yohy?!
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Cathay Pacific Premium Economy - October 2012
Flight Number: QF87(initial) / CX100(actual)
Seat: 33D
Route: Sydney-Hong Kong
Metal: A330-300 (33G - New J, New W, New Y)
OTP: 15mins early into HKG
I'd done a whirlwind trip back home to SYD for a family wedding that coincided with a public holiday in Hong Kong nicely. On the way over I had travelled in Y on the 380 in seat 80A which was excellent. For the return trip I had decided to forgo QF127 in favour of the 87 which was a 333.
Why you ask? F Lounge of course! This was my first visit to the SYD F Lounge under my own 'power' having hit WP 2 weeks earlier. Everything went to plan and I enjoyed a delicious breakfast, a shower, a quick facial, lunch and lots of plane watching from next to the library (watched a VA 738 go-around in the high wind from eye level it seemed!) - an enjoyable 4.5 hours spent.
A few hours into my F lounge sojourn, I received a page by name to come to reception - an exciting moment as I hoped a surprise upgrade might be about to eventuate. Unfortunately not, the very nice lady advised me that QF87 was cancelled - however they were arranging to put me on to CX100 as we spoke. A little while later she dropped off my boarding pass with an The Arrivals Lounge invite whilst I was enjoying the raspberry sorbet with some Tattinger
.
So after a tearful goodbye to the F lounge I trundled down to gate 25 where CX100 was boarding - I was one of the last to arrive and duly passed across my boarding card to the Aussie lady doing the scanning (always catches me off guard seeing non-Asians in the CX red uniform). A wave of my BP triggered a low beep and red light ('hang on a sec...') and the lady reached across the desk with a secret smile and advised me I'd had a 'seat change' - hurrah! "PREMIUM ECONOMY" loomed large on my new BP.
This was an exciting turn of events, I'd be interested in trying the CX PE offering for some time despite some of the negative rumblings on the FT AM forum. Whilst not on a 380/747, CX does have much better timings into SYD as well as a newer product and a higher crew to pax ratio (I believe?).
I was tempted to skip down to the ramp to the gate but resisted, I was seated in 33D which was the last row of PE and quickly took my seat before the FA passed me a G.O.D. (Goods of Desire) branded amenities kit, I was alone in the row. Take-off was uneventful apart from some fairly sharp bumps as we cleared the clouds and turned right for HK.
Lunch was expedited fairly quickly, PE is served as if it is the front rows of Y from the rear gallery and I was offered 3 choices of main from the J menu along with salad leaves, bread, dessert and chocolate. I chose the Black Sesame Chicken which was nice enough but unfortunately the rice was almost totally dried out (again! like my last regional J flight) along with a choice of drinks, tea and coffee and Weiss ice cream bar.
Service throughout the flight was excellent but I did not receive any special treatment or welcome as a OWE - I believe the upgrade came through as my booking class on the transferred ticket was Y (got full Y SC for it) and someone else had already been given my seat.
The seat and IFE were very good - adequate padding, extra storage shelf under the IFE screen and good width. Recline was generous and would be ok for sleeping, the only draw back was the decidely Y style footrest - definitely worth trying for the front row of PE with the full leg rest I think.
3 hours prior to arrival our snack was served, hokkien noodles or a panini (I took the noodles) along with fruit and tea or coffee. Quite a nice taste and satisfying size.
I did have some gripes with having to use the Y toilets (although not many given the queues were not long and I had managed to avoid the full Y cabin). The service whilst good during meal times was a bit patchy given how far away the rear galley is from PE I think.
Overall I was pleasantly surprised, the PE hard product is quite good - almost equal to QF in my view (the IFE screen location is a plus on the seatback whilst the legrest is a minus). Service was quite good and the spacious and quiet nature of the cabin even right in front of Y made for an enjoyable flight. Row 33 as the last row of PE is fine as the seats have space to fully recline before the divider.
