EY / CX / JL F reviews

[Cruiser Elite]

Hard to fathom CX with their Champs - they serve Deutz vinegar on MEL-HKG route and Bollinger on HKG-PVG route - go figure - the latter is quality the former nothing short of sheep dip.

 

[boomy]

I chose the Japanese meal, which was delicious!

 

[Danger UXB]

Sorry . Late getting the boarding pass stamped. I was stuck in MEL with your luggage:shock:
Looking forward to my next EY F experience and the new lounge.
I would love to follow your dealings with EY about your luggage, I wish you luck. My last trip with them in F resulted in a 20 Hour delayed departure from GVA due to" technical issues". They are still denying the EU261/2004 claim stating "extraordinary circumstances ". I've tried refund.me but they had no lawyer contacts in Switzerland.....any ideas anyone other than FOCA in Switzerland?

 

[boomy]

Sorry . Late getting the boarding pass stamped. I was stuck in MEL with your luggage:shock:
Looking forward to my next EY F experience and the new lounge.
I would love to follow your dealings with EY about your luggage, I wish you luck. My last trip with them in F resulted in a 20 Hour delayed departure from GVA due to" technical issues". They are still denying the EU261/2004 claim stating "extraordinary circumstances ". I've tried refund.me but they had no lawyer contacts in Switzerland.....any ideas anyone other than FOCA in Switzerland?

Sorry, I have no experience in Switzerland.

Did they at least offer you accommodation?

 

[boomy]

As much as liked the Japanese meal, a few pieces of fruit just doesn't cut it as dessert for me so I've asked to try the cheese selection.



All three cheeses were good, especially the blue.

Finished the meal, as usual, with double espresso.



Service on this sector wasn't as polished as on the previous one. The cabin was not even half full but for some reason the crew seemed to be always in a rush. Towards the end of the flight I had a chance to chat a bit with the CSM who said she will miss working on this aircraft. The F cabin is more spacious than the one on 777 yet feels isolated from the rest of plane.

Whoever designed this cabin for CX, particularly row 1 did a very good job. Two pax flying together can interact with complete privacy, almost feels like on private plane yet the seats are separated enough that two strangers can still get a sense of privacy.



We landed 30 min late in HND but who cares, the flight was still too short for me. Everyone seemed to be in a rush to disembark but I wasn't in a hurry to leave, savouring the moment on this plane, for the last time.



It will be missed!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Sorry . Late getting the boarding pass stamped. I was stuck in MEL with your luggage:shock:
Looking forward to my next EY F experience and the new lounge.
I would love to follow your dealings with EY about your luggage, I wish you luck. My last trip with them in F resulted in a 20 Hour delayed departure from GVA due to" technical issues". They are still denying the EU261/2004 claim stating "extraordinary circumstances ". I've tried refund.me but they had no lawyer contacts in Switzerland.....any ideas anyone other than FOCA in Switzerland?

You might have to do some googling. I found a thread on FT which suggested refund.me was taking claims against LX: A word of warning on Swiss International [interpretation of EU261/04 & ECJ rulings] - Page 2 - FlyerTalk Forums

If they have stopped not sure who has taken their place.

 

[drivatruk]

Pre-departure champagne and dates.

View attachment 77465

The CSM came to introduce himself (nice Pommy bloke) and delivered a bag of goodies: pyjama, slippers, his and hers amenity kits and EY branded playing cards.

View attachment 77466

Make-up area in the apartment.

View attachment 77467

Soft drinks mini-bar.

View attachment 77468

EY branded NC headphones.

View attachment 77469

They are ok but not as good as Bose.

Its a little annoying how these headphones connect via a magnetic connection making my Bose QC whatever number obselete.

 

[andy2015]

Nice TR so far boomy. Coming back from Europe would you recommend this routing, JL the whole way or QR (not sure if you've flown QR)?

 

[boomy]

Nice TR so far boomy. Coming back from Europe would you recommend this routing, JL the whole way or QR (not sure if you've flown QR)?

