Seats on CX in J between MEL/HKG

[Optics]

Hi, I am booked to fly to Seoul from Melbourne via HKG next week in J on CX134/416 and CX419/105. The following was posted by NM on another thread:

Remember that for travel between UK and Australia, you also have a choice of CX via HKG. Will not be a single flight number, but generally similar pricing and still OneWorld. The CX service is superior to BA and QF. The CX New Business Class seats are more like QF being flat but sloping, but those seats are only on flights to SYD and MEL. CX flights to BNE are on A330 aircraft with their regional business class seats which are not fully flat.

Now I am confused , my itinerary shows the a/c for the MEL/HKG legs as being A330s. So what type of seat/bed will I get? It is not that important on 134, as that is a daytime flight, but 105 is overnight, so I would prefer a skybed.

I have heard the service is great, and it appears they have AVOD, which will be good on the daytime flight.

One other concern is, I only get an hour to enjoy the CX F lounge (I am WP) in HKG both ways, which is not enough .

 

[Optics]

Should have done my re3search first . I have now found the answer, also posted by NM (a veritable gold mine of info).

Originally posted by NM:
CX fligthts from BNE, CNS and PER all use the 2-class A330 with their regional business class, not the new business class flat/sloping sleeper seats. Their MEL flights use 3-class A330 aircraft with the new seats.

One way to tell is to look if F class is sold on the flight. If it is, then its the 3-class A330 and hence has the new business class sleeper/slider seats.

If you want flat seats BNE-HKG you need to use QF on their A330, which all have Skybeds - just not daily flights. This is why I am heading to HKG next week via MEL.

I also found very good reports about the food and service on CX .
So, flatbeds, AVOD, good food, wine and service, fantastic. Now if only CX gave the Status bonus for points .

 

[Mal]

I didn't find their J "sloping" seat to be great. I slept, but not as well as I did on skybed.

I think it was too short for me, or maybe I slipped too much.

Service wise I have always found CX to be great. Have never had a dud flight with them.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

The one and only time I flew CX A330 I got an upgrade to F. Very nice - shame it was a short flight.

 

[Optics]

Another query for the experienced here, how can I check what seat has been allocated on these flights? The itinerary provided my TA has a Galileo Ref, rather than an Amadeus, so I can't use CheckmyTrip.com. ViewTrip.com uses Galileo, but doesn't seem to show seats allocated. Any ideas? Also, will my OW(E) status get me a good seat?

 

[serfty]

Another query for the experienced here, how can I check what seat has been allocated on these flights? The itinerary provided my TA has a Galileo Ref, rather than an Amadeus, so I can't use CheckmyTrip.com. ViewTrip.com uses Galileo, but doesn't seem to show seats allocated. Any ideas? Also, will my OW(E) status get me a good seat?

Best way is to call the Airline armed with your booking reference and other details & ask them directly.

 

[Optics]

Best way is to call the Airline armed with your booking reference and other details & ask them directly.

Thanks, of course you are correct. It is amazing how easy it is to get so caught up using the internet for these types of requests, and forget the simple old manual method.

 

[NM]

Galileo references can be viewed at Viewtrip.com . If the travel agent has added your QF FF number to the booking, you should be able to find it under the Your Bookings section of the QF FF web site, which will also provide the Amadeus booking reference for you.

Note also that although QF does not pay the status bonus for CX flights, AA does pay the same miles for QF, AA, BA and CX (and all other partner airlines) for all business class travel. So there is no penalty to flying with CX when using the AAdvantage program.

 

[Optics]

Best way is to call the Airline armed with your booking reference and other details & ask them directly.

Very good advice thanks. I just rang and they have me confirmed in 12C MEL/HKG and 12G HKG/MEL, which seatexpert describes as the best seats on this configuration .
And I have to say CX are great, they confirmed all this for me, even though they did not even have my OW(E) membership linked to the booking at that time.

