CX 881 vs 885
 

Hi all,

Flying F for the first time on Cathay mid next year LAX to HKG. I am currently booked on 885, leaving at 12:55pm (881 leaves at 12:55am).

Wondering whether I should switch to the night flight. My current thoughts on 885 are:
- get more of an experience as it's a daytime flight
- better views
- worried that cabin won't be dark

Would love for people to share their preference/experience. Will be the only time I get to fly CX F (or F at all) in a while so would like to make the most of it :) Would also be great to get clarification on whether the FAs are strict on having windows closed for most of the flight.

881 is operated by LAX based crew and on an unlucky day, your experience may resemble AA when it comes to service.

885 is operated by HKG based crew.

some people don't care or think differently so that's a huge YMMV precaution.

881 has breakfast but 885 doesn't. So if you want to experience the novelty of freshly scrambled eggs or toast made onboard then 881 is the way to go.

and no, CX FAs will never 'police' you to down your shades if you insist not to (not sure about the LAX based crew)

The cabin will be dark. Early on in the flight I don't think they are "strict", but at some point it's just accepted that the shades get closed, particularly when they turn the lights out after the meal. And honestly, even if they don't insist that you close the shades, you certainly don't want to be "that guy" that wouldn't close the shades. Many will be ready for sleep.

I see you are Krisflyer, so this might be a bit different for you. They will take care of your requests -- and are generally GREAT at doing so! -- but most are not "proactive", and they generally will not be in the cabin looking to see if you need anything. Even with the meals, I've found that if you don't ask, you don't get. Of course they will bring a main course. But many times they have not offered desert, assuming that if you want it you will request it. So be prepared to ask. Some folks love the reactive service and can't understand why everyone just won't "push the button". I prefer the proactive, so it's hard to get used to. I drive'em crazy because I will just get up and walk into the galley to ask for something. I'm not trying to be obstinate... I just am not comfortable with the call button. To each their own, right? :-)

I generally don't like to eat right away, but their normal way of doing things is that they will want to prepare the meal for you soon after takeoff. Note that you can just tell them that you are not ready to eat, and will let them know later. Sometimes they get a little pushy... and will come and ask a few times. But don't feel pressured; you can choose when to eat. Also... if you don't like what you see on the menu (or even if you do!) you can ask to see the Business Class menu. I usually do that just to see what they have; more choices! :-) It's also good to see for the drink choices. I like Chardonnay, for example, and sometimes they will offer it in J but not F.

There is a mattress that they put down on the seat when you are ready to sleep. Sometimes they offer to do it for you; sometimes not. Of course, you can push the button and tell them you are ready for them to make the bed and they will do it for you. If they don't offer I will usually just grab the mattress and do it myself (which again drives them nuts.)

Also, if there is something that is not in good supply, the FA's in F can try to "hord" for you. Sometimes Heineken is the best choice of beer onboard. I know they typically will stock 11 of them (3 in F, 3 in J, and 5 in Economy... something like that. So if I'm in a beer drinking mood I might ask then to round up some from the back and save them for me. Same with Chardonnay; if they have it in J, but not in F, then the FA will usually snag a bottle and keep it up front for me.

You get sleepware, etc. Premium booze. For me, it's mostly about the big comfy seat... the "hard product" Hope you enjoy! .

I have flown LAX-HKG a few times, and they are exclusively on 883/881. It's a 15-17 hour flight depending on the time of the year you are flying, you'll pretty much get the full experience on either flight. CX doesn't have SQ's "supper" service in F, you'll still get your full meal service (minus one choice of main course IIRC). I prefer those flights because I have a full day in LA, eat at the QF lounge, and then sleep once I get on board, and arrive early in HKG to connect to KUL/BKK/SIN. As nice as CX F is, 885 is an extremely long daytime flight - you can only do/experience so much in the plane.

Views are dependent on the flight route (and mostly the time of the year - winter is usually a more northerly route via Alaska/Russia/China where as summer usually cuts across the Pacific). You pretty much don't get any views if you are flying across the Pacific. Once you leave LAX, the next land you'll see is either Taiwan or HK (and if you take 881, it should be light out in HK by the time you arrive).

As another poster has mentioned, try getting 883 as 881 is staffed by LAX crew. 883 is staffed by HKG-based and they are usually from all over Asia :)

And CX will never police your window shades. They will lower it when they prepare your bed and like any non-American based carriers, it's always up during take-off and landing :)

HKG - LAX is my regular F route, I now only fly on HK based crew operated flights (usually CX 884 to LA and return on CX885 or 883 depending on my own schedule).

In my opinion, whether the day or night flight you can still get the 'full' experience. The only difference is just whether there's a breakfast vs. a shorter dinner service. Don't forget that if you are visiting HK, the evening flights (883/881) whilst get you in HK in the morning and you may have a full day in town, many hotels won't be able to check you in that early. Whilst the day flight out of LAX (885) gets you in HK early evening and you can still enjoy a nice dinner somewhere in town. I'd say choose the flight that suits you in terms of your own schedule/preference rather than trying to pick the flight that you can max out the F experience as either flights you can still enjoy the full F service.

