considering the fact that a large % of F is booked with points and they are paying a lot less than cash price compared to other classes, the reality is probably worse

The Death of First Class – Michigan Journal of Economics

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ec6f1688ba.png

F is valuable for inspirational value.

But to promote F they just have to put it on one route, like how they handed out one runner bib amid claims of 2,000 gifts:

SCB x Cathay Chance to redeem Tokyo Marathon [1] entry bib or [1,999] memorabilia https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cath...l#post37399556

KPI is returning base on 4Nov and KQT will head up same date for the retrofit.

A lot of people who book F with points are very frequent pax in paid J. There was a time when I was doing a longhaul return in paid J (sometimes F) every month. I have colleagues who still do that kind of flying.
Having as reward only the same J that you spend so much time for work is not a great reward. F is inspirational and motivational. The value of F is also to attract high spenders in J by the occasional treat of F trip on points. It certainly worked for me.

With more 77J to come, any news on further 77J routes? ;)

I'm flying LAX-HKG in fall 2026. Is it realistic for me to hope for Aria suites at that point?

Nobody knows.

The only thing we can say reliably is LAX is an F destination, with 1 or 2 out of the 3 daily frequencies keeping F class. F-class equipped planes definitely do NOT have Aria and will not in 2026. If you're on a flight with F, then there is a 0pct chance you'll have Aria in J.

Whether LAX goes to only 1 daily frequency with F, or none, is up for speculation, but my guess would be it keeps F. Therefore odds are at least slightly worse for getting Aria, to answer your question, on a general LAX flight without further information.

Fwiw, the one LAX flight a day which doesn't have F right now is CX884/885. But I would hardly book those flight pairs just for the off chance it switches to an Aria bird by then (hardly a lock, since CX could just as well swap in an A350 which also definitely won't have Aria in 2026). Or swap in an F bird, although I doubt it, never say never.

I don't really understand the fascination with Aria, it is hardly an aspirational product. It's simply just par for the course these days. And probably not as comfortable than the existing window side J class on the A350s.

Would you choose CX old J class or Delta One Suite? Hard product matters way more than soft product for me. Those are my two options I'm considering.

agree that F offers more than just $, but your strategy is wrong. if PY is the highest earning, the way to profit maximize is to increase the no of PY seats and to increase demand for PY, not J. and this is what we are seeing CX do

I am unfamiliar with Delta One on the A350 (I assume you're referring to the new LAX-HKG flight on DL). I also haven't flown CX's 77W old J class in almost two years, for better or worse. Fortunately my 777 flights in 2025 have been once in Aria and rest in F, but I do have an extensive amount of J flights this year in every other CX plane, which I would rank A350>A330 longhaul>A330 shorthaul>B777 short haul>A321neo.

media and youtube hypes any product up, and ignores the bad parts in many cases. so im not suprised if many people think the aria suite is so amazing. probably the same for other airlines new J/PEY/EY too.

The only plus I can see if it is important to you is the oversized screen and the "door".

The big improvement in this retrofit/upgrade is the PEY seat.

In all my TPAC trips since BOY2024 PEY has been full in the 32 seat configuration.

The screen is a downgrade in my opinion, way too big given how close it is to the seat and also the glossy mirror finish is quiet annoying when not in use. The door is definitely a positive, but doesn't outweigh the much smaller footwells. I've flown Aria a couple more times and have not changed my opinion that this is a slight downgrade from Cirrus in general and a huge downgrade from the 77A row 11 bulkhead seats.

As far as the D1 product, I would rate 3/5/7AD (true windows) to be an overall better hard product than both CX J seats, everything else is worse. This is the inherrent flaw with staggerred products made worse by DL's configuration, in this case, only 6 out of 32 seats don't have some "issue" in my mind for a single traveller.

YVR Uncle just got off CX865 B-KPU https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/37409241-post1503.html - new seat.
Raved about the new TV, doors.
I specifically asked about the foot cubby "enough room, flatter than before, narrower than before".

Longhaul PEY to J mileage upgrades are just so damn hard to burn.

Unless you are booking about 10 months out, you are almost certainly going to be placed on waitlist and made to sweat it out until roughly 1 week before departure or even until the day of, depending on how full the flight is.

Realistically I'd say the odds of scoring a longhaul PEY to J mileage upgrade from waitlist is probably in the ballpark of 50%. And when it doesn't work out, you're left feeling dumb about paying a premium for PEY R class (usually classified as PEY flex on CX's website) instead of just settling for a cheaper PEY fare or even just Y class.

And then when you're travelling in a bigger group (e.g. a family of 3), the chances of scoring that mileage upgrade for your whole group becomes even bigger of an ask.

So if it's within budget and you want to fly J badly, my recommendation is just paying for the cheapest J fare available (either I or P class), even if it's only for one particular leg of your itinerary where you want to treat yourself.