 

[Optics]

Should have done my re3search first . I have now found the answer, also posted by NM (a veritable gold mine of info).

Originally posted by NM:
CX fligthts from BNE, CNS and PER all use the 2-class A330 with their regional business class, not the new business class flat/sloping sleeper seats. Their MEL flights use 3-class A330 aircraft with the new seats.

One way to tell is to look if F class is sold on the flight. If it is, then its the 3-class A330 and hence has the new business class sleeper/slider seats.

If you want flat seats BNE-HKG you need to use QF on their A330, which all have Skybeds - just not daily flights. This is why I am heading to HKG next week via MEL.

I also found very good reports about the food and service on CX .
So, flatbeds, AVOD, good food, wine and service, fantastic. Now if only CX gave the Status bonus for points .

Well, I must say I was very disappointed in the J class seats on the CX A330 . They are flat, but are narrower, shorter, harder and on a greater slope than the Skybed. Being 186 cm, I found it near impossible to sleep, even on the overnight HKG/ADL/MEL flight. Not only is the slope greater, but there is no step at the bottom to stop you sliding down. To counter this and the shortness you have to try and sleep on your side, but then you find it is hard and narrow.

But, the food, wine, service and AVOD are very good, so shouldn't complain too much .

 

[NM]

Well, I must say I was very disappointed in the J class seats on the CX A330 . They are flat, but are narrower, shorter, harder and on a greater slope than the Skybed. Being 186 cm, I found it near impossible to sleep, even on the overnight HKG/ADL/MEL flight. Not only is the slope greater, but there is no step at the bottom to stop you sliding down. To counter this and the shortness you have to try and sleep on your side, but then you find it is hard and narrow.

But, the food, wine, service and AVOD are very good, so shouldn't complain too much .

I do agree with your assessment. The CX long-haul business class seats are a huge improvement on the short-haul seats, but not quite as god as the QF Skybeds. But the CX food, beverage and service is better than QF.

I find the same thing with First Class between CX and QF. Even though the QF cabin is more crowded (14 seats vs CX 12 seats), I find the QF F seats more comfortable and the 110V AC power is an advantage. But CX food, beverage and service in F is certainly a cut above QF (which is good in its own right).

So if you are just wanting to sleep, then take QF. But for a day-time flight or if wanting to enjoy the overall experience, I still like CX in both J and F.

 

[serfty]

Well, I must say I was very disappointed in the J class seats on the CX A330 . They are flat, but are narrower, shorter, harder and on a greater slope than the Skybed. Being 186 cm, I found it near impossible to sleep, even on the overnight HKG/ADL/MEL flight. Not only is the slope greater, but there is no step at the bottom to stop you sliding down. To counter this and the shortness you have to try and sleep on your side, but then you find it is hard and narrow.

But, the food, wine, service and AVOD are very good, so shouldn't complain too much .

I flew on one of these seats between JFK and HKG last week. I am 183cm and found it just long enough. If I were any taller I may have had more trouble. Also, I was in bulkhead Row 11 with a special shelf/handle construction in front of the seat. It contained carpeted indents for the bed to move into. My feet/toes rested on this when fully extended and it took the place of a 'step'. I found it quite comfy and slept 9 hours.

 

[Optics]

I flew on one of these seats between JFK and HKG last week. I am 183cm and found it just long enough. If I were any taller I may have had more trouble. Also, I was in bulkhead Row 11 with a special shelf/handle construction in front of the seat. It contained carpeted indents for the bed to move into. My feet/toes rested on this when fully extended and it took the place of a 'step'. I found it quite comfy and slept 9 hours.

I was in row 12, which was recommended as the best by "seatexpert.com" (I realy can't see why, I would have preferred row 11 ). There was a similar indentation for your feet built into the bottom of the seat in front. However, due to the slope on the seat, I was continually sliding down to such an extent that my toes would be jammed into the indentation, and it was not comfy. But I am a very poor sleeper, so my experience may be worse than others in the same situation.