Flying Business with Cathay Pacific

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NickP

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Anybody got any recent experience between Sydney and Hong Kong? I'm travelling up at the end of the month and have never flown Cathay Pacific before.

Rgs
Nick
 
Not specifically on that route, but the CX business class service is very consistent.

Note that CX offer 3 flights out of SYD, CX100 (afternoon departure on A340-300), CX110 (morning departure on A330-300) and CX138 (overnight flight on A330-300).

All of these will have the same CX long-haul business class seats, unlike the A330 they fly out of BNE which has the regional business class seats. The long-haul J seats are similar to QF Skybeds in that they recline 180 degrees but are not horizontal. They are very good business class seats.

The flight will have CX's very good AVOD in-flight entertainment.

Personally I would take the morning flight as I much prefer day flights. Though the afternoon flight might give me more incentive to sample larger amounts of the JW Gold they carry in business class.
 
Only flew once in J from Hong Kong to Beijing. So a short trip and nothing to write home about. They are nice and comforatble.

I mainly fly in Y, so my immediate choice if in Y would be CX rather than QF, but for business, they are fairly close.

Others that have dome the longer trips will give you a better description
 
Cheers NM, yet again you pick up the ball for me.

I'm on the late flight, CX138 from Syd. Does this go via BNE??

I'm travelling with my Boss, so I think we'll get a good dose of Gold anyway!
 
NickP said:
Cheers NM, yet again you pick up the ball for me.

I'm on the late flight, CX138 from Syd. Does this go via BNE??

I'm travelling with my Boss, so I think we'll get a good dose of Gold anyway!
No, all the SYD-HKG flights are non-stop. Its just that it is an overnight flight and I really try to avoid overnighters if I can.
 
NickP said:
Cheers NM, yet again you pick up the ball for me.

I'm on the late flight, CX138 from Syd. Does this go via BNE??

I'm travelling with my Boss, so I think we'll get a good dose of Gold anyway!

It is a direct flight... All CX flights out of Sydney are direct into Hong Kong.

You should enjoy CX Business. I find the seat is more softer than QF's Skybed, but a little closer together... Meals and Service is outstanding.

That said, I am yet to pay for CX Business Class, they were all operational upgrades, so not complaining! :D

D P G from Istanbul
 
NM said:
NickP said:
Cheers NM, yet again you pick up the ball for me.

I'm on the late flight, CX138 from Syd. Does this go via BNE??

I'm travelling with my Boss, so I think we'll get a good dose of Gold anyway!
No, all the SYD-HKG flights are non-stop. Its just that it is an overnight flight and I really try to avoid overnighters if I can.

Doh! NM you beat me to the punch... It must be this dodgy wireless connection I have got at the moment!

D P G from Istanbul
 
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duffshot said:
Anyone know when the BNE - HKG service will get the good seats in J?
I don't know of any plans for that to happen any time soon. Just as QF does not offer F out of BNE, CX also seem to be content to only operate 2-class services to/from BNE, and its their 2-class A330s that have the regional business class seats. They are ok for a day flight, but if condemned to an overnight flight I would be heading via SYD or MEL.
 
NM said:
duffshot said:
Anyone know when the BNE - HKG service will get the good seats in J?
I don't know of any plans for that to happen any time soon. Just as QF does not offer F out of BNE, CX also seem to be content to only operate 2-class services to/from BNE, and its their 2-class A330s that have the regional business class seats. They are ok for a day flight, but if condemned to an overnight flight I would be heading via SYD or MEL.

Geez - I just found another reason to love QF. Thank god they didn't leave the old seats in all their 2 class configs!
It would almost be enough to make me move to Sydney. Actually - no it wouldn't.
 
duffshot said:
Geez - I just found another reason to love QF. Thank god they didn't leave the old seats in all their 2 class configs!
It would almost be enough to make me move to Sydney. Actually - no it wouldn't.
Both the CX and QF flights BNE-HKG are daytime flights. For me the issue is more about the HKG-BNE flights, which are overnight for both airlines. I would take the QF non-stop flight as my first choice, but its not daily. So if I had to travel on a non-QF day, then I would take CX or QF daytime flight via SYD (first choice), or CX or QF overnight flight via SYD and enjoy lie-flat seats.
 
I know what you mean but have become accustomed to J = lie (reasonably) flat.

