jacob_m

Yep, I’m back in the air again and it’s time for another trip report, this time I had to go to Taipei, Taiwan.
I managed to find a really interesting business class fare which not only included great routing options and unlimited transfers but also an interesting choice of airlines.
Being the completely mad person I am I naturally made full use of the fare and managed to create a rather interesting itinerary with several segments and as many as five different airlines, all in business class.

As some of you may already know by now I very much enjoy reviewing things that haven’t been covered a lot before, and I can say there will be a few similar highlights in this report as well.
Personally I got to experience three new airlines, three new lounges, two newly refurbished lounges and a new country.
My camera has been working hard as well so people enjoying photo reports will not be disappointed, there are around 200 photos waiting to be uploaded.

I will post the report in instalments as writing it and uploading all the pics takes quite a lot of time.
I hope you’ll enjoy the report, comments and questions are welcome as always!

Before we take off again, here are some of my previous trip reports:

Read all my latests trip reports here!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=845338]Turkish Airlines Business Class - A review of the newest *A member!
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=761237]ARN-SIN and back in three day on LH/SK/TG in C + Shangri-La Singapore + lots of pics!
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=676816]European Business class can be pretty nice!! LH/TP/LX/LO/VO/OS in C with 100+ pics!
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=626793]The trip of trips!! FRWSTAR2 around the world! 57 days, 34 flights, and a few trains…

jacob_m

Check-in at Arlanda airport

I took a taxi followed by the airport bus and arrived at Arlanda airport, 40 km north of Stockholm, just after 8 am with a bit over an hour before departure.
This time I had finally managed to fit all the necessary stuff in my hand luggage so I entered the terminal building with only a rollaway and a laptop bag and hence opted to use a self-service machine for the check-in formalities (and frankly, it saved me those strange looks from the check-in staff ).
I inserted my SAS Eurobonus card and my itinerary appeared on the screen, it looked impressive indeed, I have never had so many consecutive segments before.
I decided to only check-in for the first two segments and deal with the rest later on, this also in order to get the ticket stock right.
SAS has a rather strange new boarding pass system with several flights printed on the same boarding pass, so the machine only spit out one boarding pass which had the flight details and seat numbers for both my two upcoming flights.
On SAS it’s of course no big deal, but if connecting to other airlines it may create some confusion and also if you’re on a mileage run all staff get to see your itinerary (which is not always what you want).

There were quite a few people in the economy check-in line and at the regular security control but as an SAS gold card holder (and travelling in business class) I could use the fast track security which was extremely quick.
I visited the Forex exchange office to get some Taiwanese dollars, the poor man at the counter had a hard time to find out if they even had any Taiwanese money available, but finally he managed to get the amount I was asking for.

Pics
SAS Business class and Eurobonus Gold check-in
The transit hall in terminal 5 A-pier

SAS Scandinavian lounge, Stockholm/Arlanda

I visited the SAS Scandinavian lounge on the first floor in terminal 5 and had some breakfast before the flight.
The lounge was really crowded this morning with many morning flights departing around 8-9 am, I didn’t have any problems finding a seat though.
I had some breakfast and a large well-needed cup of coffee and used my laptop to check my e-mails before the flight. They also had a TV showing the Olympic Games which obviously drew some attention in the lounge, this morning they showed the swimming which is always fun to watch.
Around 9 am, 25 minutes before departure, the monitors indicated it was time to head for gate 4, the departure gate for the flight to Copenhagen.

Pics
Inside the lounge
The self-service buffet with breakfast and drinks
Comfortable sofas and armchairs

Stockholm/Arlanda-Copenhagen, flight SK 403 operated by SAS Scandinavian Airlines
Departure: 09:25
Arrival: 10:35
Aircraft: MD-80
Class: Economy Extra (ticket booked in business class)
Seat: 05F

Boarding had already started at the gate when I arrived, no priority boarding and no “boarding by sections”, but with quite a few frequent travellers on this route boarding was quick anyway.
Scandinavian and international newspapers were available at the gate as usual.

There are two classes on the flights between the Scandinavian capitals: Economy class and Economy Extra.
Economy class basically means no frills, Economy Extra means you get a cold/light meal and free drinks (actually “free drinks” include champagne!).
All passengers with regular economy class tickets are seated in economy class and all passengers with business class tickets and full-fare economy class tickets are seated in Economy Extra, the latter applied for me with a business class ticket.
Funnily if you have a business class ticket you also get full business class miles, business class baggage allowance and lounge access for the flight. None of it mattered much to me with a gold card, but I got a decent amount of points for the flight which was nice.
You can actually even buy a business class ticket Stockholm-Copenhagen even though there is no business class cabin on the flight.

