Lumpylump76

Just curious, if he doesn't walk across, how will he get to the bathroom? Through the galley?

kingbat

Yes! Surely that is the courteous thing to do... why disturb the 4 people in that row just so you can go to the loo. Just walk around through the galley in economy... it's really not that far....

CrazyJ82

Guilt as charged -- the one time I say on the AC side I walked in front of row 30. There's enough room to do it without disturbing those pax, especially if they're short.

jona970318

Still, that would be extremely annoying. It wouldn't make a difference for you if you just walked across the galley

CrazyJ82

I'm sure we've been around the track once or twice on this issue already in another thread (maybe even further up in this one?) and there's not a lot to be gained from re-arguing it here. But suffice it to say, in some cases it would make a difference to have to walk back, wade through whatever line has formed outside of the mid-cabin lav in Y, cross through a galley where the FAs may or may not be busy with something at that moment, and then walk back down the aisle again. There's enough room between the fully extended leg rests in row 30 and the bulkhead to walk across. I won't say I make a habit of it but when I do walk across, I don't feel any qualms about it.

kingbat

How do you feel about it when someone knocks into you when they are trying to walk across when you're asleep?

If you rather they didn't then.....

CrazyJ82

Well the whole point of this is that there is room to walk across without bumping into them! Note that this didn't used to be possible with the first bulkhead row of regular Y back before PEY was introduced. For whatever reason, when they installed PEY they seem to have left just enough space to walk across the cabin even when the first row pax have their footrests extended.

boltjames

Just completed JFK-HKG round trip and this isn't true.

Even when I put my back to the bulkhead wall and slid across like Fred Astaire, inevitably I bumped into someone's foot rest in that first row. While technically there might be enough space to walk through, in reality there's no way to do it well. I feel bad for the people in those seats despite their comfortable leg rests.

The best seats in Cathy Pacific premium economy are the two seats immediately behind the bathroom. In that spot, you get the full leg rests and no chance anyone will walk in front of you.

As a sidenote, I thought the entire premium economy experience was terrific. I will post a full report shortly, laying in bed now from the jet lag.

BJ

kingbat

So I suppose the courteous thing to do would be to go around.....

boltjames

There isn't a way to go around to my knowledge. The curtains are drawn fore and aft and I didn't dare go back through one for fear of seeing the coach-type people back there.

When flying Premium Economy, you're in an intimate cabin and the way to cross over from the left side to the bathroom on the right side is to go to the bulkhead, tip-toe carefully, bump into a few extended footrests and feet, and arrive at the bathroom door.

BJ

boltjames

A few thoughts now that I've completed my first round trip from JFK to HKG and have 31 hours flying time in Premium Economy:

Priority Ticketing: At JFK, there was a separate queue for Premium Economy along with the others on my flight, was what you'd expect. At HKG, there was confusion as I was sent back and forth from Section 1 (where my JFK flight was ticketing) to Section 4 (where the only PEY queue is). I had CX staff bounce me from one to the other, quite annoying.

Priority Boarding: This was very nice, at both airports I was able to board with the First Class and Business Class passengers. Didn't know this, so in HKG I accidentally queued in the Premium Economy line, was first as I know overhead space is a little tight for luggage as my bag doesn't fit in the center bins. When the gate agent saw that I was PEY and Marco Polo she said I should go wait with the First Class passengers as I was allowed to board along with them. It all worked out in the end, now I know.

Carry On Luggage: Just a note that I wasn't hassled at all about my 22" Briggs & Riley U122CX Domestic Upright Carry On. In fact, my bag was pretty sleek when compared to some of the bloated Tumi's and Travel Pro's I saw. Not a single agent punted any carry on at the gate, they weren't even measuring or eyeballing anything, certainly not weighing anything. I wouldn't worry if I were traveling Premium Economy on CX.

Seats: This was the only downside to Premium Economy. While they do lie back quite nicely and there's plenty of legroom, there's simply no way to get comfortable enough to sleep for hours on end. Lying flat on your back is the only way, and twisting slightly sideways is useless, you wind up with harsh bed sores on your outer thighs and ankles. The storage pockets are great, the entertainment system is top notch, if the flight were only 7 hours I'd be in heaven, but for 16 it just isn't conducive for sleeping.

Food: It's awesome, rivals business class on United and other airlines I've flown internationally. They didn't run out of any meals and I never felt that I was served late or cleaned up late. Just for asking, I was able to get ice cream and other treats throughout the flight.

Service: Great job both ways, I felt like I was in Business Class frankly, the attendants were very pleasant, never rude or inconvenienced. Interestingly, I sat next to a CX pilot and two flight attendants on the trip back to the US and they were very friendly and informative as well, didn't try to pretend they didn't work for the airline and be anonymous.

Overall, on a scale of 1-10, I give Premium Economy on Cathay a 9.5. The seats could be more comfortable, and the ticketing staff at HKG should have known where the only PEY queue is, but everything else exceeded expectations. Nice to know that for my company, which can no longer spend $8,000 for me to fly Y, that there's a $2,500 option which hits the mark so well.

Thanks again to all who helped in here, if I can answer any questions for those on the JFK to HKG route I'd be happy to.

BJ

JHunter

Just become a Sharks fan and, voila, problem solved!

Based on your name, I guess it's no longer a problem for you, either.

boltjames

Actually, I'm feeling pretty good right now.

BJ

CanucksHKG

Who's your employer that's been allowing you to fly NYC-HKG for $8000 USD a piece...in Economy????

boltjames

Typo, I think you know what I meant.

BJ