Intra Asia First Class availability
Nov 25, 2017 | 5:28 am
#16
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 787
I'll put this here for you and others as well.
A.) If you're looking for award tickets skip this post.
B.) If you're spending cash for F intra-Asia, then the options / situation is very simple.
To SIN: you pay cash on SQ. You don't pay for F on CX to SIN if you want F because even if they sell it to you, you can't count on it. This is my biggest annoyance with CX, holds true for J hard product also. AFAIK, nobody in HK who wants to fly F to SIN goes CX. In my situation occasionally we accompany clients or other folks who "require" F to SIN and 100% of the time we buy SQ. Our office staff know it and the staff of our clients seem to know it too. So I don't think this is a big mystery regardless of what the CX website says or doesn't say. SQ has three guaranteed flights with First (well technically 2 First and 1 Suites) and that's the way you do it. The cost runs about $3k USD for a round-trip to SIN in F.
For SIN, fyu this same logic also holds true if you want guaranteed long-haul J class hard product to SIN: you fly SQ. You can guarantee longhaul J on 4x daily flights (the 3 ones with F, + a 1x daily A350 service).
To BKK: You're SOL. Emirates used to fly F to BKK but not anymore.
To TPE: You're SOL.
The bummer with BKK and TPE if you really want a nice hard product is you can't guarantee, on any of the carriers, your precise product. But c'est la vie and at least for the longest of those three (SIN) you can. But you gotta fly SQ.
So I guess my big point is CX's equipment swaps and scheduling swaps intra-Asia mean you gotta go other carriers to guarantee your hard product.
A.) If you're looking for award tickets skip this post.
B.) If you're spending cash for F intra-Asia, then the options / situation is very simple.
To SIN: you pay cash on SQ. You don't pay for F on CX to SIN if you want F because even if they sell it to you, you can't count on it. This is my biggest annoyance with CX, holds true for J hard product also. AFAIK, nobody in HK who wants to fly F to SIN goes CX. In my situation occasionally we accompany clients or other folks who "require" F to SIN and 100% of the time we buy SQ. Our office staff know it and the staff of our clients seem to know it too. So I don't think this is a big mystery regardless of what the CX website says or doesn't say. SQ has three guaranteed flights with First (well technically 2 First and 1 Suites) and that's the way you do it. The cost runs about $3k USD for a round-trip to SIN in F.
For SIN, fyu this same logic also holds true if you want guaranteed long-haul J class hard product to SIN: you fly SQ. You can guarantee longhaul J on 4x daily flights (the 3 ones with F, + a 1x daily A350 service).
To BKK: You're SOL. Emirates used to fly F to BKK but not anymore.
To TPE: You're SOL.
The bummer with BKK and TPE if you really want a nice hard product is you can't guarantee, on any of the carriers, your precise product. But c'est la vie and at least for the longest of those three (SIN) you can. But you gotta fly SQ.
So I guess my big point is CX's equipment swaps and scheduling swaps intra-Asia mean you gotta go other carriers to guarantee your hard product.
Nov 25, 2017 | 5:39 am
#17
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Singapore
Programs: BA Gold for Life. EY Gold, SQ Silver. Hilton Diamond.
Posts: 821
I'll put this here for you and others as well.
A.) If you're looking for award tickets skip this post.
B.) If you're spending cash for F intra-Asia, then the options / situation is very simple.
To SIN: you pay cash on SQ. You don't pay for F on CX to SIN if you want F because even if they sell it to you, you can't count on it. This is my biggest annoyance with CX, holds true for J hard product also. AFAIK, nobody in HK who wants to fly F to SIN goes CX. In my situation occasionally we accompany clients or other folks who "require" F to SIN and 100% of the time we buy SQ. Our office staff know it and the staff of our clients seem to know it too. So I don't think this is a big mystery regardless of what the CX website says or doesn't say. SQ has three guaranteed flights with First (well technically 2 First and 1 Suites) and that's the way you do it. The cost runs about $3k USD for a round-trip to SIN in F.
For SIN, fyu this same logic also holds true if you want guaranteed long-haul J class hard product to SIN: you fly SQ. You can guarantee longhaul J on 4x daily flights (the 3 ones with F, + a 1x daily A350 service).
To BKK: You're SOL. Emirates used to fly F to BKK but not anymore.
