First time on CX long haul & was wondering about being able to get 11 or 12 in the mini cabin... will it become avail at some point or is it only for CX FF members? Looks like at the moment 5 are taken & 3 are blocked, according to EF. Its for flight 882 next month.

Also, I booked this thru AA which I guess is why I cant select a seat on the CX website? It says to contact the issuing carrier but I assume if I jsut call CX they will allocate a seat? Obviously I cant do it on AA's site and actually the AA agent who helped me book it said she couldnt get into their seat map.

Finally, it doesnt say Business class anywhere on the CX site. In the past with my regional flights with CX I could choose my seat/see my seat and knew I was in Business. Just kind of weird not being able to see anywhere that I am in J.

TIA :)

Call CX to select and you *should* be able to select virtually any seat not occupied.

Major bummer but not only can they not assign the blocked seat in the mini cabin they can’t assign me any seat at all. Agent said b/c it’s an AA ticket number I have to wait to get a seat until I arrive at the airport.

That’s BS. Call customer service, ask for them to help you select a seat. 11/12 should be blocked for elites but you should be able to select most seats. We’re not Qatar or BA over here and don’t charge for seat selection fees.

when you gave push back, either ask for the call to be transferred to a supervisor or hang up and call again until you find a competent agent.

Hi thanks for the reply. Thats crazy, i cant believe this, i thought he was telling me accurate info. Wow, so its not only AA with incompetent agents lol

I will call again, thank you for advising me to do that.

FWIW, I asked for a supervisor in regard to the first issue where he said he cant give me the mini cabin that was showing 3 of the 8 just blocked but not occupied. It was after that he said "oh sorry the seat 21K we tried to give you wont allow me to save/confirm it and you will only get your seat upon arrival to the airport"

I will try again..

Btw, will there be any way to try to buy up to F for this flight. Its 882 HKG to LAX if that matters. Is it something I will see in the CX app upon check in or something I can bid on or no chance?

Cash or AA points? If it’s an AA points redemption then unfortunately you can’t upgrade to F even with cash. (The cost is never worth it imo).

If it’s a complicated AA issued ticket with an AA leg then you’re gonna have to contact AA. I don’t think CX agents are that competent to deal with that haha.

Its DPS-HKG-LAX booked with AA and with cash. No AA flights actually, just the 2 CX flights.

I am on hold waiting for a supervisor now about assigning me a seat.

Given its bought with cash and not miles/points, how would the upgrade option work? I imagine its quite expensive though and would tend to agree not worth it.

oh life will be a lot easier if it’s just 2 CX flights. You should be able to upgrade with Asia Miles or cash.

One caveat is that it should be a married segment, so you’re gonna have to either find an agent so good that he/she can divorce the ticket into individual legs, or you’re gonna have to upgrade both the legs. I’m only pointing this out because there might be a cost difference depending on the execution method.

for Asia miles upgrade, I hope this would help.

Cool thx and I would be doing it with miles. Will it be something they send me or I see in the app or I have to be proactive to inquire about a buy up to F?

Btw, supervisor now on my 2nd call did in fact assign me seats for both flights with out incident. I can see it in the app. However, to switch again should I want to I have to call as its not letting me do that online.

Unfortunately she could not unblock the mini cabin seat for me that EF shows as blocked. Do you think thats a HUCA situation and I can find someone who will or no? I had to choose between 21 or the last row. I took 21 despite the missing window b/c I would rather not wait any longer than I have to for meal service and also the last row worries if there is a baby in the first row of PE.

The mini cabin is blocked for CX’s own OWE I believe.

For miles upgrade, call CS to see if there’s inventory. Chances are they’ll put you on a waitlist and it’ll clear automatically if there’s space.

Okay cool ya I will check back the day of maybe I can snag something in the mini cabin. is the middle seat in the mini cabin still better than a window in the main Biz cabin?

For upgrade I would use cash not miles. Maybe I can inquire upon checking in. There would be no upgrade for the DPS-HKG fight as I am already in J and of course its just a regional jet, sadly with 2-2-2.

For cash upgrade, there won’t be a special price available at the counter. If you really want to fly F, you can call CX and do a upsell. Long Haul F are so rare that they tend to be booked up weeks before departure. I would recommend actioning it asap to avoid being in 1/2D.

Understood, thanks !!

And if I stay in J, 21K better than 12D should I be able to get 12?

The middle seats are much less private than the window seats. I’d take a missing window over awkward eye contact. I’d say check once in a while to see if an empty seat opens up, it happens.

Hopefully by now you can choose your own seat in the CX system.

No dice on choosing on my own or even seeing a seat map. I will have to call in if I see something better pop up on EF. I’d never normally consider a middle w a window open. Was just thinking of it cause I enjoy the mini cabin.