aceboy44

Good afternoon folks

So last week I flew with Cathay Pacific from Doha - Hong Kong in J class. As this was my first experience with them, I enjoyed their 1 - 2 - 1 seat configuration and find it to be extremely practical for those seeking privacy. However, my flight was disturbed by the cabin crew.

Every passenger received an amenity kit which includes eye shades, so I had booked a window seat in advance. 2 hours into the flight I was shocked to see that the cabin crew closed all window shades, and when I opened the window shade to take a look outside the cabin crew insisted that I keep the window shade off to avoid disturbing other passengers! Now I have no idea what's the purpose of those eye shades found in the amenity kit, but if I'm not allowed to take a look outside from my seat, especially in business class, then it is no wonder I would not bother flying with them ever again.

Even their IFE is not that great. They are a joke compared to Qatar Airways and Emirates. Because of this policy I will never fly Cathay Pacific ever again (not to mention their cabin is freezing as well.) I have no idea how Cathay Pacific is rated as the world's best airline for 2014 because I'm here to tell you that it is not.

The price difference between Cathay Pacific and Emirates in J class was just 100 KWD. I wish I had took Emirates flight and accumulated more miles rather than flying Cathay Pacific for the first time....

GE90-115B

Looking out the window from the J seat truly is my favorite part of the trip.

christep

I do agree: the CX policy of "a passenger's right to darkness (without eyeshades) overrides your right to look at the view (or to get sunlight to set your body clock as you want to)" is one that I have never liked.

aceboy44

I'm still confused as to how they were rated as the world's best airline? What a waste of 700 KWD

Kachjc

yeah the window closing thing seems to be something CX does ( is it only CX?)

it could be that a lot of people at one time complained to CX about the sun so CX implemented this policy, there is always give and take
as for IFE that is really dependent on the person if comparing EK and CX

I for one find EK'S IFE cluttered and not easy to navigate

seat wise CX is better than any ME3

aceboy44

As I mentioned in my thread, what is the purpose of eye-shades if passengers are complaining about sun-light? In addition, the window seat is useless when such policy is implemented

In terms of seat wise and comfort, I can tell you with 100% confidence, that CX seats are not better than Oman Air seats

Finally, in terms or EK IFEs I can easily skip half way through the movie at the click of a button if I wanted to, but with Studio CX I have to fast-forward manually which is inconvenient for me and time consuming

mecabq

I also detest it when FAs make you keep the shades closed, especially in a premium cabin. It's happened to me on a few airlines. Also agree about their IFE being inferior.

These reasons wouldn't enough for me to abandon them, given that the seat is one of the best J seats in the sky and service overall is pretty good. But I see your point.

Also they have, or least used to have (I flew regularly from four years ago to around one year ago, but haven't shopped much since then) excellent J fares from DXB, so if you're based in KWI it might be worth checking.

alphaod

It's customary for the cabin crew to close all the shades because most of the time there is nothing to look at.

However you were within you rights to open the shade to view outside and you should have countered that it was within your rights to open the shades instead of just submitting to the bequest of the crew.

As for the IFE to each their own I guess. Can't satisfy everyone. I hate the ones that skip since then I end up having to backtrack back and forth making it even more time consuming.

CXcity

I for one, will definitely continue flying CX after hearing about your incident. You're flying Doha-HK, a flight that departs at 2am. For the price I'm paying for J, I would definitely want the ability to have some well deserved sleep without someone blinding the whole cabin.

aceboy44

Based on my research, the cheapest fares were onboard Sri-lankan airlines, but I had to make 2 stops rather than one, so the next cheapest option would be Cathay Pacific, with only 130 KWD cheaper than Emirates. Based on that I went with CX and this is what I got in return (KWI - DOH - HK - DOH - KWI)

I insisted on keeping my window shades open but the crew insisted on keeping them closed and was very firm in their instructions. As this was my first time flying to Hong Kong and first time flying CX, I didn't want to get into trouble and ruin my vacation (it seemed obvious to me though it was the airline's policy, as I was the only passenger who was not happy with it.)

Winston3-4

My theory is that flight crews have long figured out that plying passengers with endless drinks will eventually put them to sleep, making cabins quiet and easy to care for ... and darkness facilitates that.

On daylight flites (midday London departures to US for example), the whole everybody going to sleep thing seems more dumb habit and boredom than anything else. A little nap - sure, but seems the whole bloody plane is snoring away -- windows closed.

CX from HKG - yes, been there - and maybe it's a cultural "follow the rules" thing, too? And on SIN to HKG (tho only 3-4 hrs) wife and I had all F to ourselves once and I was busy taking photos of Viet Nam coast etc and they didn't say anything -- I wonder if one other passenger had been there, and had fallen asleep?

sscywong

I would say it vary from one FA to another... Once in a regional J flight during sunset entire cabin closed the shades except one window seat man who was reading... Despite that from his posture I'm quite sure that he also felt the setting sun was too bright for his reading (reading light on, book pages facing into cabin)... FA asked, ISM talked, even passengers asked him directly, he simply refuse to close the shades and the shades remained open until sky went completely dark... Whole J was simply filled with unpleasant atmosphere

Actually I believe if you open it and look out instead of just leaving it open FA won't interfere...

YouGeeElWhy

Are you really asking at 4AM Doha time why you cannot put the Sun on blast into a dark cabin? Are you that selfish you do not understand that simple point? This is something that my small children understand that it is more important to consider others over ourselves.

The fact that QR censors their IFE content is enough for me to say that CX is better than QR on IFE.

Buh bye

Guy Betsy

If the cabin has all the blinds drawn, then I will close mine too but with a slight crack open so as to still let light in. I will never ever open it just because I feel like it. I will gauge and see if anyone else has theirs open.. but still I think it is one's consideration to close it especially if it bothers anyone.

I believe CX isn't the only airline to implement this.

winchpete

This has also happened to me on AF and QR. I object to cabin crew closing the window shades on day time flights. What is the point of having windows? If people want to sleep they can use eye shades.

I suspect this is just a way of encouraging passengers to sleep and reduce the amount of work the cabin crew need to do. I have also frequently noticed that as soon as meal service is complete the cabin gets warmer. Is that just coincidence?