CX (not so) new J and F – finally!!

[Lobster]

Thanks for the TR StarG. Yes I was definitely impressed with the new F seats when I tried them last year. Better tan aything SQ offer at the moment. But then I think SQ have let their martketeers design their seats currently so they concentrate on what advertising they can say about, widest this, biggest that etc rather than travellers who will spend the time in them. I think the 77W seat is a great example yes it is the widest F seat in the world but it is also one of the most uncomfortable I have experienced. The service on CX I thought was good but a definite notch below SQ.

[StarG]

Very nice of them to do so - a nice gesture considering you've just travelled on their F service longhaul.

Maybe it is time for you to try the alternative airline to Asia?

The F seats look nice and cosy...but the J seats cramped. Gives the impression that they were trying to pack a lot of seats in.

Indeed. I did a rough comparison between CX 77W and SQ 77W (both equipped with the latest F and J). CX puts just 6 seats in roughly the same area SQ puts 8 seats for First Class. In J however, CX packs in several more seats than SQ in roughly the same space.

The service on CX I thought was good but a definite notch below SQ.

F long haul and regionals were excellent in my experience, but regional J can be quite bad at times. Overall, I still feel more assured of good service standards when I board an SQ flight (regardless of class of service/route) than a CX flight.

[SQFAN]

Maybe it is time for you to try the alternative airline to Asia? .

CX F, very much like to but it's not going to happen. It's expensive.

[dragonairhk]

Fascinating and detailed, I read every word!

Anyway , this configuration can be found on AC, VS, not too special about that

And the CX Seat colour is a bit dull and boring

[lingua101]

i flew on CX B773 4 times (all on SIN - BKK - SIN legs). and all the trips i was stuck on the old B773. I think one of their oldest B773. (flew on their C 3 times and Y 1 time). Even in C class the seat is very old.. even worse than the "old" B744. on 1 occasion, when the air stewardess offer me the pre-flight drink, she can't even pull the drinking tray, as it stucks badly

I flew on their A330 (2 times in C) and B744 also (1 times in C and 1 times in Y). their A330 is the best C class so far. haven't had so much luck in their new C class

[HUGE AL]

HUGE AL's Take

Rather than start another thread, I figured I'd just tack onto this one -- continuing StarG's excellent commentary via addressing his bullet points.

F class
- Excellent product overall, better than SQ new F IMHO. This one is more spacious, with electrical movement to bed mode.
- There is a closet in every suite. Plenty of other storage space as well (armrest table, side table, on top of the monitor, magazine rack, etc).
- I don’t need an enclosed suite to have a private feel in F. This was good enough.
- Bed is sturdy and very comfortable, with the most comfortable duvet in the air.
- Food was just so so. The only parts I liked were the classic caviar & salmon starter, the soup and the dessert (it is nice to have several dessert options - more than on SQ).
- Service is as always (in my limited experience) excellent on CX F. Nothing to complain about.
- Again, very nice & interesting amenity kits on CX F. The Victorinox bag is of the perfect size. I don’t like the contents of the gents kit (Acca Kappa products) though.
- The Shanghai Tang PJs are black with orange linings.

• I'm not sure I would personally say it's better than SQ's New F, but I did sleep like a bear for 11 hours... But perhaps that had to do with the poorly handled 5 hour delay we had...as well as getting our dinner and drinking while on the ground (quite a fun change as I sure as hell didn't want to be hanging out in the terminal during the wee hours of the morning -- and the Krug was FLOWING ). This allowed us to immediately have our beds made when we got airborne.
  
• The closet and storage were excellent.
  
• Agree.
  
• I too was digging on the duvet. However, it was very needed as the cabin temp was kinda cold.
  
• Caviar was OK. It took some convincing and some repetitive requests for them to magically come up with a plastic caviar spoon when they kept telling me they didn't have them and had no clue why in the world I would need one. The steak was about a half centimeter thick. If it's that thin, don't ask me how I would like it cooked. The Krug and wines were very nice and, due to the delay, the entire cabin (we were 8/9) were partying quite nicely... Guess it helped us forget the lackluster food.
  
• Service was above average -- not as good as NH or SQ...even though on my last flights with the latter two were not the most genuine service I have received. After requesting 5 bottles of water while slumbering, they still couldn't figure out that MR HUGE kinda likes to have full bottles always at his side -- something NH and SQ always take care of... Also, reports of the crew eating in front of passengers and not attending to the cabin are true.
  
