Cathay J Class A330 MEL-HKG

[Harpoon]

Hi All,

About to book some awards flight with QFF points and I can get J class MEL-HKG seats on Cathay on the days I want instead of going via sydney and getting the A380 J class. prefer no stops in syd.

Is the A330 J product any good? Never flown Cathay EVER so after a quick opinion. I've flown Malaysia J and Qantas (non skybed) J, so those are my only comparisons.

Specifically:
Is the seat good for tall people? I'm 6'3. Does it lie flat?
Is it old/new?
Any good for couples to chat? Will be going with the wife.

Are there various versions of cathay J depending on the particular plane u get? (luck of draw?)

Thanks guys.

 

[moa999]

There is a new and old setup - the old is only five years old
Both are fully flat and OK for me at 6'3.

Old is herringbone 1x1x1 been described as coffin like and is fairly thin.
New is less angled at 1x2x1 and definitely better for couples.

Some threads around with the rollout.

 

[Harpoon]

Thanks.

Any way I can tell if it's new vs old on Cathay website?

 

[moa999]

Seatmap should show.

Looks like Mel rollout not to Sep12
Cathay Pacific: new business class for Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide in late 2012 - Flights | hotels | frequent flyer | business class - Australian Business Traveller

 

[Harpoon]

Oh good. I'm booking for late Oct

 

[moa999]

Randomly checking expertflyer for 30 oct
Cx178, 134 and 104 are all showing seats a,d, g, k -- ie new configuration.

 

[Harpoon]

Thanks moa!

 

[Harpoon]

Sorry one more query...

Turns out I can't get a direct HKG-MEL flight back in J class. The only option is via other airports Grrrrrrr. Now am i right in assuming it's because Qantas hasn't released seats for HKG-MEL for October yet? Or are the J awards seats genuinely booked out on both QF and CX? I can't find a direct flight back on any day in Oct with QF points Where as flying MEL-HKG has plenty of direct flight availaibility. So annoying!! is this a QF policy to make you pay for one leg??

I can come back via sydney but it turns a 9 hour journey into a 15 hour journey :/ Should I wait to see if seats get released later in the year? or is that highly unlikely?

I thought about ringing QFF and asking what the deal is, but then I thought better of that and decided you guys would probably know why this is and whether I should just suck it up and come home via sydney or wait?

 

[DTM1]

I would grab the seat via SYD now and then keep checking if you can change it closer to the date. better to have a J seat confirmed (even on a slightly longer routing) than Y, and these seats disappear very quickly.

 

[Harpoon]

Okay thanks for that. Might book it in and then can possibly change later on if something becomes available.

Here's another question: Would you go direct MEL-HKG in CX J, or MEL-SYD-SIN in First on the QF A380? I need to get to Vietnam so either HKG or SIN is fine.