Take 2 on CX premium from HKG-YYZ
 

Take 2 on CX premium from HKG-YYZ

Hello fellow FTers, I’m back, albeit a year and a half later than I promised… But I hope you enjoy this trip report on CX business from HKG-YYZ.

Flight: CX 820
HKG-YYZ
Departure Time: 2:45 am
Arrival Time: 6.00 am
Departure Date: August 29, 2010
Aircraft: 777-300ER (B-KPC)
Seat: 20D

August 27th, 2010

2:45 am – Mental process: press check in, fill out particulars, reconfirm seat, press confirm, click click click as fast as possible.

2:46 am- BN 1- Mmmm, that wonderful number. A smile starts forming on my face. A few months ago it showed the availability of this flight to be Y0 B0 H0 K0 L0 M0 V0. This was expected. After all, it was peak season for students returning to school. Inside, I was grinning evilly. I knew what this meant. Yup, you guessed it: Op-up

August 28th, 2010

3:30am
I try to remain calm. It’s still approximately T-24. Still no upgrade? ☹ Take a deep breath. Heeeeee-hooooooo*. Ah, much better

7:30pm
An exhausting day full of last minute shopping and packing makes me forget about my flight later that evening (well alright, tomorrow for all you nit-picky FTers). Hrm… maybe it’s time to check on cx.com just in case…

7:35pm
Business. Seat 20D. Inside, I was doing the op-up happy dance to praise the op-up gods. I then continue the dance on the outside, and proceeded to dance around the house. At this moment, my mom looked at me with what Hong Kongers call “o-mouth” (ie. Your mouth resembles a big O, and you stare at the subject doing the craziest thing imaginable) Yes, another opportunity to experience long haul J on CX.

11:30pm
Check in goes relatively smoothly except for some luggage issues… nothing to dampen my mood though (I was thankfully not charged for overweight items).

11:55pm
I was now situated at the south departure hall of HKIA.
Mom: “Siu sum di la. Hui dou da deen wah bei ngor la” (Be careful. Call me when you get there)
Me: “Duc la duc la” (ok, ok)
Mom: Ho la, bye bye (okay, bye bye) (tight hug, a few kisses- I return them, trying to conceal the embarrassment of this display of public affection…)

I leave before my mom could call me back for some more hugs. I knew I would get a chance to call her again before I left.

12:15pm

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I step into the lounge, only to see everything closed. However, some of the food is still out, and I manage to get some cheese and crackers before they are taken away. No worries, I would get a meal a couple of hours into the flight anyway. I spent some time checking my email, FT, and browsed the net before heading for a shower. The lounge was relatively quiet, with most flights already departed by the time I got there. At the lounge, I spot the SFO security checks happening down below. It was interesting seeing people get pulled out last minute for random checks even though the gates were closing…

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2:10am

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“Ladies and Gentlemen thank you for waiting…” Boarding call! Tonight, CX 820 was originally scheduled to leave from gate 2, but due to tech issues (speculation) earlier on a 747 parked at gate 2, we were switched to gate 3 for tonight. I slowly packed up, and headed downstairs, looking at the long economy line as I walked past. Phew, glad I’m not there.

2:20am

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I get settled at 20D, and the FA comes by with a welcoming drink. Not very welcoming considering the FA’s attitude… but I remain hopeful. I sit down and call my mom to let her know I was on the plane. Again, the signature “take care and call me when you’re there” conversation ensued:

Mom: “Seung jor gei la. Ho la, siu sum di la. Gei ju da bei ngor wor” (You’re on the plane? Okay, be careful and remember to call me)
Me: Okay bye

2:45am
Aircraft doors close right on time, and everyone is settled. Ready to go

3:00am
After a long taxi, we line up with the runway. Nothing exciting during take off… one must understand that it is
1. pitch black outside
2. a very late flight

Sometime during the dead of night (HK time)
Drinks are served, as well as a “refreshment” a.k.a. a full course dinner. I skip the salad (smoked salmon), and just nibble on some garlic bread. The dinner options are the traditional ones… beef, pasta, etc. I choose the beef as the main course. The last thing I remember was falling asleep while waiting for trays to be taken away…

10:00am
I wake up and realize I didn’t finish dinner before I fell asleep. Feeling a little peckish, I walk up to the galley, and ask the FA for a noodle in soup. She gives me a warmer reply than the ones at dinner.” Certainly, but it will take 15 minutes to reheat”. No problem, I can wait.

10:20am
My noodle soup arrives, and it smells oh so good. Nothing beats a bowl of signature CX noodle soup. I dig into my mid-flight snack, and finish it in approximately 8 minutes.

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10:45 pm
After resting for a bit, I feel slightly dissatisfied, so I press the call button, asking if the FA had any cheesecake left from dinner. With a smile, the FA replies, “I don’t know if we have any, but I will try looking for you ok?” I thank her and she heads off.

