Recent F experience
Feb 26, 2015, 8:42 am
#34
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 151
Flower - yes
Notecard - no
Champagne - galley pour
Seat - 1A, def overheard quite a bit of chatter from the galley...to the point where i was woken from sleep
Food - it's decent but nothing outstanding IMHO. the main is never really terribly memorably...my favorite part of the food service was the salmon snack!
Drinks - they did not have the proper ingredients for EITHER of their signature drinks.
Feb 27, 2015, 2:59 am
#35
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,531
2/19 CX 841 JFK-HKG
Flower - yes
Notecard - no
Champagne - galley pour
Seat - 1A, def overheard quite a bit of chatter from the galley...to the point where i was woken from sleep
Food - it's decent but nothing outstanding IMHO. the main is never really terribly memorably...my favorite part of the food service was the salmon snack!
Drinks - they did not have the proper ingredients for EITHER of their signature drinks.
Flower - yes
Notecard - no
Champagne - galley pour
Seat - 1A, def overheard quite a bit of chatter from the galley...to the point where i was woken from sleep
Food - it's decent but nothing outstanding IMHO. the main is never really terribly memorably...my favorite part of the food service was the salmon snack!
Drinks - they did not have the proper ingredients for EITHER of their signature drinks.
Flower: No
Notecard: No
Champagne: Poured tableside, though wasn't offered any pre-departure
Same noise issues with 1A.
Agree on food, Salmon Snack rocked.
Water bottles: Costco crap first time, Evian the second.
Seems they have slipped a bit.
Last edited by 19103_aa; Feb 28, 2015 at 6:27 am Reason: Added info about water
Feb 28, 2015, 12:31 am
#40
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 151
Another "downgrade" i've noticed in F is the water bottles they dole out are some cheapo costco/cvs brand. Personally I don't give a crap about fancy water...water is water (except at the LH FCT!) but it's definite a strike against.
I just got off HKG-JNB in J and they were giving out Evian!
I just got off HKG-JNB in J and they were giving out Evian!
Feb 28, 2015, 9:20 pm
#41
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: BOS/UTH
Programs: AA LT PLT; QR GLD; Bonvoy LT TIT
Posts: 12,755
A little more on my 830 the other day.
Service: Staff was incredibly attentive. Load was 4/6. I was in 1A and noticed that someone either walked through the cabin or poked her head through the curtains to check on me (2A was empty) at least every 15-20 minutes. When delivering each course of a meal, there were always 2 FAs.
Food: Caviar was good; although you can have the blinis. I much preferred the toast. In fact, I preferred everything about the old presentation, from the Balik to the potatoes, etc. Sure, the individual tins of caviar may ultimately save on waste, but there was much more available when each flight had one large tin.
For only the second time since I've been flying CX F (8 years), I tried the western option, as none of the Chinese options appealed to me. It was grilled shrimp (three) with both garlic butter and some sort of tomato sauce. Lose the tomato sauce and serve it with only garlic butter would improve it greatly. Baby string beans were crisp and delicious, as was the rice, billed as risotto, but it really wasn't. Nevertheless, the rice was quite good. It just wasn't risotto.
There was a flyer inserted in the menu for two special CNY desserts. I requested one; but it turned out that neither had been loaded. Apparently with CNY just past, they were no longer available. Instead, I had a Chinese dessert, some sort of small dough rounds with "bubbles" in coconut milk. Offered hot or cold, I opted for hot. It was delicious.
The special red wine program is currently Italian. I didn't try it, opting to stick with Krug. I had had breakfast at The Wing prior to departure (a delicious omelette); and I slept before I ate. By the time I got to the meal, starting with caviar and Krug, the bottle had gone flat. (I leave the physics explanation of why this happens more quickly at altitude for another time.) Anyway, FA didn't notice; but I did on looking at the glass, never mind the first sip. ISM apologized sincerely and opened a new bottle for me. Unfortunately, it was insufficiently chilled; but was nice nevertheless. I only had one glass.
Video: I don't think that the U.S. TV show options are as good this month as they have been in the past. There were very few shows with depth (number of episodes). Most had up to three episodes; where in the past there was often an entire season of Blue Bloods, Family Guy, etc.
General: I slept incredibly well because not only was the cabin not too hot, it was actually cold. That's a much better approach because people who want to be warmer can just opt for more blankets.
All in all, it was a great flight.
