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Cathay Pacific & Malaysian Airlines


keltic
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I have booked a Cathay Pacific flight from Madrid to Kuala Lumpur for next november for my Silversea cruise out of Singapore. I have booked in Premium Economy waiting to upgrade to business. I have some questions as I am not familiar with the airline. I assume they are safe...what can I expect from them?. I am not sure if premium economy seats in emergency exits are bearable.

 

Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur is something called Cathay Dragon. Sounds like a low cost despite their operating an A330 on the route. Then out of Manila another A330 to Hong Kong. How is Malaysian Airlines?. It´s just a short hop from KUL to SIN.

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What do you mean by "safe?" What do you mean by "bearable?"

 

Sorry for the words. I am a fearfull flier and just fly with a bunch or airlines. I am not eager to try no options, and I have to admit that I don´t have any information about them. Good safety figures and no serious issues. As far as I know, Malaysian is experiencing financial problems.

 

With bearable I mean if premium economy could be confortable in 14 hours flight.

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With bearable I mean if premium economy could be confortable in 14 hours flight.

 

This is a completely subjective, what is comfortable to some is not to others.

 

Cathay Dragon is not a low cost airline, it is a regional subsidiary that CX and its partner company have had a significant shareholding in since the 1990s. It was previously known as Dragonair but rebranded as Cathay Dragon in the last few years.

 

Personally I would have zero qualms about flying the vast majority of airlines on the basis of safety. The regulations allowing airlines to operate within the EU are very strict and there is a blacklist. CX obviously don't and have never come close to that, heck I'm flying an airline in a few weeks that was on that list until 2009, but there's a reason they're no longer on it.

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Cathay Dragon is a regional carrier that is part of Cathay Pacific (was previously known as Dragonair, but they changed their name recently for better brand recognition/association). I wouldn't necessarily call them a low cost carrier in the traditional sense; rather, they run a lot of routes in to mainland China from HKG that Cathay Pacific didn't - places like Fuzhou, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Sanya, etc. etc. They also fly some regional places - for example I have flown them to Dhaka, but not sure if they fly there anymore. I've never had any issue with Cathay Dragon/Dragonair, and I've flown them a LOT.

 

Also, to clarify, low cost carriers could definitely have A330s. Look at Norwegian flying 787s...but they're the definition of a low cost carrier.

 

Malaysia is good, I have had nice experiences with them regionally (including several times on the HKG-KUL route over the last six or seven years, including both A330 and B777 trips).

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I assume they are safe ...
Yes - Cathay Pacific is an airline that wouldn't raise any questions.

 

In any case, even on an "unsafe" airline it's a practical certainty that you'll get to your destination alive. My approach is that if an airline doesn't give safety the priority it deserves, I would prefer to give my business to others - not that I think that I'm going to die if I fly on it.

 

I am not sure if premium economy seats in emergency exits are bearable.
Look, it's only a 14-hour flight, and the majority of airline passengers fly in substantially less comfortable conditions than premium economy. But if you don't think you can survive the flight in premium economy, then you should pay for business class.

 

Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur is something called Cathay Dragon.
FWIW, Dragonair (now known as Cathay Dragon) has been a fully-owned subsidiary for over a decade.
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Yes - Cathay Pacific is an airline that wouldn't raise any questions.

 

In any case, even on an "unsafe" airline it's a practical certainty that you'll get to your destination alive. My approach is that if an airline doesn't give safety the priority it deserves, I would prefer to give my business to others - not that I think that I'm going to die if I fly on it.

 

Look, it's only a 14-hour flight, and the majority of airline passengers fly in substantially less comfortable conditions than premium economy. But if you don't think you can survive the flight in premium economy, then you should pay for business class.

 

FWIW, Dragonair (now known as Cathay Dragon) has been a fully-owned subsidiary for over a decade.

 

I have to clarify it. I am a nervous flier, with a bit of claustrophobia. Economy is not an option, and I had business in mind. But someone who has just returned told me premium economy in emergency seats is so awesome that it could a nice cheaper option.

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With bearable I mean if premium economy could be confortable in 14 hours flight.

 

Still entirely subjective. Depends on each person's height and girth, as it relates to the seat pitch and seat width. An exit row likely has the tray table and TV screen in the armrest, which will make that seat a bit narrower than others in the cabin. Other items can also affect comfort, such as the amount of seat padding, existence (or not) of a foot rest, the amount of recline (exit rows often don't recline, as it would mean reclining into the exit row behind thus blocking the emergency exit), etc. And then there is each person's tolerance for a particular level of comfort given the length of the flight and the price.

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I have just been send an email. Plane change, from a former to B777 to A350, which doesn't affect cabin layout.

 

Thanks again for all those who have replied

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All your choices are just fine. All have very good safety records and no issues. If you search about Malaysian your bound to fine two incidents in 2014. Both were odd and not the fault of the airline.

 

Cathay has fantastic services and is known as one of the best airlines in the world. Dragon is fine and owed by Cathay. Malaysian is a good carrier as well. I would not hesitate to fly any of those airlines.

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All your choices are just fine. All have very good safety records and no issues. If you search about Malaysian your bound to fine two incidents in 2014. Both were odd and not the fault of the airline.

 

Cathay has fantastic services and is known as one of the best airlines in the world. Dragon is fine and owed by Cathay. Malaysian is a good carrier as well. I would not hesitate to fly any of those airlines.

 

To be fair, we don't really know the cause of the missing MH plane, so we can't say if it was or wasn't the fault of the airline. But I would have no qualms hopping on an MH plane tomorrow, safety wise.

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To be fair, we don't really know the cause of the missing MH plane, so we can't say if it was or wasn't the fault of the airline. But I would have no qualms hopping on an MH plane tomorrow, safety wise.

 

Sure. MH370 (or MH17) doesn´t play any role in my decision. I am not that happy with their depredatory "fees" for extras. Even a misspelled surname in your booking don´t have a short time to change it for free like for instance many low costs.

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Cathay Pacific is among the highest rated airlines (by passengers) in the world. Business Class on this airline is among the best in the world. The reality is that Asia has many great airlines including Cathay, Singapore, JAL, etc.

 

Hank

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