Airplane Thread

[no_mercy]

Originally Posted by Amuro Ray

While Air Canada does that...
I'm still waiting for this to happen...

I hate to burst your bubble. As much as I love the 747 for all my life and I do follow CX fleet structure, I really do not see it being in their fleet. IMO the aircraft isn't efficient enough to outweigh fewer seats on the 77W. If they go for VLA, I would think it would be the A388 but that is a huge step up in seat count from 777...

You can catch CX 748 cargo that comes in and out of YVR at times. Awesome bird for sure.

[v_tec]

Originally Posted by no_mercy

IMO the aircraft isn't efficient enough to outweigh fewer seats on the 77W. If they go for VLA, I would think it would be the A388 but that is a huge step up in seat count from 777...

Seats isn't about everything. A large portion of CX's business includes cargo - both through their cargo jets and pax jets. A 748i would be more realistic with CX's routes than a 388.

[lowside67]

Originally Posted by Lord Disick

Sad that the 747-8 is probably the last passenger variant of the 747. Was hoping to see a replacement for the 747 but looks like that replacement will be the 777x.

Btw, has anyone flown on AC's new 773 with the new biz class and premium economy? The 3 config 773 has almost 400 eco seats because they added a extra seat in the middle aisle so it's now 3-4-3 compared to the 3-3-3.

No pod style business class seats, supposedly the seats are uncomfortable, controls suck and lack privacy from what I've read over on flyertalk.

Spoiler!

I am going to be flying on Air Canada's new 777HD today from YYZ-YVR. I was upgraded a few days ago but there were no single 'throne' seats available - I set an ExpertFlyer alert and sure enough, one freed up, and I managed to snipe it, so I will be in 6A on the way home. I have logged many hours with AC in the past two years, some in economy and a decent amount upgraded to business in the pods, I am very interested to compare back and forth. From the Flyertalk threads, you would think that flying on this airplane (even in business) is about as enjoyable as being tortured, but they are also the biggest group of whiners ever...

[lowside67]

I figured you guys might get a kick out of my upcoming adventure. I am going travelling for about 5 months, mostly backpacking, but I am a bit of a plane geek and am travelling on an Aeroplan First class travel reward.



This is the current itinerary, but the plan is to switch my return from FRA-ORD-YVR to FRA-YVR in Lufthansa first class, getting to try out the Lufthansa First Class Terminal. Availability for this cabin doesn't open until 2 weeks before the flight so I will make that change once I am on the trip.

Some of the highlights in terms of flights... Thai A380 First Class FRA-BKK, Thai 744 New First Class BKK-HND, All Nippon 777 New First Square HND-FRA, and hopefully Lufthansa's new style 747-400 with full time bed first class for FRA-YVR.

Mark

[G]

^I flew Thai once and I felt like they weren't as professional/safe as other airlines (i.e. did not check seat belts, seats, tables, etc.) Let me know what you think on your trip.

I would be interested in a trip report! Have fun!

[lowside67]

Originally Posted by G

^I flew Thai once and I felt like they weren't as professional/safe as other airlines (i.e. did not check seat belts, seats, tables, etc.) Let me know what you think on your trip.

I would be interested in a trip report! Have fun!

I have flown them before in economy and found it to be relatively comparable to most other carriers, but it seems that by most reports, the Thai F experience is pretty solid - especially the spa and first class lounge in the BKK airport.

A380 suite:


Thai 747 new suite:

[CP.AR]

Originally Posted by no_mercy

I hate to burst your bubble. As much as I love the 747 for all my life and I do follow CX fleet structure, I really do not see it being in their fleet. IMO the aircraft isn't efficient enough to outweigh fewer seats on the 77W. If they go for VLA, I would think it would be the A388 but that is a huge step up in seat count from 777...

You can catch CX 748 cargo that comes in and out of YVR at times. Awesome bird for sure.

i know
I can always wish I guess

Originally Posted by v_tec

Seats isn't about everything. A large portion of CX's business includes cargo - both through their cargo jets and pax jets. A 748i would be more realistic with CX's routes than a 388.