Pushback was punctual at 9.25 am sharp and we took off at 9.30 am from runway 19R.
On this flight they served free breakfast in Economy Extra in the shape of a white plastic box.
The breakfast box contained a fruit drink (apples, carrots and something else, very good!), a strawberry yoghurt and some cold cuts (cheese and ham).
The flight attendants offered warm bread and coffee and tea, refills were also offered.
The breakfast was adequate, but actually it used to be much better on this route, the fruit drink was very tasty though.

With an hour flight time we landed just before 10.35 am on runway 22L in Copenhagen and I enjoyed a great view of the strait of Öresund and the entire city of Copenhagen during the final approach. Copenhagen is a very flat city as you can see on the photo below, funnily pretty much all the taller buildings are Radisson SAS hotels.
As on my previous flights to Copenhagen the taxi to the terminal was very quick, the aircraft basically continues rolling from the runway all the way to the gate without ever stopping.

Pics
The breakfast box served in economy extra
Contents of the box
Final approach to Kastrup airport with the entire Copenhagen city centre in the background

Copenhagen is a great airport with excellent shopping (there are over 50 shops in the transit area). It’s also a good transfer airport, minimum connecting time is only 45 minutes, even 40 minutes for some approved connections.
I had a quick look in the main tax-free shop and then headed to the SAS lounge.

Pics
The transit hall in Copenhagen

SAS Scandinavian lounge, Copenhagen

The SAS lounge was nice as always, but the woman at the reception desk wasn’t in her best mood and actually didn’t even greet me, otherwise the staff in the CPH lounge are usually very helpful.
The business lounge is to the left of the reception desk, on the ground floor, whilst the Scandinavian lounge (the gold card lounge) is to the right on a balcony on the first floor right above the business lounge.
The Scandinavian lounge was not very crowded and I had no problems finding a seat, I was happy to notice that some parts of the lounge had been refurbished during July including the buffet area with the drinks which looked a bit different than it used to. It was also nice to see that the nice fireplace had been lit, I just love that feature of the lounge (especially in the winter when it’s dark and cold outdoors). ^
Food was limited to some cold cuts this morning but on the other hand they had some lovely chocolate Danishes on offer! Quite tasty red wines as well but the spirits had not yet been brought out (it’s usually done at noon).
I had some red wine and some light food before it was time to head for the gate, I only had an hour in Copenhagen but with a completely hassle-free transfer I got around 30 minutes in the lounge.

Pics
The entrance and reception desk, the gold card lounge is to the right
The restaurant part of the lounge
Food in the self-service buffet
Drinks in the lounge (with a newly refurbished "kitchen")
Nice sitting areas, notice the lovely fireplace!

Copenhagen-Hamburg, flight SK 1647 operated by Cimber Air
Departure: 11:35
Arrival: 12:25
Aircraft: CRJ-200
Class: Business Class
Seat: 02F

The gate for the Hamburg flight was right outside the lounge, since it was a small plane operating it was parked at a remote stand and we were taken to the aircraft by bus.
At the gate they gave me a “cabin baggage”-tag for my rollaway and asked me to have it stored in the hold during the flight due to the limited space in the cabin, the same was done for several other passengers. Once at the remote stand it turned out there was so much checked luggage on the flight that there was simply no space for the cabin luggage in the cargo hold, so all of cabin luggage had to be stored in the cabin.
Four young guys onboard (who I recognised from the Stockholm flight) travelled with guitars and they simply had to use empty seats for the guitars and have them secured with seatbelts.

The flight to Hamburg was operated by Cimber Air which is a partner of SAS, although the flight was still regarded as an SAS flight. SAS used to operate the Dash-8 on this route, but after abandoning the aircraft type indefinitely due to all the serious incidents SAS had to lease aircrafts or ask other airlines to operate some of the routes, and this was one of those cases.
The flight was operated by a Canadair CRJ-200.

We pushed back pretty much on time and took off at 11.50 am from runway 22R.
As with all international (non intra-Scandinavian) flights there were three classes onboard, even on this small CRJ-200: Economy class, Economy Extra and Business Class.
We were three passengers in business class, me and two Japanese passengers.
In business class a cold meal was served which was surprisingly extensive and tasty for this 35 minutes flight, I took this very flight during my round the world trip in 2006 and back then only a very unremarkable cheese sandwich was served.
On this flight a tray was handed out in business class with proper business class china (same as used on the longhaul flights). The meal consisted of a salmon sandwich and blue mould cheese sandwich, there was also a small box with two yummy chocolate pralines.
A full drink service was also available and I had some Nicolas Feuillate champagne to drink, coffee and tea were also offered.

