it is time we have an announcement at the top of the CX forum.

"If you have any question about Cathay vs "other airline" always chose other airline..."

It does not matter if Cathay offers more flights, better seats , better transit , the best lounges, best entertainment, best service
if the food is 10% worse than any other carrier " Cathay is a thrash airline worse than the scum of the earth, choose the other one"

not really even sure why 80% of the posters here including the MOD are supposed frequent fliers of CX....

even airlines like AI get the occasional praise from their customers.

I must be hypnotized when I travel CX, but I did not know their economy class was so terrible and such a nightmare that it was worth spending 200$ more on another carrier....

and I am not "white" which according to people here CX offers better service and food to....

Because the grass is always greener on the other side (and technically Eva is literally "greener" than CX)
And bashing too hard is always better than letting any bad thing missed so we tend to do so.
Anyway having tried transit in HKG (a slow one) and TPE (kind of) which airport isn't much to concern. Schedule wise, in July, the flight pairs with minumum layovers are
BR9-BR225 0200-0440+1 // 0740-1200 3hr layover
BR216-BR10 1510-2000 // 2355-1950 3hr layover
* CX865-CX759 0220-0645+1 // 0835-1225 1hr50min layover
* CX837-CX715 1500-1915+1 // 2025-0015+1 1hr10min layover
# CX658-CX838 0950-1405 // 1615-1330 2hr10min layover
# CX716-CX888 1805-2205 // 0030+1-2120 2hr25min layover
Which are only for reference only because we don't know when OP is travelling and not all combinations have equal pricing (aka 200CAD difference), only it seems CX has one set of schedule similar to BR and an extra set of choices (again could cost more). The offerings would be similar in economy and more down to a personal preference.

You'll likely (if not always) get a wider seat in JAL Y, and likely better food, but the cost of flights with comparably short layover seems a bit higher as well.

Most BR 777 are 10 abreast!
CX is the obvious choice

this is the CX forum
BR hypothetically could be 11 abreast and have only muffins as the meal option on long haul flights and cockroaches in their toilets and most here would still recommend that the customer go with BR....

facts are not used for comparison
only an emotional hatred for CX....

Welcome to FT, OP.

No offense - but your expectation is way too high. You are traveling in Y as an ordinary passenger. There will be nothing special on either of the airlines. Unless there is an incentive (i.e. elite status), it is not worth choosing an airline based on the service aspect. Even some airlines may be rated better over others, the bottom line is YMMV and it is unlikely for you to get anything special out of this ride. I would choose the cheapest ever option instead.

OTOH - Airline food is barely edible regardless of service cabins. The main reason is the food quality is not only related to the airline's budget for a meal, but also where the food is prepared. For example, I don't eat anything out of ORD as a practice, because the catering company simply does not know how to cook.

That's not incorrect in this context but also exactly why the decline of Y service we complain about - once we decided to not care.
Low expectation right but there's still differences thus choices. In this context I believe both airlines would be similar in service, however in some cases this can go much better (JL?) or worse (some really low ones on skytrax?)

Can you really care?

I agree with watery, in the sense that there are worse airlines than others in Economy, in the sense that some airlines treat you like rubbish, and others don't... but in the case of CX and BR, i think they unequivocally fall into the latter category

I believe JL is better than CX for Y but does not worth for CAD 200.

As a general rule when flying Economy : If all choices have more or less the same product, then take the cheapest one.

FWIW - if OP truly cares, OP should actually travel on SQ instead. While per Skytrax (which I don't believe), SQ has one of the best economy class, as well as BR (Note - CX is not within top 10). When OP asked for CX, does OP really care?

It sounds like to me OP would opt for CX because of the potential good service and prices.

I have been on SQ long haul- their IFE was dated, remotes did not work, no power sockets ....
CX food was better and had more choice in economy than SQ + CX had more snack choice

at least on CX these basic features are guaranteed....

I suppose though because CX is CX, CX is supposed to be the terrible one