Of course my luck has it that it opens right after I've headed to TPE twice on CX in the span of two weeks :D

Maybe this calls for an additional weekend trip... :p

We'll have to wait and see!

It also opens the question, would a DM only zone be DME/DX next year? Or remain DM?

Regular DM does get easier to earn going forward, with both
1) the excess points rollover feature, and
2) the "straight pathway" to DM from a fresh start, not the "ramp up and reset" the rest of us had to do from scratch (0 to 300, reset. 0 to 600, reset. 0 to 1200, meaning it took longer and more commitment to eventually become DM, since you really had to do a minimum of 2100 points before you ever got to DM the first time).

Similarly, CX has already introduced minor downgrades to regular DM, like taking away the buggy and no more mid tier benefits (basically go for 2400 DME/DX or broke). While they've added a small sweetener, which is 2 J class upgrade certs (no F).

Overall I think it's a fairly clever program revamp, with DM slightly downgauged but also easier to obtain, which seems fair given it is in general a more costly OWE to obtain vs some of the easier programs.

Note: my commentary above is referring to the Cathay / MPC program changes for 2027, so no confusion.

I think they have made it very clear what they think of their DMs with their recent program changes. And to be honest, have you been on a flight between HKG and SIN? I feel like half the people are on by the time they finish Group 1.

You are right, its a Satirical resentment to express the fact we those who worked hard as elite OWE is treated like a third tier citizen in favor of their own DMs. the pun is intended at CX who fails to accept the values brought on from those like us.

Silvers and Golds... well... :rolleyes:... sorry what green?

Shhh, don't mention it - half of the board is delusional that DM > OWE when the extra benefits on other oneworld carriers are the reserve of DME-equivalents on their programs :D

Does make one wonder if alliance wide OWE will continue to exist, especially if newer OW airlines make OWE relatively easy to access and then legacy OW airlines have to service those OWEs with their F lounge/best seats over their own sapphire members that give them more spend. Either the alliance will have more F+ lounge carve outs CCR Chelsea AM, or they make OWS more premium and get rid of OWE...

The man who was in charge of AY FFP when it made change from distance to spend based is now in charge of Oneworld, Dont give him any ideas.

CX would only treat DM as they treat OWE, you would never be treated as they treat DMExec. If you want those perks, just work hard as DMExec instead.

Almost every major airline in the world is moving (at various paces) to spend based FFPs. If this guy had not done it at AY, another guy would have done it. It was inevitable.

Regards

Will The Deck be accessible to J passengers again once The Wing First reopens?

Yes, The Deck will revert to being a business class lounge – and that'll be especially needed with The Wing Business closing, so The Deck will be the sole CX business class lounge at the 'top' of the terminal. I'm curious as to if this might see a spike in visitation to the Qantas lounge, which is of course a neighbour to The Deck...

I highly doubt it, since the Qantas lounge is nearly impossible to find for a transiting PAX. Not to mention very few people know about the OneWorld alliance lounge entry rules ;)

Very true - I’ve transited through HKG dozens of times and I still get confused on how to find it. I like to think of the Qantas lounge as a place of refuge - pls. don’t tell the general public about it🤫

WY, the newest oneworld member, doesn't have Emerald in its own programme.

Yes, very true and very good point. It's straightforward for Qantas flyers because they use the checkin counter at the far end of HKG and after going through security/immigration you come out pretty much right where the lounge signage is. But if you are approaching from elsewhere within the terminal, absolutely correct - you have to know where to go or at least in which direction to head.

When Qantas first opened this lounge, the glass door at the rear of the lounge - which directly faces The Deck - served as a second entrance/exit. Maybe QF should unlock it and put a staffer out front to invite CX passengers in :P

Also re: Oneworld lounge entry rules - also so true, I am so often surprised by how many business class passengers and even Oneworld Emeralds (eg Qantas Platinum) don't know about their visitation rights to other airline's lounges. Finnair ex-SIN is a good example, Finnair sends even business class passengers to a contract lounge (SATS?) and so many of them don't realise they could skip that for the Qantas or BA or QR lounges!