YVR-HKG; Which way to do J?
 

If you were to go on AC from YVR to HKG (and back), but you could only travel in Executive First on one of the flight segments (and, accordingly, travel in economy on the other segment), which segment would you chose to fly in economy and which one would you chose to fly in Executive First?

On the way back.

With the current schedule, you are leaving just before noon so you'll be well rested. You also get in at 4 pm, so by the time you are out of the airport and at your hotel it is 6 pm, and you can go to sleep.

On the way back, the flight leaves at the end of the day (7:45pm), so the ability to get on, have dinner, and go to sleep is awesome.

Thanks.

So, say, an exit row/bulkhead seat in coach on the way out and a seat in EF on the way back shouldn't be too tiring?

Oh the way over is going to suck, make no mistake about it. However, at the end of it you just crash into a bed so if you can only go J one way, I'd use it on the way back when you will REALLY want a good night's sleep on the plane.

I think it would have to depend on what you need to do the day/day after the flights in question.

If you have commitments the day(after) you get to HKG, book J the way there. If you have commitments the day(after) you get back to YVR (or beyond), book J the way back.

If you have commitments both ways, you are over-committed. Re-evaluate your entire life.

Assuming you are asking because you have one remaining SSWU, try for either. The return flight would be ideal for reasons stated by previous posters.

I had to make the same decision on a recent YVR-NRT and UG'd the outbound. This worked out well for me, as the return J cabin was pretty full and R0 at the Elite window. The overnight attempts to sleep were fruitless even though I had 12H&K to myself.

The westbound is a longer flight, and I'm always excited to clear an int'l SSWU, so it made sense from an instant gratification perspective.

Apologies if this isn't too clear, there has been a lot of office wine flowing at work this morning.

No commitments either way. It is just for a vacation.


Not really. I have no status, no SSWU, just money and I want to be prudent with it.

It was reasonably clear to me. Thanks.

Due to the wind pattern, the YVR->HKG flight is almost always more than 2 hours longer than HKG->YVR. A difference of 2.5 hours is not uncommon. The difference is usually bigger in winter months when the jetstream over northern Pacific tend to be stronger. You will be on the flight for about 14 hours for the YVR->HKG leg.

See http://flightaware.com/live/flight/ACA7 vs. http://flightaware.com/live/flight/ACA8

This should give you a reason to choose the opposite from what other people recommend here.

Another vote for HKG-YVR
 

I agree with the posters who voted for HKG-YVR. For sleeping purposes, I would recommend executive for the return simply because that sector has an overnight involved in it. YVR-HKG is daytime flight so even if say you fail to get much sleep onboard you will be arriving late afternoon which will not be too long away from the normal local bed time and you just crash in and adjust. Basically with the outbound flight, you do not want to sleep too long or else you might have trouble going to sleep that evening after the arrival.

Update after doing the flights:

YVR-HKG in Y was fine. I was in an exit row (well worth the $75 or whatever it was), and I didn't think the flight was bad in the least. Quite tolerable, really. We were delayed by about an hour due to the plane's tow bar being damaged upon pushback from YVR, which made the flight a bit longer than it should have been, but with the exit row's legroom, it was okay. Being a daylight flight, I couldn't have even slept if I had tried to. The seat did become a little uncomfortable with about an hour left to go in the flight, but, really, things could have been much worse.

HKG-YVR in J was excellent. It was my first J experience, so I have nothing to compare it to, but the food was great and the service was attentive. Being able to sleep (even if only for 4 or 5 hours) was quite nice, and I think that it was well worth the cost of the ticket. Good value, even. I didn't particularly like how meal orders were taken (and delivered); having a select few get their meals well in advance of others is poor form, in my view, but that is really my only complaint. I'm not sure that the J seat would be "worth it" on a flight less than, say, 9-10 hours in length, because after accounting for the time it takes to eat and get settled, there really isn't much time for any actual sleeping, but for a 11+ hour (nighttime) flight, I'd certainly be inclined to purchase such a seat again.

The Thai lounge in HKG was worth the visit for the somewhat decent (but often not too warm) food, although I'm not sure I see any great value in the MLL lounge in YVR. Seems like the big appeal to the lounge is the free alcohol....

In short, I'd do it all again the same way when I have the chance. Spending J-class money on the YVR-HKG flight doesn't make sense to me (although paying the money to get an exit row does), while doing HKG-YVR in Y is not something that I think that I would really want to do regardless of how cheap the ticket may be.

Meals were offered in advance to a few SEs on your flight. This is policy.

+1 the meals are taken in order........ by status, revenue fare and followed by last minute upgrades......

Yes, I realize that.

However, my complaint remains. Specifically, my money is as good as someone else's, and if an airline wants more of mine in the future, then it should treat me the same as it treats all of its other passengers situated in the same cabin.

uncertaintraveler - too bad, its the reality of life...no confined to airline meal taking only

its a high debated item..... some people are one off customers vs continuous loyal customers..... ie. you make $5000 once or make $5000/year over 10 years

a lot of SE and Es spend quite a bit of travel money and many of them are continuous members for years......

similar with HK restaurants, if you are VIP/regular you get to be ahead of the line, if your not you wait in line. same principle

Meal order is all in the implementation.

One way is to go around asking everyone in the pecking order, telling those at the bottom if something ran out. Slightly inefficient but easy to implement. But awkward. Those at the bottom become acutely aware of the fact. Also, some SE might want her husband to get first choice rather than herself, for example.

The other way is to take orders in some efficient manner (back to front, U shape, whatever). If a meal is oversubscribed, go back inform the lowest on the pecking order that they'll have to make a second choice. Of course you could always ask those lower in the order for a second choice to begin with, just in case, and to soften the blow. This is harder to implement but is less socially awkward.

I've seen it both ways and I prefer the second.