just flew in F hkg mnl last week. looked like they had F in a 744 after my flight also.

Does CX serve Krug in first class on intra-Asia flights?
I'm flying from Japan to Hong Kong in CX F next month, and I'm genuinely curious if I'll get to see Krug on my flight. :)
This is gonna be my first time flying intra-Asia first class on Cathay Pacific.

No Krug is definifely not served.

I last flew KIX-HKG in F a few months ago and can't recall, but think it was Amour de Deutz Blanc de Blanc. Previously I've flown to/from HND and it was definitely the Deutz Blanc de Blancs.

Btw, we have a thread CX F Menus 2015. You should look it up Carfield posted a KIX menu in there. Fwiw, that should be a sticky post! Update: I have gotten the link for you. Indeed, Amour de Deutz Blanc de Blancs. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24854412-post33.html.

Btw, Deutz Blanc de Blanc is fantastic. I'd prefer it to Krug Brut NV. I've seen around First Class blogger circles (I've been reading a blog called "One Mile at a Time"), a lot of people seem to have this blind obsession for Krug....I'd be willing to wager many of these types couldn't identify Krug in a blind tasting, and might even prefer the Amour de Deutz blind. Krug NV is a lovely but somewhat predictable blend with a huge markup thanks to LVMH's ownership (still great though! just predictable, and literally everywhere). Pretty sure Roederer owns Deutz, but just not the same level of hype machine around it. Overall better value IMHO. And at least on par to Krug NV in terms of quality of wine.

I dorm think they do, but CX F catering out of Japan is generally very good, especially the Japanese option. That more than makes up for the lack of Krug imo:D

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Sad they don't serve Krug to HND, but the food is great ^

And I've acquired a taste for Plum Wine :D

I'm no champagne expert but if champagne is offered thats what I'll be drinking. I like "richer" champagnes and I agree with QRC3288 that the Armour de Deutz brut (I had the 2005) served on the HND flights is excellent. I've only tasted Krug at altitude and must say it was disappointing.

I also prefer the Deutz NV (Peninsula) champagne served in the first class lounges over the others.

That's interesting. I've always thought that Moët/Vueve are superior. Guess I have to give the Peninsula one a serious try next time

How do you rate the CX ex-KIX and ex-HND F food?

Is/would KIX be another route consistently get F service?

Totally agree with your choice of Amour de Deutz blind!!

Both ex-HND and ex-KIX have guaranteed F service. Note for KIX, there are more frequencies and some don't have F. But if you're booked on one of the F flights, CX will not pull the infamous equipment swap on you. Those routes have "protected" F class.

As for the food, I have only flown back (on both routes) in either the afternoon or evening in F. So my experiences ex-Japan are dinner. And likewise, I have only traveled TO those destinations in F in the morning. So my experiences ex-HKG are breakfast.

Breakfast is somewhat disappointing IME. It is similar to what you receive to TPE in F: in essence, the longhaul J class style meal (smoothie, juices, fruit, cereal, yogurt, main). However, it is presented on F class plates and glasses etc. with all the F accessories. My first time to HND in F I got hungry for some savory, non breakfast snacks....and they simply didn't have any. The flights land Japan midday so I assumed theyd have something non breakfast. Lesson learned, I take chips or nuts from the lounge now.

Returning for dinner, the catering is lovely and certainly well done for a 3.5-5 hour flight. The kaiseki is absolutely a "wow factor" meal with beautiful plating and attention to detail for an airplane meal. I cannot say the taste is stunning....it is on a plane, after all....and now that I've done kaiseki before I don't order it. But it was really cool a few times and I highly recommend trying it.

The western and Chinese options usually have some great food - I had a lovely seafood with crab plate ex-KIX earlier this year, and I remember eating some decent lobster a few years ago ex-HND.

Just FYI the kaiseki is limited loading and the order of preference seems to be revenue (award or cash) MPC members, then revenue (non MPC), then op-ups. As an op-up I have NOT received the kaiseki before, but I've gotten it when I was paid

Oh last note: I believe the afternoon ex-HND kaiseki meal is loaded in HKG on the outbound. Whereas the ex-KIX early evening is loaded in KIX. Supposedly this makes a difference, although being honest it's still pre-prepared Japanese food in the air! While neither destinations kaiseki will be winning Michelin stars any time soon, it is still wonderfully done and I think hands down the coolest, most extensive F catering option across all of CX's destinations.

Looking for CX F? Forget about Australia ...

So, bottom line is, all the HKG-[various cities in SE Asia] I see on Expert Flyer and ba.com is actual, real F; it's just subject to last second equipment changes if they need it for, say HKG-YVR due to a balky plane on that route.

Is that the correct way to interpret the situation?

The first part is correct...it is "real" F. There is no fake F on CX;).

The second part - if they need it for HKG-YVR - is not, because it implies swaps occur less than they actually do. CX has quite a bit of midday slack in their 77W frames, but equipment swaps still occur at a very high rate for regional flights. There are many more mundane reasons why it will be changed (for example, 77H is a relatively low capacity plane at 275. If there is strong Y demand a few weeks out and you're the only revenue F customer, and you're on a partner connecting ticket, CX might make the operational decision to sell 125 more Y and J tickets and dispatch a regional bird instead).

You should go on the assumption CX does not give two squats about your partner F revenue on regional F and assume real likelihood of swap for god knows why, except for Japan routes.

I long for the day when there's more CX F!!

because the can sell the few F seats to HND?! KIX is losing the F seats these days.....

yea, it seems like HND will be the only safe route going forward.

I don't know the #s myself, but I think there must be corporate demand for HKG-Japan cash F tickets. It could very well be Japanese corporates (FWIW, there are almost always Japanese passengers in CX F when I've flown those routes).

Otherwise I cannot explain why Japan has been the outlier for so long, compared to the other regional flights where CX appears totally uninterested in protecting F (MNL, TPE, BKK, SIN, etc). At least for MNL, TPE, BKK I entirely understand - even without seeing the figures I don't think I'm going out on a limb to think there is virtually zero cash demand at an attractive yield (**key words: attractive yield**) on these routes. The flights are almost all partner award travelers connecting in F, with a smaller subset of ex-outport fliers buying F tickets or AM award tickets booked into F. I know there are folks who will cry bloody murder in here, but the fact is it is zero additional charge (and frequently cheaper) to buy an ex-outport F ticket than it is an ex-HKG F ticket. So the customer is getting more bang for his buck. And perhaps more hardnosed, it's not like the ex-MNL customer has a choice to go pay for F somewhere else and take his business elsewhere. That customer is still going to buy/redeem his F ticket ex-MNL, transit HK, maybe grumble on FT about it but in reality will be perfectly satisfied that the 15 hour segment to JFK was F class. To BKK it is possible, just not on CX. You can fly EK and perhaps TG also offers it, although I don't know with what consistency.

So long story short, the only explanation I have is the demand isn't (and has never been) there at any type of reasonable yield for those sectors.