Premium Economy - QF vs CX

[TwoWorld]

I flew Cathay’s PE to Hong Kong yesterday morning (my first time on CX) and I have to say I’m underwhelmed. The only really good thing about it is the seat (which is very comfortable, but so is Qantas’).

Main negative points: there were less than ten of us in the cabin, which has a capacity of 28 I think yet the service was the same as you get in Y, with the exception of a glass of orange juice before takeoff (no champagne). Not even a sparkling wine at lunch. Nobody came through the cabin offering drinks intra-mealtime and for some reason despite the 7:30am departure, the cabin was kept dark for the entire trip.

The food was definitely straight out of economy, as were the wines (I flew on to Singapore in Economy class later in the day and was served the same wines).

Also, I had been expecting to be able to borrow a cord to connect my iPad to the in-flight entertainment system (I know they are meant to have these on board). The first two crew didn’t know what I was talking about, and the third did but said they don’t have any and apologised.

I’m not generally a Qantas fan, but I much prefer the service and quality of meals/beverages on Qantas’ PE service.

Does anyone else have any thoughts?

 

[markis10]

Sounds like something of a soft launch, with issues in another thread regarding changed planes and no refund for a downgrade making it something of a lottery at present. With the current airfares on offer, I would expect QF to be superior given the premium they are asking for it by comparison to CX.

 

[Noob]

I think a CX media rep said their PE offering was intended to be a economy plus offering, not a business minus. QFs PE is firmly in the business minus category, reflecting something similar to a regional/domestic business offering, and of course this is reflected in the price (as Markis said above).

QF PE is a market leading product, but what PE is as a class seams still to be maturing.

 

[Robbietenor]

I think a CX media rep said their PE offering was intended to be a economy plus offering, not a business minus. QFs PE is firmly in the business minus category, reflecting something similar to a regional/domestic business offering, and of course this is reflected in the price (as Markis said above).

QF PE is a market leading product, but what PE is as a class seams still to be maturing.

I'll be interested to hear more about the CX premium economy product. Im travelling a lot from FRA to MEL this year and next. Im travelling Virgin PE to AUH and then etihad y onward in September and Qantas PE both ways next year. Now that Qantas are getting rid of their own flights to FRA id be interested in a oneworld PE longhaul replacement. How is the CX seat compared with Qantas and virgin?

 

[TwoWorld]

How is the CX seat compared with Qantas and virgin?

I haven't flown Virgin in PE but the CX seat is at least as comfortable as QF's (same width). If you sit in row 30, with the extra legroom and the bonus legrest, it beats QF's seats hands down in my view.

 

[Robbietenor]

Thanks twoworld, sounds good to me. Currently the flights are around 2000 euros return which seems good to me.

 

[Dalescott]

Was very disappointed with CX PE, HK to Lon. definitely Economy +, not Bus -.

 

[Sailinginoz]

I've paid for both PE in QF and CX from Sydney to Hong Kong return.

I'll continue to pay for the QF PE. I won't for the CX and will go economy. The extra money for CX is not worth it.

 

[blu]

The lack of fizz has been commented on elsewhere (reading a TR yesterday that I now can't find, may have been on FT).
We went PE on QF31 and was amazed at the high level of service, and even submitted comments back to QF on return.

 

[drewbles]

I think a CX media rep said their PE offering was intended to be a economy plus offering, not a business minus. QFs PE is firmly in the business minus category, reflecting something similar to a regional/domestic business offering, and of course this is reflected in the price (as Markis said above).

QF PE is a market leading product, but what PE is as a class seams still to be maturing.

Considering the constant downgrading of the PE F&B on QF, i'd say they're shifting tactics. I know I've heard QF go on record saying it's J- not Y+, but the reality is different. Champagne has become sparkling wine. J wines have become non-J wines. Food has gone down too. Price? That's stayed up there thanks!

Having flown VA's Y+ quite a lot, i'd say the QF seat is a much nicer seat to park your backside in, but that's about it. The service on VA has always been stunning. The F&B isn't great, but for the substantial saving in dollars I get over QF (Talking AU-USA here), i'm not fussed.

 

[Happy Trails]

I recently did SYD-HKG-BKK return with CX in PE on the long sectors.
Loads were very light in both directions.
Agree the service and F&B were strictly economy, but the thing that grated most was the plastic cup for the wine service.
Welcome drinks were served after take-off SYD-HKG but before take-off on the return.
Row 30 is the place to be with acres of legroom. But having said that, I found the footrest didn’t extend quite far enough to be comfortable and I’m not that tall. My carry-on bag made a nice ottoman though.
A nice big IFE screen but it kept flopping down and I had to support with my knee. I read somewhere that this is a common problem and a fix is on the way.
At the sale price of $1504 I was more than satisfied but I wouldn’t pay the regular price which is around $2500.
I have another two trips booked in the coming months so I’ll be interested to see how it develops.

 

[TwoWorld]

I recently did SYD-HKG-BKK return with CX in PE on the long sectors.
But having said that, I found the footrest didn’t extend quite far enough to be comfortable and I’m not that tall. My carry-on bag made a nice ottoman though.
A nice big IFE screen but it kept flopping down and I had to support with my knee. I read somewhere that this is a common problem and a fix is on the way.

I think we must have been in the same seat (30A). My screen wouldn't stay up either - but luckily there was nobody next to me (nor in the middle row) so I could just move next door. With the seat - I had the same problem, but discovered after half an hour there is an almost hidden button on the footrest - if you press it and push down on the footrest at the same time, you can extend it...not exactly intuitive.

 

[Happy Trails]

I think we must have been in the same seat (30A). My screen wouldn't stay up either - but luckily there was nobody next to me (nor in the middle row) so I could just move next door. With the seat - I had the same problem, but discovered after half an hour there is an almost hidden button on the footrest - if you press it and push down on the footrest at the same time, you can extend it...not exactly intuitive.

Yes I was in 30A, I discovered the hidden footrest lever (when all else fails read the instructions) but still found the fully extended length inadequate.