This an the fact the the 380 doesn`t really suit Cathay`s routes too well

[roastpuff]

Mark, it looks like an awesome trip. I'm insanely jealous! Hope you enjoy it!
Posted via RS Mobile

[Harvey Specter]

Let us know how the new AC biz class is. I'm suppose to flying to Toronto end of this month for work, going to go business but I usually have to take the first flight out from YVR and I get stuck on the A321. Awful plane to spend 4+hours on.


Not too many Airliners are going for the 7478 to use on passenger routes because the 77X and A350 are the two airplanes most airliners are going to get for med-long haul looking a few years ahead. The 7478 has done well when it comes to cargo but passenger wise it hasn't and I don't know if Boeing was really intended it to be successful passenger jet.

Recent flight I took from YVR - LHR on BA's club world on the 744;





Arrivals lounge at LHR:

[no_mercy]

Originally Posted by v_tec

Seats isn't about everything. A large portion of CX's business includes cargo - both through their cargo jets and pax jets. A 748i would be more realistic with CX's routes than a 388.

I agree seat count isn't everything but what I'm saying is if they go for VLA (higher seat count), the A388 makes more sense than the 748i. And realistcally, to put the final nail in the coffin, the 777X can do pretty much the 748i can at a much lower cost.

Cargo is definitely a large portion of CX's revenue and the 77W are excellent as they provide a lot of LD3 space. I think AC had to cancel/defer some of their 77F to something else like the 788 or 77W/L because they realize the 777 had so much cargo capabilities.

[no_mercy]

Originally Posted by Amuro Ray

i know
I can always wish I guess



This an the fact the the 380 doesn`t really suit Cathay`s routes too well

I wish CX had the 748i as well
The 744 was the best IMO with the distinct winglets, well proportioned hump to fuselage length, and good size engine. You'll never see those swept back wings again... something like 42 degrees? Damn you supercritical wings :P haha

Yeah the A380 isn't for many carriers definitely... only the ones that have high volume going to major hubs like LAX or LHR FRA.. etc. and not to mention slot restrictions.

I'm looking forward to seeing the BWB project come to life. That would definitely be an engineering marvel :O

[v_tec]

Originally Posted by no_mercy

I agree seat count isn't everything but what I'm saying is if they go for VLA (higher seat count), the A388 makes more sense than the 748i. And realistcally, to put the final nail in the coffin, the 777X can do pretty much the 748i can at a much lower cost.

.....and that's why they ordered the 777X

At the end of the day, CX is more interested in increasing frequency + start tapping into new routes as oppose to carry a higher volume of pax per flight.

[CP.AR]

Originally Posted by Lord Disick

Let us know how the new AC biz class is. I'm suppose to flying to Toronto end of this month for work, going to go business but I usually have to take the first flight out from YVR and I get stuck on the A321. Awful plane to spend 4+hours on.


Not too many Airliners are going for the 7478 to use on passenger routes because the 77X and A350 are the two airplanes most airliners are going to get for med-long haul looking a few years ahead. The 7478 has done well when it comes to cargo but passenger wise it hasn't and I don't know if Boeing was really intended it to be successful passenger jet.

Recent flight I took from YVR - LHR on BA's club world on the 744;

Spoiler!

Arrivals lounge at LHR:

Are all the seats on their own? One small thing I hate about business seats nowadays is that they concentrate so much on comfort they forget that sometimes people travel with say... a significant other...

Originally Posted by no_mercy

I wish CX had the 748i as well
The 744 was the best IMO with the distinct winglets, well proportioned hump to fuselage length, and good size engine. You'll never see those swept back wings again... something like 42 degrees? Damn you supercritical wings :P haha

Yeah the A380 isn't for many carriers definitely... only the ones that have high volume going to major hubs like LAX or LHR FRA.. etc. and not to mention slot restrictions.

