SYD>HKG Suggestions

[SeatBackForward]

I have to be in HKG Wed 29th to Fri 31st this month (August). Fairly flexible for travel there but need to return Saturday AM.

Was considering the CX100 ( A330-300) flight leaving SYD at 14:05, arriving HKG at 21:35 and returning on QF88 at 23:30 (A330-300) arriving 10:50+1. Our policy lets me fly in J, however any SC run type of itinerary will be frowned upon - and in my case at this time is of no benefit anyhow.

Options I was looking at:
1) QF 127 (747-400) leaving SYD 10:40 arriving 18:00 - but this is effectively a whole day lost in the air, althought I do tend to be VERY productive in a J seat.
2) CX138 (A330-300) leaving SYD 21:35 arriving 05:25+1 - overnight in J, means Tuesday is a full day at work/home and can use arrivals lounge at HKG to freshen up
3) QF128 (A380-800) leaving HKG 20:05 arriving 07:20+1 - less time in HKG, A380 J experience and earlier arrival into SYD!

If the first day in HKG is a bit sluggish due to the overnight flight, its ok, I mainly need to be on my game for the Thursday and Friday.

The first option is flying with QF, I Like QF J especially upper deck on the 747. I'ma lso keen to fly with CX, as a SG i enjoyed their service, would like to see what its like as a WP. And ideally prefer the new business class rather than the coffin seats. And am I foolish If i don't take the A380??

 

[simongr]

For an overnight flight I would take the QF flight over CX. You are going to get about the same amount of sleep in new CX J and the A380 - and there is the bonus of the status bonus.

I also personally would opt for the day time flight if you can. Why start a week tired if you don't have to.

 

[SeatBackForward]

For an overnight flight I would take the QF flight over CX. You are going to get about the same amount of sleep in new CX J and the A380 - and there is the bonus of the status bonus.

I also personally would opt for the day time flight if you can. Why start a week tired if you don't have to.

The return options i am looking at are bothon QF, either the earlier A380 or the slightly later A330. At this stage i'm thinking i might actually prefer the A380. That extra 3hrs on a Friday night in HKG isn't really going to add any value..

The day time flight, well I guess it still equates to a day of work - in a confined cubicle with music, tv and people bringing you food and drinks.. (wow!). And yes the idea of arriving fresh certainly is appealing. Will also give me a night in HKG to do my own thing...

Hmm decisions.

 

[yohy?!]

The return on the late QF A330 would be my preference - here's the reasons why:

-slow dinner service on the 380 means you may not get a chance to sleep till quite late (midnight HK time)
-early breakfast service (4am HK time) interrupts any chance of decent sleep

Of course you have to consider Skybed II (flat) on the 380 vs Skybed I (angled) on the 330.

 

[SeatBackForward]

The return on the late QF A330 would be my preference - here's the reasons why:

-slow dinner service on the 380 means you may not get a chance to sleep till quite late (midnight HK time)
-early breakfast service (4am HK time) interrupts any chance of decent sleep

Of course you have to consider Skybed II (flat) on the 380 vs Skybed I (angled) on the 330.

Yes the A330 is what I am planning on booking - I just feel a tinge of hestiation in avoiding the A380..But agreed, hopefully getting on at 23:50 means a couple of cold drinks then a semi-decent sleep before breakfast - might even be able to have some Friday night drinks with the HKG office!

The skybeds arent *that* much different to me, I easily fit into both and find the discomfort of the wedgie pales in signficance of the discomfort of trying to sleep on aeroplanes anyhow.

 

[Alanslegal]

The return on the late QF A330 would be my preference - here's the reasons why:

-slow dinner service on the 380 means you may not get a chance to sleep till quite late (midnight HK time)
-early breakfast service (4am HK time) interrupts any chance of decent sleep

Of course you have to consider Skybed II (flat) on the 380 vs Skybed I (angled) on the 330.

Or one could feast in one of the F Lounges prior to the flight and then sleep the entire flight including skipping breakfast

I normally have meals onboard no matter how late it is served (you know, if you are paying for it, you might as well consume them) but my last flight a few days ago (BKK-SYD) I managed to get a good 7hours (flight time 8h15m) of sleep purely by skippping all of the meals. Landed in SYD and headed to one of my local cafes here in Glebe for breakfast, which is 10x better than the stuff served onboard anyway

 

[yohy?!]

