Hong Kong Lounges
Another early wake-up and after a quick check-out I was in a taxi on the way back to Kowloon Airport Express Station. Having offloaded the last of my spare HKD to the driver I had a little moment of panic as I hadn't yet bought my train ticket, though luckily you can pay for tickets via CC at the information desk of the departure area, the bonus of course being more frequent flyer points!!! I know you were all thinking it...
. Having arrived nice and early I wanted to visit a variety of the lounges on offer. With my flight departing from Gate 26 I quickly drew up a plan of attack in my head to start at The Wing (Business section of course as I only have access based on class of travel) just past immigration on the left, then take the train out to The Pier Business before coming back down the terminal via The Bridge and finish at The Cabin, conveniently located adjacent to our departure gate.
Unfortunately my first stop at The Pier was a little briefer than planned as it was rather crowded. Now I should clarify I'm not talking can't find a seat crowded, but just crowded enough I didn't feel comfortable to take photos of the various areas and wasn't the quiet place for relaxation I had become used to (yeah I know after like 3 visits to a lounge I'm already a lounge snob
). So after a quick coffee and a wee bit of plane spotting I was off to The Pier.
Wow. Although I had read a lot of positive feedback regarding this space (and even more regarding its First class sibling) it was still startling to see how good it actually is. The space is really just massive, with a classy finish to the decor and a variety of distinct yet connected spaces. I was keen to sample the food and beverage options so started with some rice noodles with tofu from the noodle bar. I then went next door into the main dining room to enjoy some scrambled eggs with potato rosti. Although the food was presented buffet style it was actually plated by servers behind the counter which I'm not sure how I feel about, though it certainly helped with portion control so my waistline was thankful. Of course I had to accompany this with a glass of champagne (Moët). It was then time to check out the showers and start getting ready for the next 12 hours of sitting a big metal tube (not that I'm complaining considering the luxury I would be able to enjoy over that time).
After freshening up it was about an hour until boarding so I decided to skip The Bridge on the way back and head straight to The Cabin. I was particularly looking forward to the Health Bar for something that at least looks like it isn't going to make me double in weight before I step foot in Europe. Side note but I was under the impression that the train running along the length of the 'main arm' of the terminal only ran towards the fork (where The Bridge and The Pier are located) and I rode it in that direction. As I boarded, however, I also noticed people disembarking on the other side so perhaps you can now ride in both directions? If I was a little less selfish I probably should have gone down and checked but I only had a limited amount of time and a lot of planes to take photos of on the way back to The Cabin.
All the photos of the lounges themselves are on my action cam which is a little harder to retrieve files from but this is a collection of the planespotting I was enjoying at various spots around the airport.
Flight - Hong Kong to Paris
CX279 777-300ER
Seat 12K
Boarding was slightly delayed so after spending a little more time in the lounge admiring the Tarmac operations I made my way upstairs to the boarding gate. Boarding was well underway with economy passengers being processed through both sides but as the associate saw me heading towards the business class lane he blocked off it off and allowed me to pass through without delay, priority boarding done absolutely perfectly. I was in seat 12K, a window seat on the right hand side though as this aircraft topped out at Business, I was actually seated in a very similar position as my first flight in JAL F, good memories
The load was particularly light in the forward J cabin with about half the seats taken. The seat is the reverse herringbone style and wow is it an excellent set up.
We took off at about 10:05. Once we passed through about 10,000 ft the cabin crew commenced service preparations, though the seat belt sign remained on for another 10 minutes or so. Amenity kits were soon distributed along with the menu for the flight and I discovered the plane was equipped with a nose camera! Sure the resolution was terrible and during a lot of the cruise nothing but cloud was visible but that didn't stop me checking back in on what the pilots were seeing every 5 minutes
.
The service began with drinks and a bowl of nuts offered at 10.35. I ordered a Bloody Mary to enjoy with my bowl of almonds and cashews.
Starters were then served consisting of a crab salad with corn, tobiko and yellow tomato and mixed salad with artichoke, along with a choice from the bread basked from which I selected the garlic bread again.
Mains were served at 11:30. I'm thinking they started at the rear of the cabin as by the time they had reached me at the front (there was no one in 11 G/K) they were out of beef. Not a problem for me though as I selected my first choice of the pumpkin and parmigiano ravioli and paired it with a glass of the promotional red from France along with another glass of champagne. I wasn't expecting great things from a pasta dish on a plane but my expectations were considerably exceeded and paired well with the small bottle of Tabasco also provided.
For dessert I selected the mango, sago and somelo pudding which was delicious along with the Hong Kong style milk tea I chose to accompany it with.
Service finished with a choice of pralines though I suspect the cabin crew may have got word from the coughpit that turbulence was ahead as the desert and pralines were offered wile I was still finishing the cheese and fruit platter, even though the previous portions of the service were done at a gentle pace. The seatbelt sign soon went on after the pralines were offered though the cabin crew finished clearing tables and even offered hot towels after the light had been lit, though they appeared to be seated before the actual bumps hit.
The seat; amenity kit before and after; drinks and nuts; starter; ravioli.
After the seatbelt sign was again extinguished I changed into something more comfortable (my new JAL F PJs
hehe) and ordered the afternoon tea set as well as a glass of Baileys and finished with a cappuccino. I was planning to resist the temptation of sleep on that spacious flat bed in an attempt to sync up with the destination time zone. To do so I figured a few litres of caffeine might help and the cappuccinos the crew were serving up were doing a fine job with that. A little while later I asked for the afternoon and it was everything this sweet tooth could hope for!
Just over half way through the flight I took a walk down to the tail and back to stretch my legs and asked for a snack of ice cream along with another cappuccino.
It was then time to get caught up on some work I could do offline (and of course this trip report). Unfortunately the ice cream was rock hard when it was served though once it thawed it was delicious. The little surprise bonus of an Anzac cookie was a lovely little taste of home.
With about two hours to the destination, the cabin lighting was raised to a gentle warm tone and the pre-arrival service began with hot towels. Followed by drinks about 10 minutes later. From memory I had some sort of fish dish and seem to remember it was quite good though the pictures may jog my memory.
Post meal cheese and fruit platter; afternoon tea selection; cappuccino and ice cream; pre-arrival meal (there was another fruit platter served prior to this as well); pre-arrival dessert; the cracking entertainment on approach.
We landed ahead of schedule at about 4 pm local time though it took what seemed like an age before the bags came out, then once they did my bag was not among the first few dozen out so either priority baggage not enforced or there were a lot of elites on this flight. I think I remember a few bags coming out before mine without the tags but I might've just missed them and in the scheme of things I still had my bags and was on my way well before most of the plane so I shouldn't complain.
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