Depends which airline miles you plan to use.
For OW redemptions the route I did gives you three flights in F and you get to experience two excellent airlines.
I'm huge fan of JL F product so can't advise against booking them the whole way
No experience with QR F, yet but their product looks solid. I've booked a few trips with them, first one DOH-CDG F in Dec and another trip next year ADL-DOH-CDG in J burning my last AA miles (60K) and return CDG-DOH-SYD in F using QF points (203K).

 

[Danger UXB]

Sorry, I have no experience in Switzerland.

Did they at least offer you accommodation?

Yes accommodation was provided but a little lack lustre on the meals front only breakfast provided!! Original departure time 2030, actual departure time 1630 following day.

You might have to do some googling. I found a thread on FT which suggested refund.me was taking claims against LX: A word of warning on Swiss International [interpretation of EU261/04 & ECJ rulings] - Page 2 - FlyerTalk Forums

If they have stopped not sure who has taken their place.

Yes I read this thread before involving refund.me as it appeared they had some legal success in Switzerland. But they got the standard response from EY and replied

"Etihad Airways rejected your entitlement to compensation as your flight was delayed due to technical reasons which Etihad Airways considers as extraordinary circumstances. Unfortunately, we cannot process your claim legally in Switzerland. "

EY also lost my luggage for 24 Hours but I got fed up writing emails to them so I gave up (which is probably what they wanted), hence I'm intrigued to see how you go on that front Boomy. Sorry for the slightly OT divergence in your excellent TR

 

[andy2015]

Depends which airline miles you plan to use.
For OW redemptions the route I did gives you three flights in F and you get to experience two excellent airlines.
I'm huge fan of JL F product so can't advise against booking them the whole way
No experience with QR F, yet but their product looks solid. I've booked a few trips with them, first one DOH-CDG F in Dec and another trip next year ADL-DOH-CDG in J burning my last AA miles (60K) and return CDG-DOH-SYD in F using QF points (203K).

Will be using mostly purchased AA if they have a sale soon.

I flew CX F LAX-HKG earlier this year and wasn't blown away (Pier F was a highlight even with terrible service in the dining room) so maybe JL is the way to go.

QR wise it looks like saving the points difference and flying J could be an option. The food in business looks as good as what Etihad and Cathay served in F. I look forward to your trip report.

 

[boomy]

Will be using mostly purchased AA if they have a sale soon.

I flew CX F LAX-HKG earlier this year and wasn't blown away (Pier F was a highlight even with terrible service in the dining room) so maybe JL is the way to go.

QR wise it looks like saving the points difference and flying J could be an option. The food in business looks as good as what Etihad and Cathay served in F. I look forward to your trip report.

Interested to hear about your experience with CX F. When you say you weren't blown away does it mean you were disappointed by the hard product, soft product or maybe both?

 

[andy2015]

Interested to hear about your experience with CX F. When you say you weren't blown away does it mean you were disappointed by the hard product, soft product or maybe both?

Hard product was great although I think Etihad 787 F edged it because of the privacy factor. Appetizer inedible (yours looks good though), none left of first choice of Chinese main (1A so maybe status pax got served first?), having to remind about a drink order once or twice. Caviar, Krug and double espressos were highlights though. It was still a good flight and a very nice way to fly.

 

[boomy]

Hard product was great although I think Etihad 787 F edged it because of the privacy factor. Appetizer inedible (yours looks good though), none left of first choice of Chinese main (1A so maybe status pax got served first?), having to remind about a drink order once or twice. Caviar, Krug and double espressos were highlights though. It was still a good flight and a very nice way to fly.

Good to hear different opinions. EY 787 suite is more impressive but I hate the tinted windows on that plane.
Soft product can be hit and miss on any airline. I had disappointed meals in F although not on CX. I think it mostly happens when the crew don't follow cooking procedure which sometimes results in over-cooked dishes.

