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As already said, its very much a cultural thing. CX crews are best described as efficient i think. They do the meal services quickly and efficiently, and then disappear to the galley. If you call them, they're at your seat within seconds, but save for the odd water run you wont see them again. Once you realise that's how they work there are few better, but many non-Chinese don't even know the call button exists, let alone feel comfortable using it. Then CX just comes across as disengaged.
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Originally Posted by flyer121
(Post 25743393)
I personally feel that CX is one of the most overrated airlines in all cabins. The HKG lounges are amazing, however that's about it.
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Originally Posted by G-CIVC
(Post 25738724)
Cathay crews are overworked, stripped off of benefits, suffer from one of the lowest payscale across the industry disproportionate to the cost of living in HK. They definitely don't (and should not, anyway) have the 'I'm your humble servant' Singapore style service and I don't mind since as long as you are pleasant and polite to the crew they will treat you in the same way in reverse. As always, they are here 'mainly for your safety'.
P.S. Just flown in F and was hugely disappointed by CX. |
Originally Posted by flyer121
(Post 25743393)
I personally feel that CX is one of the most overrated airlines in all cabins. The HKG lounges are amazing, however that's about it.
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Originally Posted by davidsfo
(Post 25737538)
Travelled recently on CX from SFO to HKG in Premium Economy (CX 893/892.) Perhaps I was naive, but I was expecting service levels to be significantly higher (even in Y) than the US carriers who have diluted their product so much that I avoid them even though I have a many miles with them. In some ways (especially the check-in protocols etc.) were more efficient than on US carriers. It was the "soft" in flight product that seemed to miss the mark and was not much better than on UA or other US carriers. The cabin attendants seemed to be on a rote script and there was little or no personalization to the service. They seemed to go through the drill of meal service and then hunker down in the galley. They didn't even make water passes through the cabin (at least UA does that.) The attendants seemed young and not particularly well trained (they didn't even know the food choices on their menu.) The food was good from SFO; but lousy out of HKG. Baggage handling on the return in SFO took longer than any international flight I had taken in the last ten years. Maybe the F/J product is much better than US carriers, but certainly not in Y or PE. Maybe I caught them on a bad day(s). Just curious if my experience is out of the norm.
Originally Posted by QRC3288
(Post 25737707)
Regarding service, CX expects you to ring the call light for service. CX's customs are not the American style "never ring the call light"...the exact opposite. They expect you to use it and will come immediately. It seems to throws first time American travelers off. This holds true in J and F, BTW. Flight attendants trucking through the cabin with water in plastic cups is not my idea of good service, but it is what Americans expect so I guess there is just some cultural misunderstanding.
In general, the placement of the PEY cabin does indeed make FAs less inclined to go up there unless the call light is rung. I can see how this is an annoyance although I'm not sure what CX can do about it given they assign Y flight attendants - not J - to work the PEY cabin. From a plane geography standpoint, the J FAs (and even galley) is closer. They do make a minor attempt during boarding by having J FAs help out. But during meal service, indeed it's the Y FAs. As comparing it to US carriers, that's just insane given the hard product difference. I understand the soft product service concerns, but you can't be serious about taking UA "economy plus" over CX PEY. UA, DL and AAs "economy plus" is nonsense - the seat is identical. You get a few extra inches of legroom but an identical, crappy economy seat. AA is flying 10 across in their 77Ws in Y class, including "economy comfort" or whatever they call it. UA is rumored to be configging their new 77Ws the same. These are not PEY products but more like getting a priority seat like a bulkhead or exit row or something. It is not PEY. By contrast, CX PEY is 8 across and a totally different seat. I wonder if those travel bloggers make for impossible expectations. CX is all around a very good airline, and they offer a genuine PEY product, something none of the big 3 US carriers can claim. You get a bottle of water at your seat, J class first meal, improved headphones over economy, don't have to fight your neighbor for his armrest, and a significantly enhanced seat over what is in Y class, in terms of material, pitch and width. The product is not competing with J but rather "enhancing" Y, and if sedn in that light I think it does a decent job.
Originally Posted by Cupart
(Post 25739095)
Thanks QRC3288 for the heads up ^.