Legroom
Recline
Amenities
IFE
Flight Number: QF87(initial) / CX100(actual)
Seat: 33D
Route: Sydney-Hong Kong
Metal: A330-300 (33G - New J, New W, New Y)
OTP: 15mins early into HKG
I'd done a whirlwind trip back home to SYD for a family wedding that coincided with a public holiday in Hong Kong nicely. On the way over I had travelled in Y on the 380 in seat 80A which was excellent. For the return trip I had decided to forgo QF127 in favour of the 87 which was a 333.
Why you ask? F Lounge of course! This was my first visit to the SYD F Lounge under my own 'power' having hit WP 2 weeks earlier. Everything went to plan and I enjoyed a delicious breakfast, a shower, a quick facial, lunch and lots of plane watching from next to the library (watched a VA 738 go-around in the high wind from eye level it seemed!) - an enjoyable 4.5 hours spent.
A few hours into my F lounge sojourn, I received a page by name to come to reception - an exciting moment as I hoped a surprise upgrade might be about to eventuate. Unfortunately not, the very nice lady advised me that QF87 was cancelled - however they were arranging to put me on to CX100 as we spoke. A little while later she dropped off my boarding pass with an The Arrivals Lounge invite whilst I was enjoying the raspberry sorbet with some Tattinger
.So after a tearful goodbye to the F lounge I trundled down to gate 25 where CX100 was boarding - I was one of the last to arrive and duly passed across my boarding card to the Aussie lady doing the scanning (always catches me off guard seeing non-Asians in the CX red uniform). A wave of my BP triggered a low beep and red light ('hang on a sec...') and the lady reached across the desk with a secret smile and advised me I'd had a 'seat change' - hurrah! "PREMIUM ECONOMY" loomed large on my new BP.
This was an exciting turn of events, I'd be interested in trying the CX PE offering for some time despite some of the negative rumblings on the FT AM forum. Whilst not on a 380/747, CX does have much better timings into SYD as well as a newer product and a higher crew to pax ratio (I believe?).
I was tempted to skip down to the ramp to the gate but resisted, I was seated in 33D which was the last row of PE and quickly took my seat before the FA passed me a G.O.D. (Goods of Desire) branded amenities kit, I was alone in the row. Take-off was uneventful apart from some fairly sharp bumps as we cleared the clouds and turned right for HK.
Lunch was expedited fairly quickly, PE is served as if it is the front rows of Y from the rear gallery and I was offered 3 choices of main from the J menu along with salad leaves, bread, dessert and chocolate. I chose the Black Sesame Chicken which was nice enough but unfortunately the rice was almost totally dried out (again! like my last regional J flight) along with a choice of drinks, tea and coffee and Weiss ice cream bar.
Service throughout the flight was excellent but I did not receive any special treatment or welcome as a OWE - I believe the upgrade came through as my booking class on the transferred ticket was Y (got full Y SC for it) and someone else had already been given my seat.
The seat and IFE were very good - adequate padding, extra storage shelf under the IFE screen and good width. Recline was generous and would be ok for sleeping, the only draw back was the decidely Y style footrest - definitely worth trying for the front row of PE with the full leg rest I think.
3 hours prior to arrival our snack was served, hokkien noodles or a panini (I took the noodles) along with fruit and tea or coffee. Quite a nice taste and satisfying size.
I did have some gripes with having to use the Y toilets (although not many given the queues were not long and I had managed to avoid the full Y cabin). The service whilst good during meal times was a bit patchy given how far away the rear galley is from PE I think.
Overall I was pleasantly surprised, the PE hard product is quite good - almost equal to QF in my view (the IFE screen location is a plus on the seatback whilst the legrest is a minus). Service was quite good and the spacious and quiet nature of the cabin even right in front of Y made for an enjoyable flight. Row 33 as the last row of PE is fine as the seats have space to fully recline before the divider.
Legroom
Recline
Amenities
IFE
Attachments
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