nomoreiphone

I haven't travelled on this route for quite a long time. I have the following questions on the 889 service in F Class:

1) Do they still give you access to the BA Club World Pre-Dinning facilities but not the Concorde Room facilities

2) They don't serve the caviar and salmon (non Balik) anymore ex JFK, so what is the replacement appetiser?

3) Do they give out the ST PJs and Amenity Kits at both JFK and YVR?

At the moment I have both options of 831 and 889. I personally prefer 889 as I can stay in NYC until early evening before heading to JFK, however which flights is better in terms of overall comfort and experience. I think to minimise jetlag, the non stop serivce is better as u arrive in the evening and should be able to adjust to HKG time better than arrving in the morning. However I don't know how the service and catering is on the Non stop flight (given such a long duration, the crew might not be as attentive and chances of food options running out). The only issue with the 889 is the YVR based crews (on both JFK-YVR and YVR-HKG) which in my experience is quite inconsistent. From my experience the HKG based crew is still the best in terms of service quality and consistency.

In terms of the YVR transits, I remember in the past for J and F pax they allow you to stay on the plane. However is it possible to get off the plane and go through immigration and go through international transit to use the lounge. If I assign different seatings for the 2 sectors I should be able to get 2 seperate boarding passes (JFK-YVR and YVR-HKG).

Finally on the 77A I forgot where the D Row opens to which side in F Class? Is it the A or K Side?

Sorry for such a long set of questions, thanks for all your assistance in advance.

Omoleel

1. You have access to BA Pre Dining in Terrance Lounge on the J side. But, I think it closes around 10pm. Food isn't that great. You do not have access to Concorde Room.

2. Caviar is served.

3. You only get 1 set of PJ and Amenity Kit.

4. D opens to K side, but there is more foot traffic on the left. I found most FA walks on the left.

5. You only get one boarding pass if you take 889. You stay on the plane while in transit in Vancouver.

6. Personally, I prefer the direct flights 831/841. You will get to HK a lot faster with uninterrupted sleep or rest.

ijgordon

Caviar is not served on JFK-HKG, as the OP notes. It would be a regular choice of appetizers. There are probably some menus posted in the menu thread (duh) at the top of the main CX forum page. I know I posted my 889 menu from June.

I've only actually flown the nonstops in J, either CX or CO. I did 889 in F earlier this year. I actually think 889 is much better for jetlag because you can get a lot of sleep on the overnight flight and then be ready to go for a full day upon arrival in HK. For some reason, when I take the nonstops, I can usually stay awake to a decent hour the evening upon arrival, but then I wake up at 3-4am without fail. I can't really give a great explanation, but that's my personal experience. 889 is also a more efficient use of time even though the flight is longer. You only miss one full day on the way out. The nonstops basically cause you to lose two full days, or at best a day and a half, given the timings.

The other benefit of 889 in F is that you get more time in F. I didn't want to get off the plane when we got to HKG! Another consideration is equipment, I love the nose of the 744, but I'm not sure if they're still using this on 888-9 or if they've switched over to the 77W.

TerryK

All CX JFK flights are operated by 77A (777-300ER) now.@:-)

NA-Flyer

Who wants to go for a meeting after a 20 hours flight The first thing I want to do after such a long flight is to get ot my hotel room and sleeeeeep.

jmj9905

They served caviar when i flew yyz/hkg in early November.

doozer

They served it out of YVR on CX889 about 2 weeks ago

AlwaysOnTheRoad

I have flown 883 five times this year. Had caviar on every flight. CCR not open until later in the day. BA Lounge F snacks minimal - a few sandwiches and chips. At 1300 they put some additional food out that is better.

nomoreiphone

You mean 831?
I thought the CCR is opened all day with the BA flights. It is just that they won't allow access to other F pax?

It seems only 888 and 889 YVR-JFK-YVR are the non caviar Balik Salmon flights in NA

AlwaysOnTheRoad

Yes, I meant 831. I usually arrive at 1100 on a flight from DCA. I will have to double check on the CCR.

ijgordon

They are also the only CX flights within North America.

How about I put it this way: CX only serves caviar in F on long-haul transoceanic flights. So, YVR-HKG - yes; JFK-YVR - no.

christep

I think "inter-continental" would be better, since there's no ocean between HKG and Europe.

Rejuvenated

Hear hear. Even worse the 20 hour journey is not a nonstop with an interruption taking place at an unearthly timing.

Rejuvenated

They have served caviar on the YVR-HKG sector of 889 for many months now.

ijgordon

Normally, I agree. But after 20 hours in CX First Class, I'm bright as a daisy. The new F suites are awsome.