Service: Staff was incredibly attentive. Load was 4/6. I was in 1A and noticed that someone either walked through the cabin or poked her head through the curtains to check on me (2A was empty) at least every 15-20 minutes. When delivering each course of a meal, there were always 2 FAs.
Food: Caviar was good; although you can have the blinis. I much preferred the toast. In fact, I preferred everything about the old presentation, from the Balik to the potatoes, etc. Sure, the individual tins of caviar may ultimately save on waste, but there was much more available when each flight had one large tin.
For only the second time since I've been flying CX F (8 years), I tried the western option, as none of the Chinese options appealed to me. It was grilled shrimp (three) with both garlic butter and some sort of tomato sauce. Lose the tomato sauce and serve it with only garlic butter would improve it greatly. Baby string beans were crisp and delicious, as was the rice, billed as risotto, but it really wasn't. Nevertheless, the rice was quite good. It just wasn't risotto.
There was a flyer inserted in the menu for two special CNY desserts. I requested one; but it turned out that neither had been loaded. Apparently with CNY just past, they were no longer available. Instead, I had a Chinese dessert, some sort of small dough rounds with "bubbles" in coconut milk. Offered hot or cold, I opted for hot. It was delicious.
The special red wine program is currently Italian. I didn't try it, opting to stick with Krug. I had had breakfast at The Wing prior to departure (a delicious omelette); and I slept before I ate. By the time I got to the meal, starting with caviar and Krug, the bottle had gone flat. (I leave the physics explanation of why this happens more quickly at altitude for another time.) Anyway, FA didn't notice; but I did on looking at the glass, never mind the first sip. ISM apologized sincerely and opened a new bottle for me. Unfortunately, it was insufficiently chilled; but was nice nevertheless. I only had one glass.
Video: I don't think that the U.S. TV show options are as good this month as they have been in the past. There were very few shows with depth (number of episodes). Most had up to three episodes; where in the past there was often an entire season of Blue Bloods, Family Guy, etc.
General: I slept incredibly well because not only was the cabin not too hot, it was actually cold. That's a much better approach because people who want to be warmer can just opt for more blankets.
All in all, it was a great flight.
Mar 1, 2015, 12:27 am
#42
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: AA ExecPlat, AC, DL Plat, Amtrk SE, AmEx Plat, Bonvoy Plat (via SPG), HH Gold, Accor Plat, WOH Dis
Posts: 196
807, ORD > HKG
Load: 5/6
Flower: Yes
Notecard: No
Champagne: Poured at seat along with amuse bouche
Seat: 1A - did not notice any noise at all
Same noise issues with 1A.
Water bottles: not Evian, a brand I did not recognize
Service was good, but did not blow me out of the water. Maybe a tiny bit better than CX Business service. It was miles ahead of AA F, but I did expect more from CX.
Load: 5/6
Flower: Yes
Notecard: No
Champagne: Poured at seat along with amuse bouche
Seat: 1A - did not notice any noise at all
Same noise issues with 1A.
Water bottles: not Evian, a brand I did not recognize
Service was good, but did not blow me out of the water. Maybe a tiny bit better than CX Business service. It was miles ahead of AA F, but I did expect more from CX.
Mar 2, 2015, 7:25 pm
#43
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, Hilton
Posts: 159
808 My parents' experience
Load: 4/6
Flower: Yes
Notecard: Yes (twice, one on a notecard another one on the menu)
Champagne: Poured at seat along with amuse bouche
Seat: 1K/1A - did not notice any noise at all
Great service overall, love the Wonton noodle
Load: 4/6
Flower: Yes
Notecard: Yes (twice, one on a notecard another one on the menu)
Champagne: Poured at seat along with amuse bouche
Seat: 1K/1A - did not notice any noise at all
Great service overall, love the Wonton noodle
Mar 13, 2015, 10:58 pm
#44
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Programs: DL PM, MR Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 10,130
Flew CX F for the first time yesterday and had the following experience
806, HKG > ORD
Load: 6/6
Flower: Yes
Notecard: Yes
Champagne: Poured at seat along with amuse bouche. Multiple bottles loaded (no other champagne was listed on the menu and despite 6/6 load it was poured at our table every time and so I know it was Krug each and every time)
Seat: GF was in 1A and mentioned after the flight that she heard a fair amount of noise throughout the flight; I was in 2A and had no issues
Water Bottles: Evian Brand
Service was good - I was unsure what to expect from CX (first time flying a OW F after switching over to AA from UA last year) but I felt that the crew was fairly proactive, I only used my call button twice and it was in the middle of the night - during the day particularly during the meal (gf and I shared a table) they came by frequently to refill the champagne.
