[samuel]

I’m looking at options to fly London to Hong Kong, Business Class and Cathay is coming up with the best price. I’m normally fiercely loyal to BA but at £11,000 for my dates, it’s out of the question.

Are there any notable differences between CX’s Business Class product on the LGW A350 and LHR B777?

Thanks

[DavidArnold]

Hi Samuel, may l ask when you are looking to go to HKG as £11,000 seems way above the norm which even next week and towards the end of September BA comes in at less than £5,000. Also if you are looking to combine a hotel then look at the current World Sale as there are some good deal with BA. However as a comparison l think Cathay is better as direct aisle access, better food and a newer aircraft is a clincher although l enjoy BA if a good deal can be had.

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samuel

[samuel]

Hi,

Thanks – I’m looking to do multi city – London/Bangkok/Hong Kong/London. Don’t need a hotel for the whole trip.

Travel dates: o/w 231218 rtn 010119

[DavidArnold]

Ah well that does explain the high one way costs as a return to Hong Kong on those days would be around £6,000 wigh BA. As it is an Open Jaw ticket involving Bangkok outbound l personally have never done this so l personally would book a return to Bangkok and a separate return from Bangkok to HKG.

Looking at this just now with BA to Bangkok return and CX from Bangkok to HKG to complete your travelling the savings are considerable.

Beet of luck.

[SGJNI1961]

@ Samuel

As suggested above, look into two separate tickets or even HKG/BKK on Avios, there are often very reasonable tickets in all classes.

Personally I really dislike 777’s, particularly BA’s.The seats and crew on CX are better and often the food is also and their lounges if you don’t have status.

[frustratedflyer]

I think you can do better on pricing than that. According to ITA Matrix BA to BKK and back from HKG with Cathay in the middle is about £4k on those dates with flights to HKG on the 25,6,7,8,9 Dec available. Another option would be Finnair at about £2400 but you would need to go via Helsinki.

[AlanOrton1]

Hi Samuel – I have flown both and would opt for CX, purely because the seats are a bit more spacious and private. If you go for a window seat, there is no-one next to you and you have direct access to the aisles.
If you are a BA GCH you can access the F section of the LGW lounge, which is perfectly decent.

[MartynSinclair]

@samuel – I can not comment on the CX A350, but business class on the 777 ex Heathrow feels like being in a ‘coffin’ compared to a window seat, upstairs on the BA A380 to HKG. My t/c knows to avoid the BA 777 when he makes my bookings..

Even £5,000 seems very high for this routing….

[samuel]

Thanks all. I’m not a fan of the 777 – I don’t hate it but if there’s any other options I’ll try to make those work.

In the end found a GREAT fare on CX LHR-HKG-BKK-HKG-LGW – significantly cheaper than BA and great value considering the time of year. I snapped it up as I couldn’t quite believe it. SO it will be 777 from LHR, and rtn to LGW on the 350. I get BA Executive Club tier points and Avois on CX don’t I?

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GivingupBA

[AlanOrton1]

You do earn Avios and tier points, though you’ll earn less Avios than compared with BA, though more tier points.

Personally I don’t think there is much of a difference between the CX 777 & A350, both have a very similar (excellent) hard product.

[esselle]

A350 quieter and generally feels a bit more spacious due to overheads etc, but no discernible difference in seat/IFE/service against 773

[MarkivJ]

I flew both this year HKG-YVR. Both were very good. A350
Felt quieter But that’s all

[IanFromHKG]

The padding on the CX J seat is not as good as the BA J seat, if I’m honest, and there are polarised views on the food (a lot of CX regulars complain about it, but then a lot of BA regulars complain about the BA food too!). The service on CX, however, will be very good. It won’t be as exceptional as the rare, but occasional, truly above-average BA crew. Conversely it will never be anywhere near as bad as the below-average BA crews. It will, instead, be consistently very good. You can expect to be addressed by name (mostly by memory), and CX crew will always, very happily, answer the call bell, so have no reservations on that score. Some say the service is a little more robotic, and perhaps that’s true. But if you want something – ask and ye shall receive.

In just about every other respect (I mean other than the padding) the CX seat is miles ahead of the BA J seat, and comparable to the BA F seat. Better than the B787 BA F seat, in fact, as it is more spacious. Superb IFE, masses of storage space (including a dedicated shoe locker on the aisle side of the seat base), connectivity options so you can play your own content on the screen which is, incidentally, about twice the size of the BA equivalent, vastly more private… I could go on, but there is a reason that direct flights on on CX are usually more expensive than BA. You have the opportunity to get CX at a discount – grab it, and enjoy!

[FrDougal]

Long time BA user but grabbed a bargain business fare with CX to Melbourne from Dublin for an upcoming trip. Delighted, no faffing around via Heathrow, the seat on the A350 seems fantastic and can’t wait to kill some hours in what I consider to be some of the best airline lounges going when in HKG.

If I were you I’d be selecting CX!

[Dai Siu Tse]

As some friends commented above, seat configuration in CX is definitely better on CX J class. In my experience, service and food are slightly better than BA. If you never been on CX long haul, go for it.

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