Hong Kong Airlines A320 TPE-HKG-NRT in J

[Carfield]

Hong Kong Airlines A320 Trip Report



Hong Kong is where I was born and spent my youths, and it has been interesting to see how little growth the Hong Kong aviation has grown for the past few decades. Hong Kong can never support more than two independent airlines, and with Dragonair being a subsidiary of Cathay Pacific and the demise of Oasis Hong Kong, Hong Kong Express/Airlines remains the second airline based in Hong Kong, and one of the more ambitious ones too. With the support of Hainan Airline Group, it has expanded tremendously in the 2010 and 2011 with large aircraft order and the ambitious launch of all business class flights to Gatwick. However, thing seem to go downturn with the cancelation of Gatwick flights in August, as well as frequent news about its dwindling finances with canceled and delayed flights, and disputes with various suppliers. Unfortunately I never have the chance to fly the Gatwick flights, but am curious about how the new A320s score in terms of comfort. These Airbus A320s are ordered to replace the older Boeing 737-800s mostly by Hong Kong Express. I have been trying to find out more about these HX’s A320s, but could not find any information. Why don’t I find out in person? I have flown Hong Kong Airlines twice and its regional business class product is rather lackluster – the F/As seem to try harder, and you can see they try very hard with better seats on the A330s, but catering is weak and the lounge remains rather plain. So how have things change?

Booking:
Hong Kong Airlines’ website is not the most customer friendly, but I manage to navigate through it and find a decent one-way business class fare from Taipei to Tokyo Narita via Hong Kong. My original plan is actually to fly the Peach’s original inaugural flight from Taipei to Osaka Kansai on September 30, but it has postponed it till mid October, so that’s why I have to look for an alternative flight from Taipei to Japan. I have thought about Jetstar Asia from Taipei to Kansai, but with baggage fee and an additional segment from KIX to NRT, the price is almost the same as the business class fare from Taipei to Tokyo on Hong Kong Airlines. That’s why I settle on Hong Kong Airlines, and the fact that they are using A320s on these routes makes it an easier decision. I was able to pay in USD using my American Express and am able to select my seat on both segments. It is a very easy booking process.

Flight information:


September 30, 2012
HX 285 TPE-HKG Lv0740 Arr0915 Airbus A320-200 B-LPD
Connect to
HX 618 HKG-NRT Lv1130 Arr1650 Airbus A320-200 B-LPE

Check-in:
Hong Kong Airlines uses EVA Air as their ground agent in Taipei, and it is no surprise, as EVA Air is now code-sharing with Hong Kong Airlines on all their flights between Hong Kong and Taiwan. Hong Kong Airlines operates from Terminal Two and uses Aisle 6 for check-in, and ironically, Dragonair is next door at Aisle 7. The counter was fairly empty at these early hours and there is a separate business class priority line.




The EVA Air agent, who checked me in, was obviously in a bad mood and she did not say much to me. She did not smile once at all and thanked me for my business. She had to call on her supervisor, as she was unable to issue my connecting boarding pass to Narita, which was very surprising. She did not apologize for the inconvenient but told me rather stoically told me that the bag was checked through to Narita. Very bad impression to be honest!




Immigration and security were easy business this morning, and I headed to the rather unimpressive EVA Air Business Class lounge, which remains outdated and unimpressive. The saving grace is the large amount of food available, and I had some congee, which was always nice in the morning. I started to feel sick so my appetite was a bit low this morning. The lounge was just too depressed to stay in, and after a few emails, I decided to head to the gate, as our gate was all the way in Terminal One this morning, B9, and I wanted to visit the bookstore too.

Busy morning at TPE


Gate B9


EVA Air codeshare




Judging from the gate area, our flight was relatively quiet and it was not surprised that HX has recently downgraded the flight from an A330 to A320. I tried to take photos of the planes, but it was impossible. Boarding finally began at 7:12am and priority boarding was available. The F/As were very cheerful this morning, and greeted every passenger, which was something I gave them credits on doing. Newspapers were available for both cabins and the Hong Kong papers were obviously from the previous day. My first impression of the cabin was “RED.” It is very typically use by Mainland Airlines and I believe the newer Hainan Airline planes use the same upholstery. The character of “Fortune” is imprinted into the fabrics and there are two different red color hues being used. The same patterns are used in economy as well. Since both B-LPD and LPE are less than six months old, they look smart and well maintained!

Cabin Shot of economy class

[Carfield]

My seat for the short flight from TPE to HKG – 2A


The F/A immediately offered me a pre-takeoff beverage along with a pair of headsets and a pair of slippers.