I'm looking forward to seeing the BWB project come to life. That would definitely be an engineering marvel :O

not to mention faster cruise speeds
4 engines > 2 engines

[lowside67]

Originally Posted by Lord Disick

Let us know how the new AC biz class is. I'm suppose to flying to Toronto end of this month for work, going to go business but I usually have to take the first flight out from YVR and I get stuck on the A321. Awful plane to spend 4+hours on.

It's funny... in business class on a daytime flight, I don't actually mind the A320/321 at all as I am not going to try to sleep anyways. It's obviously not a pod, but it's a comfortable seat.

I flew the "new" 777HD last night, and I had one of the rare throne seats in business class, certainly one of the best 6 seats on the plane if you are travelling alone. First and foremost, lets get this out of the way right up front - this seat is a downgrade from a pod in every way, except perhaps by not looking as tired and abused as some of the pods do these days. I found the seat to be comfortable enough but it is very hard to get in and out of as the space between your armrest and the seat in front of you is actually about as tight as most economy seats, though you have cavernous legroom in front of you when you are actually in your seat. The new seat certainly feels a bit less private as you are aware what is on your screen is easily read from above and behind, etc. while the angles on the pods prevents this. However, I did appreciate the side tables beside the seat, that's actually a very handy place to put things during the flight. The separate cupholders were also a handy addition.

The flight attendants certainly hate this plane - I overheard more than one "rant" from a flight attendant to a curious passenger, there is no doubt that with roughly the same number of flight attendants and over 100 passengers more than a standard 777, they are stretched thin and this annoys them. I, along with several other J passengers, would go to the front to use the front bathrooms and one attendant kept reminding us that there were washrooms behind us (shared with premium economy) and almost seemed annoyed we were using the front ones, which seems very strange to me, but this is probably an isolated thing.

Many Flyertalk people report feeling that their service in J is worse because of the new arrangement - I have to say, I didn't notice this at any time. My flight was actually 10 minutes early to leave the gate (sched. 1800 depart) and dinner orders were taken on the ground, by status correctly, and dinner service was underway by about 15 minutes off the ground, drinks were offered first, then appetizers, then drinks again, then entrees with an additional drink service - I certainly noticed no deficiency on the speed or pacing of the service. Food quality was exactly the same as I am used to in standard AC J.

In a throne seat, the 777HD isn't the end of the world and I think the reality of the seats is perhaps a bit blown out of proportion. However, with that said, I wanted to try it once, and I now know that I will certainly make an effort to pick flights on pod based business cabins rather than the 777HD.

Mark

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by Amuro Ray

Are all the seats on their own? One small thing I hate about business seats nowadays is that they concentrate so much on comfort they forget that sometimes people travel with say... a significant other...

You can get two middle seats together, but it is probably one of the tightest J class arrangements out there, as it is a 2-4-2 arrangement. Some of the seats face backward as well, so it's a bit interesting. Will try to get a flight on it next year... I want to go to Europe!



Yes, I agree about not being able to talk to your significant other with a lot of the new "pod" seats or reverse-herringbone seats. I'm glad that CX's new J seats slide back and forth so that you can talk with your neighbour.



So, this is the trip that I will be taking this winter! I managed to snag the Etihad mistake fare from Colombo, first-class flight to Dallas for $1k per person. Bought some Alaska points, using that to fly Cathay J from Vancouver (via LA, because no seats available in Vancouver during the window that I had for vacation) to HK and then Singapore. Will probably use some Avios to travel from Singapore to Colombo on Cathay (or Sri Lankan) for the start of my first First-class flight. Bringing the SO along... first time she will meet my extended family. This is going to be interesting...

Oh, I just realized with the routing that I am taking I just unintentionally went around the world. Oops!

Routing: YVR-LAX-HKG-SIN-CMB(AS F/CX J)-AUH-JFK-DFW-YVR(EY F/AA F)

[lowside67]

2-4-2 in J, that's unreal... this is TK's 2-3-2 arrangement in a 777 that I may end up taking and it's already crazy looking to me...



