SQ 777-200s are retrofitted with new regional J class.
however - it's still not as good as the J in 77W.

CA J is new and is similar to UA BusinessFirst.

I'd say CX J on 77W is the best out of all of these.

Any itinerary that enables you to enjoy the Qantas First Class international lounge at SYD is by definition the only itinerary that you should pick!

In all seriousness though, avoid CA. Why go for a substandard product?

CA's 77Ws are hardly substandard. My main beef with the CA plan is the PEK connection (as I posted upthread).

I fail to see how more direct = the better option with the given itineraries? The OW itin the OP has saves only 40 minutes total travel time, but that doesn't take into account the extra Jetstar flight from WLG --> CHC. The OW itin is 31hrs35mins while the *A itin is 32hrs15mins... is CX C better than CA C (77W), sure a little... is it better than SQ 772... maybe a little... but then there's the 3 hour cross straight 738 flight to account for plus the hour of pure hell on JQ. Not to mention, any irregularities in SYD and the JQ flight is a separate ticket so would not be reaccommodated. If their OW itin was going direct into CHC then I'd say go for it and suck up the QF segment, but as it stands, I'd go the *A route.

OP mentioned concerns about missing the SQ flight in PEK due to the shortish connection, but if it were to happen, there are 2 other decent options to CHC the same day to be rebooked on:

Both have good availability in J at the moment.

If you're going to CHC take *A itinerary. The QF business product would be generously classed as domestic business on a DL mad dog and then hopping on JQ is basically economy.

The CA and SQ hard product are good and the benefit is the you don't have the herringbone layout. Connecting in PEK and SIN is pretty much a wash as the connection in HKG and SYD, plus you then have to connect in WLG.

I would definitely stick with the Star option. While CA in Y is no picnic, their J is superior to any US J product, and certainly the Qantas+JetStar. And PEK is a very quick connection, and don't know what people don't like. If you go through the transfer gate, you can get off of your plane and into the lounge within 20 minutes. And the lounge at SQ is quite nice, so you will be fine.

Agree it's not that bad if it's now snowing in PEK!

HKG no snow!

The new CA C isn't substandard at all. They give you PJs and nice duvets in C. The food is good if you like Chinese food, arguably better than CXs Chinese food. Western stuff isn't great, but better than stuff on UA.

I flew CX JFK-HKG biz a month ago and aside from few very minor peeves I thoroughly enjoyed it. The seat is flat and comfortable, while herringbone design assures that you don't need to see your neighbor unless you choose to.
Food (Asian) was excellent. Was favourite part was when I woke up in the middle of the flight and asked for a snack and they brought me a bowl of hot noodle soup (excellent!).

Issues were: my seat controls were finicky and didn't always work, they ran out of my first choice entrees (second choice was excellent), and they allowed all Marco Polo members to board at the same time as First Class and Business Class.

Thanks to all for their input. I've chosen to stick with *A - I did make (yet another) change to my itinerary and got rid of the CA segment through PEK and flying on TG instead through BKK. This is just the beginning of a trip that will continue around Asia, so I'll try to fit in some CX/QF flights in there to experience their products as well. Thanks again to all for the responses. This thread can be now closed.

I'm pretty sure others will figure out useful ways to revive it because *A v. OW is a decision that many of us face. Take your case for example; were it not for the fact that you started this thread, I never would have even contemplated redeeming SQ long haul on 772s, but when you tell me that the alternative consists of flying a 738 for 3 hours and Jetstar during the last mile, my tune changes. For some reason, I really like TG biz, btw. While the seats don't hold a candle to CX, everything else is quite nice.

FYI - SQ 777-200ER aircraft are slowly being retrofitted with the 77W and A380 type Business Class seats. And some CX 77W aircraft still have the herringbone green Business Class seats. So just be aware with that.

Not true! All CX 77W has the new j class seats( the BA new F class seats). And these r deployed on most of the LHR flights.

I must disagree with you about CA's substandard product, I just flew with it from SYD-PEK on its 77W and got upgraded to business class, I must say the product is much better than QF and all of US carriers, not only business but also economy as well, very good seat pitch. Comparing with CX ones, not much difference either.

It is not that Hard to beat QF in business class- they seem to be living in 2005-even then Air NZ had 1-2-1 seating