Beijing via Hong Kong (CX/KA in Economy): Three Lounges, Two Dragons, and a Duck

[yflyer]

I flew recently to Beijing via Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific and Dragonair in Y Class. Equipment flown consisted of a CX 777 and A330, and KA A330’s.

These aircraft had older, previous generation cabin products, so for the frequent flyers out there, there wasn't anything groundbreaking in terms of inflight experience or equipment (at least not as interesting as my previous TR’s on JL’s 787 or AF’s A380). But by way of compensation, I will be posting my impressions of all three CX business class lounges (The Wing, The Cabin, The Pier) that I visited in Hong Kong airport during the course of the trip, as well other delights along the way, including a serving of delectable Roast Duck in Beijing.

For loyal Star Gold or SQ PPS/Krisflyer members, this TR also provides a glimpse of what goes on in the CX/Oneworld lounges that we often pass by, but seldom enter.

Also some surprising conclusions about Y meal service on CX vs KA vs SQ.

The trip began, as always, at Changi Airport. Flying CX out of Terminal One means that you get to admire this kinetic sculpture in T1, which is really quite a remarkable piece of art/engineering.



The picture doesn't quite do justice to this moving sculpture. To see this sculpture in motion, google "Kinetic Rain Changi Airport".

[yflyer]

My first flight was an early morning CX 777 to Hong Kong.



It was an older aircraft, but one thing strikes me about the older 777’s compared to the very latest: They may not have the largest/latest IFE screens but the seats seem to be more comfortable. They have more padding and recline. I found this to be a particularly comfortable 777 seat, better than some of the newer Y products I have tried.





The cockpit door remained open till just before pushback.

[yflyer]

Seats were in 3-3-3 layout, and legroom was decent, although the IFE equipment blocked some of the legroom under the B seat.



There was a smallish selection of movies on IFE by today’s standards. This was the old style non-AVOD programme selection. A throwback to the days of VHS and poorly adjusted TV antennas.



Seats came with a pillow and blanket comparable in size and comfort to the SQ pillows and blankets. Surprisingly the headphones came with the larger old style ¼” headphone plug, not the airline double plug or miniplug. I have never carried an adapter for this. Now that is really retro!

If you are travelling CX and use your own headphones, don’t forget to bring a mini-plug to ¼” headphone jack adapter.

[yflyer]

No menus were distributed, and you were asked to choose between a Western breakfast consisting of Western style eggs, or Chinese fish congee (Rice porridge). Having never had congee in Y before, I ordered that, and was not disappointed. They somehow managed to serve a satisfying portion of fish congee, with thick slides of white fish, in a standard sized Y casserole. Some folks may find this dish slightly bland, but that is more a characteristic of the dish itself, rather than the inflight catering.



When I snapped the picture of the tray, I thought it strange that they had an empty dish on it, but later noticed that other passengers had a fluffy pastry, which my tray had omitted. They came round with seconds later, and my pastry tasted surprisingly fresh, warm and moist.



Overall the 3.5 hour flight was uneventful, and fairly pleasant, although it did not make a deep impression the way that some SQ flights in Y can, if everything goes just right.

I always look forward to transit in Hong Kong. The airport is efficient, the architecture stunning, and of course the other enjoyable part of transiting in Hong Kong on CX/Oneworld is the opportunity to explore the three CX lounges at various airside locations within the terminal.

[yflyer]

Prior to this trip, I had only visited The Wing, the original CX lounge, ten or so years ago, and was blown away by both the design and facilities. Since then, I have flown mainly SQ/Star Alliance, and visited either the SQ or UA lounges in Hong Kong, which were comfortable but otherwise unexceptional.

On trips this week, I had the opportunity to visit all three of the CX lounges: The Wing, The Pier and The Cabin, which were similar in terms of what they offered, but they were each quite distinctive in terms of their ambience.

But first, The Pier, which is located near gates 61-65.



The lounge is located close to the departure gates, down an escalator.



A quick scan of my boarding pass at the lounge reception, and I was in an oasis of calm and relaxation (This was on a Sunday, around midday. Maybe it gets crowded at other times.)

[yflyer]

I enjoy planespotting, and one of the joys of this lounge is the great tarmac views. This Thai A380 was one of many aircraft that taxied past.



I wonder why SQ and Changi have this thing for windowless lounges, no matter how well appointed they are.

One of the signature features of the CX lounges in HK are the noodle bars. Canteen style tables are a setting for made-to-order noodles and other small dishes.



