fakecd

i might step in but if you are doing TPE HKG SIN do you realize revenue ticket on business class can cost 1/3 or even 1/4 of hkg-sin business class? (about 800 usd all in, for 1yr validity unlimited changes allowed no penalty).... in light of this i think burning miles is a little waste to me, unless it was just hkg sin which cost heaps more.... as u are originating from cheap outport you might wish to consider this alternative?


715 is popular 830pm ish flight. they need to max capacity thus regional equipmrnt used, those horrific 777 high density version.... but if u are willing consider 659 leaving at 145am... seems to get mix of longhaul J used on redeye.

alphaod

If you have status I would just book PY. Likelihood is upgrade anyways and if they swap to equipment with no PY, you'll end up in J most likely.

CXFlyerBoy

seems like summer more regional crafts are used.

Ausriver

great idea.

nwflyboy

I'm on CX706 in C from BKK-HKG in a couple weeks (will then connect to CX898 to LAX in F, which of course will be much nicer). CX website shows me in seat 15A.

According to the CX website, it says CX706 is a 773. I'm hoping that's not one of the "new regional" variants. Is it?

Seatguru alleges this flight is on an A340-300 (which certainly looks better than the New Regionals).

Anybody here know which I should expect?

Thanks!

csnf

773 is exactly the configuration with what they called the new regional seats... unless it says 77W, this is what to expect.

My flight for November just had an aircraft change from a 773 to 77W from kix to hkg. Keep on praying

QRC3288

There is not a CX variant we call the "New Regionals". You can find all current CX configs at the link I post in the bottom.

Note the regional 777s are known as 73Z (777-300, non-ER variant, shows up as "773" in CX bookings), and 772Z (777-200, non-ER variant, shows up as "772" in CX bookings). They are used exclusively for regional flights. There are two long-haul variants which sometimes also make it onto shorthaul routes: 77H and 77G. These refer to the two different CX configurations of the 777-300ER (shows up as "77W" in CX bookings, but you will not know if 77H or 77G. For that, I recommend you check the links below).

So CX has 4 total 777 variations...2 exclusively regional, and 2 long-haul which also sometimes fly regional. The designations above should help you figure out what you're getting.

Based on the sounds of it, you're on the 777-300 regional ("73Z", aka 773 in the CX booking). Your specific flight (CX706) is not one that always has 773, which is why that flight # isn't listed. CX is infamous for regional equipment swaps. The best way to know is just monitor your reservation in "Manage My Booking" and see if/when the plane type changes. If it changes to 77W, 33E, 33K or 35G you hit the lucky draw. (all of these have long-haul J). Or you can check the seat maps, since the CX 773/772 regional configs are 2-3-2, while both 77W configs/35G/33E/33K are longhaul, aka 1-2-1. If your booking changes to "333", check the seatmap. 33P is the regional J class and is 2-2-2. Whereas 33E and 33K are long-haul J. Details about all this is in the link below.

Ignore SeatGuru for what is flying where.

Link below for all CX Fleet and Configuration Types currently flying: (we here at the CX forum maintain it)
CX Fleet and Configuration Types

You can then use this link to see the seatmaps based on the terminology we use above:
Cathay Pacific Aircraft and Fleet
(note CX has a bogus link under the 777-300 section, the last is inaccurate....it doesn't refer to anything...yet. CX will reconfigure fleet in coming years so perhaps it's a placeholder of some changes to come)

1010101

If the seats are arranged 2-3-2, its a regional 777-2/300 (there is only one seating type).

If they are 1-2-1, its a long haul Cirrus seat.

There are only two types of J seat in the CX fleet (discounting the soon to be retired A340)

nocturne14

Ended up on B773 on CX734 and CX715 over the past week. I cant believe they have not retired this old bird yet. It is dreadful.

Thankfully, the crew more than made up for the deficient hard product.

maortega15

Youngest 773 is about 13 years old. If its just the seats that are dreadful, there should be a new regional product with beds in the front expected to come out.

And there will be about 5 more used 773's coming in 2018 from Emirates.

QRC3288

I had 773 to SIN a few days ago too. Deficient hard product is right....and I'm referring to J!

The 773s aren't that old, and that's irrelevant to the interior. The inside sucks because CX has crap products installed. 773 (non-ER) is a niche plane - not too many carriers can use them effectively - but those who do like them. It'll be around for a while. And CX is going jam even more in the back with 10 across. Us pax will whinge, but from a P&L standpoint the 773 is solid and efficient for CX's high-density regional flights. It's the 772s which are now basically a few generations old on seat economics and pointless to have if you can replace with 773. 773 is a much better bird $-wise than 772. Will be even more exacerbated when Y goes 10 across. Even more reason to get rid of the 772s...but NOT 773s! CX can't exclusively fly a bunch of A333s around Asia, if you can cram a 773 full it's a significant better bird to utilize for high-density regional missions. Not to mention cargo capacity is much superior on the 773 to A333. Meanwhile the long-haul planes (A359/77G/77H) are too leisurely configured to compete with 773 on short-haul seat economics.

Ironically, just looking from an age perspective, CX has some A333s which are far older than the ~15 year old 773s. KA actually flies the very first A333 ever produced! (as a side, CX has the first 777 ever produced). Some of CX's/KAs A333s are 20+ years. The A333s feel nicer IMO in J class because you have 2-2-2 instead of 2-3-2 on the 773/772 with the dreadful middle seat. And even though I hate 33P, the small J class cabin still "feels" intimate, too bad CX doesn't have enough crew up there so it sucks when full. And of course, CX has many long-haul configured A333s, which can't be said for the 773s/772s. Old or new, you wouldn't know with the A333s when you've got long-haul J. Very comfortable.

Yea, what he says

The regional J seats are indeed really dreadful.

jagmeets

Wait..WHAAAAT!??

Having had to put up with a middle J seat on a 773 earlier this week on 715, this can't happen soon enough..(Long story..equipment swap that I missed, too sleepy while getting the connecting bp at origin to notice, too late to change when i reached HKG).

jdtravels

Sorry to bring up an old topic again - but for those with experience, how often and early did you get notification of aircraft change (if at all)?

And in case of involuntary downgrade due to aircraft change, do reward flight passengers usually get bumped first?

QRC3288

there is no pattern to the timing. and fyi, you don't get a notification.

in July from SGN, I noticed at OLCI from 77H to 773Z b/c J was now 7 abreast instead of 4.

Last month to SIN, swap happened sometime between OLCI around 36 hours and my arrival at the airport.

A few weeks ago to PVG, swap happened about 3-4 days out 773Z to 33K.

Other times, I've seen it swap weeks or even a month in advance. It really just depends. On regional routes where CX doesn't guarantee a certain type of J product, you can encounter a swap until you walk on the plane.

The upside these days is with all the A359 arrivals, more and more long-haul aircraft (33K, 33E, 35G, 77G, 77H) are working their way into regional rotations. This includes coming in for last minute swaps. This is especially pertinent if you're flying J because there is a very large difference between CX's crappy regional J product and long-haul J product which is quite comfortable. It still sucks you really can't accurately predict. I wish CX would just guarantee a damn J product and stick with it regionally.

lcpteck

My upcoming flight Feb 1st HKG-SIN CX711 in J was recently swapped from a A359 to B77W so good thing it's still a longhaul configuration. I'm sure they will swap to a regional configured plane if loads are to increase....