 

[Happy Trails]

Had one glass of Deutz 2006 and it was more than enough. IMO this champagne shouldn't even be served in J. Luckily the Reds were much better.

Embarrassed now to admit that I sank the best best part of a bottle on a recent HKG-BKK:

 

[boomy]

Embarrassed now to admit that I sank the best best part of a bottle on a recent HKG-BKK

Didn't know there is a best part to this bottle, will make sure to research it more closely next time

 

[boomy]

For the last part of the trip back home I took JL F NRT-SYD after spending one night in Tokyo. For those who are interested in doing FRA-HKG-HND/NRT-SYD without any stopovers it's possible (by taking the morning flight ex-HKG).

I've already done comprehensive review of JL F on this route last year so will do it more briefly this time.
The link to my previous TR if anyone interested:

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....japan-tr-include-jl-cx-66697.html#post1211719

Not much have changed since which is positive because it's a great product. One thing I would love JAL to change - fly to SYD from HND. The airport is much closer to city, the F lounge there is better and for me personally the connections, either from CX F or LH F will be more convenient.

Shuttle from city hotels to NRT takes about 90 minutes and cost ¥3,100 or $AU40. Also possible to go by train, takes about the same time but it lacks the convenience of airport pick up.

For those connecting directly from HND to NRT there are also two options of shuttle (more convenient with luggage) or direct train (little bit faster). The journey takes about 60 minutes.

 

[boomy]

JL F check-in is not as fancy as EY's but nevertheless very civilised. I've never witnessed a queue there and staff all very nice and welcoming.

There are only 8 seats in JL 777 F cabin.



seats 1A/K are usually blocked for selection (reserved to JL top tier members) so it won't be unusual to find at least one of them vacant, as shown above.
If seats 2A/K are occupied I don't select anything and ask at check-in for them to open one of the blocked seats, so far managed to get one every time.

Priority security control entrance conveniently located just after F check-in and I've never witnessed a queue there either. There was however short queue for passport control and while I was waiting there I saw the girl who checked me in running towards me. While catching her breath she repeatedly apologised for forgetting to provide the baggage tag. Her reaction was very cute but I could see she was a bit stressed so told her to calm down because everything is fine. Actually I should have noticed and requested the tag myself at check-in, especially after the EY luggage incident in the beginning of this trip.

JL F lounge is (again) conveniently located just after passport control. Unlike Australian airports, here they don't force you to walk through a maze of shops on the way to the lounge.
Inside they offer 10 minutes complementary massage and it's recommend to book early to avoid disappointment (not that it's so amazing, nothing like the QF F spa experience but still better than nothing). They also offer shoe-shine service, not the traditional way like in EK F lounge, here you leave your shoes, get slippers (they are black so it's not embarrassing to walk with them) and return after 15 minutes to get shoes back.
The lounge is very quiet, talking on the mobile is forbidden. There are dedicated booths for that, which should be the norm in all airline lounges IMO.
Food options are quite limited, there is no proper restaurant with menus, instead there is sushi chef who makes fresh salmon and tuna sushi. It goes very well with a glass of premium sake (normally there are three option to select from) drank in a proper Riedel sake glass while admiring the JAL fleet



Wines on offer are ok but nothing too interesting. Selection onboard is so much better that I never touch the wines in JL lounges. I do however touch the aged Japanese Whisky (Hibiki 17)

 

[bismarck]

I do however touch the aged Japanese Whisky (Hibiki 17)

LOVE Hibiki 17. Delicious.

 

[boomy]

Arrived to the gate few minutes before boarding started. Three lines were set for F/J/Y with crew member standing in front of each one checking BPs. While we were all waiting for boarding to start an old Japanese guy wearing what looked to me an expensive suite came from nowhere, rushed through the F queue ignored crew asking to see his BP, handed his passport and walked in. When asked who why was he let in before boarding officially started the answer was "important man", or DYKWIA in proper English Later I saw this guy sitting in 1K.

The F cabin doesn't look too flash but it has one of the more comfortable seats which transforms to a very comfortable bed.