stephenandrew

Hi..

Was hoping some of you folks might give me your thoughts on Cathay Pacific's Premium Economy products vs. China Airlines and EVA. We will be traveling from SGN to JFK---all airlines have similar prices for our dates of travel and similar travel times. If it matters the layover for China Airlines and EVA are in TPE, the layover for Cathay is in HKG...all are about 3 hours. The China Airlines and Cathay flights are on the same kind of aircraft (A330 from SGN), and then both fly 777 from HKG or TPE to JFK. EVA is 777 on both legs. One thing I saw was that China Air provided business class service from SGN to TPE whereas Cathay and EVA were Premium Economy for the entire trip. My wife and I are both shorter folks--I am 5'6", she is 5'1"---one thing that we thought looked nice/comfortable on China Air is that it looked like all of their Premium Economy Seats had leg rests (like a Lazy Boy) whereas Cathay looked to only have them on the front seats in Premium Economy. For my wife in particular, she sometimes has trouble getting her feet on the standard foot rests because of her height. EVA's seats looked similar to Cathay but I cold not tell for sure. Basically, we are looking for the most comfortable/pleasant option of the two carriers---food is not really a big deal for us, and our needs for inflight service are pretty negligible.

Also, for $900 more per person, we can fly Business Class on Cathay---so that was something we were considering too. Basically, given the length of the flight and the above airlines, is this a reasonable premium to pay for the additional space/comfort?

Thank you very much for your thoughts.

beach86

I would pay the excess, personally.

Otherwise I would go with CX PE.

bart simpson

Seat-wise I think they are similar. On the issue of leg rest, I think CX is upgrading their PE seats such that seats on all rows (not just the first row) also get the leg rest.
Food: BR >>>> CI > CX
Service: Similar

Next thing I would consider is whether miles/status matters as they are from 3 totally different alliances.

Kacee

I would take that in a heartbeat. You get a very comfortable lie-flat seat for the nearly 16 hour flight HKG-JFK vs. a slightly upgraded economy seat. It's a completely different experience.

cxfan1960

+1

LapuLapu

If internet access is something you would like to have during the duration of the trip, EVA would be my choice.

nolounge

$900 (USD?) more for 4 segments of J is a steal, jump on it!

TravelwhileyouEat

CX J for an extra $900 is my choice for such a long flight. I would even purposefully lengthen my layover in HKG so I can go into the city to partake on my guilty food pleasures (that last part is a personal thing).

royng

Second those suggesting CX J. CX lounges are nice.

woodwoodwood

CX J for sure, vast difference between PE and J. $900 is a bargain.

synthkeys

I'll join the chorus. +$900 For upgrade from Premium to Business is a great deal. I would take that in a heartbeat.

fairhsa

+1 me too on the upgrade. Cathay Biz is excellent.

Otherwise, most of the Cathay PEY seats now have leg rests. However, some places have the new seats altogether. The new seats are slightly narrower, but overall much better and the leg rest is excellent (full leg rest, not just the bar at the bottom).

stephenandrew

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I went ahead and decided to do what nearly all of you mentioned....booked the Cathay Business Class seats in lieu of the Premium Economy Seats. I'm sure it will be a more comfortable ride...and should be a fun experience. Not something we do very often....again, thank you.

JHIN

I see you bought biz class, which would have been my suggestion too given the difference.

i did an extensive PE trip report blogger review recently myself for those airlines. My take away was CX & Eva neck & neck though each had their minute differences and both rated high than China Air for what that is worth. My favorite has always been Cathay until they cheapened up. Eva is temptng given they have flights out of SEA.

flubber

+1

Easy choice!