Cathay Pacific
 

Would appreciate some opinions on flying Cathay Pacific from LAX to BKK - economy. Is it as bad as some of the comments I have read? They have an excellent schedule and decent prices.. Help fellow Fodorites..

No, Cathay have a very good reputation. Like any airline, things will occaisionally go wrong and these are the stories you tend to hear about.

I have flown with Cathay several times long haul in Economy and never had any problem. Truth be known, I think they were at their best 10 years ago, but I think a lot of airlines have had to cut their cloth a little finer in these hard times.

Cathay is often considered one of the 10 best in the world.

As an alternative, have you considered Malaysian Air (regular connections to BKK via Kuala Lumpur). More leg room than average, excellent food and in flight entertainment, award winning sevice. Not forgetting the MEGA cheap duty free at KL. In these days when most people tend to think it is getting worse in economy, Malaysian's product I think is getting better.

maybe kookey pacific but not Cathey it is basicly one of the best airlines out there.. I've flown econ with them many times and it's not bad.

I think you may have the airline name wrng or something since Cathey also tends too be one of the most expensive airlines... I guess ya pay for what you get.

Thank you for prompt replies. Walter, we liked their schedule - and the fact that you can stop over in HK for no extra and change flights (if available) at no cost.. on a different forum (I was looking for seat pitch) found a ton of horror stories about old planes, toilets not working and was doubtful about saving money/time and having a long flight of misery!! rmk also told me about Malaysia Air so will have another longer look at them.. (I was having trouble with connections from PHX)..thanks

I have not yet taken Cathay, however am booked with them next week from Vancouver/HKG/Delhi..To my understanding they are amongst the top airline in the world..I can't make an opinion until I have acutally tried them, but I am sure there are much worse!!
http://www.airlinequality.com/StarRanking/5star.htm

I have had the pleasure of flying with Cathay Pacific at least 8 round trips from LAX to HKG and within China in the last 4 years. Half of those trips have been in coach.

Their coach product is one of the best I've ever experienced - service levels are very good, food is decent, in flight entertainment is good, seat comfort is decent.

However, none of us is designed for 13-15 hours of sitting in a airline seat (and even in their Business and First class I get tired of being "in flight").

I am average height and width (5'6", 125 pound, size 4 female). A larger person and particularly a taller person is going to be challenged with any coach flight of this duration.

If economy is the way you're going then I would go Cathay, as I have several times (despite the fact that others coach fares to HKG can be a bit cheaper - IMHO, Cathay is worth the extra cost).

BTW, do you belong to any of the One World frequent flyer programs (AA, etc). If so you should look at earning mileage for your flight. Note that the cheapest discount fares on CX do not earn One World miles, however, if you spend a little more for a slightly higher cost discount economy fare you can get into a fare class that earns miles). A trip of this distance goes a long way to frequent Flyer status.

Service on Cathay is in my experience generally good - maybe not Singapore leel but def above average. ON planes I am afraid your feedbacl is correct i..e they have some really old ones...but think on long haul flts they gen fly decent ones.

My experiences with cathay pacific are very, very good. Having flown most of the Asian carriers I find Cathay to be among the best if not the best, often ranked number 1 in the world. Cathay evens Singapore Airlines in most aspects. However, I must add that it was 2 years since my last flight with them now. My last flights to SE Asia I have made with SQ which have a better inflight entertainment system these days compared to what CX had 2 years ago.

Check out EVA Air for the La to Bangkok route. We flew EVA Air in their Evergreen Deluxe Class (like Business) and it was very nice and the cost was much much lower than any other Business Class.

I do not like Catahy Pacific and I wouldn't fly them again. You get what you pay for and they are a cattle car. They fly 747's with a 3-4-3 Configuration. Yes the flight attendants smile at you but what good is that when you?re cramped? I'd highly suggest Singapore Air especially if you go on their new airbus with the Executive Economy. Lot's more leg room with excellent service.

We have seats the second last row which doesn't sound good, but they are some of the only 2 seaters on the plane..So I am happy with that..

Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines are two of the best airlines in the Asia Pacific, if not the world.

One particular goody which Cathay offers is that once registered as a member of Asia Mile, its frequent flyer programme, you could check in on-line within 72 hours of departure and choose your seat and meal. You have a better chance of getting a seat which you like with this feature.

Thank you one and all.. will post as soon as I get everything "gathered" up! We have flown with SA 340-5 6 times now and love it.. just looking for a shorter elapse time!

You'll hate the CX flight because you're used to SQ's Executive Economy on their A345, and only on their 345. I'd take a longer routing on SQ than regular coach on CX anyday.