Two friendly female flight attendants were working in the cabin serving all three classes, a Swedish purser, Anne, and a Danish flight attendant, Vibeke.
In spite of the short flight time they provided very good and attentive service and there is absolutely nothing I can complain about.

The approach to Hamburg was quite interesting, we flew right over the city centre giving me (sitting on the right side) a nice view of the airport, then we made a 180 degrees right turn to align with runway 05 giving me a nice view of the city centre.
During the final approach we passed the second airport of Hamburg called Finkenwerder which is also the second home of Airbus. We were low enough that I could clearly spot some interesting aircrafts on the apron, among those an Airbus A380 of Qantas which has not even started operating yet (expected in October 2008), you can clearly see it on the photo below.
We finally landed at 12.25, parked at a remote stand and were taken to the terminal building by bus.

Interestingly this very short flight gave me (flying business class with gold card bonus) an impressive 2000 points which is a lot in SAS Eurobonus. I don't think there are any other routes in the entire network with a similar short distance giving such a large amount of points.

Pics
Onboard the Cimber Air CRJ-200
Lunch in business class
Nicolas Feuillate champagne to drink
Hamburg airport during the approach, we will make a 180 degrees turn and land on that horizontal runway
Finkenwerder airport outside Hamburg, second home of Airbus. Notice the brand new Qantas A380 on the bottom right!!
Just landed at Hamburg airport
The Cimber Air CRJ-200 at the remote stand in Hamburg

Lufthansa Senator lounge, Hamburg

Entering the terminal building there were signs for flight connections to follow and I was positively surprised I did not have to pass a security control at the airport.
As I did not have a boarding pass for my next flight I tried to find a Lufthansa transfer desk but realised there was none, instead I headed to the lounge and hoped they would be able to help me.
The Lufthansa lounge is on the first floor above the main transfer hall, it’s actually a bit tricky to find (it’s more obvious if you start your journey from Hamburg as the lift is straight to the right after the security control).
The young girl at the reception desk was really friendly and helpful and actually managed to print all the remaining boarding passes even though she didn’t think herself it was possible. ^

I entered the Senator lounge to the right of the reception desk and was very positively surprised.
The lounge had been completely refurbished and was re-opened July 29th, just two weeks earlier, something you could well notice.
The interior was very elegant, modern and spacious and gave a very good impression.
The self-service buffet had also been changed and refurbished and now looked much nicer and also contained some new food which I had not seen before such as fruit cocktails and some excellent fruit cake with whipped cream.
The drinks selection had also slightly changed, being a whiskey fan I noticed they had the very nice Highland Park on offer now which I have never seen before in a Lufthansa lounge.
Great to see an airline upgrading and modernising their lounges and from time to time also changing the food and drinks on offer. ^

I had some drinks and some of that nice cake and went outdoors. The Lufthansa Senator lounge has an outdoor lounge terrace with tables and chairs and a fantastic view of the apron, quite unique for this lounge I think.
The weather was quite OK, just a bit cloudy, still there was not a person on the terrace.
I enjoyed some drinks while watching the action on the apron, several aircrafts were arriving this afternoon including an Emirates Boeing 777 from Dubai.

Pics
The entrance to the Lufthansa lounges
Inside the newly refurbished Senator lounge
Very elegant plasma TVs showing the Olympic Games in Beijing
The restaurant part of the lounge
The very nice self-service buffet
Some of the "new food" available
Drinks in the lounge
The great outdoor lounge terrace
BA, LH, X3 and some strange “VIA” aircraft

I left the lounge around 25 minutes before scheduled departure and arrived at a very crowded gate just a short walk from the lounge lift.
Boarding was done by sections starting from the back and leaving business class passengers to board last, actually didn’t bother me too much as I arrived late at the gate anyway.

Pics
The transit hall in Hamburg

Hamburg-Frankfurt, flight LH 019 operated by Lufthansa
Departure: 14:05
Arrival: 15:15
Aircraft: Airbus A321
Class: Business Class
Seat: 03A

The flight to Frankfurt was operated by an Airbus A321 with six rows of business class.
Standard seating configuration onboard is 3-3 but in business class the middle seats have been replaced by a table.
Refreshing towels were already available at the seat and after boarding was completed one of the flight attendants offered German and English newspapers and magazines.
Right behind me was a man who I believed was a HON Circle member, the top elite level on Lufthansa. When the doors had been closed the female purser approached this man, addressed him by name, introduced herself and asked if there was anything she could do to make the flight more comfortable. In fact he had a request, but as he spoke rather quietly (and in German) I coudn't hear exactly what he said, but whatever it was it was taken care of instantly. Really great service for people who travel very extensively.
We finally pushed back at 2.10 pm and took off shortly afterward from runway 33.