10:55am

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The cheesecake arrives, and I start eating. Oh my goodness, it tastes divine. It was gone in a few minutes. I felt like eating an extra one, but to avoid becoming a pig, I decided against it.

1:30 pm (Toronto Local Time)
I watch a couple of movies, and relax in my seat. Getting a bit tired at this point, I decided to snooze again for a bit.

3:45 am (Toronto Local Time)

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Breakfast is served! I have to say that of all my CX flights, the breakfast I had on this flight was hands down THE best one I’ve had. It was chicken congee with “cheung fan” (rice rolls) in X.O. sauce. Generally slightly salty, but the congee was just the right consistency, and the cheung fan was flavourful.

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Mmmm mmm ☺

5:15 am (Toronto Local Time)
The sun is starting to rise, and I get out of my seat to get a few shots from the window at the 2L door. The captain makes an announcement and tells us we’re approximately half an hour from touchdown, and asks the cabin crew to prepare for landing.

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5:55am
The rest of the flight is uneventful. Cabin crew was courteous upon landing, thanking each of us for choosing CX and to have a nice day. I trek down the length of the terminal to get to immigration and my luggage

6:45am
Luggage in hand, I head out to what was surprisingly a pleasant early morning in Toronto.


Hope you enjoyed the report

nice TR....i can picture my wife's mother saying exactly the same things to her in Cantonese also...:D and me...even though i only pick up a word or two...

great report - perfect length too. Cathay biz is one of the few intl biz services I want to try but have yet to do so - have to work on those one world miles

Nice TR - and as a Cantonese speaker... the dialogue cracked me up - as my Mum would say the exact same things to me (like the other poster said) :)

Re:Report
 

Great Report, I enjoy reading your reports. Keep posting!!!!

CX J vs BA CW
 

Very nice report!^

Any comments on the 'coffin seats'? I've always hesitated trying CX's J coz the one time I was in one of those seats on AC I felt a bit crammed in. Having flown on BA's CW on many LH trips I can anticipate a 13-hr flight in those long and narrow seats (and you have to do a Linda Blair to look out the window) wouldn't be as relaxing as on BA. The mid-flight noodles do look yummy tho!^

Reason I'm asking is I'm debating whether to go CX J to HKG or go BA CW via LHR on my next trip...:confused:

i find AC's seat just as coffin"esque" as CX's...perhaps a marginally lower side wall on AC's seat...actually, having flown both of them within weeks of each other, i see no substantive difference in the hard product.....are they not made by the same company?

BTW, for a recent trip, i chose to fly via HKG instead of AC via EU since I did not find J service to be that great and also ditched BA...even though BA was about 5 hours shorter to where I was going.

that said, i am pretty slender. my wife and 3 year old have flow AC J and CX J and see zero difference in the seats on both for us....well, CX's IFA puts AC's to shame IMO...but that is another issue...as is food/service/blankets/pillows....

BA's middle rear facing, however, are the best to travel with another and BA's J config puts both AC and CX's to shame when travelling with any other person you actually want to speak to on your trip.

Did you call your mother when you landed? :D

Yes I did. I swear all chinese mothers have the same script to read from.

I haven't tried AC, but from what I've heard, they're more crammed than CX J. However, if you haven't tried CX J, I'd say to go for it. IMO, service is generally better than BA.

Not the first time I've heard this.^

I feel so left out. My mom is not Chinese and speaks no Cantonese.:(:D

Sadly, whilst I have a Chinese mother, I can't speak Cantonese myself :(.

However, the actions and tones are *exactly* like my mother too b-kpf ;).

Great report ^

Wonderful. Very cute report! ;) ^

Did they not have anymore seats on the 4pm flight when you originally booked it? Or did you need a full day in HK and/or simply loved the timing nature of the flight? I swore after I took the 2-3am-ish departure more than a year ago that I would never torture myself again with such a flight timing. Even in F, I was in an utmost zombie shape for several days in Toronto after arrival. The only reason I took it was because that was the only HKG-YYZ they had for that season.

The 2-3am-ish departure will be gone at the end of this month and will be retimed as CX828 leaving 10am-ish instead. I guess CX has heard enough complaints with regards to the timing.

;)

This made me laugh, it's exactly what many mums will say, looks like you know your chinglish!!

Thanks for the trip report!

In regards to CX vs BA J, I prefer the CX. I'm a smaller guy, and really don't mind the "coffin" seats. I also really liked the mini-cabin on the 77A. It was difficult to look out the window (which I usually like) but seeing as it was night for pretty much the entire trip (JFK-YVR-HKG) I wasn't missing much until sunrise. Didn't like BA with the paired seats and the little divider between them - no good way for cabin crew to bring stuff I found. Can't compare food as this was during the strike so only got a sandwich on CW which was unfortunate. Liked the CX selections.