Singapore – BA vs Cathay

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Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 28 total)

  • nmtraveller
    Participant

    Hello,

    Planning a trip to Singapore. For roughly the same price I have the choice between:
    – Cathay Pacific in business both ways – never flown with them. one stop but overall duration not bad and flight times convenient.
    – BA with First one way and return in PE – never been in the Concorde room, never tried the A380, direct flights always more convenient of course.

    What do you guys think? I could also do BA business both ways but I just don’t like Club World (personal preference).

    Thanks for your suggestions.


    openfly
    Participant

    If you choose the BA A380 First option I suggest that you grab row 2 well fwd of the incredibly noisy galley!!


    esselle
    Participant

    Would tend towards CX.

    Haven’t flown F on BA for a couple of years, but that, and a number of previous experiences in F, including their 380, suggest BA manage in the range really disappointing to shockingly poor.


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    CX. It’s a long flight in WTP (as much as I like it for shorter sectors) and BA F is hit and miss.

    Don’t even think about BA CW v CX business 🙂


    CathayLoyalist2
    Participant

    In my unbiased and humble opinion Cathay every time. CX´s business class layout 1-2-1 trumps ( “it will be great”) BA with the awful 8 across and as the return sector is long you will appreciate Business Class. The stopover in HKG will afford you the opportunity to visit either The Wing or The Pier First Class Lounges if you have the status otherwise the Business Class lounges are good.


    JPNU
    Participant

    CX
    No contest.
    Never had a bad flight with them.


    cotswoldsw
    Participant

    My vote would be CX. J isn’t far off BA F although the catering won’t be as good. The CX seat is great and whilst I definitely prefer the A380 to the 777, a bed for the long flight home surely trumps WT+.
    I like the Concorde Room but the new lounges in T3 are fantastic, especially if you’re OW Emerald.
    Finally, if time isn’t such an issue, you’ll earn more tier points/miles.


    nmtraveller
    Participant

    Thanks all. Interesting to see such an overwhelming vote in favour of CX! While I wasn’t expecting votes in favour of BA CW I thought First would fare a bit better vs. CX J…


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    Whilst I am highly critical (as most people are) about the BA CW product, as long as I am upstairs on the 380 by the window (with far more space) I manage 7 – 8 hours sleep to Asia. I will avoid the 777 like the plague.. the window seat feels very cramped…

    Don’t be taken in by the Concorde lounge.. as part of your decision though, I don’t find it anything overly special.

    Personally, i would take the BA flight to SIN via HKG… the lounges in HKG are certainly worth a visit…

    Let us know your decision, also would be interested to hear the price being paid..


    nmtraveller
    Participant

    The price is roughly the same for both options at around £2,200. However I got a bit carried away with the CX flight times. The website says “from £2,200” but in reality the flight with convenient times are in excess of £4,000. In order to get the cheap price, I would need to add 4.5 hours journey time each way compared to the BA direct option.


    AlanOrton1
    Participant

    It also depends on how much you value your time at home, with loved ones etc.

    If I was offered BA CW (as Martyn says, take a window seat upstairs) both ways at the same price as CX J with a layover of any length in HK, I would definitely opt for the former. (I’d try to do this as the downside of WTP is greater than an uplift to F, in my mind).

    My reasons being I like to limit the amount of time away from home when I travel and adding a significant number of hours isn’t something that works for me.
    Also, there is less chance of delays as if a connecting flight goes tech, you could be stuck an additional period of time waiting for the next available option

    The last one happened to me a couple of years back when I was on a multi leg route through Asia and CX offered a good fare as well as an internal flight as part of the package. It meant I had to fly home SIN – HKG – LHR. Unfortunately the SIN-HKG leg went tech (a morning flight) and so there was no way I was going to make the last afternoon flight CX operate to LHR. Result was I was put in a day room at Changi from around 11am until the BA A380 flight, which they booked me onto, left at circa 11pm that evening. CX handled it well, but does highlight issues can happen with connecting flights etc.


    canucklad
    Participant

    I’ve never had the privilege to fly BA in “F”, but from comments made on here from those who have I get the impression that it should be re-designated as “PJ” similar to the relationship between “Y” and “PE”

    And although BA’s cabin crew are excellent when they get it right, all too often you’ll see comments about inconsistency and occasionally rubbish in-flight service.

    Rarely if ever do you see negative remarks about Cathays cabin crew.

    And if you’ve never been to HK, you could possibly arrange a longer transfer time to allow you a short visit to the city, which is incredibly easy to access from Chep Lap Kok


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    [quote quote=847571]I’ve never had the privilege to fly BA in “F”, but from comments made on here from those who have I get the impression that it should be re-designated as “PJ” similar to the relationship between “Y” and “PE”[/quote]

    To be fair to BA F, the seat is comfortable and much better than CW, but I think that BA no longer really have the know how or facilities to consistently provide a proper F class experience.

    I agree with Martyn Sinclair about the Concorde Room, it’s not that it’s a bad lounge, just not what one associates with a proper F lounge.


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    [quote quote=847543]
    If I was offered BA CW (as Martyn says, take a window seat upstairs) both ways at the same price as CX J with a layover of any length in HK, I would definitely opt for the former. (I’d try to do this as the downside of WTP is greater than an uplift to F, in my mind).
    [/quote]

    Good points, Alan, it does depend on one’s valuation of time (and also the hassle of connecting).


    Pies1311
    Participant

    As it looks like you are sticking to One World I also recommend Qatar. I have used them a lot from Singapore to Europe and I highly recommend. Lounge in Doha is very good.

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