Differences between CX and KA
 

Hi all, I am based in Shanghai and I have flown quite a bit in CX J. I usually select CX over KA, because CX use a large amount of their long haul A330's on the PVG route.

As CX/KA are sold interchangeably, at least to Shanghai, I assumed that the onboard product would be the same. Yesterday I took my first KA flight from HKG - PVG and I noticed quite a lot of difference.

- No champagne offered on KA as PDB
- Different drinks options, Taittinger champagne instead of Billecart
- No hot towels on KA, just horrible smelling wipes
- No introduction from flight deck, every CX flight I have taken has featured an intro from the captain.
- Different menu on KA, I quite liked the Asian Delights option that changes every day. I thought the food was in general better than my recent experiences on CX.
- IFE on KA did not tell you how long was left on the flight (this could be isolated)
- I thought the service on KA was much warmer and friendlier than my experiences on CX.


I just thought it was strange that there was these small differences between them. Surely they have the same suppliers in HKG and it would be more cost effective to have a uniform service. Also, CX/KA operate a lot of flights to Shanghai and it seems strange to differentiate.


One other question, why would anyone pay for F on KA, when they can get the same seat on J on CX?

I had flown to PEK in both CX and KA J, I think the reason one would book KA is probably because the better catering and more frequent service schedule.
CX only flies to PEK 3 times a day where KA has a flight nearly every hour.
And I have the same opinion as yours that the catering on KA is better than CX.

For the flight I taken on KA, it seems like the F cabin is usually more than half full (except morning flight), not sure whether they were upgraded or they purchased the F ticket, but I would say although you are getting the same long-haul CX J seat, the service is still first class service and the long haul J seats are very good for such regional sectors.

KA catering blows CX out of the water.

They are different airlines.

KA food 5 stars
CX food 2 stars

I've yet to experience a CX "long haul" A330 on PVG-HKG. What flight typically uses these birds?

I have had 7 flights between PVG - HKG in the past 6 months, all long haul J.

Flights were: CX365, CX367, CX360, CX369, CX364, CX369, CX360

I usually try to pick the long haul J, I get that there are flights with regional J too.

I get that they are different airlines, however, they are sold as the same airline, therefore service should be consistent, which it is not.

I stopped flying CX on that route about a year ago, due to equipment substitutions, and the fact that ka is categorically better.

Furthermore, i try my best to fly into Hongqiao northbound because immigration takes less than a minute there, and changing to a PVG flight is pretty easy. However, I still fly out of PVG due to the much more frequent schedule.

Not really. They're sold as the "same" airline since KA is a subsidiary of CX (think codeshare), especially now with the re-branding. But they are technically two different airlines so services will still be different between the two.

jah718
There are many partner FF programs where first class fares credit far better. And I suspect exiting the airplane at the destination is faster.

Happy wandering

Fred

Different crews
Different caterers
Different airplanes
...shall I continue?

A bit OT, but I can see how someone can be led to believe that they are "sold as the same airline".

How could an unsuspecting traveler possibly guess that CX360 is a CX operated flight, whereas CX6869 will be on a KA plane?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/membe...2-picture1.png

They are not making it easier by sending out pre-flight reminders with a big fat Dragonair logo on it, for routes that are not even served by KA.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/membe...3-picture2.png

Until I figured out the 3/4 number code system on these routes, I had to hike hiking from one end of the check-in aisles to the other more than once :o (why do they need to be so far apart, anyway?!)

The 3/4 digit numbering scheme should be obvious to even casual readers of FT.

While I would go as far as to challenge that assessment, I was not one of those in 2011 anyhow. I was also a lot slimmer back then. Probably from all those hikes between A and J. FT has made me fat.