resumption is a red-eye out of ICN, as opposed to the red-eye out of HKG (historically CX412, departing at around 1AM). Despite this probably being attributed to fleet management, I recall they used to have a red-eye out of ICN many years back, but it didn't last very long.
Pretty sure the red-eye out of ICN is timed for concert goers in HK. Apparently, the UO615 (2:20am ICN departure) is quite popular, with flights constantly being full. CX resumed this red-eye just to (compete?) get market share in those concert goers who are willing to splurge a little extra to get better service. Strategic.
Also, I've seen from this forum before that A21N pilots are complaining about not getting layovers. That got them to have the shanghai turn (CX302/303) during NS25 and another beijing turn (I forgot the flight number). This, and the KUL red-eye, should be one of the ways CX is increasing the number of A21N flight deck crew layovers. I wouldn't be surprised if they would add more red-eyes for NS26.