Questions and Answers

We’re booked to fly HKG-AUH-JFK on Etihad (HKG-AUH in J on the A332, and AUH-JFK in F on the A380). But given the arrival time in JFK, it’s a nightmare to get back to SEA on a non-stop, and it would be torture to have do it over 2 flights, given all the flying we’d have already done. The EY flight lands at 10:25am; there’s a Delta nonstop at 11:05am (too soon), and then nothing until Delta at 4:55pm or AA at 6:00pm (which we’ve been booked on, but that’s a huuuuuge layover).

Alternatively, we could much more simply fly KE F from HKG-ICN-SEA, with ICN-SEA on the 773 with Kosmo Suites 2.0. We’d get to leave HKG [I]18 hours later[/I] than the EY flight to AUH (Tuesday, 12:35pm, as compared to Monday, 6:00pm, getting us [I]an extra night in HKG[/I]), and we’d arrive home in Seattle at 12:05pm the same day, instead of considerably later in the day after flying in from JFK.

Obviously we’ve been incredibly excited to fly EY F on the A380, and[I] I honestly don’t know when we’d have the chance again[/I]. I’ve been assuming it’s worth it, even though it would involve a lot more flying time, less time in HKG, and the aforementioned troubles of connecting JFK-SEA with a reasonable layover.

Is it crazy to go to all that trouble to fly EY F on the A380 as compared to KE F on the 773 with Kosmo Suites 2.0? What do you think?

Thanks so much,
Todd

If you’ve flown KE F before, it would be better to fly EY and try to tack on a CX flight from JFK-YVR if you are using AA miles

Considering you’ve never flown EY F A380, I would keep those flights. However, If you’ve never been to Hong Kong, there is merit in staying the extra day. It really depends on which you value [I]more[/I]. EY F A380 is a fantastic product and definitely worth flying. KE F is also pretty good but i think their F product on the 77W that serves ICN-SEA has the original, doorless Kosmo Suite, not the 2.0.

[QUOTE=”Hugh B, post: 22408, member: 2317″]If you’ve flown KE F before, it would be better to fly EY and try to tack on a CX flight from JFK-YVR if you are using AA miles[/QUOTE]

Hugh, the CX flight from JFK-YVR leaves even later than the AA flight from JFK-SEA.

We’ve never flown KE F or EY F.

[QUOTE=”David W, post: 22410, member: 29″]Considering you’ve never flown EY F A380, I would keep those flights. However, If you’ve never been to Hong Kong, there is merit in staying the extra day. It really depends on which you value [I]more[/I]. EY F A380 is a fantastic product and definitely worth flying. KE F is also pretty good but i think their F product on the 77W that serves ICN-SEA has the original, doorless Kosmo Suite, not the 2.0.[/QUOTE]

Hi David,

Thanks for your message. We’ve been to Hong Kong and don’t really need the extra night there; it was more a realization that, “Wow, if we fly KE home we can sleep in a real bed the extra night and have some fun in Hong Kong”.

The KE flight ICN-SEA used to have the original Kosmo Suite, but using the seat map as a guide, it’s now supposed to be the configuration of the 77W with the new Kosmo Suites. Even so, Ben has been raving about KE’s F soft product, so I wasn’t sure how big a deal the new vs. old suites are in the equation.

Still, even with the new suites, it sounds like you think it’s worth the extra hassle to take EY F to JFK and deal with the struggle to get home to SEA?

Thanks,
Todd

I’ve flown EY F A380 twice – hard and soft products are fantastic and the new AUH F lounge is great. You also clear US Immigration at AUH, which is pretty quick now, even though there were other US bound flights. The small lounge after US Customs was decent but I only sat there, got a bottle of water and tried to stay awake. Overall, EY F A380 is worth the hassle, especially if you havent flown it before. If you want, do what I did – have a full meal in the AUH F lounge, have a small snack when you get on board, and go to sleep. Have a full meal when you wake up and then have a shower. Depending on how much time you have left, you might want another snack or something.

If you decide to take the DL at 4:55pm and can get lounge access at the Delta T4 SkyClub (AMEX Platinum Card gets you in!), that will make the layover a bit better. AA’s club in T8 is meh and will probably be crowded since the one of the clubs is being renovated but it’s better than nothing.