First Time CX Flyer - My Initial Thoughts.
 

As some of you will know, from my occasional questioning in the CX Forum, I have taken my first trip with CX. I was very lucky to be able to use my BA Miles before the change to Avios last November. I have just taken the first half of the itinerary and am currently in Bali.

Now, I know that we all have out thoughts on experiences and individual knowledge of individual airlines and service levels, which, of course, I know a lot about BA naturally. I also gleaned together a reasonable knowledge of what to expect on Cathay from this forum (thank you), and from several trip reports that featured my class of travel with CX too.

I flew JFK-(YVR)-HKG in First and HKG-DPS in Business.

The flight from JFK to YVR was with HKG based crew, and they were outstanding. From the moment I set foot onboard the aircraft to the time they left, the never had me want for anything. And, not in an intrusive and overbearing way, but discreet, timely and efficient. With light conversation and interest in my journey. The food was very nice, the steak a little more rare than I would have usually had it, but was wonderful. The chap behind me in 2A went to sleep immediately after take off all the way till YVR, so it was just me on the A side, but they never forgot about me or made me wait. Studio XC worked a dream and was brilliant. I really enjoyed the content and speed it worked. The size of the screen is great, with easy to use controls.

The transit in YVR was interesting. I have never been onboard during a transit stop before, and it is quite funny to sit and listen to the crew changing over. Is very reminiscent of my own small talk with crew when we meet onboard or in terminals etc...

What was strange was the YVR crew who took over. I was sat, quietly, watching what was going on, in my seat. The senior crew member (ISM?) was obviously busy at D1L, walked past me about 10-15 times in between the two galleys at 1 and 2, up and down, up and down, and not once, acknowledged my presence. Until, that was, she confirmed with the dispatcher that they were ready to board passengers. Then she came and said hello. I know it sounds an odd thing to pick up on, but maybe it is just me. I could not ignore someone who was sat there for maybe 15-20 minutes as I busied around them. I would at least have to say "hello" to them, I could not completely ignore them. I did not take offence to this, just found it odd.

The flight to HKG was, again, very nice. The crew were agin efficient and polite, however not as interactive or talkative as the HKG based crew. Absolutely no issue with that at all, they provided a great service, just without the same level of personal interaction. Food was nice, and I tried a few of the Chinese dishes, of which not all were to my liking, and they happy offered me something else.

The bed in First... WOW... I have never, ever, slept that well on a plane. And, that includes in the crew rest areas on my aircraft which I work. I had a decent 5.5 hour almost solid sleep after finishing up with my film I had been watching during dinner. Now, Studio CX had some issues departing YVR, and would not come on for about 45-50 minutes. Constant "loading" on the screen. A full shut down and re-start cured it and worked perfectly from then on in. Watched a couple of films which I had wanted to see.

Transit in HKG was so so so simple. I don't remember which gate we arrived at, but it was single digits and there was a transit point about 5 gates away, so I headed straight for it. 1 person in front of me, and that was it. I was through transit in no more than 2 minutes. I was, however, in desperate need of a shower and went to The Cabin (?) by gate 2. Had a very nice shower, but the place was so hot that by the time I got ready to leave the shower room, I was sweating buckets again. Despite this, in the actual terminal its self, it was nice and cool. My flight was leaving from gate 63, so a it of a trek away. I know I could have used the train thing to go along, but I had lots of time, and the lady in the first lounge told me that there was The Wing (?) by gate 63/65, so I decided to take a slow stroll along, which took me maybe 10-15 minutes.

The Wing was lovely, had some tea and caught up on e-mails. I had asked at The Wing about being seated in the First cabin, with Business service, for the flight to DPS. Was told that the cabin was not being opened as the load was relatively light. Fine, no problem.

I went up to the gate a little before they said it would be boarding time as I wanted to take a couple of pictures of the aircraft etc... Which I did, then sat and people watched. The gate team then asked people to start lining up for boarding and I was placed 2nd at the front of the queue for Business Class. The man in front of me was holding a boarding pass for 1K. So, as I was standing almost next to the lady at the podium, I asked if I could be seated in the First cabin, she told me it was full, after looking on the system. I don' understand the way they deal with these seats. The cabin is either open for use, or it is not, seems simple enough to me. And, rest assured, the First cabin was full, with Business being about 1/4 to 1/3 full. All very odd, and not something that shows CX in a good light to me personally.

