Friday, May 22, 2009

Cathay vs SIA

The 13.5 hour flight from San Francisco - Hong Kong, followed by an over 3hour flight to Singapore were a dreadful one. The thought of being an economy passenger was really scary, even up till now *of course things will be different if I were in Biz or First class...haha.

So, here are what I like and dislike from the flight: *ugh..we were in 3 different airports, 3 different countries in that particular 24 hour.

Likes & dislikes:

1. The stewardess are pretty tall and slim, especially the young ones. But they can't beat the 'beauty' of SIA stewardess. Their grooming is not consistent unlike the one that mentioned before: different nair polish colour, some with black ribbon and hair net and some don't, etc.
2. The seat sucks to the max. It does not recline as per usual, but the 'seat' slides forward, leaving your spine and back hurt after such a long flight. The good thing is you still have your leg-ro0m as the seat in front of you does not recline and take a big chunk of your space.
3. Their Boeing 747 is pretty new. Their interior colour is so much nicer than SIA's 747. The entertainment system looks similar to the SIA 773R and A380. Larger screen, interactive entertainment, large varieties of movies and TV shows *but I have no idea which one has more selections although I can be quite sure that SIA provides newer movies selection.
4. The water tap is outside the galley and next to the door. So, passengers can fill up their cups and bottles easily by themselves.
5. They also put juices and snacks on this spot. However, passengers who have no clue that they can get some snacks to nibble on here may miss the opportunity *haha. In SIA, the snacks are distributed by hand.
6. The blanket is incomparable to the SIA's 773R blanket that is as smooth as a baby's booties *hee....
7. The toilets are dirrrrrrttttyyyyyyy *especially for long-haul flights. Wet floor, tissues everywhere, no toilet paper, etc.
8. The flights were pretty smooth except some turbulence here and there, but announcement were made immediately after the seat belt sign was on. Oh...and the announcement were clear and understandable too.
9. The in-flight store was pretty comprehensive too. Lots of items and selections to choose on. Too bad, they only receive payment by card. No cash.
10. The Silver-kris magazine on SIA is more appealing and informative, I suppose. SIA dedicates a whole new book on their entertainment, but Cathay puts everything into one book.
11. Cathay has much more leg-room on the rows with bassinet points *the basket for babies* which is really thoughtful and cool. Yeah...SIA makes use of all the spaces that they have.
12. Cathay only switches on its entertainment system after took off, although they put the headsets on the seat pockets. But hey, for safety reason, this is actually a more appropriate way to do it rather than distributing the headset after took off, but the system was on when the plane is on-ground *hm hm...SIA crew, I know how it feels when the passengers get mad for this stupid thing. The world now has what is called personal ear-piece, headphone, earset, etc. Cathay....you rock here!
13. Cathay provides instant noodles for snack. While SIA limits their instant noodles quantity, but they provide a better snack choice and meal too.
14. Service wise, Cathay can do better. I personally dislike the crew wearing masks on board. It makes me feel like I am entering a contaminated area and I bring viruses to these poor people. C'mon...we want to see your face. It helps in building rapport towards a greater height of service level.
15. Even on the long-haul flight, the crew did not go out with bar cart *where all the drinks are put onto the cart and they push it along the aisle to serve you. They only serve juices with trays. Ah...and no special cocktails or mocktails stated in the menu *as I can remember.
16. No magazine in Economy class
17. ......

Alright, I guess I was being demanding. But yet, I can't really figure out why they were chosen as the best airline in 2009 when I think SIA gives more *and that's why their crew work ten times harder, I think.

See you on my next trip then.

Ciao....

Labels: inside-out stories

Posted by Ddee at 8:43 AM