Special wine program is French and they had one of the bottles on board and it was good however when we asked for refills they brought a different red from the regular menu so it's unclear if they only had one bottle and ran out or if there was just some sort of confusion.
The food however was poor relative to my other F experiences (NH, LH, OZ, TG, NH). I got the steak and it was a virtual hockey puck - I barely ate any. Caesar salad was okay though I could've done without the bacon bits. The GF got the western noodle dish (it was tortelloni-esque with gorgonzola cream sauce).
Flying them again in F in a few weeks SFO - HKG so I will definitely consider going with one of the Chinese dishes or just getting the noodle dish and having some sort of protein in the lounge / airport before the flight.
806, HKG > ORD
Load: 6/6
Flower: Yes
Notecard: Yes
Champagne: Poured at seat along with amuse bouche. Multiple bottles loaded (no other champagne was listed on the menu and despite 6/6 load it was poured at our table every time and so I know it was Krug each and every time)
Seat: GF was in 1A and mentioned after the flight that she heard a fair amount of noise throughout the flight; I was in 2A and had no issues
Water Bottles: Evian Brand
Service was good - I was unsure what to expect from CX (first time flying a OW F after switching over to AA from UA last year) but I felt that the crew was fairly proactive, I only used my call button twice and it was in the middle of the night - during the day particularly during the meal (gf and I shared a table) they came by frequently to refill the champagne.
Special wine program is French and they had one of the bottles on board and it was good however when we asked for refills they brought a different red from the regular menu so it's unclear if they only had one bottle and ran out or if there was just some sort of confusion.
The food however was poor relative to my other F experiences (NH, LH, OZ, TG, NH). I got the steak and it was a virtual hockey puck - I barely ate any. Caesar salad was okay though I could've done without the bacon bits. The GF got the western noodle dish (it was tortelloni-esque with gorgonzola cream sauce).
Flying them again in F in a few weeks SFO - HKG so I will definitely consider going with one of the Chinese dishes or just getting the noodle dish and having some sort of protein in the lounge / airport before the flight.
Mar 14, 2015, 10:26 pm
#45
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: SEATTLE, WA USA
Programs: UAL, AA, AS, CX
Posts: 1,973
I recently flew HKG-ORD and JFK-YVR-HKG in F and noticed few small things different than my previous CX F flights.
1. No more note cards at meal service. I always thought this was a nice, thoughtful small gesture. But perhaps most pax just don't see the need for it?
2. No flowers on the wall mounted vase.
3. Amenity kit case is now a very plain looking Aesop one. I love Aesop products, but the case is not good looking. I even prefer the Agnes B ones they distribute in J. Too bad they stopped distributing the Tumi or Zegna kits.
I love CX F seat, but meals are still the least impressive part of the flights (huge chunk of steak doesn't always mean it's a good slab of meat).
On my HKG-ORD flight, I was seated in 2A and during taxiing prior to take off, all I could hear was the purser discussing her work details with another attendant - she was very loud.
The very comfy seat and the cabana at HKG's lounge are 2 most favorite things about CX F.
1. No more note cards at meal service. I always thought this was a nice, thoughtful small gesture. But perhaps most pax just don't see the need for it?
2. No flowers on the wall mounted vase.
3. Amenity kit case is now a very plain looking Aesop one. I love Aesop products, but the case is not good looking. I even prefer the Agnes B ones they distribute in J. Too bad they stopped distributing the Tumi or Zegna kits.
I love CX F seat, but meals are still the least impressive part of the flights (huge chunk of steak doesn't always mean it's a good slab of meat).
On my HKG-ORD flight, I was seated in 2A and during taxiing prior to take off, all I could hear was the purser discussing her work details with another attendant - she was very loud.
The very comfy seat and the cabana at HKG's lounge are 2 most favorite things about CX F.
No flowers in the holders
The evening meal ala beef cheeks was not good at all and very fatty
Burger was good
My chinese travelling companion said all asian meals sucked! No flavor
Service by the FAs was good. Had the Cathay Delight and their newest drink with rose water both good.
Cabanas excellent but lounge food was sub-par! The noodle bar for J passengers was much better & preferred.