Also a hot towel on a tray


I definitely appreciate the offering of slippers, something that CX only provides for its first class passengers on long haul flights. As Chinese, slippers are pretty much staple items, and CX should offer them on medium haul flights in first and business class. The F/A also presented me a printed menu for the short hop to Hong Kong. With a light load, boarding should be quick but there seemed to be some confusions about seat assignment and some connection flights issues. The loading in economy is around 60 and 70% full and most of the passengers are budget travelers form Taiwan and the Mainland China. There are many Mainland Chinese passengers, and local Hong Kong residents are rather rare, with a few Westerners in between. Despite boarding completed early, door did not close till 7:50am, ten minutes after the scheduled departure time.

Flight information:
We pushed back at 7:54am and taxied towards R/W5R. Following an Air Macau’s A319 B-MAK and Dragonair’s A330 B-HWK, we finally took off at 8:09am for our short an hour and twenty minutes flight to Hong Kong. We cruised at 34,000feet.

Goodbye TPE



Catering:
As standard by Hong Kong Airlines, there is no wine list issued for all regional flights, so I have no idea about its alcohol offerings. I was also a bit under the weather so alcohol was the last thing in my mind. But I appreciated the Hong Kong style milk tea offering. Here was the menu.

Breakfast


Starters
Seasonal Fresh Fruit


Plain Yogurt


Main Courses
Scrambled Eggs
With Pan Fried Canadian Bacon and Roesti Potato and Butter Asparagus
Or
Assorted Chinese Dim Sum and Fried Cantonese Egg noodles with Vegetables




Selection of Assorted Breads

[Carfield]

Tea and Coffee

TPEHKG_BC_HBC1_0512

Cute salt and pepper shakers


Hong Kong Airlines Pineapple Cake


Hot towel to end the service


Breakfast was served immediately after takeoff at 8:19am and unlike CX, fresh linen was first placed on tray before the meal tray. I chose the Chinese dim sum option, as the meal was catered here in Taipei, and the Chinese choice looked okay. Honestly, the meal was only alright and the quality and quantity are definitely not as good as the other four major operators on this route – CX/KA/CI/BR. Plain yogurt was offered, as well as a fresh fruit bowl – orange, watermelon, melon and cantaloupe. A tray of hot breads was then offered – croissant, Danish pastry, muffin and soft roll. A Hong Kong Airlines’ “Pineapple Cake” was also presented in the tray. It was a decent breakfast but is still a notch below the competitor. The service was pretty personable and the senior purser basically served me and offered me beverages throughout the flight, and a bottle of water was offered too.

Cabin:


With the only one in business, I took the chances to present you the Hong Kong Airlines’ A320 business class cabin. Hong Kong Airlines has a relatively small business class cabin with two rows of seats in four abreast arrangement on its narrow-body fleet. The seat pitch is actually very nice and it is definitely more than I am used to in the US. My guess is around 45 to 47 inches, but the recline is the issue here, as the seat is pretty uncomfortable in the upright position. Recline is pretty minimal and I feel that HX can do a few adjustment to allow a bit more comfort. For a short three to four hours flight, the seat is sufficient, but for a flight like from Hong Kong to Bali redeye, it can be torturous.

Seat 1AC




Seat 1DF



Seat 2AC


Seat 2DF

[Carfield]

My seat is in recline position too but you can’t really see it because there is not much recline.


More cabin shots



Forward Galley


Divider


Seat pitch shot


Seat Control Console


Overhead panel featuring the updated A320 design and different from older A320s


Seat recline button


One good thing about this business class seat is first, there are universal power outlets, so you can charge your laptops and other devices. USB drive is also available.


Another good thing is that Personal TV – touchscreen AVOD is available in business class, but not in economy class. There are ample selection of television shows (including lots of Hong Kong and Taiwan programs) and movies, but the selection is geared more towards a Chinese audience, rather than Western. For this short flight, they show some Chinese programs called “A Date with Lu Yu” and “Cultural Heritage 2.” It was interesting to note that HX is still showing promos regarding its discontinued all business class flights to Gatwick.

Personal Television


The service was actually very good on this short flight, especially compared to the next flight. The senior purser was very attentive and personable. They actually worked throughout the short flight and always made sure that I was doing okay. I felt that most HX F/As were more personable and willing to show that they may not have a top-notch product, but the F/As were not any less than CX or KA F/As.

