I have not been on Cathay Pacific but...

Booking a CP flight doesn't mean you are on a CP Plane and booking a AirNZ flight doesn't mean you are on a AirNZ Plane.

To HK - CP can codeshare to AIRNZ/Qantas/Emirates/LAN etc and AIRNZ can codeshare to CP so booking an AirNZ ticket could get you on a CP Plane and booking on CP may get you on a AirNZ Plane.

We cannot compare flights unless we know the actual plane (different seats arrangements etc).

There's a lot of variables here including the age of the aircraft, so if you're willing to share some of your proposed itinerary perhaps share the flight number and date so we can see exactly what aircraft is being used for that sector.

I flew PE return to Europe (via HK) last August on a Lufthansa ticketed flight.  I usually fly AirNZ where possible but chose CP instead of AirNZ on the AKL-HK leg because of the PE options on the two.  At that time AirNZ was still flying the 777-200 with the old PE layout (3/4/3) which just gives a little more legroom effectively - whereas CP (Airbus A340-300 from memory) had a newer layout (2/3/2) with much wider seats as well as extra legroom - as did the Lufty flight to Germany.  I think AirNZ still operates the 777-200 on that route - if so, I would chose CP if possible.

Not sure about the codeshare situation - with the Lufty ticket my travel agent gave me the option of CP or AirNZ for the AKL - HK return leg and I certainly had a CP plane both ways.

edge:

 

I flew PE return to Europe (via HK) last August on a Lufthansa ticketed flight.  I usually fly AirNZ where possible but chose CP instead of AirNZ on the AKL-HK leg because of the PE options on the two.  At that time AirNZ was still flying the 777-200 with the old PE layout (3/4/3) which just gives a little more legroom effectively - whereas CP (Airbus A340-300 from memory) had a newer layout (2/3/2) with much wider seats as well as extra legroom - as did the Lufty flight to Germany.  I think AirNZ still operates the 777-200 on that route - if so, I would chose CP if possible.

 

Not sure about the codeshare situation - with the Lufty ticket my travel agent gave me the option of CP or AirNZ for the AKL - HK return leg and I certainly had a CP plane both ways.

 

Thanks - the CP flight is a 777-300ER which appears to have 2/4/2 seating. And yes - it is the 777-200 Air NZ are flying on that route.

The Air NZ's 777-200 refit was completed around last September. All of these aircraft now have the new PE seating which is made by Zodiac and is nearly identical to the Zodiac PE seat used by Cathay. I would imagine the actual seat comfort would be identical between both airlines. It's fundamentally completely different to the PE Space seat fitted to the 77W fleet (which is very polarising and either loved or hated).

I haven't flown in the new PE seat but have walked through the cabin on a few flights and people I know who have flown in it enjoyed it. I'm actually off to Hong Kong next month flying NZ metal and have a PE seat on the way up and BP coming back.

I flew Premium Economy from Auckland > Hong Kong > London in August 2015 and Rome > Hong Kong > Auckland in October 2015.

Auckland > Hong Kong was on a Cathay Pacific A340.

Hong Kong > Auckland was on an Air New Zealand 777-200 with the new cabin layout.

In my opinion, the Air New Zealand flight was a better all-round experience.

Advantages of the Cathay Pacific A340:

• Noise-cancelling headphones
• Wider seats
• Quieter cabin than the Boeing 777 (very noticeable)

Advantages of the Air New Zealand 777-200 with the new cabin layout:

• Greater seat pitch (even more leg room than Cathay Pacific, which was generous enough)
• Leather seats
• Better food
• Better service

It's a pity that Air NZ doesn't give you noise-cancelling headphones in Premium Economy. They make such a difference and I even kept them on to help me sleep. I still found it very uncomfortable trying to sleep in Premium Economy - it's not a good body position.

A wee tip: All my flights were booked on Cathay Pacific, but the Hong Kong > Auckland leg was a code share flight operated by Air NZ. It was a damn sight cheaper to book the code share flight via Cathay Pacific than it was to book the same flight via Air NZ. Win-win.

CitizenErased:

 

It's a pity that Air NZ doesn't give you noise-cancelling headphones in Premium Economy. They make such a difference and I even kept them on to help me sleep. I still found it very uncomfortable trying to sleep in Premium Economy - it's not a good body position.

 

Air NZ provide Phitek noise cancelling headphones as standard in PE and BP. They're a much better headphone than the economy ones (simply because they're an enclosed style) but are pretty crap compared to my Bose QC15's

sbiddle:

 

CitizenErased:

 

It's a pity that Air NZ doesn't give you noise-cancelling headphones in Premium Economy. They make such a difference and I even kept them on to help me sleep. I still found it very uncomfortable trying to sleep in Premium Economy - it's not a good body position.

 

 

Air NZ provide Phitek noise cancelling headphones as standard in PE and BP. They're a much better headphone than the economy ones (simply because they're an enclosed style) but are pretty crap compared to my Bose QC15's

 

Hmmm. Perhaps my pair was broken, because the noise level was the same whether I was wearing them or not.

Dulouz:

 

I'm flying to Hong Kong and plan to fly PE. I have a choice of Cathay Pacific and Air NZ. Is one product better than the other? 

 

I've flown PE a couple of times on Air NZ to Hong Kong and Vancouver. I found there was more leg room, but the seats were typically a box, giving you less wiggle room, and actually not as comfortable (in that respect) as the economy seats you could raise the arm on. 

Now I mainly fly business class long haul....and you just can't beat the bed. The bed wins every time. 

I did the HK to Auckland route in PE on a 777.

Awful. I complained so much, Air NZ refunded half the Airpoints I spent on the upgrade.

The seats were the same width as normal economy and the idiotic 2 prong headphone socket (why do they use such stupid plugs?!) is on the inside of the armrest, so that the adapter pokes right into your leg all through the flight. I had a big bruise from that.

PE is fine if they actually give you better seats but a standard economy seat with a bit more recline is so not worth the cost.

Geektastic:

 

I did the HK to Auckland route in PE on a 777.

 

Awful. I complained so much, Air NZ refunded half the Airpoints I spent on the upgrade.

 

The seats were the same width as normal economy and the idiotic 2 prong headphone socket (why do they use such stupid plugs?!) is on the inside of the armrest, so that the adapter pokes right into your leg all through the flight. I had a big bruise from that.

 

PE is fine if they actually give you better seats but a standard economy seat with a bit more recline is so not worth the cost.

 

I'm assuming you flew ~2 years ago before the 77E refit because none of the above has applied for quite some time.

The current PE seats are very different to the old PE seats (which were a similar style seat to economy but slightly wider and with over 2x the legroom) and are vastly superior to the economy seats. The headset connector is also on the IFE screen on the eX3 IFE.