I'm not American (but rather from across the pond) and in all my years of flying (30+) I have maybe used the call button once or twice but then again I have always flown European carriers. Come to think of it, It's actually very seldom I have heard or noticed the "pling" being used so will for sure use it rather than feeling ignored by the cabin crew when flying CX later this year... I actually prefer to get up of my seat and on my two old legs seek out the cabin crew and ask whatever it is I'm looking for; this said nothing wrong in calling for service at ones seat ^ 1. CX893 is overnight flight. I believe they expect the pax to sleep immediately after the meal service. It makes sense for them not to run around too often as it may be disturbing to other pax. 2. Yes, they do have water runs. 3. Do you have any OneWorld status? For people with OneWorld Emerald(MP Diamond), you will definitely get much better personal service. I don't know if OneWorld Sapphire/Ruby will get the service Emerald does. In my one PEY service from HKG to YYZ. Pre-flight drink, J main dish, amenity kit. I can see they pay much more attention to me than all other pax(mostly because I am in OW Emerald, and the rest of the PEY cabin isn't). I slept for most of the flight, and the ISM came to me preflight/postflight and asked me how I felt about it. Unfortunately this is the norm for JAL/CX. They care much more about OneWorld Emerald members. 4. When no one seems to walk around the cabin, please just ring the bell. I ring the bell in F, J, PEY, and Y all the time. In Y, if the majority is sleeping, then I would go to the galley and ask for some drinks. IMO, not going around to answer requests isn't equal to bad service. |
Originally Posted by Paulakers2010
(Post 25787231)
3. Do you have any OneWorld status? For people with OneWorld Emerald(MP Diamond), you will definitely get much better personal service. I don't know if OneWorld Sapphire/Ruby will get the service Emerald does. In my one PEY service from HKG to YYZ. Pre-flight drink, J main dish, amenity kit. I can see they pay much more attention to me than all other pax(mostly because I am in OW Emerald, and the rest of the PEY cabin isn't). I slept for most of the flight, and the ISM came to me preflight/postflight and asked me how I felt about it. Unfortunately this is the norm for JAL/CX. They care much more about OneWorld Emerald members.
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Originally Posted by Daffie
(Post 25789315)
ISM greeting aside, those things you listed are all part of long haul PEY services
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in all due respect, it is premium ECONOMY, not BUSINESS class minor. the original poster sounded disappointed and that is a shame. however, i think some people expect too much and especially participants on these aviation websites.
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This is a very interesting thread.
I agree with QRC3288 on all points made in post #3. It is interesting to see how many Americans not only had no carriers offering Premium Y - until recently - react when they fly airlines that have had the cabin for some time. Air Canada had it on their older 777 well before their received their new 788s two years ago with the fantastic Premium Y seats. I flew AA LAX-LHR RT, and literally had one guy argue with me that the front 3 rows of Y was Premium Y. He then insists I follow him so he can show me. Not only did I tell him that those seats called "E+, Economy Comfort, Preferred" and similar are NOT Premium Y, he continued arguing until cabin crew told him AA did not have that cabin on much of it's equipment. Nuts. On recent flights with LH, SQ, and CX, I took some time to walk around and take a look at how other airlines do Premium Y. There is a wide variation on the type of seating used and clearly, not all airlines offer the same service. For Americans, this will change as more airlines receive or refurbish aircraft to include a proper Premium Y cabin and service. If the only difference between Y and PE/PY/PEY is the type of glass used, then there may be reluctance to pay for it. I am quite sure the airlines that have a successful Premium Y have figured out how to advertise it, sell it and monetize it. Otherwise, it will sit empty and be the cabin where Y or Coach pax will upgrade to. As for CX food, I will agree that the quantity and quality (in J anyway) outbound from YYZ-HKG, was fantastic. The return from HKG, not so much. Not sure why as there must be massive catering kitchen for the large number of airlines needing meals, or perhaps CX and some others choose a lower-cost option ex-HKG. Only they know. Interestingly, the meals on SQ and LH were excellent no matter the departure point - including HKG. . |
CX PE
Originally Posted by davidsfo
(Post 25737538)
Travelled recently on CX from SFO to HKG in Premium Economy (CX 893/892.) Perhaps I was naive, but I was expecting service levels to be significantly higher (even in Y) than the US carriers who have diluted their product so much that I avoid them even though I have a many miles with them. In some ways (especially the check-in protocols etc.) were more efficient than on US carriers. It was the "soft" in flight product that seemed to miss the mark and was not much better than on UA or other US carriers. The cabin attendants seemed to be on a rote script and there was little or no personalization to the service. They seemed to go through the drill of meal service and then hunker down in the galley. They didn't even make water passes through the cabin (at least UA does that.) The attendants seemed young and not particularly well trained (they didn't even know the food choices on their menu.) The food was good from SFO; but lousy out of HKG. Baggage handling on the return in SFO took longer than any international flight I had taken in the last ten years. Maybe the F/J product is much better than US carriers, but certainly not in Y or PE. Maybe I caught them on a bad day(s). Just curious if my experience is out of the norm.
