I have flown regional CX (J & Y) a few times since early 2022.
I have found the staff good and the new hires very enthusiastic.
But my complain is the F&B standard in J. Heavy cost-cutting.
I like the new A32Q in Y. Great entertainment system for Y.

Let me add to that, that I am also happy with the crew (in J). Food was also OK, though certainly not more than that.

The first row J in the A32Q is a bit disappointing for me. Pretty cramped, due to the massive/intruding bulkhead.

Noel Philip's review of CX526 HKG-NRT (A350-900):

- Wing got the rating it deserved (but at Gate 24 he doesn't have much choice - not that Deck is that much better)
- I think he's a bit overcritical on the seats - he got a Zodiac FB2. Wait til he gets one of those real regionals...
- 12K cupboard top filth was inexcusable for the first flight of the day
- Yes CX (external) aircraft presentation aren't the greatest
- That wasn't the greatest breakfast (broken skin and a very watery egg plate) (OK I usually avoid the western breakfast on CX flights so I haven't seen one recently)
- Staff forgot his coffee first time (wasn't a full flight)

I thought he was a little overcritical. But then again I never held the expectation of CX that he did.
(I also wonder what kind of choice he thinks he has? If he went on JL736, he'll tear apart the Shell Flat Neo seats)

I also watched his video earlier and genuinely thought he had some kind of agenda againts Cathay. All the stuff he was saying like “it was alright”, “not the best”, “quite good”, “nothing special”, …

then the cracker came when he said Shanghai Airlines and British airways were better…pure ridiculous.

yes Cathay are not as good as they used to be, but they are nowhere near as bad as people are making out.

This was a terrible review. Felt like he already wanted to be disappointed by CX before his flight.

He is spot on really, CX is nothing compared to what is used to be, only in the minds of the bean counters ruining what is left of it.

He said he was disappointed by Cathay 15 years ago, so he was very likely to have a negative perception of Cathay before boarding the flight.
Human can be consciously or unconsciously biased, which is what I felt from this video.
That said, HKG-TYO is already one of the better served routes in Cathay's network - other flights (e.g. ex KA routes) could be worse.
The only major poor showing was the meal.

I don't understand why announcement in multiple languages could be criticised.

It stops the IFE.

Not only the number of languages (in Japan flights it's trilingual), but the length of announcements has been previously commented on negatively https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cath...l#post27023008

While his earlier reviews were (often) interesting to watch, this one is nothing more than a nitpicking grumpy old man, with disappointing "review" quality.

Good point for announcement duration and content, but I won't complain about multi languages. BTW do they do both Cantonese and Mandarin on Hong Kong - Japan flights?

I've been a vocal critic of CX but to compare them to BA - where there are currently a whole host of issues including often delayed flights, often missing baggage, non-existent (truly non-existent, not just long waits) customer service, and more - is just absurd. CX has fallen a lot in the regional / Asian rankings, but still head and shoulders above the North American / European offerings.

(I'm a BA frequent flier and BAEC member btw).

And this https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...y-madness.html . Esp, for a four hour flight, Philips will have likely to encountered narrow-bodied equipment on BA.

post covid, this slippery slope CX is on is purely on management.
like leosantos said, mong kok shop girls are being recruited and you can see the results inflight (maybe not in the passengers eye, but definitely in their colleagues eyes). even their training department is worried about the quality that is coming in. this trainer also said that their English standards were below average that he could not pass them. imagine being served by an ex-KFC manager - "What you like?" (as reported by colleagues. now, you can even find an ex bus driver in the team. the standard has fallen quite considerably.
the same goes for the pilots. just about anyone can get into their cadet pilot scheme now. a senior pilot said some time back that he knows of over 60 senior pilots are leaving. most are off to greener pastures (we all know where that is). one ex FO mentioned smugly, "Apartment?!?! it's a villa!"

Just too note and as mentioned on other forums the announcements on JAL are more than twice as long as those on CX and repeated endlessly.

CX is terrible now.
We have moved 70% of travel to QR/SQ.
if either of these airlines status matched CX, i think CX would be done.

And yes it is no better than BA or AI now.
No customer service, everything is now cheapened with this "Cathay brand" on everything
flights always delayed because the management hates their staff.

The company does not even promote or hire based on competence anymore its all bases on race and gender.
frankly they deserve to fail and go bankrupt.

Instead of hiring staff to run a shop in a mall , hire staff to serve your planes and customers!!!
This has nothing to do with China or any other racist ideas on here by some.
it has everything to do with Swire having lost its mind.

Rupert Hogg was the last hope.
if you think the current CEO is bad, wait till Lavinia Lau is at the helm.

Still remember when discussing flying with friends , business acquaintances etc Cathay was always held as the creme de la creme, they never had the best cabins or the best food ( always near the top ) but the customer service and lounges were second to none.
in the last 40 years for the first time most people put Cathay on the same level as UA/BA

I don't think Swire is capable anymore.