Thanks for the tips everyone :)

I will probably stick with 885- can't see any award availability for 883 around my current dates, and sounds like there's no advantage to 881! In any case, I have only flown F on QF 747s before - where FAs sat on their phones in the galley and forgot to bring me cutlery at dinner time - so I think it will be hard to be disappointed on any of these flights!

I fly HKG-LAX rt in F 6-10 times a year, mostly 882 and 881. My experience was different from some of the posters here. I didn't find HK crew more helpful than the LA crew. Instead, I find it more ISM dependent. For example, there were a couple of times I was flying with the LA crew and the service was excellent, and not a pleasant experience when a not so professional HK ISM was involved.

On the meal service side, I do find them mostly pretty proactive, though there were a few times I'd need to ask. And the "make your bed" thing is always something I am not very comfortable with:). They tend to come and ask if you need it from time to time when most other F passengers are sleeping. I feel bad saying no to them 100% of the time.

To enjoying fully of the service, dining, drinking, IFE, and sleeping on big lie flat seat, I'll say both 881 and 885 would be good. But if you would like to be awake most of the flight, then 885 it is.

I was extremely excited to finally experience CX F on 881 (see my thread here https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cath...ess-first.html) and although I can't comment on 885 vs 881, here are my thoughts:
- Fly whichever flight matches your itinerary best. I personally enjoyed being able to spend more time in LA (being able to have dinner before going to the airport) and arrive HK at the start of the day.
- Manage your expectations. As exciting as it is to be able to fly long haul F, it is still a "flight" which you need to get from point A to B. The service and product just make the journey easier. That being said, this was by far my best flight I have ever experienced, and the service although not 'WOW', met and slightly exceeded my expectations.
- My crew was LA based. I am usually indifferent to service (having worked primarily in the service industry my entire career) so believe that you can have good or bad service regardless of where the crew is from. This crew was professional and was able to cater to my every need (I didn't need to ask for anything). I guess they could have been 'friendlier' but I don't believe that would've made my flight any better. It was already awesome.
- It's okay to show that you've never been there before. My crew definitely picked up that I was in F for the first time and although it was never addressed, they still treated me well and were not snobbish in any way. I asked stupid questions, "where do I store my belongings"?, took a lot of photos and definitely geeked out at times "caviar is the best!".
- Qantas First Lounge was kind of "meh". I'm glad I didn't go to the aiport any earlier just to spend more time at any of the lounges.

If none of the above really matters to you and you want to be able to experience day time (photos will probably come out better) then by all means go for 885. However it is IMO that regardless of which flight you take, you'll most likely enjoy it as long as you dont set too high expectations. Have fun!

p.s. to take advantage of Vantage Pass, I booked HKG - LAX again for next year but on 883. I didn't really factor in the day vs night, mostly felt that the time suits me best as I get into HK even earlier than 881. If I do actually end up going to LA (I booked it more of a place holder as I may fly to a different destination for my 2nd trip), I'll definitely try and use AM to upgrade again!

I too travel this route often in F, and I choose the most convenient schedule. Most times I prefer the night flights (881 or 883) and 880 on the return. I have had US Crews and HK crews that were exceptional in friendliness and service. Frankly, I have not experienced a poor US based crew as some have or imply. The US F crews on my flights have been top notch.

I will be on 883 in Feb but in J. This will be my 1st time on CX. Will they make your bed for you in J? Anything else a first timer needs to know about CX in J? And since this flight is late I will have to spend several hours in the CX lounge at LAX. That too will be a first. Looking forward to it since I have never been to Asia.

The j lounge in lax has nothing to write home about. Just like any typical us lounges for food. Maybe better drinks.

Thanks, something is still better than just hanging out in the airport. We do also have the priority pass lounge access not sure if those are any better. It looks like that gets us into the KAL lounge in the international terminal at LAX.

How is CX 882?
Is it LAX or HKG cabin crew?

tks!

CX882 is LAX-based crew.

Personally I also prefer Hong Kong-based crews overall.

But CX882 has excellent timing IMO, I get on board have a quick meal, sleep for 6+ hours and arrive ready for a nearly-full afternoon/dinner of whatever in LAX. I frequently take it.

Not to scare the hell out of you, but last time on CX882 in F (~3 months ago) about 2 hours into the flight I asked(told) the crew to halt the absurd behavior of 4 passengers effectively occupying 2 F seats by rotation (the group had 2 J tickets and 2 F tickets, and didn't seem to mind bothering the hell out of the rest of the F cabin). They were making heaps of noise fawning over a young child they had placed in 2D, with the 3 adults spread across 2K plus two seats in the back. The noise was really out of control and constant ferrying back and forth between the cabins.

I could imagine my formerly-American self not saying to the FAs "this is total BS", being passively-aggressively peeved the entire flight. But having left the US years ago, my willingness to speak up has increased markedly. I had no problem telling the FAs the entire situation was ludicrous and needed to stop asap. It did. Although I recognized one of the LAX-based FAs, it really didn't make a difference. They knew they had already crossed the line by allowing the behavior to persist for 2 hours and my comment seemed to throw the crew into crisis-management mode. I slept great once the curtain stayed closed.

If something goes wrong just tell them to stop it and you'll be fine.

Thanks for the info on CX882!
Booked it as the timing worked out much better than one of the other flights which leaves around midnight.
Those were the only two flights available then.