Descent began at 9:02am and we landed on R/W7L at 9:29am, and we parked at the satellite terminal – gate 501 at 9:33am. It was my first use of the satellite terminal, and I don’t know why but it reminds me of Lisbon airport with glass jet bridge that allows me to take this picture of the plane. The shuttle to the main terminal was not too bad, and the drop off point was very convenient, and we did not need to walk much to the transit point or immigration and custom.

[Carfield]

B-LPD in HKG



Gate 501


If you remember, Taipei was not able to issue my onward boarding pass to Tokyo, as check-in had not started earlier in the morning. There were two lanes and no priority check-in lane. Thankfully it was very quiet and the agent, which was slightly friendlier, was able to issue my boarding pass. She also insisted on seeing my onward itinerary, but nothing too out of ordinary. Transit security was not too bad and I was able to go back to the departure level.

After a few stops at bookstores and duty free shops, I headed towards the Hong Kong Airlines Lounge, which I had showcased before. The lounge was busier now, so it was not too easy to take photos. But I noticed a few improvements on the food and beverage offering. There was a salad bar with a fridge filled with soft drinks, beers, and a separate bar on alcoholic offering. There are sandwiches, steamed dim sum, congee, and various breads in offer. The highlight is Nespresso machine.




Other airlines also use HX lounge

[Carfield]

Today the gate for our Narita flight is 524, which is a bus gate, and that can be a very unpleasant experience in Hong Kong.


Thankfully the weather was not too hot today, and I don’t mind the photographing opportunities. However boarding did not start till 11:17am, and there was no explanation on the delays. There had been news that HX is having issues turning around plane, as their original ground service company refused to renew the contract, as HX was behind in payment. They had to switch to SATS, which was a smaller company, and HX also had to hire a new cleaning company, which had issues keeping up with servicing some of HX newer planes. The loading was busier on this flight to Narita and J had four passengers – three Western passengers and me, a Chinese. They occupied 1DF and 2A, and I was in 1A. Economy was almost 100% full with lots of local Hong Kong Chinese with some Japanese and Mainland tourists.

B-LPE at Parking Bay W126

[Carfield]

Boarding


Beautiful entrance door


The crews were in a rush on this flight, and when I went to my seat, I noticed a pile of slippers on the armrest and no F/As noticed them or chose to do anything about it. So I just moved away the slippers. Pre-takeoff beverage was offered and I had a guava juice. Hot towel was also given and I like the presentation on a tray.


Slippers and headsets were then offered.


Printed menus were then offered and they were obviously recycled a bit and I had to ask them to find me a cleaner copy.

My seat 1A – noted the pile of slippers at my armrest




Departure was further delayed as the pilots needed to take up some extra gas due to typhoon in the area. All the Osaka flights were delayed this afternoon due to weather. Door was finally closed at 11:50am and we pushed back at noon. It was very busy here at HKG this afternoon and here were a list of plane taking off before us – Hong Kong Express Boeing 737-800 Winglet B-KBU, Dragonair’s A321, Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER B-KPX, China Eastern’s A320 B-2228, and China Southern’s Boeing 737-300 B-2575.

We finally took off at 12:15pm.

Flying time was three hours and forty-nine minutes and we stayed at 35,000feet for the whole flight. We flew towards Taichung, Gongliao, Ibusuki, Kanoya, Nichinan, Miyake Islands, Itako, Namegata and then towards NRT.

A full lunch was offered on this flight, and it was served in three courses – starters, entrée, and dessert
The offerings are definitely a notch below CX, KA, JL and ANA.

Menu transcript:
HX 618
Hong Kong to Tokyo Narita
(All Hong Kong to Japan flights, but not sure about Okinawa)

Lunch/Dinner


Starters
Japanese Soba Noodles

[Carfield]

Smoked Duck Breast with Tamago Sushi



Main Courses
Grilled Eel with steamed rice and vegetables
Or
Braised Pork Belly with steamed rice and Chinese vegetables


Or
Beef Tenderloin with Mushroom Cream Sauce with Potato Wedge and Sugar Pea

Dessert
Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream Moon Cake



Selection of Assorted Bread



Tea and Coffee

HKG-JPN_BC_HMC6_ICECREAM_0611

The F/As started the meal service immediately with a beverage and packaged peanuts service first – a very classic Hong Kong brand is used.