The flight to DPS was very nice indeed. Upper deck on the 747 with an absolutely lovely crew. They were really top notch and never stopped all the way to Bali, despite being only 11 of us upstairs.

The old "coffin" business seat, I do not like however. I find it too narrow for me. Especially around the shoulder area. I did feel a little too enclosed, and whilst I would not say claustrophobic, I certainly did feel a little uneasy at a time. The food was nice, all be it with no choice of starter which I found odd, however it was nice and the service lovely. After the meal service, I did visit the galley and say hello to the crew and introduce myself as a fellow flyer, and compliment them on how nice it was. Again, Studio CX was great, watched another film I had wanted to see, which turned out to be just the right length for the remainder of the flight.

I have another Business and First sector to come, and am looking forward to them a lot, although I just checked in for the Business sector and it is a 777-300 Regional, so that will be different.

Sorry if I have waffled on, I just wanted to share my initial thoughts on Cathay and, in a way, thank all those on the CX Forum who helped me with my planning, and put up with my childish excitement during it.

Regards,

BBB

FYI the lounge you had a shower on was The Wing, and the second lounge was The Pier.

I know this might be an offensive question, but now that you have experienced CX, as a BA flight attendant do you feel the service standards on BA to be lacking?

Thanks for the clarification on the lounges, I am still getting confused as to which is which.

If we are talking about in First, yes. But, then you we need to take into account the crew ratio in the First cabin. CX had 2 for 6 on a 777 and 3 for 9 on a 747. BA has 3 for 14 or 17. So, whilst I can see that the service is going to be "different" for a better word, I don't, on the whole, blame the crew for that. If we had the same ratio of crew to passengers as CX does, then I am sure the service would be different. Note I am not saying "better", as I do firmly believe that a lot of BA crew can deliver an outstanding service, but, things can always be improved upon, with the manpower to do it.

BBb I'm glad u had a good experience. I recently tried the new BA first class and must say the crew was really good but the hard product is just pretty average. It is quite similar to the new cX j class seat

You should've asked for the first class section on the 744 at the lounge. They always reserve to mpo dm first.

For the j seat did u try the bed mode? I find it much better than club world for sleeping ESP for upper deck, there is an extra 7-10inch

While I haven't been in F on either airlines, I think the FAs on both CX and BA are usually excellent. Of course, both airlines have their rubbish moments, but on the whole, I think most of the staff in CX and BA are doing a pretty good job. Well, there was one time when there were 3 CX FAs serving me, and only me for the entire flight, but that's an exception...

I did ask at the lounge, as I posted, and was told that the First cabin was closed as it was not needed due to a light load.

Yes, I tried it in bed mode, i had a nap for about 30 minutes, still did not like it. I felt quite "hemmed in"...

Not trying to excuse CX staff....but could this have been a language issue?
First Class closed = full
Not needed due light load=you stated J was not full...so an "upgrade" to the 1st class section was not needed.
Just a thought.

You are writing a TR, right BBB? Please?? :)

that is typical for the lounge and really hkg airport. The air volume is such that personally, it never cools down. The showers in the pier can be very hot. First time to hkg?

I don't believe so... The 2 ladies I spoke to, both at the lounge and at the gate spoke perfect English, even better than me... :D

It really is no biggy... I have a regional 777-300 today and a 747 in a few days time... So, a good spectrum...

Of course... It is being written as I go along, I am fearful it will be too long though, and bore people... Anyone who clicks on the link gets an automatic $5 Starbucks card for caffeine to keep their eyes open... ^ (I am joking on that one... NO come back for your cars please...)

Yes, first time in HKG, well, apart from work trips, but yes, first time as a passenger.

The terminal felt cool, but, maybe that was just because the lounge was so hot. When I put my clean shirt on, it was sticking to me as it was that hot and stuffy in there... I wanted to strip off and take another shower... :o

I find the shower rooms at the Wing stuffy but the lounges themselves are usually cool.

Agree. Recently did a transatlantic BA F flight with all seats in F filled up. Service was excellent and very attentive, in no way was the standard lower than on CX. Food was better than CX (the afternoon tea was superb), amenity kit better than CX. The blue electric window shades were cool.

The seat, however, was a disappointment. Even on a daytime flight I found it cramped. Agree that it feels like the Cirrus CX J seat.