On this flight in business class a snack service was offered in business class. A small tray was handed out to all passengers including a cheese bagel, a pastry and a fruit dessert. Drinks were also offered including a full bar service, soft drinks and coffee and tea.
A second round of drinks was made and at the same time all business class passengers were offered lovely Mövenpick ice cream cones.

We landed quite early at 3 pm on runway 25L and taxied to the A-pier of terminal 1.

Pics
The business class cabin on the Airbus A321
The middle seat table and refreshing towels
Inflight meal in business class to Frankfurt

jacob_m

Transfer in Frankfurt

I already had a boarding pass for my connecting flight indicating the flight was departing from the C-pier so I just double-checked the monitors to see there had not been a gate change.
To get to the C-pier I decided to try the Skytrain leaving for a change which runs from the roof of the A-pier via the B and C-pier to terminal 2. Despite many many visits to Frankfurt I had actually still not tried that train.
The train ride was short but provided a very nice view of the apron of terminal 1.

At the entrance to the C-pier there was a passport control since the entire pier is used for non-Schengen flights followed by a rather thorough security control.
At the security check there was a separate line for first class and business class passengers as well as Star Alliance gold card holders which I used, but actually the regular line moved very quickly as well.

Pics
Waiting for the Skytrain to the C-pier
View of the A-pier from the train, lots of Luftys and a Privatair A319
The huge departure board with my flight to Hong Kong displayed

Lufthansa Senator lounge C-pier, Frankfurt – The newest Lufthansa lounge with a great boarding facility!!

Lufthansa has spent a considerable amount of money constructing a new longhaul boarding area located between the old C-pier of terminal 1 and the D-pier of terminal 2.
The boarding area opened in late spring 2008, it is ultimately to be used for the Airbus A380 when Lufthansa starts operating it in 2009, but at the moment it is used for some of the more important longhaul routes such as JFK, SIN, BKK, ORD, NRT and, as in my case, HKG.

The pier is really nice looking; modern, airy and spotlessly clean. There is also a new quite large duty free shop and a new Lufthansa transfer center.
The only real drawback of the pier is the walking distance, it is very significant! Getting from the security control to the gates requires a few minutes walk, and I don’t even want to think about arriving at that pier having a short connection with the connecting flight departing from the end of the A-pier, that would be a pure pain if time is limited.

The pier currently consists of four gates named C13, C14, C15 and C16.
The unique thing about the pier is that each gate has a priority gate area for first class, business class and Star Gold passengers.
There is also a Senator lounge accessible for Star Golds and first class passengers, it has direct access to the priority gate areas of gate C14, C15 and C16. When a flight leaving from any of those gates is ready for boarding an announcement is made in the lounge, a door is opened from the Senator lounge to the respective priority gate area where the boarding takes place. Passengers then take an escalator one floor down and board the plane. ^

There has been some uncertainty if Star Golds can use the Senator lounge, the Lufthansa webpage gave the impression it is only available for LH Senators, but I can confirm all *G have access.
The Senator lounge is located one floor above the public areas, after using the escalator I was standing at the entrance to the lounge, I showed my boarding pass and gold card and was allowed to enter.
The young girl at the entrance confirmed my flight was leaving from one of the gates with direct boarding from the lounge so she advised me to remain in the lounge until the boarding announcement was made.

The lounge itself was very nice, easily the nicest looking Senator lounge in Frankfurt and actually one of the nicest Senator lounges I have visited so far at any airport.
The lounge is really spacious, it has large panorama windows overlooking the apron, workstations, a TV room, a service desk, and ample seating. Even though there were four longhaul flights leaving in the late afternoon I had no problems finding a seat.

The selection of food and drinks was also quite good and included very nice sandwiches, noodles, meatballs, vegetables, fruits, pastries and nice vanilla donuts. There was also ice cream available in a large box.
Drinks were also quite good with beer, wine, soft drinks and plenty of spirits.

Pics
Signs for the C-pier Senator lounge and the priority gate at gate C16
The entrance to the Senator lounge
Inside the great lounge
Two plasma TVs with a cool design
The self-service buffet area
Some of the great food in the lounge including noodles, meatballs, sandwiches, vegetables and yummy vanilla donuts
Drinks in the lounge
The ice cream box in the lounge
Great view of the apron through the huge panorama windows
That’s my plane to Hong Kong, parked right in front of the lounge

Priority boarding – a completely hassle-free experience!

