Can any one tell me if they have flown with them before, what are they like as they were not my first choice.
Just been quoted (one way) £276 each.
London - Hong Kong - Perth in Mid March.
We are 2 adults & 4 Children, the children under 12 yrs are 75% of the adult price.

Andrew

wow!!
sorry havnt flown cathay, but seems a very competitiive price!

sue

Fantastic price, I havnt flown with them either but I put a similar post up in Nov. as we nearly booked with them and got positive comments from pretty much everyone who'd used them.

Hi

Hubby and I flew with them to Hong Kong 3 years ago, we couldn't fault them. Food was good, service spot on. We would have no problems flying with them again. The only way we'll change our minds when we go, will be if Virgin have got thier routes sorted

Have fun

Vickeyvixen
Sydney bound August 2004.....

who was the quote with if you dont mind me asking?

sue

Amazing! Book it quick! They are cheap because of SARS, lots of people won't fly via Hong Kong-I'd be more worried about getting TB in Terminal 3!
Seriously, I came out with them in October, they were excellent, couldn't fault the service - very polite and attentive. Food and drink very good, best I've had in 7 trips on other airlines (and this is Economy Class). I would fly with them again without any hesitation. go ahead and book!!

(previous trips were with Qantas, Malaysian, Lauda and - hiss spit - Emirates)

It was with Travelbag.co.uk

Thanks for that Pollyana.
Andrew

They were also very good with the double baggage allowance - I went through Austravel, who insisted "Prospective Spouse" was a temporary visa, but a letter to Cathay got a evry quick personal phone call confirming I could have the double.
Also Hong Kong was an excellent airport - very well signposted, lots of food places......but keep the kids away from the Disney Store!

We used Cathay before and they were very good. We managed to get an upgrade to business class for the Manchester to Hong Kong leg which was fantastic (and was worth over £500 each). The service, even in economy was good. The only downsides, and why we didn't use them again were:

1 The connections weren't good and we had 10 hours to fill in before going on to Melbourne.

2 It takes a few hours more of flying time compared to the via Bangkok, Singapore or KL airlines.

However, I'd have no hesitation in recommending Cathay and that is a great price. Good luck.

OzTennis

How do you go about getting an upgrade? We are travelling in the next few weeks and I would just love to get an upgrade! Especially as I'm pregnant and would love the extra leg room - and maybe even one of those bed seats on the BA flight we are taking from London to Chicago.

We used Cathay In December to fly to NZ.

We found them very good, although the service on the return journey wasn`t quite as good as it was going out.

Thought Hong Kong airport was great, easy to find your way around and loads of space to relax.

Not quite such a glowing recommendation from me I'm afraid.

My wife and I travelled with them on our honeymoon to Hong Kong and then onto Bali back in '00.

Unfortunately we stopped in Paris on the outward leg and were left to stew on the tarmac for two and half hours waiting for further passenger boarding.

On the way back it was Schipol...much the same.

However, the legs between HK and Bali were spot on.

Great service on board and good in flight entertainment.

Before you all start, yeah we knew we had stops but weren't expecting the near three hour wait in the cabin...

Think we're gonna go Singapore Airlines next.

Three Legs

"Wanna see my third leg ? !..."

Which airline are you flying with? Some won't do upgrades as a matter of policy. But.......
Check in EARLY - like 5 hrs, instead of 3, so you are at the front of the queue, make sure they know you are pregnant - the more special and exciting it all sounds, the better. Be VERY polite, ask nicely, dress smartly - so you look like a Business Class passenger. And if they say "NO", still be polite, say thank you etc. They have the chance to mark your booking (unseen by you) as "Suitable For Upgrade". Then if Business isn't full, and/or Economy overbooked, they look first at the people with that marking, and at the people holding Frequent Flyer cards for that airline.
So its possible that you can get upgraded at any point - even after take-off.

Much less common than it used to be, but worth a try.

You'll hear lots of different stories about how to get an upgrade. I hasten to add we've been to Oz over a dozen or so times and only been upgraded once with Cathay.

I would suggest you let the airline know you are pregnant if they don't know already - you can do this by putting in an advance seat request via your agent. You then make sure the ground staff at the airport are reminded of this.

Others say you need to be in the airline's frequent traveller scheme to have a chance so you join it before you fly.

Others say you must turn up at the airport well dressed to have any chance of an upgrade. Well, we were in our tracksuits and were called over just before boarding so I'm not sure about this one.

Others say you need to know someone or have a relative that works for the airline and you hear lots of other stories.

Someone else assured me that you have to be bold as brass and say when you check in - 'any chance of an upgrade?'. But then others have told me if you ask you don't get!

Finally, it obviously depends on how many business class seats are booked on a flight. No doubt others will have their theories too!

Good luck and at least request some decent seats - I don't know if you want to be at an aisle, near a loo, no-one in front of you or whatever. There are websites that tell you what the good seats and bad seats are in economy in different planes eg:

http://www.seatexpert.com/

OzTennis