CX vs SQ
 

I am planning a trip to Bali from LAX late this year. Would you guys advise flying CX in Y or SQ in Executive Economy? Same fare for both.

It sounds like I should choose SQ, but the thing is I am only a member of Delta (can get SQ miles but not MQM) and AA (will get points on CX flights).

Is the Exec Economy THAT much more comfortable?

I prefer CX's service as they know how to take care of their loyal customers. Ask Guy Betsy and he will tell you why he prefers CX over SQ.

Fly Cathay Pacific - the world's best airline!

Actually if you're going to take the nonstop flights.. I would strongly suggest SQ's Executive Economy Class over CX's regular economy class seats. SQ offers 37" seat pitch whereas CX only offers a tight 31".

SQ only offers Exec Economy on their A340-500 nonstop flights from LAX and EWR. Everywhere else SQ is just like CX...31" pitch.

So you'd have to decide where you'd prefer to park your miles into which programme.

It must be noted that Cathay Pacific's seat pitch in Y class is 32 inches NOT 31 inches as suggested by Guy Betsy.

Personally, I perfer CX's Y class over SQ. CX has better service, safety and pilots than SQ.

Fly Cathay Pacific - the safer option than Singapore Airlines.

A little correction: SQ's pitch is 32" in Y on B747-400 and B777-200/300.
On B777-200ER, it is 33".

SO it's set then...

SQ's 37" vs CX's 32".

Although I must add that SQ's Executive Economy Class is a tad more expensive than CX's fares. Given the distances and time travelled, I'd opt for SQ over CX.

SQ's economy class service is marginally better than CX. And I hate to admit it that SQ's IFE Wisemen has a lot more choices than CX's Studio CX. Though the latter is easier to navigate than SQ's.

Overall, I think the service on CX is more genuine than SQ's fake robotic smile. :D

Just my humble opinion!

Yes. There may be some who can tolerate a trans pacific flight in an ordinary Y seat, but I am not one of them.

SQ Exec Economy is quite simply a wonderful product, superior to even Eva's much vaunted Evergreen Deluxe. I have flown it SIN-LAX-SIN. I have been told that only the weekend flights are full. My midweek flights allowed me the adjacent seat going and the seats coming back to be empty.

Let me put this another way : I would gladly use miles to upgrade to a product such as SQ's if it weren't so cheap.

However be warned that the seat arms do not go up in SQ's Executive Economy cabin so if you are planning to make the centre seats into a flat bed by raising the seat arms - forget it! The arms are fitted with meal table and therefore it cannot be raised upwards.

Instead Fly Cathay Pacific - Service Straight from the Heart!

Unlike SQ, CX never has made available on-demand inflight entertainment for Y class, has it?

Although I am a Loyal CX MPO, however based on your options I think SQ is better. To be honest who cares about service in Y Class. As Long as you don't get treated like on AA or any other US airlines you should be OK. The exec Y Class on SQ seems to be a more comfortable seat than CX (given the pitch and also the width - 2-3-2 VS 2-4-2.

Are there any plans foy Premium Economy in CX?

Is there a purpose?

Well increase Pax Comfort???? hahaha

Also it will reduce ops up to J class from Y.

Is CX really that much "safer" than SQ? What do you mean by "safer?"

Let's ask the opinions of OneWorldFan shall we?

Oooh, I'm SURE that's welcome.

if you're a westerner, you'll always get friendly smile from both CX & SQ (even in Y).
if you're a chinese from hong kong, you'll get the worst services from CX (even in C).

Let's face it AviAsion, they're all fake, they just want you to be in a state of illusion after a couple of drinks. :confused:

That's not true, I am neither a Westerner nor a Chinese, and I have had excellent service with their fake smiles. There you go. :cool:

Now that I have flown CX, I will weigh in again ...

J class was fine from JNB-HKG but I would NEVER fly Y class in CX on a multi hour flight. The pitch is ridiculous for an Asian carrier; even SQ have come to their senses with Y seating on the 777.

On my other flight I found J class okay on the 330 but it seemed not as spacious as the oft derided J class on TG.