Around 30 minutes before departure at 5.15 pm the boarding announcement was made in the lounge for my flight to Hong Kong.
At one end of the lounge a door had been opened leading from the Senator lounge to the priority boarding area for my gate (gate C15) which I think doubles as business lounge.
Immediately to the left inside the priorty gate area was the boarding counter where a young woman was processing boarding passes. After passing the counter I took an escalator one floor down to the entrance of the passenger bridge to door 1L. Right next to it I could see the economy passengers emerging from the regular gate area heading for the second passenger bridge to door 2L.
Overall this was one of the smoothest boarding processes I have ever experienced. It is just wonderful waiting in a brand new lounge having some drinks while looking at the action on the apron, then only having to walk a few meters, take an escalator one floor down and then walk a few more steps to reach the seat, and you actually never have to interfere with the economy class passengers. ^ ^
This will definitely be a competitive advantage for Lufthansa when the A380 starts operating.

Pics
Sign for the priority gates C14, C15 and C16 (my flight is departing from gate C15)

Frankfurt-Hong Kong, flight LH 738 operated by Lufthansa
Departure: 17:45
Arrival: 10:30
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400
Class: Business Class
Seat: 09K

I entered the cabin through door 1L and was greeted by the purser who directed me to the right aisle after having had a look at my boarding pass.
The reservation agent at SAS had managed to secure seat 09K for me which is an emergency exit window seat with unlimited legroom. Just great!
The only drawback with the seat is that you have to place any hand luggage in the overhead bins during take-off and landing, but that’s standard on all airlines.

My jacket was taken and I had a newspaper from the selection available on the table in the forward business class cabin.
When most passengers were onboard pre-departure drinks were offered with a choice of water, orange juice or champagne. Bubbles it was, however theyy serve the Jacquart Brut Mosaique champagne onboard which certainly isn't one of the better ones around.
The business class cabin was not full on this flight, there were several spare seats. I had a young woman next to me in seat 09H who moved just after the doors had been closed to have her own row which meant I got even more space.

We pushed back at 6 pm and a safety demonstration video was shown in English, German and Cantonese. The introduction of the video is quite nice when several Lufthansa FAs from around the world say “hello and welcome” in a nice variety of languages.
The captain also introduced himself and his colleagues in the cockpit and informed us the flighttime to Hong Kong was expected to be 10 hours and 45 minutes.
We finally took off at 6.15 pm from runway 07L.

Pics
The business class cabin onboard
My emergency exit seat 09K
The forward business class cabin
A glass of champagne before departure
Safety demonstration video - Willkommen an Bord!
Push-back with a view of the new C-pier. You can spot the Senator lounge on the second floor and the priority boarding area and the adjacent escalator to the left of it (right above the passenger bridges)

Meal service

It took a long time before the seatbelt sign was switched off, I think they waited until we had reached 33000 feet.
Drinks were offered in the cabin accompanied by macadamia nuts, I had a gin and tonic to drink. Interestingly the male FA didn’t mix the drink for me, instead he poured the tonic water in my glass and handed me the small bottle of gin.
I don’t know if he was being lazy or if it was meant as a nice gesture giving me the chance to decide myself how strong I wanted the drink.

Next the menu was handed out and this is what was served on the overnight flight to Hong Kong:

Pics
The business class menu

The food onboard was very nice, I think the food on Lufthansa longhaul flights usually is of very high standard and the menus usually contain a few dishes I’m not used to see in my daily life.
I had the chicken terrine to eat as appetiser which was served with tomato couscous and a large bowl of fresh salad. Bread rolls were also offered.
Next was the main course, among the three choices on offer I had the breast of poulard which was served with rice.
Several drink rounds were made during the meal service and after my gin and tonic I had red wine with the meal choosing the French red wine Château Leboscq to drink. I think the drink cart passed 7 or 8 times during the meal service and you could of course always press the call button if you wanted something more to drink.

The table was cleared and then the dessert cart passed through the cabin and you can basically choose yourself what to have. I had a cheese plate and crackers and then chocolate brownie which was served with whipped cream and custard. It was awesome!
Finally I asked for a glass of whiskey, the Johnnie Walker black label, and I was also given box of white chocolate produced for Lufthansa in connection with the Olympic Games in Beijing. The chocolate was in the shape of a gold medal.
I was also offered coffee and tea but declined as I wanted to get some sleep. By now I was very tired, I had been travelling for well over 12 hours and still had several more hours of travels to come, hence I realised I would need all the sleep I could get.

