Does CX have the best first class?
Mar 2, 2010 | 1:55 pm
#16
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: AA Lifetime PLT , BA Silver , BD RIP , HH Gold, SPG / Marriott PLT , EF Subscriber
Posts: 6,733
I'm surprised that anyone would prefer JAL's IFE to CX. Unless they improved in the past few months JAL has possibly the worst interface and programming out of any major airline I flew with longhaul. In contrast CX has an extremely fast and logical interface with an amazing selection of movies and TV shows. It's one of the reasons why I look forward to flying CX every time.
Mar 2, 2010 | 2:36 pm
#17
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: EK Gold One World Silver Hilton Hertz
Posts: 130
Best First Class
No question - EK on a 380 out of DXB on a good day.
The CX F lounge at HKG was wonderful 10 years ago but has not kept up. The EK F lounge at DXB sets the standard now. Better even than the SQ F lounge at SIN.
The CX F lounge at HKG was wonderful 10 years ago but has not kept up. The EK F lounge at DXB sets the standard now. Better even than the SQ F lounge at SIN.
Mar 2, 2010 | 2:37 pm
#18
Ambassador: Japan Airlines
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: LAX
Programs: JAL Mileage Bank, JMB Diamond, oneworld Emerald, Bonvoy Platinum
Posts: 17,156
JAL uses MAGIC-III on all 777-300ER flights, including SFO-NRT. The interface is much better than MAGIC-I and II which are probably 10+ years old. Even MAGIC-IV is the latest version of the IFE on JAL, it actually has much less choices than MAGIC-III.
Mar 3, 2010 | 7:49 pm
#19
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 13,143
Best F seat: definite yes.
Best F catering & cabin crew: definite no. NH & SQ meals & crews are better. Sorry but both CX F & SQ F just cannot beat NH in these two areas. The meals & crews on CX F are not as good as they used to be several years ago prior to the new F seat becoming the staple of the front cabin.
Best overall onboard F experience: definate No. Here are my rankings from my experiences from 1-5:
1) NH (beating SQ F by a hair)
2) SQ
3) CX
4) JL
5) BA
I have flown F in more than five different carriers but I'm only naming the top five.
People can argue about EK & LX belonging there as well. But unfortunately I have not sampled EK & LX's F product so I can't factor them into my rankings yet.
Best F catering & cabin crew: definite no. NH & SQ meals & crews are better. Sorry but both CX F & SQ F just cannot beat NH in these two areas. The meals & crews on CX F are not as good as they used to be several years ago prior to the new F seat becoming the staple of the front cabin.
Best overall onboard F experience: definate No. Here are my rankings from my experiences from 1-5:
1) NH (beating SQ F by a hair)
2) SQ
3) CX
4) JL
5) BA
I have flown F in more than five different carriers but I'm only naming the top five.
People can argue about EK & LX belonging there as well. But unfortunately I have not sampled EK & LX's F product so I can't factor them into my rankings yet.
Last edited by Rejuvenated; Mar 3, 2010 at 8:11 pm
Mar 3, 2010 | 10:38 pm
#20
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: HKG
Programs: CX DM, SQ, BA, TG, Sheba, VN, MPO since 1980
Posts: 1,058
Skytrax votes show otherwise
http://www.worldairlineawards.com/Aw...lt_Summary.htm
http://www.worldairlineawards.com/Aw...ltsFull-09.htm
BEST BY CABIN TYPE 2009 WINNER
Best First Class Singapore Airlines
Best Business Class Etihad Airways
Best Premium Economy Class Virgin Atlantic Airways
Best Economy Class Qatar Airways
http://www.worldairlineawards.com/Aw...ltsFull-09.htm
BEST BY CABIN TYPE 2009 WINNER
Best First Class Singapore Airlines
Best Business Class Etihad Airways
Best Premium Economy Class Virgin Atlantic Airways
Best Economy Class Qatar Airways
Mar 4, 2010 | 2:12 am
#22
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Belfast/Dubai/Hong Kong
Programs: QR Gold/CX Silver/EK Silver/EY Gold/Spire Royal Ambassador/Hilton Diamond
Posts: 194
This year I have flown EK F A380, 777-ULR & 777-300ER(380 service in my opinion way better than the other aircraft that EK operates. Apparantly they have a dedicated crew just for the 380's. In regards to the F lounge in DXB I must say beats CX and SQ lounges hands down.
I have also tried the CX F recently as well as the SQ F. I would rate CX F better than the EK or SQ.
F Product
1. CX
2. SQ
3. EK
F Lounge
1. Ek
2. SQ
3. CX
I have also tried the CX F recently as well as the SQ F. I would rate CX F better than the EK or SQ.
F Product
1. CX
2. SQ
3. EK
F Lounge
1. Ek
2. SQ
3. CX
Mar 7, 2010 | 12:00 pm
#23
Original Poster
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Benicia, California, USA
Programs: AA PLT,AS,UA PLAT,PP,J6,FB,EY,LH,SQ,HH Gld,Hyatt Disc,Marriott Plat,IHG Plat
Posts: 11,031
Not to extend this discussion much longer--and thanks for the various replies so far--but I'm still curious re why the airlines with the private mini-cabins in F (e.g., SQ on the 380) don't rate higher than CX? I would have thought that trumps other considerations.
Mar 7, 2010 | 12:31 pm
#24
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Taiwan
Programs: EVA
Posts: 182
I flew on JL's new business class with Magic IV, I was not impressed. The English language programming was extremely limited except for a few feature films. Chinese language programming for my wife was even worse. Of course their first class IFE may be different, I couldn't say since I've only flown JL in C.