Revisiting Hong Kong Airlines – lie-flat business suites in 2014

[Carfield]

Revisiting Hong Kong Airlines – lie-flat business suites in 2014




I was not original planning to write about Hong Kong Airlines, especially after my rather unpleasant experience back two years ago on a now discontinued route from Hong Kong to Tokyo Narita on a rather poor outfitted two-class A320s. However, I was able to find a relatively affordable last minute J one-way ticket from TPE to HKG, and the flight was operated by its brand new fleet of Airbus A330-300s. Plus I was able to take some pictures so I decided to write a report on this second Hong Kong Airlines. Honestly the suites are very nice, and if HX ever started flights to Australia and other medium haul flights, I have no issues to fly its J cabin. The only problem is the over use of “red” in its upholstery, but its parent company is Hainan Airline, so that is just natural to adopt the same color scheme. Hong Kong Airlines has this slogan “Being Hong Kong and Being Fresh,” but ironically, it uses the exact same logo and branding as its parent company, Hainan Airlines. Even the upholstery and carpet of the seats and interior is the same as the new Hainan Airline’s A330s and Boeing 787s. The only difference is that Hong Kong Airlines actually offers a proper new generation of business class suites with all aisle access.

August 8, 2014
HX 253 TPE-HKG Lv1225 Arr1420 Airbus A330-300X B-LNM

Check-in:


EVA Air and Hong Kong Airlines have code-share arrangements with each other, and it is only natural that EVA Air is Hong Kong Airlines’ ground agent and handling company here at Taipei Taoyuan Airport. Terminal Two is still my preferred terminal here at TPE. Check-in was very efficient, as there were not many passengers waiting in line. I noted this giant upgrade promotion:


There were actually a few takers – when I booked the flight, there was only one other passenger, and that remained the case till I checked the seat map the day before. There were additional seven passengers ended on the business class cabin, so it definitely helped HX to increase revenue. The upgrade program included access to the lounge.

Lounge:


EVA Air operates a number of lounges in Taipei Taoyuan Airport, and Hong Kong Airlines passengers are sent to the Club by EVA Air, which is also the lounge designed to UNI Air passengers, as well as credit card holders.



Eligible passengers


My first impression was actually quite all right, as the décor was quite stylish. At least it did not remind me of entering a Chinese nightclub (and not the good kind), and it is very soothing. There were two major seating areas with a few televisions and newspapers and magazines station.

[Carfield]

The lounge was lightly occupied so I was able to take a few more pictures. There was a buffet available, but the contents were definitely significantly less than other EVA Air lounges.











However it is clear that the Club is the ugly brother among all the EVA Air lounges, and I don’t mind the food selection, but since it is an open-air lounge, air conditioning is extremely lacking. It is just way too warm.

Boarding:

The inbound flight was running a bit late this afternoon. One of the runways of Taoyuan airport is currently under repair and being expanded to accommodate A380s. Taoyuan Airport will remain a single runway airport until January next year, so delays are a daily occurrence especially compound with bad weather. Boarding did not start until 12:15pm. We used gate C9.

[Carfield]

First impression of the cabin:


My seat 2A


Pre-takeoff beverage was offered along with hot towel served in a tray. Wilson, the purser, introduced himself to me, and gave me the menu for the day. The service was very personalized. Unfortunately, I have issues with background music and the theme song is just pathetic. I am a big Cantonese music fan but the singing is just bad. I can live with just pure instrumental music background. Thankfully I boarded late! Announcements were also on the excessive side with every announcement repeated in Cantonese, English, and mandarin, and they kept on repeating the warning about the charging of lithium batteries. Safety demonstration was also manual too.

Door was closed at 12:35pm and we pushed back two minutes later. With the single runway operation, it took a while, as we were being sequenced. We followed this Hello Kitty Sanrio Hands in Hands Boeing 777-300ER B-16703, which was heading to Shanghai this afternoon. Hopefully I will get to fly you in October.