Pics
Drink service in business class, the female FA to the left is the purser on the flight
Gin and tonic to drink and macadamia nuts
Appetizer and salad
Main course
The business class passengers enjoying the great food and drinks
Cheese and dessert
Johnnie Walker whiskey and an Olympic Games chocolate bar

Time for some sleep

I had brought a pair of pyjamas pants and changed in the lavatory to wear something more comfortable when sleeping onboard. I had actually brought the ones I got in All Nippon Airways First class during my round the world trip, they are really comfortable and look rather nice as well.
The Lufthansa business class seat can be made lie-flat, i.e. it’s fully flat but not 180 degree horizontally flat. I find it very comfortable though and managed to get some good sleep onboard.
A pillow and a blanket were available at the seat when I came onboard as well as an amenity kit with socks, earplus, eyeshades and the usual toiletries.
I ended up using the eyeshades as the cabin had not yet been dimmed when I went to bed. As my seat neighbour had moved I also used her pillow to make the bed a bit more comfortable.

I had set my alarm clock to ring 2 hours before arrival, at 8.30 am Hong Kong time, so I would have sufficient time to have breakfast, however when it finally rang I was still really tired and actuallly not particularly hungry. I decided to skip the breakfast service and got one more hour of rest instead. With a connecting flight in Hong Kong and a lounge visit planned I could have breakfast in the lounge instead.
For readers interested in what a Lufthansa business class breakfast looks like here is a photo of the breakfast I got on a FRA-BKK flight last year, I suppose the breakfast on this flight would have looked quite similar.
I finally got up less than an hour before expected landing, the FAs were clearing the cabin after the breakfast service which was now over, but there was no problem getting a cup of coffee which was very well-needed.

I went to the lavatory to change back to my regular clothes. The lavatory was located right next to the galley and by a coincidence I noticed the passenger list with the status passengers onboard hanging there fully visible.
I decided to be a bit cheeky and take a quick photo of it, very discreetely of course, there was no one in the galley anyway.
I won’t post the photo of privacy reasons as it contains all the full names, but just for fun I can mention in business class (80 seats on the Boeing 747-400) there were 2 HONs, 5 SENs, 1 SK*G (me), 1 TK*G and 1 NH*G.
There was also a surprisingly large number of ID passengers (airline employees), according to the list as many as 8 of them.

Pics
A cup of coffee after waking up

Arrival in Hong Kong

We made our descent over souther China passing the cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, then we basically flew around the entire city of Hong Kong anti-clockwise (really cool approach pattern) before setting course for the final approach and runway 25R.
The jackets were handed out during the approach, the last cups and glasses were collected and we finally landed at 10.40 am on runway 25R, 10 minutes late.
We taxied to gate 34 in the middle of the Y-shaped terminal building, two passenger bridges were used and I got off using door 1L as did most business class passengers
Quite nice to finally be on the ground again, but in contrast to most passengers on the flight I was not at my final destination yet and had another flight coming up.

Pics
The flight map showing we are approaching Hong Kong
Approach into Hong Kong, I think that is the airport of Shenzhen in China, just north of Hong Kong SAR

Frequent_Flyer1

Well done, jacob_m! Great trip-report as usual! I really like reading your reports, very informative and entertaining. And great photos too! I'm already looking forward to the next installment... ^

wouter

Look forward to reading your CI experiences. Flying with them at x-mas in F and C class.

jacob_m

Transfer in Hong Kong

The transfer in Hong Kong was quite painless since I already had a boarding pass for my next flight, otherwise you need to visit a transfer desk before being allowed inside the departure area.
All transfer passengers also have to pass security in Hong Kong, since my plane from Frankfurt parked just in the middle of the Y-shaped terminal it was only a short walk to the transfer security in the W-area.
Despite many flight arriving in the morning the security control was very quick and efficient and by 11 am I was standing in the spacious transit area.

My next flight is on Cathay Pacific and since my ticket was a business class ticket and I was naturally booked in business class also on CX which I was very much looking forward to hearing all the positives about this airline (and I was not to be disappointed).

Cathay Pacific has two business lounges in Hong Kong named The Wing and The Pier. The Wing is located in the central tax-free area just after check-in and security while The Pier is located in the basement at the other end of the huge terminal.
Since I arrived at a high number gate and my next flight was leaving from a high number gate The Pier was the best option for a lounge visit, especially since I had not been there before.
Finding it was a bit tricky since it is located in the basement with only the entrance on the ground floor followed by an escalator to the main lounge.
However to my utter disappointment the lounge was closed for cleaning this morning and was not to be opened until noon, my flight was leaving at 12.30 so The Pier was simply no option.
After nearly 24 hours of travelling I felt a great need for a shower so I made the decision to walk all the way to The Wing next to the main tax-free area which is a massive walk from The Pier, especially if you have heavy hand luggage.

