Maximizing the First Class Experience!
 

Hi guys! I managed to use miles to upgrade to First on a flight from Hong Kong into Frankfurt (~12hr flight) and I'm pretty excited about it! Since this is a very rare (may even be the only time I ever get to try it) experience for me, wanted to ask the more experienced travelers for any tips on how to take full advantage of the experience... Things to do, things not to do, things to look out for, etc...

Thanks! =)

Make sure you allocate at least 30 minutes to fully enjoy the F cabin's washroom.
It's a truly amazing experience.


Give this forum a search. You're not the first one wanting to maximize your F class experience. You should be able to find at least a dozen of so of similar threads.

30 mins??:D
It is one of the nicer F class washroom out there particularly on 744 buy prob best to use less time so u can enjoy the F class service as the FA can't serve u krug inside the washroom

I'm sure if you ask, you can have the whole bottle to yourself and bring it into the washroom with you to enjoy.

There is no sex in the champagne room :D

OP, If you have time make sure to arrive at the airport in time to look around th eF C Loung(s). What airline ?

Make sure you allocate 12 hours to fully enjoy the F cabin.

Eat both in the lounge and on the plane. Do not turn down any food or alcohol.

Check out some of the trip reports in the community forum - there are some pros reporting on their first class experience.

It depends on what you want to get out of it. Some people love first class since they can get a good night sleep and be fresh and awake when they land. I agree with the other posters regarding the lounge. It's a great way to start a trip.

A lot of people on this forum seem overly obsessed with the champagne aspect--Dom and Krug are amazing, but make sure to try the actual wines they have on board. You will often get to try some outstanding 1er cru or cru bourgeois wines which are a lot harder to find than a bottle of 1999 or 2000 Dom.

my 2c :

- Order the scrambled eggs with a scoop of caviar. CX's F breakfast is superb IMHO.
- I personally don't find the Krug to be all that special, but I love CX's mimosa as they use an extremely pulpy orange juice with the Krug !
- For the main meal, the steak is generally a poor bet. I'd order the Chinese option without needing to know what it is.

http://goo.gl/2yxzQQ

It is terrible you mixed Krug with Oj!:D
Actually I find the steak in F nit bad and they can cook it from rare to well done

Yes the very best use of First without making a hog of yourself would be getting a GQQD nights sleep to arrive healthy and fresh to enjoy the rest of your days!
:cool:

I missed the caviar on my eggs
 

I didn't know you could have caviar on your scrambled eggs. I just experienced CX F for the first time 4 weeks ago. I had scrambled eggs for breakfast and was quite impressed that they were cooked on the plane, made with real eggs and not the powdered stuff. No one suggested I add caviar to them though, because I would have. Maybe next time (if there is one).

Too bad?

However the caviar is not always available as people might have consumed all before

Wirelessly posted (beckoa's BB: Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9810; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.11+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.1.0.694 Mobile Safari/534.11+)

The FA's seemed quite proud of having a skillet on the plane and insisted on cooking up some...after I had the Chinese Breakfast :o ;)

I would say after 3-4 CX F flights, it starts to get boring when you follow the same routine of dinner, sleep, breakfast.

Sometimes I just drink water and sleep most of the flight.

You can always ask to have dinner items (including caviar) saved for you and served during breakfast time. Personally I am not really a fan of breakfast food.

Or if you wake up in the middle of your sleep you can ask for snacks such as soup noodles and ice cream.

The good thing about CX F is that you don't have to follow the "routine" that everybody else seems to follow.

IMO they don't really pull breakfast off that well onboard. I don't think that it's their fault, though. There's undoubtedly a temperature governor on the skillet and the toaster. I've always been happier with breakfast in The Wing (I'm nearly always at HKG for a connection as opposed to a destination.)

In the seven years or so that I've been flying CX LH F, I've only had one unsatisfactory Chinese meal, it was shrimp coated in bean curd, IIRC. The bean curd sheet tasted like and had the consistency of thin cardboard. Tried the western option only once in all these years, -- lamb chops ex-AKL. Almost no meat, and what was there was gristly, fatty and inedible. And I had assumed that lamb ex-AKL was a sure thing!! Go figure.

All in all, IME you can't really go wrong with Chinese meals in CX F. That said, I know that other people don't completely agree and have reported negative experiences on FT.

They give you really nice pj's and slippers LAX-HKG.......they want you to keep them....then you can use them wherever you end up.....brown and blue were available on my last r/t experience to HKG.

How about Krug with OJ and caviar? :D

http://www.fjiii.com/tmp/0100.jpg

When you are hungry enough, it doesn't look that bad of a mix! :D

CX also serves a European cold breakfast plate in first and biz class on flights to FRA. I actually prefer that one after longer periods in Asia.