For privacy, I would say Air Canada's 1-1-1-1 arrangement in the pods is among the best in the business:



If I was taking a J class over the Pacific though within Staralliance, it would be Eva's new "Royal Laurel" service... complementary Dom Perignon in business class, fantastic Rimowa amenity kits, and some of the best J seats out there:

[G]

Always thought of flying a bunch of transfers on First or Business class, but I look at the itinerary and its like 30 hours of flying till my destination as opposed to flying direct in 11 hours (YVR to HKG).

Any thoughts on this? Do you guys mind flying on so many connecting flights? I kind of want to try a bunch of first class experiences, but the fatigue and boredom...

[lowside67]

I'd fly direct YVR-HKG if that was the point of your trip, no questions asked. If I HAD to connect anyways, I probably wouldnt care if I added a second one...

As an example though, I am in BKK at the end of my trip and I could pretty easily fly BKK-HKG-YVR and come home, but I am choosing to fly BKK-HND-FRA-YVR as I will get to try out 3 first class cabins vs 1 first class, one J class. But that said, it's another 10 hours in a plane to come via the Atlantic so maybe I'm crazy...!

[G]

^My point exactly! Is it worth trying different first class cabins, for the extra time haha...

Considering I have never flown in first class, (I always fly economy to HKG)I kind of want to try it out...

[lowside67]

Originally Posted by G

Considering I have never flown in first class, (I always fly economy to HKG)I kind of want to try it out...

Just out of curiosity... have you looked at the prices of a first class flight YVR-HKG? Just prepare yourself. My flights in F are booked on points and the difference from economy to first class is about 100,000 Aeroplan points (about 2x the points of economy) which only costs me about $500 in credit cards fees to generate. On the other hand, the COST of those flights is often as much as 10 times the price of economy.

To give you an idea, YVR-HKG-YVR on Cathay in June 2014 is:
Economy: $1400
Prem. Econ: $2522
Business: $5077
First: $9799

[G]

I have, which is why I have never flown in first class haha. I do have a ton of aeroplan points though. It is 150,000 to fly first/business class but it contains all the crazy transfers but allows for numerous first class experiences. But, again, it makes the trip 11hours turn into 30 hours haha.

But, whenever I think about spending 150,000 aeroplan points on it, I just feel like it is worth more to buy 2 economy tickets and bring someone with you on the flight in Economy than to go first class...

[v_tec]

Originally Posted by lowside67

My flights in F are booked on points and the difference from economy to first class is about 80,000 points which only costs me about $500 in credit cards fees to generate.

How are you generating 80k AS points with only $500 in fees?

If you're talking about Amex's Plat $699-200, that would only transfer to AC/BA, and that's still something like 120k difference b/w Y and F...and requires churning every year to get that kind of sign up bonus.

[lowside67]

First... my flights are all StarAlliance, and Aeroplan points are precisely what I needed. I simply picked Cathay for that example as they are the only F cabin direct YVR-HKG.

I signed up for an AmEx Aeroplan Platinum for $499 which gave me 51,000 points and self-referred an AmEx Aeroplan Gold for free which gave me 10,000 points for the referral and 30,000 points to sign up... 91,000 points for $499.

Cheers.

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by lowside67

2-4-2 in J, that's unreal... this is TK's 2-3-2 arrangement in a 777 that I may end up taking and it's already crazy looking to me...

For privacy, I would say Air Canada's 1-1-1-1 arrangement in the pods is among the best in the business:

If I was taking a J class over the Pacific though within Staralliance, it would be Eva's new "Royal Laurel" service... complementary Dom Perignon in business class, fantastic Rimowa amenity kits, and some of the best J seats out there:

The BA J cabin is probably the most crowded one in the sky - on the other hand, it's one of the most available, and upgrading using Avios is pretty easy too! My plan next summer is to book in Premium Economy with BA, and then upgrade using Avios to CW.