Catering is from the famous Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong. No shortcuts here. I wonder why so many other airline lounges (SQ sometimes included) think they can get away with 2nd-rate catering. Lounge food can be an opportunity to showcase a country's unique cuisine. CX does this in HK with their noodle bars. JL does this in Japan. Even AA does some very good food in their Admirals Club (You have to pay, though). I'm not asking for an over-the-top dining experience or a full blown restaurant, just a signature dish or two that you can look forward to while in transit.



While there is a separate hot/cold buffet selection elsewhere, the noodle bar prepares steaming hot bowls of noodles on order.

[yflyer]

My initial impression when I got my bowl of noodles was that it was a really small portion. But I noticed others had full size bowls, and I suspect you could order a full-size portion on request. Then again, the small portion meant that I could try not one but two bowls, which I did!

Hong Kong style shrimp wonton noodles:



My second bowl, which was the Oriental Lanzhou noodles with sliced beef:



Great tarmac views from the noodle bar too.

[yflyer]

I then moved on to the bar counter, with a good selection of beverages:







And if that wasn’t sufficient, you could also proceed to a coffee bar where a selection of hot/iced coffees and teas were prepared to order as well. Apart from the daily selections listed, traditional Hong Kong milk tea was also available.



I did not use the showers in the lounge, but from what I have heard, the shower suites are quite well appointed.

[yflyer]

After that it was on to my Dragonair flight to Beijing.

The two Dragons referred to in the thread title don't refer to lounge dragons (no fearsome lounge dragons encountered anywhere on this trip!), but the two Dragonair A330 flights I took to and from Beijing and Hong Kong.

[yflyer]

These Dragonair flights were on older planes. This A330 had a three class layout. I did not take pictures of F or J, but those cabins had fairly dated seating, probably 3-4 generations old. Not a single lie-flat or herringbone in sight.

The dated cabin did not bother me too much, as Y seats (apart from the IFE) have not evolved at all in the last 10 years or so. And in many ways older seats are preferable. These seats were comfortable, with average recline.

[yflyer]

And this is what counts as seatback IFE on this flight!



It came as quite a shock when I boarded and found that there was no individual seatback IFE on this flight, which was just under 3 hours in duration. The audacity...who do they think they are? Silkair?

That said, I had a fully loaded iPad, so this was never a showstopper for me. On the other hand, this aircraft had shared, inseat power in Y. Interesting priorities -- that would be my priority too.

At least they had audio and headsets, so that you could watch proper movies with audio on the flip down screen in the cabin.

[yflyer]

And here is the second shocker: On my flights at least, catering on KA from Hong Kong to Beijing was noticeably superior to CX from Singapore to Hong Kong.

For a start, they had printed menus.



I had the beef selection, which tasted very good.

[yflyer]

I arrived in Beijing in the late afternoon, at dusk, just after snowfall earlier in the day.





This was my first time arriving at the new Beijing Capital Airport, and it is a massive terminal. Be prepared to walk long distances though!

[yflyer]

I spent several days in sub-zero Beijing. Thankfully the air pollution that week was not as bad as it was several weeks back.



I stayed at the JW Marriott, which is a fairly new hotel. The rooms were quite comfortable, as was the Executive Lounge.

Within the hotel, I dined at "Cru", their steakhouse, which was pretty good. There was a branch of Nobu in the basement, however the pricing was even more terrifying than Nobu restaurants in other cities and I did not eat there. There was also a buffet restaurant with a wide selection of both Asian and Western dishes. I tried to take pictures of the buffet spread, but was told that they had a no photos policy at that restaurant. Are they really so afraid of copycats?





I don't have status with Marriott Rewards, but the hotel had a promotion running, which gave me access to the Executive Lounge during my stay.

One distinctive feature of this lounge is that complimentary soft and alcoholic beverage hours last until 9.30pm, far later than hotel lounges in other cities I have encountered. Perhaps the guests here do not imbibe as much. If they extended happy hour beverages to this hour in some other cities where the guests knock back bottles at a time, I can forsee the lounge ambience deteriorating rapidly as the evening wears on.

Here are some pictures of the Executive Lounge.

[yflyer]

What trip to Beijing is complete without sampling Beijing Duck? I sampled this delectable dish at Beijing Da Dong Restaurant.



It was truly excellent duck, far superior to the dish you find in other countries that restaurants try to pass off as "Beijing Duck"



It also came with an impressive array of condiments.