• Got the Bally bag (very nice) with the Acca Kappa products.
  
• PJ's are still the green Kung Fu Theater ones. I like them, but wish they did not go with the snaps.

One thing to add: The IFE (which really had zero selections) is tied directly to the flight time of the city pairs you are flying. If the flight time is less than 1.5 hours, your IFE options will only be those under that time frame -- meaning no movies. This can be overridden by the FA. However, they will have full control of your video and could not fast foward to where I left off. I know this because of their poor handling of my flight when we had to land in another country instead of HKG since the crew ran out of hours.

Overall, I would gladly fly them again. Enjoyed the bed. They have Krug and didn't run out. When I did find the one movie that was acceptable, their system was quite nice...even though I didn't get to finish it. The crew was genuinely nice despite their shortcomings -- which weren't as bad as I expected. The Pier was very cool and I enjoyed the privacy of the day rooms.

[sutrakhk]

One thing to add: The IFE (which really had zero selections) is tied directly to the flight time of the city pairs you are flying. If the flight time is less than 1.5 hours, your IFE options will only be those under that time frame -- meaning no movies. This can be overridden by the FA. However, they will have full control of your video and could not fast foward to where I left off. I know this because of their poor handling of my flight when we had to land in another country instead of HKG since the crew ran out of hours.

I agree with you about the IFE, I've done TPE-HKG-SIN-BKK-HKG-TPE in the new business class , but the only sector with movies offered was HKG-SIN, SIN-BKK-HKG still no movies, only TV shows, luckily as a Hong Konger there was many TV programs from TVB. I wonder why CX cannot let the passengers choose by themselves?

According to my memory, when I was doing the SQ 954/955 turnaround on A340-500 in 2008, the guy seat next to me (Frequent SIN-CGK flyer) was urged to watch the ending of the "Kung Fu Basketball", he told me he have splited the movies in three parts due to the short flight time. I think it is what the definition of AV on demand!

I don't know why CX cannot do something like that

[StarG]

I know this because of their poor handling of my flight when we had to land in another country instead of HKG since the crew ran out of hours.

Five hours delay PLUS a diversion?
This is the first time I have heard of diversion because crew ran out of hours. From what I understand, SQ would usually send a new set of crew to depart with the delayed flight if crew hours is going to be exceeded.

Weren't you glad you were in F with all the delays, HUGE AL? At least all the waiting couldn't be too excruciating.

I once encountered a 3 hours onboard delay for a 1.5 hours SIN-CGK flight, in Y!
Not a pleasant wait for sure.

[HUGE AL]

Five hours delay PLUS a diversion?
This is the first time I have heard of diversion because crew ran out of hours. From what I understand, SQ would usually send a new set of crew to depart with the delayed flight if crew hours is going to be exceeded.

Yeah, well we didn't hear that until much later as the original excuse was completely unbelievable...especially to most of the guys in F who worked for jet fuel companies.

Weren't you glad you were in F with all the delays, HUGE AL? At least all the waiting couldn't be too excruciating.

Absolutely! We were concerned that they would offload us with the new USA law about keeping passengers onboard for more than 3 hours. Thankfully, we simply kept drinking and were served while they replaced engine parts.

Which is why I really dislike flying the 744s. They're old. LET THEM GO!

I once encountered a 3 hours onboard delay for a 1.5 hours SIN-CGK flight, in Y!
Not a pleasant wait for sure.

I'm sure you must be referring to a bad dream you were having. After all, my good friend, StarG, does not fly in the back of the bus.

[StarG]

Yeah, well we didn't hear that until much later as the original excuse was completely unbelievable...especially to most of the guys in F who worked for jet fuel companies.

I wonder what they said initially.
I have once encountered a delay of around 1.5-2 hours due to overfueling of the aircraft!
The 744 had to be pushed back (after some cargoes were offloaded), then sat around on the tarmac doing nothing other than burning fuel for around 1 hour to be within the allowed MTOW.
This was CX ex-SFO.

[HUGE AL]

Entrees Still Suck

We had TWO Supper Services on CX888 YVR-JFK because we hit the worst turbulence I've EVER gone through -- dishes went airborne.

So I had a taste of the cod AND the pork chop. Steamed cod was BONE DRY. Pork chop took 15 draws of a knife before any piece could be cut.

But everything else ROCKED!


Also had the new config -- which is just a color change, tiny bit larger closet, and tiny windows for the middle seats -- from what the crew and I could garner.

New PJs as well. Real button holes and much softer (organic) cotton.