Pics
The main tax-free area at Hong Kong airport

Cathay Pacific lounge “The Wing”, Hong Kong

I had visited The Wing once before during my round the world trip as it's the lounge used by Swiss for their first and business class passengers, so I had no problems finding my way.
I arrived at the lounge by 11.15 am with just 1h 15 min before my next flight (and having to walk all the way back to reach the gate) so unfortunately it wasn’t going to a lengthy and relaxed visit, a shame since it’s quite a nice lounge.

The reception desk is on the ground floor, after showing the boarding pass you take a lift to the lounge which is located on the first floor, on a balcony above the main transit hall.
I immediately noticed the signs marked “Showers” so I followed those to the shower area at the far end of this rather large lounge and was greeted by a lounge attendant who directed me to an empty shower room.
The showers in The Wing are very nice, the shower rooms are really large and there is pretty much every toiletry imaginable available in there.
After a quick shower I felt like a new person and was fit for fight again (or perhaps I should say fit for flight ).

I went back into the main lounge, had a seat and went to get some breakfast.
Most of the snacks are available in the Short Bar including sandwiches, pastries, cookies and fresh fruit. At the bar there is also a bartender working so I asked him to make a freshly brewed double Espresso for me. Really tasty!
In the lounge there is also a Noodle Bar (probably no explanation needed) and a Long Bar where you can order drinks, but it doesn’t open until the afternoon.

After finishing my light breakfast I went inside “The Library” to check my e-mails, but all too soon it was time to head for the gate.

On the whole this is a very nice lounge, the whole design is very impressive with grey stone used for the entire interior.
Only drawback was the limited selection of snacks, there could have been something more to eat.

Pics
The entrance and reception desk at Cathay Pacific “The Wing”
Sitting areas in the lounge
The long bar
The short bar
Snacks at the short bar including sandwiches, pastries and fruits
The noodle bar

Boarding

If you don’t feel like walking all the way from the main tax-free area to the end of the Y-shaped pier (a massive distance) there is a train you can use in the basement, it reminds me a bit of the underground in Hong Kong.
You don’t save a great amount of time using that train, at least if you usually walk at a fast pace and end up having to wait for a train, but saving the hassle to carry the hand luggage around the terminal is well worth it.

At the gate the boarding had already started and it was done very orderly.
There were two exits from the gate with a podium in between, the left exit was used for business class passengers and the right exit for economy class passengers.
Economy class boarded by sections while business class passengers could board at their leisure (and this was enforced).
There was no wait at all at the business class exit so I could walk straight onboard.

Pics
Boarding at the gate with business class using the left door
The passenger bridge for business class passengers

Hong Kong-Taipei, flight CX 406 operated by Cathay Pacific
Departure: 12:30
Arrival: 14:15
Aircraft: Airbus A330
Class: Business Class
Seat: 14A

At the entrance I was warmly greeted by a smiling young Chinese FA who checked my boarding pass and directed me to my seat.
On this flight I had prebooked 14A which was a window seat on the second row of business class.
The Airbus A330 had a 2-2-2 configuration in business class, the seat were large and spacious with ample legroom but looked a bit old and worn. I know CX has a new configuration for their A330s so I suppose they use older planes for shorter routes.
Still I have no complaints regarding the seating and the comfort onboard.
The was a large screen in front of the centre seats but all seats also had personal TVs, I tried it a bit but there was no point in watching any movies or documentaries due to the short flight time, but I did listen to some of the music channels.

I settled in my seat next to a friendly Taiwanese man (who wanted to practice his German skills on me since he saw my Lufthansa boarding pass), seconds later another FA passed and offered to take my jacket and just seconds later a third FA came to my seat and offered a pre-departure drink.
On the tray she had champagne, orange juice, and something that I later figured out was the Cathay Pacific signature drink “Cathay Delight”, a kiwifruit and coconut drink (there was a photo of it in the drink list). Newspapers and earphones were also offered.
I had some champagne to drink and settled down and got ready for another business class experience, on a new airline this time.

Boarding was completed in good time before departure, but shortly afterwards the captain (Andy, who seemed to be British based on his accent) informed us we would be delayed.
There was a no-show and they needed to offload some checked luggage.
We finally pushed back at 12.45 and took off ten minutes later from runway 25L. The climb provided a very nice view of Hong Kong SAR and all the surrounding islands.