Or one could feast in one of the F Lounges prior to the flight and then sleep the entire flight including skipping breakfast

I normally have meals onboard no matter how late it is served (you know, if you are paying for it, you might as well consume them) but my last flight a few days ago (BKK-SYD) I managed to get a good 7hours (flight time 8h15m) of sleep purely by skippping all of the meals. Landed in SYD and headed to one of my local cafes here in Glebe for breakfast, which is 10x better than the stuff served onboard anyway

Good strategy I plan to try it out when I hit WP and the CX First lounge reopens after renovs

 

[SeatBackForward]

Funny how things can change, My trip may evolve from SYD>HKG>SYD to SYD>SIN>DEL>HKG>SYD....hopefully my boss will see the merit of sending me marginally further to be doubly productive!

 

[simongr]

Can you make that into a Circle Asia SWP with a bit of a bolt on to control costs?

 

[SeatBackForward]

Can you make that into a Circle Asia SWP with a bit of a bolt on to control costs?

I'll look into it, thanks for the suggestion.

I'm considering the following

SYD>SIN>DEL on SQ as this leaves SYD at 5pm and arrives into DEL at 5am, considering that'll 9:30am Sydney time, I may as well just go straight to the office..Will get to use my Turkish airline status match on SQ, so that could be interesting. Or the other option is QF and 92 arriving into DEL at 2:30am..which is just stupid o'clock for everyone involved.

DEL>HKG on 9W, there are other options, in fact Air India is the best time wise, but I refuse to fly with them. At least 9W earns QF points, although there is a CX option too.

HKG>SYD as per my original routing.

So maybe the OW fare will work.

It may all fall through though, and just remain SYD>HKG>SYD.

 

[SeatBackForward]

the SWP requires North East Asia. is HKG considered north east or South East? and India doesn't seem to appear on their list, although it does say any destination ticketed by QF/CX etc.

 

[simongr]

I think that is the problems - you might need a side flight xx_-DEL from South Asia and a north asia location. I would be thinking NRT - and have done hat a few times. All depends on how time pressured you are.

 

[SeatBackForward]

I think that is the problems - you might need a side flight xx_-DEL from South Asia and a north asia location. I would be thinking NRT - and have done hat a few times. All depends on how time pressured you are.

Well can only leave on Sunday afternoon, and must be back Saturday morning, and need at least two days in DEL and two days in HKG..so time pressure is on! I don't think it'll work having looked at it a bit more.

 

[simongr]

I did the QF->9W flight and then went straight from the airport to the hotel and on to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. I had about an hour's sleep in the car each way and was fine for the rest of the day. The flight is pretty long so a good chance to start the adjustment.

 

[SeatBackForward]

I did the QF->9W flight and then went straight from the airport to the hotel and on to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. I had about an hour's sleep in the car each way and was fine for the rest of the day. The flight is pretty long so a good chance to start the adjustment.

Its a good option. I'll try to see if they are ok with me getting a hotel for the morning arrival (depends on how stingy the project I'm going to is). But leaving at 5pm means more time with my son before heading to the airport..hmmm...

 

[simongr]

Due to delays ex-SYD my connection in SIN was pretty tight but the 9W was an ok flight. Coffin (CX) style lie flat beds - just observed above you don't like those though.

 

[SeatBackForward]

Due to delays ex-SYD my connection in SIN was pretty tight but the 9W was an ok flight. Coffin (CX) style lie flat beds - just observed above you don't like those though.

Its merely a preference, I wont literally die in one of the coffins . In fact I've been in a 9W coffin before, and it was fine (other than the family demanding to be in business a few rows back, despite all efforts by the crew that that wasn't their allocated ticketed seats)

 

[SeatBackForward]

Ok well, the situation is, the HKG is definitely on, and flights have been booked. QF127, the day flight out, and QF88 the late night flight return.

However, the project in DEL is screaming for my assistance for even just a couple of days, and I did suggest to them it may be possible to wrap it into the same trip. Just have to convince ym boss now that its worthwhile for me to go pay them a visit them leg over to HKG from there.

Options from DEL to HKG are pretty awful, the best flight is the AI flight, which is a contradiction in terms, so we'll leave it there. Now the decision would be 9W or CX ?

 

[SeatBackForward]

Well the latest is that the trip to DEL is being quashed...for now. BUT mor than likely a trip will occur towards the end of the year, so not all bad news
I didn't like the idea of 6 nights away, 3 of them in the air anyhow.

 

[SeatBackForward]

Oh yes, it pays to keep checking seating allocation. Exit Row, Upper deck!