I don't have quite enough AP for EVA J flights to SIN, otherwise I would have taken the Hello Kitty flights out of LAX since the SO loves Hello Kitty... Major brownie points from her!



Yes, the AC 1-1-1 arrangement looks to be quite good, but I'd probably prefer the food/service of Virgin Atlantic which has the same cabin - too bad they don't fly TPAC! Or Air NZ, which has the same cabin as well.

Originally Posted by G

Always thought of flying a bunch of transfers on First or Business class, but I look at the itinerary and its like 30 hours of flying till my destination as opposed to flying direct in 11 hours (YVR to HKG).

Any thoughts on this? Do you guys mind flying on so many connecting flights? I kind of want to try a bunch of first class experiences, but the fatigue and boredom...

I'll go out of my way to fly J or F, but not THAT out of the way for a YVR-HKG flight. 11 into 30 hours is a bit much. If I was by myself, maybe. With someone else who is not as into flying as I am? I'd get lynched and dropped out of the airplane. My dad already asked me why I would do such a crazy routing with the Etihad flight.

Originally Posted by lowside67

I'd fly direct YVR-HKG if that was the point of your trip, no questions asked. If I HAD to connect anyways, I probably wouldnt care if I added a second one...

As an example though, I am in BKK at the end of my trip and I could pretty easily fly BKK-HKG-YVR and come home, but I am choosing to fly BKK-HND-FRA-YVR as I will get to try out 3 first class cabins vs 1 first class, one J class. But that said, it's another 10 hours in a plane to come via the Atlantic so maybe I'm crazy...!

Those of us who love flying are all a bit crazy...

Originally Posted by G

^My point exactly! Is it worth trying different first class cabins, for the extra time haha...

Considering I have never flown in first class, (I always fly economy to HKG)I kind of want to try it out...

I have never flow business or first internationally, just domestic F. I am really looking forward to it!

Originally Posted by lowside67

To give you an idea, YVR-HKG-YVR on Cathay in June 2014 is:
Economy: $1400
Prem. Econ: $2522
Business: $5077
First: $9799

Yes, the prizes are a bit crazy which is why points are great for redeeming premium cabin - way more value per point than flying economy.

Originally Posted by G

I have, which is why I have never flown in first class haha. I do have a ton of aeroplan points though. It is 150,000 to fly first/business class but it contains all the crazy transfers but allows for numerous first class experiences. But, again, it makes the trip 11hours turn into 30 hours haha.

But, whenever I think about spending 150,000 aeroplan points on it, I just feel like it is worth more to buy 2 economy tickets and bring someone with you on the flight in Economy than to go first class...

Or meet in the middle - go business class with someone else you want to bring!

Originally Posted by v_tec

How are you generating 80k AS points with only $500 in fees?

If you're talking about Amex's Plat $699-200, that would only transfer to AC/BA, and that's still something like 120k difference b/w Y and F...and requires churning every year to get that kind of sign up bonus.

Originally Posted by lowside67

First... my flights are all StarAlliance, and Aeroplan points are precisely what I needed.

I signed up for an AmEx Aeroplan Platinum for $499 which gave me 51,000 points and self-referred an AmEx Aeroplan Gold for free which gave me 10,000 points for the referral and 30,000 points to sign up... 91,000 points for $499.

Cheers.

Churn, self-referrals, and finding good card bonuses! Amex is great for getting points like this.

I've just started learning how to do this... and it's pretty crazy what you can do to maximize bonuses!

[lowside67]

Originally Posted by roastpuff

Churn, self-referrals, and finding good card bonuses! Amex is great for getting points like this.

I've just started learning how to do this... and it's pretty crazy what you can do to maximize bonuses!

I started collecting Aeroplan points about January 2013 have collected about 340,000 points in that time. That is broken down between: 81k in signup bonuses, 65k from flights, 110k in referrals, 84k in credit card spend.