Yes, the character of the flight attendants is markedly different from SQ. In fact, I find it quite wonderful how different it is between SQ, BR, TG and CX (the Asian carriers that I know). But they are all great. As a contrast, for the life of me, I could not differentiate between AA, UA and DL.

I think it is only a matter of time before CX extend AVOD to Y class, given so many other airlines are going that way - SQ already has and MH/NZ/EK have announced or are introducing AVOD on their aircraft.

For CX to introduce AVOD in Y class, they will need to re-wire their Y cabin to digital cables as they are using analogue boxes at present. However, F and J have AVOD system and this was introduced when designed the new product.

I think CX will have to go down the AVOD path in Y class as this is what competition is doing. I think it will be a matter of time before it will be rolled out. Watch the space!

However, I think the present IFE offering in CX Y class already good enough!

Back to original point of the thread, clearly the SQ Prem Exec product will have superior seating comfort (width and pitch), a decent foot rest, better IFE and lets just give it a toss up on food. Service and atmosphere should be better since the cabin will less crowded and of course check in, boarding and baggage lines will be shorter for the same reason.

I love CX, but if I were in Y there would be no comparison

RE the safety issue, this is just troll bait and we would do well not to take the challenge.

Kill for 5" of Pitch
 

I cannot imagine that there is one of us who would not at least entertain the idea of actually killing someone for an extra 5" of pitch after 8 hours of a 13 hour long haul.

Case closed.

JD

You can easily get DVT back there, I think. *points behind*

I'm not sure if CX has a plan for this one. The people I've met who've already tried SQ's exec economy were mightily impressed, and I don't think that the price difference is that significant at present.....I was thinking about just this trip (from Jakarta), so I could:

1. hop over to Singapore and then get on one long, reasonably comfortable flight to Newark; or
2. Get up early, get a flight to HK that stops in Sing, stop again in HK, then stop again in YVR (and not get off the plane), then arrive at JFK at 9:30 at night. If you don't live in HK, it's just about impossible to make the non-stop flight without an overnight. All in seats that could not be described as spacious.

I'd like to keep using CX, but for the economy product, they are making it tough on me!! :eek:

anecdotal evidence
 

a friend's GF is SQ FA, we had coffee this afternoon, she said Y loads on the Ex-Leadership are far below expectations; "dismal" she called them. "enhanced economy products" at higher prices don't seem to cut it. I heard BA is regretting its WT+ too.

I hope they don't take it away from the market. :(
The price difference between SQ Y and Y+ is something I would pay without giving a second thought.
I think the additional cost is much less (percentagewise) than those of british airlines (BA and VS) Y+ fares over their Y.

Just got off the Wednesday SIN-LAX SQ 21 service, would guess 70% occupancy in both cabins. Anybody needing an empty seat next to them would have had no difficulty.

Just for the reference the Executive Economy loads both ways from Newark in June and July for the flights I was on was around 85-90%.

Also, does CX still not have AVOD in Y on any of their planes...if so, they are really behind SQ.

Even though these comments won't affect the decision of the OP, I am writing them just for future references. I did the nonstops from EWR to SIN over the past month and must say that they were my best flights ever, even in Economy. The seats were great (7 across instead on 8 on the 340) and 37 inches of pitch with a leg and a foot rest. The AVOD in Krisworld was absolutely wonderful. It worked well for the entire flight, and they had (I think) 60 films, 90 tv shows, 100s of albums, and many games. All of it was flawless and on demand.

In terms of service which is being discussed here, it was phenomenal. The flight attendants were all kind and were nearly eager to chat with us passengers. Food quality was quite good (better from EWR than SIN) with meals created by celebrity chefs. Also, they have a small "lounge" in back where they have different snacks throughout the flight as well as cup noodles and cookies. They came through the cabin often with drinks and snacks. The bathrooms were always kept clean and we recieved amenity pouches.

Overall, I would do the flight again in a heartbeat - never had 18.5 hours in a plane gone by so fast.

I'd recommend SQ...both have great service, but with SQ you can actually stopover in Singapore for a few hours and enjoy it as the airport is only 20 minutes from downtown. :cool:

it takes 23 minutes to go from the airport to central hong kong on the train.