FriendlySkies

Just had to change my HKG trip. Originally going in two weeks- now I'm leaving tonight/tomorrow. Lost 3J as a consequence

Currently in the very back of the J cabin. Are they using FEBO on these flights? Any opinions if its better to be on the left or right aisle?

Ready2Go

They are using the new, modified version of FEBO; see this thread:

FEBO Dead 1-sep-2014 New System Based Flight Direction Time Zone Change

Practical result should be the same on these flights: back to front on 137; front to back on 138. Of course, you can mitigate this by pre-ordering.

My usual preference is for a window seat on the J side. However, on this route I believe they typically put the Cantonese speaker(s) on the left aisle. These tend to be relatively junior FAs, who may tend to have slightly higher levels of enthusiasm. YMMV.

FriendlySkies

Thanks! Forgot about the changes to FEBO - bummer for other flights I take.

I pre-ordered for the return, but no chance of doing it for the outbound as I changed the flight less than 24 hours to dep. Surprised to see the meal choices for tomorrow's flight are different from what I was seeing for next week.

LondonIce

Last Sunday's 138 was slightly late in departing due to a seating issue I thought would be worth reporting. After boarding had been completed, the gate agent downgraded the gentleman sitting in 13G back to Y - the rationale being that a crew rest seat was needed. An FA used the seat intermittently during the flight.

I was under the impression that because the 77W offers a dedicated crew rest area, no rest seat is needed in the cabin. Is it normal practice for an FA to use a J seat on this flight? Perhaps there was a problem with one of the bunks?

Apologies if this is better posted elsewhere.

FlyMeToTheLooneyBin

I saw that, too. The FA then put up a curtain with the words crew rest on it and kept the curtain shut the whole time.

77W_12A

How many crew does AA use on the 77W? You'd think they would have enough crew rest space overhead. CX seems to do just fine with the 77W without using revenue seats for crew rest.

lovenola

Did they have a chance to refuse and get off the plane? I would have raised holy hell if they did that to me at the last minute.

FlyMeToTheLooneyBin

The passenger didn't raise hell. They just moved on. Why doesn't the GA coordinate with the FA? Do the gate agents just hand out the seats and the FAs take it back? If the GA didn't hand it out, there would not be any contention. This was on leaving HKG.

MsEverywhere

So the small MCE cabin at the front of Y would be last to order for 137 and first for 138?

Or in Y do we even get a meal choice?

77W_12A

Perhaps the person that was moved back to Y was staff travel? You never know. That's probably the reason why they didn't make a big fuss about it.

FWAAA

FEBO is solely for premium cabin meal preferences (first or business). In economy, the FA just asks which you want as they remove the foil.

frudd38

how have the Y-J upgrades been looking for weekday departures both ways? It seems tough on 137 and easier on 138, although lately the past couple weeks I'm hearing massive waitlists..

OskiBear

I booked back in January and my DFW-HKG cleared at booking. Waitlisted on the return and cleared a couple of days ago for a flight 10 days out.

MsEverywhere

It seems in Y they usually start from the front no matter which direction, so those of us in the MCE mini cabin who don't clear should still get first choice.

boogen

I have flown over 200 paid First Class routes over the past few years and after reading this thread, I wasn't expecting much on AA138 today. I was on a paid ticket, albeit a P fare. I will have to admit, this was probably the best first class experience I've had. Complaints about the lack of storage had no effect on me as I only carry a computer backpack and a soft go-bag. The hard product might not be as wide as Cathay, but I think it is well thought out and the most functional system I've seen. I was surprised with the IFE system. It's TOTALLY functional, unlike the previous versions. It's the easiest system to select a program that I have seen and you don't have to be exposed to the interminable ads that Cathay is famous for. Good movie selection too. Everyone likes to complain about the flight attendants on AA and I was kind of dreading the flight because of this. But this crew was simply the outstanding, definitely on par with Singapore. The experienced American woman was as professional and sweet as they come and the two Cantonese speakers were two of the best I've seen on hundreds of AA flights. I couldn't ask for better service. I have never had a memorable meal on AA, but that changed today. Lately I've been eating a lot of Iberico ham, but the Parma ham served today was much better tasting. The pumpkin soup was perfect and the beef filet was amazingly tender with outstanding flavor. I love coffee and I probably had 15 cups on this flight. It was mild as I like it and absolutely no bitterness. The Champagne was nothing special and neither was the wine, but I still had two bottles of pinot noir during the 15 hour flight. To recap, the IFE system is the best I've seen, the food was very good, the hard product was functional and well thought out, I was shocked at how good the FA's were, and the internet was fine for emails and internet browsing. The plastic salt and pepper shakers are kind of a bizarre oversight, no caviar service and the wine and Champagne can best be described as "better than Chinese domestic airlines". There is nothing that stands out such as fine caviar, Singapore uniforms, or vintage Champagnes; however, the overall experience is the best of the 200+ first class international flights I've taken. As a side note, while chatting with one of the FA's, I asked about paid versus award flights in first class. He said this route is averaging about a 50:50 ratio with a surprising number of paid full F fare seats at up to 21,000+. I was on a P fare at under $4000 round trip.