As the flight leaves rather late, maybe even have a main course in the lounges and just caviar/appetizers/soup/cheese/dessert according to own taste with drinks before bedtime.

The FRA CX lounge has a few showers on arrival.

I actually really like the F breakfast, and the scrambled eggs have always been done really well - some of the best eggs I've had regardless of in the air or on the ground. Toast I always skip since it dries out so quickly. And the dim sum is usually pretty good - even if it is generally the same as the dim sum served in J.

Maximizing the First Class Experience!
 

1) when the crew come over and say 'Are you ready to sleep let me arrange your chair for you' please let them! Don't be like me, I told them is ok I know how to do it without realising in F the actually place a thin mattress over your flat seats for you .... Embarrassing huh?

2) if travelling with partner request to have your meal in the same seat. Dinner my wife came over to my seat, breakfast I went to hers. Amazing!!!

God I miss the special beep at the boarding gate!

I suppose you both have to be flying in the same class to share a dining table right? CX won't let you "cross classes" when you dine right?

You may be able to dine down a cabin, but not up.

I suggest using this classic thread from the LH forum as a guide to "maximizing" your experience. :D

Do note that if you do dine using the buddy seat, there is a table extension the crew can add to the table to make it big enough for 2.

Maximizing the First Class Experience!
 

Correct. Both the wife and I are on the same class. And yes the table was extended.

1. I'm sure the FA will offer it, but don't be shy about asking for champagne before take-off. And then more and more champagne whenever you want it.
2. As others have suggested, perhaps get to HKG a bit earlier than you otherwise would to enjoy the F lounge. I think the Wing is the best one.
3. Tastes may vary, but I usually like the Chinese meal choices better than the Western ones on CX. But be aware that you can mix and match choices from both menus. It's not either/or.
4. If you really like caviar, don't be afraid to ask for more. If the cabin is full and they can't spare seconds, the worst the FA will do is very politely decline.
5. Arrive at the airport well rested so that the drinks or time of the flight won't quickly knock you out.
6. Seat choice can make this nice experience even nicer. Reserve your seat as far in advance as possible. If the plane is a 777, I'd suggest 1A as first choice and 2A as second choice. If a 747, I'd suggest either seat in row 2 as first choice and in row 3 as second choice. Reasons are explained in other threads.
7. The CX F seat is wonderfully wide. I believe that it that it has a fold-down mini-arm in its back that can serve as a more close-in arm rest if you so desire.
8. CX F FAs can make a pretty decent cappuccino for you.

Have a great trip!

Once you land in HK, can you get access into the Wing? I thought you were only allowed to access the arrivals lounge when you arrive in HK.

OP is travelling from HKG to FRA.

Flying into HKG on J out on F - Help me to maximise my CX experience!
 

Hi everybody.
I'm very excited for a couple of CX flights that I have coming up.
I've only ever flown CX once before, in Y and it was by far the best Y experience I've ever had!

This time I'm flying SYD-HKG in J, arriving at 21:35 on CX100.
The next flight is CX542 HKG-HND in F, departing at 16:15, the following day.
So an 18.5 hour layover.

I think my best option is to check my bag all the way through and get both my boarding passes at SYD.

When I arrive into HKG will I be able to use any lounges? I suspect Arrivals will be off limits as I will have come off a flight in J.

What about the Airside F lounges? I was thinking of checking out the Pier and getting some food and drinks before heading into Town. The following day I would then check out a cabana at the Wing.

I don't often find myself in HKG so really looking to maximise the CX experience!

Thanks in advance for your advice!

As an arriving business class passenger, you can access the Arrivals lounge
(See: http://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_U...dmittance.html)

This is really good to know!

Thanks TrAAveller.

It's not the plane I'm worried about, I have a pretty good idea of what I'm doing there :cool:

I was more concerned about the logistics of using the lounge quickly in the evening and then again pre-flight, the following day.

Also, I'm guessing that if that is possible; I'd be better off visiting one of the Airside F lounges, as opposed to Arrivals (in terms of food/beverage selection etc.).

Is that right?

I personally prefer row 1 on the 744 especially if you are travelling with someone.

You will be able to use both the arrival lounge and all the airside F lounges, however going airside and returning to clear immigration (assuming that's what you wanted to do) can be a hustle)

In that case, your thread's title is quite misleading. You should have mentioned you're only inquiring about the J/F lounge accesses.

It's possible, but it will be a hassle.
You arrive at 9:35pm and from the looks of it, you will/already have a hotel booked in the city.
If I were you, I would just get off the plane and head straight to the hotel and grab some food in the surrounding area. It's just not worth the time + hassle to check out the Pier and get to your hotel....past midnight.