jacob_m

Check-in at Kowloon station and to the airport

The next part of this trip is Hong Kong-Zürich-Frankfurt-Brussels with Swiss and Lufthansa, the HKG-ZRH leg is with Swiss in first class, the other legs are in business class.

In Hong Kong they actually offer in-town check-in (even with luggage) at two of the railway stations, so you can check in any time of the day until 90 mins before departure and then go straight to the gate at the airport.
Check-in is offered for all major airlines at both Kowloon Station and Hong Kong Station (in Central), the only requirement is that you have to take the airport train to the airport.
Fair enough! They actually check that you have a valid ticket before you are allowed to check in, there are ticket gates at the entrance to the check-in area, so you either insert your train ticket or touch your Octopus card on the card reader to deduct the fare.
Great service! I really wish more cities would offer in-town check-in. There used to be one at Paddington station in London (for Heathrow), I used it several times while it existed but unfortunately they decided to remove it, what a shame!

I took the free transfer bus from Tsim Sha Tsui to Kowloon station, the bus is free of charge as long as you will take the airport train to the airport (a same-day airline ticket was enough to get me onboard as I did not have a train ticket yet).
I arrived at Kowloon station around 6 pm, even though my flight was not leaving until midnight.
The main reason was that I wanted to have enough time to check out the lounges at the airport. I had read on the internet that Swiss first class passenger are allowed to use the Cathay Pacific lounge “The Wing”, but more about that later.

I bought a train ticket from a machine and inserted it in the ticket gate to enter the check-in area. I found the dedicated Swiss check-in desk almost right opposite the ticket gate.
The check-in agent was busy helping a colleague but a minute later she came to assist me.
She got very confused by my ticket though and had difficulties to figure out where I was actually going (by now I was quite used to this though).
Well everything was sorted out and my luggage was properly tagged all the way to Brussels and as a Swiss first class passenger they also attached the F/HON-tag.
They could only issue a boarding pass to Zürich though since the other flights were not open for check-in yet, not all too surprising since my connecting flight from Zürich would not leave for another 24 hours.
And finally, just what I had been waiting for, I was given an invitation to the Cathay Pacific lounge. I was actually given a proper invitation and they even printed my name, flight number and the date on it, so it looked very nice!
The invitation also clearly stated I was allowed to use the first class side of the lounge! Score!

I thanked her for her help and went downstairs to the platform level and caught the train to the airport. It takes around 20 mins to get to the airport from central Hong Kong.

Pics
In-town check-in in central Hong Kong
Inside the Airport Express train to Hong Kong airport
The departure hall at Hong Kong Intl airport

Lounge hopping in Hong Kong

As I said I checked in and left early for the airport to have time for some lounge hopping. This was possible due to the in-town check-in, but I doubt it would have worked without it as the airport check-in probably does not open earlier than three hours before departure.

As you already know I had an invitation to the Cathay Pacific lounge, ranked as one of the best in the world, but that was not the only lounge I had access to.
As a Swiss first class passenger I was also regarded as a Star Alliance first class passengers, and with a same-day Star Alliance boarding pass in F I had access to all Star Alliance first class lounges (and business lounges) at the departure airport, that's what the rules say!
In Hong Kong there are as many as three dedicated Star Alliance first class lounges – Singapore Airlines, United Airlines, and Thai Airways.
That's a pretty decent selection of first class lounges!!! I decided to skip the UA lounge, but my intention was to visit the other two lounges plus CX The Wing.
After looking on the internet I found that all lounges would stay open until at least 9.30 pm (The Wing until last CX departure after midnight). As I arrived at the airport just before 7 pm there was still plenty of time for all the lounge visits as planned.

Time to start...

Thai Airways Royal Orchid lounge, First Class side, Hong Kong

The Thai Airways lounge was my first stop, the lounge is quite a walk from security in the left pier of the Y-shaped terminal. The lounge is completely new and very nice.

I presented my first class boarding pass at the reception, and after taking a photocopy of my boarding pass I was allowed inside and accordingly directed to the first class side.
No problem at all to enter and they did not mention anything about being in the wrong lounge either. However I was told the lounge would close at 9.30 pm, but I could naturally stay until that time.

The first class side was very empty with only three people inside, Thai only offers first class on two daily flights to Bangkok, so I am surprised they even have a first class lounge.

I had a seat at a table and was approached by young woman who welcomed me to the lounge and gave me the lounge menu, I was also asked if I wanted anything to drink and I asked for a glass of red wine.
While my drink order was taken care of I had a look at the menu, they basically offer an à la carte service to first class passengers, nothing extraordinary, but there is hot food available and you can have a proper meal in the lounge.
I had not had any dinner yet so when the waitress was back with my glass of wine I ordered the pasta dish with chicken.
It took around 10 minutes before the meal arrived, but the pasta was quite good.
I was offered more wine and after the meal I asked for the ice cream and a cup of coffee.