To TPE: You're SOL.
The bummer with BKK and TPE if you really want a nice hard product is you can't guarantee, on any of the carriers, your precise product. But c'est la vie and at least for the longest of those three (SIN) you can. But you gotta fly SQ.
So I guess my big point is CX's equipment swaps and scheduling swaps intra-Asia mean you gotta go other carriers to guarantee your hard product.
A.) If you're looking for award tickets skip this post.
B.) If you're spending cash for F intra-Asia, then the options / situation is very simple.
To SIN: you pay cash on SQ. You don't pay for F on CX to SIN if you want F because even if they sell it to you, you can't count on it. This is my biggest annoyance with CX, holds true for J hard product also. AFAIK, nobody in HK who wants to fly F to SIN goes CX. In my situation occasionally we accompany clients or other folks who "require" F to SIN and 100% of the time we buy SQ. Our office staff know it and the staff of our clients seem to know it too. So I don't think this is a big mystery regardless of what the CX website says or doesn't say. SQ has three guaranteed flights with First (well technically 2 First and 1 Suites) and that's the way you do it. The cost runs about $3k USD for a round-trip to SIN in F.
For SIN, fyu this same logic also holds true if you want guaranteed long-haul J class hard product to SIN: you fly SQ. You can guarantee longhaul J on 4x daily flights (the 3 ones with F, + a 1x daily A350 service).
To BKK: You're SOL. Emirates used to fly F to BKK but not anymore.
To TPE: You're SOL.
The bummer with BKK and TPE if you really want a nice hard product is you can't guarantee, on any of the carriers, your precise product. But c'est la vie and at least for the longest of those three (SIN) you can. But you gotta fly SQ.
So I guess my big point is CX's equipment swaps and scheduling swaps intra-Asia mean you gotta go other carriers to guarantee your hard product.
Dec 7, 2017 | 5:13 am
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2014
Programs: BA GGL, Gold for Life
Posts: 702
Well it's now December, and there are still no CX F seats showing beyond March 24th to Manila, Singapore, Bangkok, or Jakarta. Normally one would expect at least 6 months forward visibility.
It's beginning to look as if CX is finally giving up on regional F (with the possible exception of Narita). Does anyone know if this is indeed the case, or is there something else going on?
It's beginning to look as if CX is finally giving up on regional F (with the possible exception of Narita). Does anyone know if this is indeed the case, or is there something else going on?
Dec 8, 2017 | 12:36 am
#20
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2014
Programs: BA GGL, Gold for Life
Posts: 702
ckx2
You've got all the answers already.
In view of the large number of last minute equipment changes on such routes, and the fact that many people booking First and wanting to be sure of travelling in First would book other airlines, it may be a prudent decision for the airline. What I am now trying to find out is whether this is really the case, or is there a review going on, or ....?
Dec 9, 2017 | 6:21 am
#21
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: MUC
Programs: Compulsory Traveller
Posts: 321
From March 24, 2018, the only routes with F availability to HKG are HND (CX549) and NRT (CX521). [MENTION=155338]QRC3288[/MENTION] stated that "CX only guarantees short haul F to/from HND on CX548/549". Does this mean that NRT is much more at risk of being swapped?
Dec 9, 2017 | 7:16 am
#22
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 2
I have a theory. This may be part of a big change in CX short-haul equipment allocation.
CX is having an excess of longhaul J equipment (namely the A330s coming off Australia and South Asia duties), while some of the B-LA* is leaving the fleet. The very expensive long-haul seats that they carried would likely be handed down to some other regional A330s. (Quite unimaginable if CX just give up these expensive and perfectly good seats)
The regional A330 is becoming a very small fleet in CX, if the speculation on their receiving hand-me-down seats becomes reality, coupled with a few transfers to KA, the regional A330 fleet can be completely gone in a couple of years.
Sampling quite a number of post-March A330 regional schedules, I see that a majority of them are scheduled to carry the longhaul J seats. They do not seem to be mere placeholders as I can still see some regional J A330 rotations and some 772/773 there. This can be indicative of CX putting the longhaul-configured A330s on a large number of regional runs.
Although this is just some wild speculation (CX is just so famous for last minute equipment swaps), hope CX can be sensible and make best use of its excess longhaul J seats.