Then the starter tray with a nice appetizer was served first. The bowl of soba noodles was overcooked and lacked the texture. The duck breast was good but the egg omelet sushi was too small and the starter could be more interesting. Warmed breads were also offered. There was a piece of packaged cheese and crackers on the tray as well. The entrée, pork belly, was average (and there was an incident about it, which was discussed next), and the pork was too fatty and the tray had more rice than meat. This looked like a coach offer, rather a premium offering. They needed more sauce too. For dessert, there was an ice cream mooncake on offer, which was very impressive. I flew on the day of Mid-Autumn Festival and the ice cream mooncake was good. It was basically a chocolate covered cookies & cream ice cream. But to give HX credit, I really like the new design of their china, plates, and cups. The red flower design was elegant and it was better than the boring white china.

My original choice of entrée was actually the beef tenderloin, and if you could recall, I was in seat 1A, so the F/A took the entrée order from 1A, 2A, and then the couple at the other side row 1. I presume that we all selected beef, as I personally did not eat eel, despite the F/A trying to sell the Japanese meal choice, and the pork belly could be fatty, not something that I wanted to eat when I was not felling well. I chose my beef and then after taking all the entrée order, the F/A returned to the galley and then came back to me. She was pretty much lying, but using her word, “I could not have the beef entrée because all the other passengers had pre-ordered them. Why didn’t you eat the eel?” I told her that I don’t eat eel and was honestly shocked about the preferential treatment of Western passengers over local Hong Kong passengers. I hated the fact that F/A made up some stuff but as I was already feeling unwell and was worried that she might add extra “stuffs” to my meal, I reluctantly selected the pork belly. Honestly this incident really turned me off from Hong Kong Airlines. I regretted on not calling her out, but had been thinking about writing her up. I am leaning towards doing it, as this is actually a serious event. I should have said something to the purser prior to arrival, but I was too sick to care as of this point. The F/As were definitely in a rush to complete the meal service and then hid in the galley for the rest of the flight.

When I asked for bottled waters, the F/A just gave me a glass, but I noticed that they gave the couple in 1D and F bottled waters. I reflected on my behavior and remained very courteous to the F/As but these F/As disappointed me by showing preferential treatment towards Western passengers. I will write a polite letter to HX for sure but don’t expect much will come out of it.

Approaching Miyazaki



Anyway, descent began at 4:35pm Tokyo local time (Tokyo was an hour ahead of Hong Kong) and it was mainly cloudy, and we landed on R/W16L, the new runway, at 5:04pm. Hong Kong Airlines uses Terminal Two and we parked at gate 97 seven minutes later. It was a very long walk towards immigration and required a train ride to the main terminal. Like most Japanese public venues, air conditioning was severely lacking, and the humid weather makes the experience awful. No wonder people avoid Japanese airports. People walked a lot and carry heavy bags at airports and that’s why the a/c actually needs to be stronger at these venues. The immigration was extremely busy and it took a while to go through all the formalities. My bag was already in the carousel when I arrived at the baggage claim.

In conclusion, Hong Kong Airlines is definitely struggling, as the airline seems to be unable to find a space of survival. It tries to be a full service airline but honestly the products are just not good enough to compete with any of the airlines flying this route. Its business class cabin is really lacking in many aspects, but these A320s are at least a right step towards the needs of business travelers. Catering still needs lots of improvement and HX needs to serve heartier meals. The F/As were great on the first flight but poor in the second flight, but in general, the F/As are the greatest assets that HX/UO has. I was of course very upset about the incident especially how an airline called Hong Kong Airline will give preferred treatment towards Westerners. Culturally we always have this issue but it is twenty first century now, no one should have given any special treatment. Anyhow Hong Kong Airlines really needs to think about its place in the new era of travels in the Asian Pacific region. They are not quite a full service airline but yet they are not really a LCC. They really need to decide on which way does the airline want to go! LCC will possibly be the best way to go, as its current product can’t compete with CX or KA. Nonetheless my goal is accomplished an I am happy to report the new A320s are quite nice, and the new business class seats have PTV, universal power outlet and USB port, which economy class is pretty basic. The A320 is definitely more spacious than Boeing 737 and is a step in the right direction for future narrow body traveling in Asia.

Thanks for reading!

Carfield

[viraj735]

Thanks for the fantastic TR, Carfield! I noticed there are no legrests in the J cabin which is rather unfortunate. I would rather have a legrest over IFE especially on these hops around Asia. That ice cream mooncake looks delish!

[9V-SIA]

Thanks for sharing TR on airline I'm unlikely to ever fly

Hope MI 738s get IFE.

[Kyo]

Thanks for the TR. Did anything result from your complaint letter to HX?

(she probably figured Westerners would be more squeamish towards eel than a local Asian guy)