Cathay J Class PER-LHR via HKG

[ashleyn]

This was my first experience with Cathay and after reading reviews of their J class, I was looking forward to the flights.

Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectations for me.

The seating layout in J, lauded by many as great, just didn’t work for me. Traveling as a couple, the other person was blocked by the seat. The seat position also blocked access to get out in any position other than upright which I found annoying.

The service was average. After one glass of wine, the attendant actually removed my glass rather than offer a refill !

Food was disappointing, I have had more attractive and tastier offerings on domestic J.

All in all about 5/10 for me, I won’t be rushing back to Cathay in a hurry.

 

[ermen]

I would say that the F&B offering in CX J is not known to be the best unfortunately... however, their seat is the highlight (especially for those travelling alone)

Also surprising that they removed the glass instead of refilling. Was the service bad on both legs?

 

[BriarFlyer]

5/10 is a really disappointing result. Sorry to hear that, for you ashley, and because I'm currently studying availability leading up to booking our trip for 2017. With QFF points (and no status) CX looks to be one of the likely candidates.

Can I ask which planes/flights?

Did you get to visit any lounges in Hong Kong?

 

[ashleyn]

A330-300 on both legs (CX170 and CX257). I had a very short layover so didn't get in any lounge time.

 

[ashleyn]

I don't recall any real issues on the second leg but it wasn't outstanding either.

 

[andy2015]

How was the cabin temp? Was hot++ for me but I was coming back from the snow which probably didn't help.

 

[yohy?!]

5/10 seems particularly harsh given reviews on similar trips, CX is generally accepted to be one of the better cabins in business out there (particularly out of Perth where lie flat seating is not standard across all carriers).

can understand the service issue with a full glass being taken but generally the other items are all the norm for CX and targeted toward their markets (eg food provided is less likely to be western dishes).

also, for pairs travelling together the seat can easily be moved forward so that you can interact across the barrier.

 

[ashleyn]

Pretty sure our seats couldn't be adjusted like that.

 

[yohy?!]

Pretty sure our seats couldn't be adjusted like that.

the middle control (ie the seat bottom) with the blue left and right arrows slides you forwards and backwards

 

[Comoman]

A330-300 on both legs (CX170 and CX257).

There is no way CX257 was a A333. It's a Boeing 777-300ER. The Airbus wouldn't have the legs.

Edit to add: I have flown this route with CX a number of times. Sure the F&B isn't up there with QR/SQ but the seat sure makes up for a lot of it.

 

[ashleyn]

Yes you are correct on the plane, sorry. We'll have to agree to disagree on the seat, I especially didn't like the uneven arm rests and having to reset the seat to upright to get out.

 

[mannej]

There is no way CX257 was a A333. It's a Boeing 777-300ER. The Airbus wouldn't have the legs.

Edit to add: I have flown this route with CX a number of times. Sure the F&B isn't up there with QR/SQ but the seat sure makes up for a lot of it.

Going by the GC Mapper, the 333 does have the legs on paper doesn't it (not taking into account reserves etc)?

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Yes you are correct on the plane, sorry. We'll have to agree to disagree on the seat, I especially didn't like the uneven arm rests and having to reset the seat to upright to get out.

Thai, Emirates, Malaysia, AirNZ, Singapore, Qatar, Etihad, ... all major carriers flying to Perth either have or will have individual business class seats in the near future (ie: no seatmate) just like Cathay has had for many years.

The crew on all airlines have bad days and momentary lapses of judgement. Did you ask for a fresh glass after it was whisked away?
All the big Asian airlines work on a soft touch approach where they try not to disturb biz/first class pax where possible. If I think back to all my flights - Asian carriers are 'quieter' and overall more enjoyable since they don't bother you every 3 minutes with some useless question like AU/US airlines do.

I've always held the view that if you haven't flown an airline 10+ times in a year then any opinion holds very little weight. What I mean by this is Cathay is new for you and there was an element of expectation and excitement from your side. One or two things didn't go as smoothly as you had hoped and this clouds your objective judgement to look at the small, positive touches. Also, any 'rating' should be compared with how much you paid for a flight, time invested in the booking process, your travelling partners thoughts, check in, lounge and arrival experiences.

 

[ermen]

There are too many CX apologists on here

 

[Comoman]

There are too many CX apologists on here

Not sure who thats aimed at but I have flown most carriers J-class ex-Perth to Europe, Asia and USA within the last 12 months. I am top tier member of both One World (QF) and Star Alliance (SQ) so to be honest I'm not allied to any one carrier.

CX seat is good all the way through from Per-Hkg-Lhr - same seat. Beats SQ (2x2x2 unless you're lucky from Per-Sin ), QR (2x2x2 - Per-Doh) etc. The EK 777 (2x3x2) was awful but thankfully thats recently stopped in favour of A380.

I'm not an apologist - far from it as I'm truly carrier agnostic. But I must agree IMHO 5/10 is a bit harsh - I have done this exact route 3 times in the last year alone.

As always my personal view and YMMV!

 

[Happy Trails]

There are too many CX apologists on here

Examples?...

 

[ermen]

Examples?...

have a read of the thread...

 

[froggerADL]

I too was disappointed with CX J on the A330-300. I found the seat to be quite narrow and not very comfortable even though it was 1-2-1. I also didn't think much of the food or service. I was pretty much ignored for the entire flight. This was HKG-KUL late last year. The aircraft was 2.5 years old and I had seat 12A.

I had connected to this flight from a CX HND-HKG leg on a 23 year old B747-400 in F. This flight was outstanding in every way and is one of my favourite flights of all time.

I've also done the SQ A330 from ADL-SIN in J and although that was 2-2-2 the seat was four inches wider than the CX A330. In my view SQ was better in every way and I won't be rushing back to CX A330.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

There are too many CX apologists on here

If you want to hate on an airline, join the QF thread.

All I read here is common sense.

 

[ermen]

If you want to hate on an airline, join the QF thread.

All I read here is common sense.

Nobody is hating on any airline here.

I agree with the OP that the onboard J F&B offering is disappointing and getting worse. You get a much better meal on basically any other premium airline.

I do not agree that the seat is cough.

Service wise, seldom had a problem. But maybe it was because I have mainly been OWE and they do come around with their greeting. But come to think of it, on a CX J back from AMS once, I put my BA nothing number on my BP then (still building up on BA)... the service was not so good - basically was hard to get the attention of the crew...