BNE-HKG no longer a350?
 

Looking to book a ticket from Brisbane via Hong Kong and onwards to the US. Noticed the flight there uses an a330. From what I can tell this route is currently service by an a350. I'm booking nearly a year off, March 2020. Would have loved to try out the A350 as the flight onward to JFK isn't on one either. Anyone know if they are switching the planes used on the Brisbane route?

no change....
 

There is no change.

BNE has 2x daily flights....1x daily = A350, the second 3-4x weekly frequency is (and always has been) A333. You can just check the CX Flight timetable on their website:
Cathay Pacific Flight Timetable

and our Google doc we maintain too:
Cathay Pacific / Cathay Dragon Fleet, Route and Configuration Guide. You'll see in the matrix both 33K and 35G service BNE; and that the 33K serves CX150/155. (or you can just search for "BNE" in that spreadsheet).

Fyi both 35G and 33K are a similar long-haul Cirrus J product, although admittedly the A330 doesn't have WiFi and has an older IFE screen and interface. BNE is a guaranteed long-haul J product though no matter which flight you choose.

Perhaps we can get the title of the thread changed?

Ah, thanks. For whatever reason (guess it was booked) the other flight didn't come up in my searches. The a350 flight leaves just before 1AM so you end up with a 12 hour layover if you're catching a later flight out of HK to the US (at least in my case). That's a shame, as I don't think the a350 is worth such a long layover...

In 2017, CX publicly said the B777s and A330s would get WiFi "starting in mid-2018". While this came true for the 777s (B77Ws almost halfway converted w/ Wifi), no A330s have been converted yet I don't think. However, since your flight is so far away it's possible the conversions will be underway by then.

The A350 is definitely newer and in working condition, I would prefer it for the BNE flight, especially if the A330s don't have Wifi by next year. But the A359s also have a lot of dumb seat and bathroom things broken which still, 2 years into deliveries, aren't fixed. In J class you're always about 20-30% chance to get something annoying or ghetto on the A350 (think duct tape in the bathroom, toilets that don't look 2 years old but rather 20 years old, cracked mirrors, seat screens broken, armrests broken, side tables broken, etc.). The 33K / 33E (CX's longhaul A330s) don't have the seat issues and are a perfectly comfortable ride too.

I'd like to say Wifi isn't a big deal as this is coming back from a vacation, but it is a looong daytime flight.

Too bad to hear the shape things are in on some of the a359s; I'm sort of more interested in trying one out for the first time, and definitely wouldn't mind the better altitude for at least part of this 24 hours in the air back to JFK. We'll be in J so I'm not complaining, just a shame to have both these flights and neither be an a350. The rewards gods won't allow it this time.

I was just looking at some reviews of this route and it appears some flights stop in Cairns on the way to HKG and everyone has to get out? Not the end of the world, but hadn't seen that on the itinerary. I notice the a330 flight is about a half hour longer than the overnight a350 one.

Edit: plus, while I'm here, what's the exact route the HKG-JFK flight (which I will connect to) takes? Most direct would take it over the arctic but the flight tracking sites show it more going over the north pacific.

they repeated the a330 wifi claim in the inflight magazine too

That would vary day-by-day due to the wind conditions, but in general eastbound flights will fly south of the great circle route to take advantage of favourable tailwinds - you'd see the same over the Atlantic.

Right. Will have to wait and see!

Anyone know if this flight still stops in Cairns on the way to HKG? The Cathay site does not indicate as much, but it seems that stop has been included for years?

The flight no longer has a stopover. Their old flight to/from Brisbane used to be HKG-CNS-BNE-HKG, a triangular route, so when I flew to Cairns I had to fly down to Brisbane on the way back. This service has now ended and has been replaced by non-stop flights to Cairns and additional non-stop flights to Brisbane.

However, based on a quick Google search, the flight from BNE-HKG (A350, CX156) is scheduled to land at 7:30AM, and also frequently lands 15+ minutes early. There is an HKG-JFK flight (CX830) that leaves at 9:15AM. This is a fairly connection but I would imagine it's quite doable and people frequently make connections that are just as short or even shorter than this. Not sure why this didn't show up but you might want to check it out (flight not be available due to your fare class). All flights to JFK are currently on the 4-class 777-300ERs with 9-abreast, but when you fly all the 777s will probably be retrofitted by then. Hope this helps!

Just found this on CX's website. Just a 2h25 layover with the A350. Prices are economy and premium economy.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b9a012dba4.png
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2d2189666f.png

the a330s need an entertainment system upgrade too! those inflight maps are ancient!

I had 4 A350 sectors recently. LGW-HKG-BNE/MEL-HKG-LGW, albeit in Y. I found that the bathrooms in better shape then when I first flew them 2 years ago. The biggest technical issue is that there isn't enough slope in the basins to let the water drain away easily. I think they forgot to add the 3 "degree angle of attack" to them. It could be why the bathroom at the back of the cabin had liquid swimming on the floor. A reason I always wear shoes when going to the loo on a plane!!

The big reason I would go for the A350 is that you feel less tired on it after long haul. I dreaded coming back to LGW at 5.30am but apart from a short nap in the afternoon I hardly had any jetlag. Same in Brisbane. Be great if the morning flight also became an A350 at some point! And the LHR flights! I don't want to fly 10 abreast!!

I've done that flight a few times and connected to the 9am LHR flight no problems. I've even had time to go the Premium Plaza lounge for a shower and quick bite in that time. In fact, I've never had a problem with getting a shower at the PP lounge in the morning. When I came back from Melbourne, due to the night time arrival, I could only get a shower 30 mins before boarding time at the PP Lounge! I ended up going to the Aerotel which, apart from not having the same range of food, had better showers!

Thanks. This is actually an Aadvantage redemption so I can only take what they give me. (It might have been dumb to book this via BNE and not MEL or SYD as they have more flights to switch around once booked, but I saw nothing available and pounced.) I'll keep an eye out on availability to see if I can work in an a350 either en route to HKG, or change the destination to EWR. The only problem with the later is it departs at 18.30, which doesn't give enough time as the current BNE flight I have gets in at 17.40. So the combo you suggest would seem the best to work in an a350 at some point in this trip (to have less jet lag).

A final consideration is being able to see out the window in the day time. Judging by previous routes, looks like you can get some nice views of the West cost, then Indonesia and the Philippines. If there's no cloud cover!