We took off from R/W23R at 1:05pm, and our flying time was a short hour and eleven minutes. The flying map was not working at all but from flightradar, our flight climbed to 40,000feet, and the route was all over water. We passed by Makung, which was typical for flights between HKG and Taipei.


Entertainment program was switched on but there were plenty of infomercials, including the latest Hong Kong Airlines branding video shown twice in both Cantonese and English. The assortment of entertainment is fairly standard and sufficient, as these Airbus A330s are used on mostly medium haul flights and the longest flight was the charter operation to the Maldives. Sky Map was not working, which was disappointing. I watched an episode of “Kang Xi is Coming,” which is a local Taiwanese variety show. Cathay Pacific is also showing this same episode last month.


In-Flight Catering:
Hot towel in a tray – second hot towel during this flight


Unlike CX, linen is still used to cover the tray table before meals. CX no longer offers linen on the short flights between HKG to TPE.

Here is the menu and the transcript:



Refreshment
Starter
Seasonal Fresh Fruit – really fresh and sweet: papaya, apple, and kiwi


Main Courses
Fried Pork Fillet with Assorted Mushroom Sauce
Accompanied with Creamy Mashed Potato and Western Vegetables
It was an interesting entrée and the pork was a bit overcooked. But I ended up finishing the dish anyway, as it still tasted better than the food on the lounge. In hindsight, I should go with the Chinese Dish, as the kitchen in Taiwan is better handling Chinese and Asian food.


Or
Braised Chicken with Mushroom, Lotus, and Konnyaku
Accompanied with Egg Fried Rice and Vegetable

[Carfield]

Dessert
Orange and Lemon Jelly – I actually am a big fan of this jelly dessert, which I prefer over ice cream. Very refreshing given the hot weather at both Hong Kong and Taipei!


Selection of Assorted Bread – choice of Japanese soft bread rolls or garlic bread – I had both kinds, which were delicious.


Tea and Coffee

A Hong Kong Airlines packaged Cranberry Cake was also placed in the tray too.


TPEBC_2013_HRC4_V1

It was a pretty good meal for a seventy-five minutes flight. There was another round of hot towels to round up the meal service. Three hot towel services were very impressive for these short flights. The meals were all hand delivered from the galley with no trolley. I was not sure if it was the protocol, or it was due to the light load. Anyway, the service was more personalized when no trolley was used.

Seat:
This seat is basically identical to the Asiana Business Class seat on the A380s that I have flown a few weeks ago. The seats will go full flat, but Asiana’s model is obviously a bit more up to date with a few more additional features.

Detail explanation of the seat:


Literature pocket next to the seat


Second literature pocket


Side panel with seat control console, entertainment console and a side storage bin for bottled water and small objects like cell phones


Personal TV


Small storage bin for shoes


Power outlet


Tray Table

[Carfield]

Seat in Recline position:





Seat in Full Flat Position




Cabin pictures after meal

[Carfield]

Crew rest possibly used during the longer flight to Male and longer flights to the PRC


Other than the blaring “red” upholstery, the seats are very comfortable and I think it is a bit wasteful being used on these short flights. But since there are frequent delays on these flights to China, it won’t be too bad to be stuck on these seats. These suites are currently being installed on some of the Airbus A330-200s, which I read in HX’s in-flight magazine.

Descent soon began at 1:46pm and ATC hold was not severe this afternoon. Some nice scenery as we approached HKG!



We landed on R/W25R at 2:16pm and were parked at gate 47 at 2:25pm. We were only five minutes behind schedule despite our late departure. I was happy to see a real gate, instead of another bus ride. Wilson thanked me personally as I deplaned. It was very impressive!

In conclusion, I think I won’t hesitate to fly Hong Kong Airlines, if I get to fly these Airbus A330-300s with lie-flat business class suites. I hope you enjoy this trip report!

Carfield

[CarbonMan]

Somehow the colour of the upholtery of the J seats caused the hair on my arm to stand up.