I will be flying CX PE soon in three weeks and I hope that it'll be a better in flight experience. My two-cent :-) |
Originally Posted by ronin98syu
(Post 26728755)
I previously flew CX intra Asia in C cabin a few times and were blown away by their services.
What are you comparing it to? AA domestic F? |
Originally Posted by ashkale
(Post 25772507)
^ can safely second that after cx overdose in the last 2weeks, it's just another PRC airline.
Other things I can't believe: -You actually have to ask for salt and pepper when you want them. What other premium airline doesn't have them both on the food tray? It's annoying and cheap. -Pre-meal drinks seem to be at the whim of the FA's on both short and long hauls. And if they bother to do a pre-meal run, you have to ask for nuts, which they bury on the second level of the cart, presumably so that nobody sees them. -The food is atrocious and the presentation frequently looks nasty. Sure, I got sick of the SQ food, but with Book the Cook, you can at least mix it up a little bit and not eat the same thing time after time. Yes, the lounges are great and I have learned eat there to avoid the inflight food. The seats are definitely comfortable enough. The service isn't hostile or unfriendly. But premium airline? C'mon. |
The J class food is indeed a complete joke. Hard to argue with that. "Atrocious" is the right word.
Lounges are exceptional, seats (LH) are solid and the bedding is quite good. Regional J hard product sucks. IFE fleerwide is quite good but screens could use resolution / brightness improvement. As a Diamond I find service generally to be exceptional, but can't speak to others. But it is a highlight for me. I really appreciate the differentiation here....in a way, CX boosts the Diamond program by having worse service to non-Diamonds ;). That pretty much sums my high level opinion of J class up. |
Originally Posted by expatbkk
(Post 26730388)
Other things I can't believe: -You actually have to ask for salt and pepper when you want them. What other premium airline doesn't have them both on the food tray? It's annoying and cheap. -Pre-meal drinks seem to be at the whim of the FA's on both short and long hauls. And if they bother to do a pre-meal run, you have to ask for nuts, which they bury on the second level of the cart, presumably so that nobody sees them. -The food is atrocious and the presentation frequently looks nasty. Sure, I got sick of the SQ food, but with Book the Cook, you can at least mix it up a little bit and not eat the same thing time after time. Yes, the lounges are great and I have learned eat there to avoid the inflight food. The seats are definitely comfortable enough. The service isn't hostile or unfriendly. But premium airline? C'mon. Pre-meal drinks (with nuts) are supposed to be for lunch and dinner services. Breakfast and supper not. Overall I find the food passable on CX - but CX J is all about a good bed (for me at least). I always get a good night's sleep and that's more important. I am disappointed with the lounge food - although it's not only CX. Many lounges are suffering in their food offerings... but last week I found CX to be at new lows. The cabin salad bar in particular - seems to have gone down hill quite a bit. The Bridge - I really didn't find a single dish in there that was appealing :( (except for the chorizo pasta bake - full of chorizo, cheese, fat and salt! Absolutely delicious if not setting me up for a heart-attack :)) |
Originally Posted by expatbkk
(Post 26730388)
-You actually have to ask for salt and pepper when you want them. What other premium airline doesn't have them both on the food tray? It's annoying and cheap.
- And if they bother to do a pre-meal run, you have to ask for nuts, which they bury on the second level of the cart, presumably so that nobody sees them. Both of those are pet peeves of mine. Absurd. I flew VN NRT to SGN today. Better J food than CX (on VN!), and proper presentation on actual plates. |
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