The CX connections to and fro BNE open up more options to get direct flights to BNE and avoid transits through SYD but I have been hesitant to give up the newer style J seats to try them out. Will do it as you say on a day flight one day and see how it goes.
 
NickP said:
Cheers NM, yet again you pick up the ball for me.

I'm on the late flight, CX138 from Syd. Does this go via BNE??

I'm travelling with my Boss, so I think we'll get a good dose of Gold anyway!

A quick report on this flight would be nice. I'm taking CX138 in J on 2/4/6. This will be a first for me in several ways.
 
duffshot said:
I know what you mean but have become accustomed to J = lie (reasonably) flat.

The CX connections to and fro BNE open up more options to get direct flights to BNE and avoid transits through SYD but I have been hesitant to give up the newer style J seats to try them out. Will do it as you say on a day flight one day and see how it goes.

Assuming you get the flight that has already popped into Cairns on the way down as opposed to popping into Cairns on the way back!
 
markis10 said:
Assuming you get the flight that has already popped into Cairns on the way down as opposed to popping into Cairns on the way back!
Ahh yes. I have forgotton about that little diversion. The Saturday and Wednesday departures of CX flights route HKG-CNS-BNE and BNE-CNS-HKG. So unless you like visiting CNS for a brief stopovers, they are good to avoid.

Note that Sat and Wed departures from HKG-BNE are days when QF98 operates, and as its an A330-300 it has Skybeds. But the other way only Saturday is operated by QF, with no QF service BNE-HKG on Wednesdays. So if departing BNE on a Wednesday, you will have to transit/tarnsfer somewhere (CNS with CX, SYD or MEL with QF).
 
Nick,

My 20 cents worth. Not the bris flight your looking at, but I recently flew from LA to HKG in CX J and found the seats were not as good as the skybeds on QF. I am 6'2" and found I could not fully stretch my legs due to the seat in front, a problem not encounted on QF.

I was on the lower deck on the way to LA and in the upper deck on the way back. The upper deck was definitely much better. The service is also way better on CX than QF. And funnily enough the pilots were Aussies except for a kiwi but then again they are the 7th and 8th states.
 
I was on CX104 in J from MEL to HKG and CX111 in J from HKG to SYD in Jan and Feb (anything to avoid the Regional J out of BNE :D ).

Both services were on the 333. One thing to note is that the J cabin is split with the bassinets in the rear cabin so try to get up front if you can.

CX has a number of services that could certainly do with an upgrade to the international business. One that comes to mind is HKG-DXB-HKG. They have a number of services but very few with the intl J.

I know for a fact that CX aren't selling very many J out of BNE (QF is killing them), so they are overselling Y and upgrading. This came from a CX staff member in BNE.
 
That is what I have heard too bravoecho1. I doubt we'll see the end of Regional J soon, but I *might* [emphasis - might] be able to find out whether we will be getting the newer J seats soon.

I'll see what I can do.
 
I recently flew SYD-HKG with Cathay in J Class.

Excellent service and the staff super friendly as I am used to with Cathay. However I didn't really like the seats. For some reason when the bed was lie flat, my legs didn't fit properly under the seat infront and they were cramped. For those of you who have met me, I am not the tallest person in Australia... so others would surely have the problem more than me?

Maybe I was using the seat badly. But for J class, I found it very uncomfy.

I slept ok, but I was in an unnatural sleeping position.
 
Wunala Dreaming said:
That is what I have heard too bravoecho1. I doubt we'll see the end of Regional J soon, but I *might* [emphasis - might] be able to find out whether we will be getting the newer J seats soon.

I'll see what I can do.
Long-haul J seats would also mean an F cabin since the only aircraft CX operate with their New Business Class seats and 2-class config is the A340-300.

I can't see them operating the A340-300 into BNE since their 2-class A330 and 2-class A340 have basically the same number of Y seats (265/267) and 14 less J seats, and yet significantly higher operating costs. The A340 is best kept for routes where the A330 does not have the legs, which is why they have the New Business Class seats to cover the longer routes.

And changing to a 3-class A330 would mean a drop to 40 premium seats (8F and 32J), which is not significant, and a drop from 267Y to 211Y. And if they are overselling Y now, they won't want to drop that capacity.

So I can't see CX bringing their New Business Class seats into BNE any time soon.
 
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