First Class/Bus Class - Cathay vs. Quantas
 

I'm flying from Seattle to New Zealand and have enough miles to fly first class on Cathay or Quantas...would appreciate thoughts on the best as well as if first is worth the extra miles or if business is "good enough":p

I have flown both airlines to Auckland in the last year and there are clear tradeoffs that you might want to consider in advance by examining the schedule on each airline's website. The advise below assumes you are using miles rather than purchasing a ticket.

If your time is valuable and you can get a J seat on the QF nonstop from LAX to AKL, it will save quite a bit of time over the circuitous route on CX through HKG, which could entail a very long layover of up to 10 hours on the way back.

In my mind, for a trip this long, it is worth it to spend the extra miles and go First, knowing that on CX, there is only J between HKG and AKL.

It is almost impossible to find F seats on the QF nonstop LAX-AKL, and difficult at best to find F seats through SYD to the other QF destinations in NZ: Christchurch, Wellington and Queenstown. F seats are much easier to find on CX, particularly within 1 week of departure when they load in lots of inventory.

If you elect to go F, the other key difference is that QF will be full and on CX you are quite likely to share the F cabin with only 1 or two other people.

If after you make your choice you have difficulty finding seats on your dates of choice, PM me and I will give you a hand.

Good advice....

The extra miles for F above J is relatively small.

QF is more direct but F difficult to book.

CX is great even in J. Service is excellent. But having done a 5 hour layover at HKG 10 hours would be a real drag even in the CX F Wing Lounge.

As mentioned, for such a long trip, travel in F would be much more pleasant although award inventory on both airlines will be harder to find. Even if you do have a 10 hour layover in HKG, try going out of the airport and explore a bit - Hong Kong's usually ranked top among all Asian destinations. Plus, that would hit two birds with one stone.

It really depends on the date OP is flying. CX is currently operating its 744 (with F) for CX107/8 until 6 March 2011, when it switches back to its 343 (2-class).

unsavy new member
 

I'm very new at miles programs. Could you please explain the different classes of seats. thank you

websites
 

Try airlines websites for more detail. F - first, J - business.
Cathay first
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_.../newfirstclass
Cathay business
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_...wbusinessclass

I'd highly recommend experiencing CX long-haul intercontinental First Class. It is absolutely fantastic!