I have been trying since dragon joined OW for an award flight BKK-HKT there is no availibilty at all, all year.????

KA does not fly BKK-HKT.

I've made a reservation traveling SFO-VVR-HKX-XMN-HKG-SFO for Alaska F, Cathay J, but have been unable to get Dragon Air J for the HKG-XMN flights. It appears the only availabiltiy available is Y. Has anyone got a J class reward on Dragon, using AAdvantage or Asia miles?

I never tried that, but I suppose it is easier to get J award using Asia Miles. Given that we can only get seat guarantee on CX Y/J but only KA Y only, I suppose the J seat situation on KA is quite tight, especially on A320 flights that has only eight J seats total.

Anyway, KA J is really nothing too exciting. It is only a small improvement over KA Y.

I would disagree that it is only a small improvement. KA Y is good, but KA J is much better especially on their widebodies.

I definitely disagree. Don't expect greatness from KA J, there's a small chance you'll get a lie-flat seat on their A330 (their only widebody aircraft I think) but hum...you realize Xiamen is an hour away from HKG? I really could care less what class I'm on in KA and, like many people on this forum, fly it weekly or more. If you really get into it I don't know where to check but I've definitely ridden KA business on A321s in two different configs, one with like 8 J seats and another one with something like triple that number in J. The 8 seater J is just a regular-old, boring seat. Even the A330s is just a plain seat, not an exciting footrest, you only have a PTV if the guys in Y have one, plus you get ice cream in Y, albeit I think it's a smaller portion.

Don't worry about the J portion on that...seriously.

yes right, I goofed, I meant HKG-HKT I have an award ticket HKG-BKK sorry

I believe HKG-HKT award is quite readily available using Asia Miles, but I am not sure about AAdvantage. If AA says not available, then that is not available. That can be because AA does not block enough seats for their awards, or simply because HKT is not an award city.

Actually, I also think KA Y and J are quite good. In fact, for those routes I frequent (TPE, PVG, PEK), I prefer taking KA over CX.

If you can get on KA's 33L configuration, the J class seats are excellent, much better than the 33A or 33R versions.

same here, I always prefer KA over CX...not because of frequency but more the service etc.

but on the point of KA J vs. KA Y...I actually think KA J is actually quite worth it especially when you have to be on an A320...because pitch of KA Y on A320 is actually quite bad (at least my feeling, compared to its A330). I'm ok to be in A330 Y, but if I have to be on an A320, I'd make sure I'm in J...

My rule for s/h J in Europe is at least 2 hours, preferably 2,5. Anything under that and you are not likely to get much of a meal and even seat comfort doesn't essentially matter.

I'd like to keep the same rule in Asia and on KA as well. As previously mentioned, does it really matter on a one hour flight which class you are in when the seats and service are reasonable standard in eco anyway?

However, when connecting from a longhaul to Beijing or Shanghai, it makes a difference regarding the seat. Catering is not so important if there was lounge time at HKG but a few glasses of good wine and maybe some fruit or cheese is not bad before heading to sleep at the destination.

I scored 2 award tickets for November from AA miles on Cathay J class Vancouver-Hong Kong, Dragonair economy Hong Kong-Phuket. I plan to keep calling AA to see if they release J seats on Dragonair before my flights. I had no trouble getting the seats in coach. At least I'm getting to Phuket on the award tickets.

Keep your fingers crossed. There are only eight J seats in A320.

Scored an award in F from Jfk to Hkg (via AA / SFO), but still totally excited. I am having no luck though with J from HKG to PNH... seems like a common issue. since my travel date is not until November, I plan calling at least twice a week...

I have gotten plenty of KA J redemptions closer to the departure date. They don't like releasing seats in J early (typically none, sometimes 1 seat) because most short haul J travel is only booked a few days prior to departure. This is especially true if there are only 8 J seats on the plane.