Overall the lounge was very nice and the à la carte service is great!! ^
The Thai Airways lounge is definitely the best lounge choice for *A first class passengers in Hong Kong (unless you fly Swiss and have access to CX The Wing of course ).
Other than the mentioned benefits in the first class lounge you are also welcome to make use of the facilities on the business class side where they have a fairly large self-service buffet.
In the lounge they also have a business centre with free internet and nice massage chairs, but they were all occupied during my visit.

I spent around an hour in the lounge having dinner and checking my e-mails before continuing to the next lounge.

Finally here is the à la carte menu for the Thai Airways first class lounge. I took a photo of the menu so it was quite easy to type and post.

Pics
The entrance to the Thai Airways lounge
Inside the first class lounge
Plenty of drinks in the lounge
The a la carte menu for first class passengers
The pasta dish and red wine
Coffee and Pappagallo ice cream
The business class side of the lounge

Singapore Airlines First Class lounge, Hong Kong

Next stop was the Singapore Airlines lounge which is located in the main shopping area just after security, so I had to walk all the way back to the central area.
It is quite a walk to get from the end of the Y-pier to the main shopping area, a few minutes walk at least, even though there are moving walkways.

No problem getting inside the SQ lounge either, the lounge staff in Hong Kong really seemed to know the rules, after writing down my ticket details the friendly lounge agent invited me inside the first class lounge.
The first class lounge was a bit dark and the self-service area looked a bit dated with the yellow lighting.
There was plenty to eat though including some hot food, and plenty of drinks as well.
Since I had already had a proper meal in the Thai lounge I continued my lounge dinner with wine and cheese in the SQ lounge and then coffee and some more ice cream. Just like in Singapore they had lovely Häagen Dazs ice cream on offer.

I had some more wine to drink and then surfed the internet for a while, they had several computers with free internet.
Around 9.20 pm the lounge was completely empty except for me, the last SQ departure for the day to San Francisco was soon leaving and all passengers had already boarded.
The nice lounge attendant came into the lounge and told me they would close at 9.30 pm, but I could still stay a few more minutes. I finished my wine and got ready to leave the lounge.
On the way out I chatted a bit with the reception girl, she knew my flight was not leaving until midnight, so she was a bit concerned how I should manage to kill all that time since her lounge was closing.
Well that was very thoughtful of her (really great staff at the SQ HKG lounge!), but obviously she didn’t know about the Swiss lounge agreements and that I had an invitation to CX The Wing in my bag.

Pics
The entrance to the Singapore Airlines lounge
Inside the first class lounge
The self-service buffet
Another photo of the self-service buffet

Cathay Pacific “The Wing”, Hong Kong

After a bit of shopping I went to the third lounge for the day, of course I had saved the best one to last (well the others were closing early anyway).
It was around 10 pm when I arrived at the entrance to the Cathay Pacific lounge “The Wing”, also located close to the main shopping area. After giving my invitation to the reception girl I was allowed inside and I took a lift to the lounge which is on the first floor
Apparently I used the business class entrance to the lounge, there is actually a separate first class entrance as well to the immediate left after the security check.

I first had a look inside the business class side of The Wing which is the main part and also the largest part of the lounge. There were plenty of nice features there like two bars named “The Long Bar” and “The Short Bar”, a noodle bar, and a room with plenty of magazines and newspapers.
There was a sign for the first class lounge though, so after having a look around and taking some photos I headed over to the first class lounge.

There was a lounge attendant standing at the entrance to the first class side, I showed her my first class boarding pass and was welcomed inside.
The first class side was much smaller and actually pretty crowded as there were many flight leaving around midnight, I found an empty seat though quite quickly.
The staff noticed my arrival and just a minute later I was approached by a waitress who asked me if I wanted anything to drink, and soon I had a glass of Moet & Chandon on my table.

The first class lounge also had a very nice self-service restaurant called “The Haven” with plenty of delicious food, snacks, fruit and desserts. Too bad I really wasn’t hungry and also wanted to save some room for the meal onboard, otherwise I would happily have tried some of the food on offer.
I had some fresh fruit though and some chocolate pralines and brought it to my seat in the lounge, although they have tables inside the restaurant if you want to eat properly.

On the whole the lounge was fantastic, great staff who passed frequently to take drink orders and a superb buffet in The Haven. ^
On top of that you obviously have access to all the facilities in the business class lounge, if you feel like having noodles for example.
The only drawback was that the lounge was fairly crowded and also the armchairs in the lounge were a bit too low for me.
But other than that I really enjoyed the lounge, definitely a real competitor to the Lufthansa first class lounges in Frankfurt, and after all Cathay Pacific recently won the award of the world's best first class lounge.

Pics
Lounge invitation to “enjoy a redefined standard in elegant luxury”
The entrance to The Wing
Inside the business class side of the lounge
Plenty of facilities in the lounge, so it's good to get directions!
The short bar
The noodle bar
Plenty of newspapers and magazines
The first class side of the lounge
Internet computers in the first class lounge
A glass of Moet & Chandon
Inside “The Haven” restaurant in the first class lounge
A part of the buffet in "The Haven"

Next it’s time to try Swiss First class, 13 hours to Switzerland! There might be some more first class lounges later on as well...