Pics
A lovely Cathay Pacific flight attendant welcoming passengers onboard
The business class cabin onboard the Airbus A330
Taxiing to the runway passing the huge terminal building (and the LH B744 I arrived on)
Great view just a minute after take-off with Hong Kong airport in the background

Meal service

The menu was handed out already before departure, there was also a separate drink list, both very nice looking.
The selection of drinks was really impressive. There were two reds and two whites onboard, champagne, and plenty of sprits, liqueurs, cocktails and soft drinks.

Pics
The nice looking business class menu and drink list

Here is what was offered on the flight to Taipei:

The meal service started immediately after the seatbelt sign had been switched off with one of the friendly FAs passing through the cabin taking meal orders for the main course. She also addressed every person by name which was a nice touch.

White tablecloths were laid on the tables and then the meal trays were then brought out with some fresh seasonal fruits as starter.
The presentation was quite elegant with black and white china. Bread rolls were also brought out and then the drink cart passed through the cabin (a table with all bottles very elegantly displayed), I asked for the French red wine to drink.
Instead of just pouring the wine in my glass the nice female FA showed me the bottle and asked me if I wanted to taste the wine first. I agreed, did the tasting like you would do in a proper restaurant and then confirmed she could fill my glass. I thought that was such a classy thing to do onboard, that's hardly even done on longhaul flights. Hands up for that! ^
As main course they had a choice between beef or prawns, I went for the beef tenderloin which was also quite tasty and done just the way I like it.
Finally as dessert they offered a Bailey cream chocolate cake, tasty but very filling!

The tables were cleared and then the drink cart was back again with coffee, tea and liqueurs. Again everything very elegantly displayed on the table.
I had some coffee to drink and was also offered some chocolate pralines from a chocolate box.
Shortly afterwards the purser came to my seat, addressed me by name and asked if I was happy with the meal and the service. I couldn’t say anything but yes.
She asked me if I wanted to fill in a short questionnaire about the inflight experience, and I agreed to do it.

Pics
Fresh fruits to start
Main course
Coffee and chocolate pralines
Coffee and the Cathay Pacific survey they asked me to complete

Arrival in Taipei

When the remaining cups and glasses had been cleared we were already descending into Taipei, the crew really had to work hard to finish everything in time.
We made most of our descent over the South China Sea and then made a sharp right turn and landed 2.25 pm on runway 23R at Taipei Taoyuan International airport, 10 minutes behind schedule.
It was quite a long taxi to the gate at terminal 1 so I got to see most of the airport on the way, interestingly they had a large Taiwanese flag hanging on the terminal building.

I disembarked through the front door 1L and followed the signs for arrivals.
No line at all at immigration and the process was quick, not a question was asked. According to the embassy webpage EU-nationals don’t need a visa but do need to show a confirmed return ticket (yeah, and which most likely would mean having to explain that itinerary), but the immigration officer didn’t bother at all.
With no checked luggage I proceeded straight to the arrivals hall where I had a hotel transfer arranged.

Pics
Seconds before landing
Just landed in Taipei, notice the Taiwanese flag on the terminal building!

Verdict

On the whole a very nice flight, impressive drink list and pretty good food as well.
I was quite impressed to get so much food onboard (served separately) on such a short flight. On a similar US domestic flight in F you would have got just a drink, on a similar European flight in C probably a cold meal served on a small tray.
But they managed to conduct a full meal service with a choice of main course, address passengers by name, take meal orders, lay tablecloths on all tables, offer drinks and refills (and in my case wine tasting) and finally coffee and tea. ^
Still it never felt rushed in any way and the service was very attentive, the FAs were really nice and helpful and did everything with that extra finesse I just love, they had 100% control of what was going on. They were definitely not spending their time chatting in the galley...
I certainly wouldn’t hesitate flying CX again, too bad they are part of an alliance I normally don’t fly.

jacob_m

The Grand Formosa Regent Taipei – With a fantastic upgrade to a 110 sqm Tai Pan corner suite!!

I had booked a room at the Regent Hotel in Taipei, or “The Grand Formosa Regent Taipei” as is the official name. The hotel is part of the Four Seasons hotel group.
I had a choice between this one and the Shangri-la, but the Shangri-la was just a bit too expensive and the higher rate there didn’t even include breakfast.
Instead a standard deluxe room was booked at the Regent Hotel.

I had booked an airport transfer in advance from the airport to the hotel, even if it is indeed a bit more expensive than the other options (and frankly hardly worth the money) it is still much nicer than having to deal with public transportation or being taken for a ride with an unreliable taxi driver, especially when you’re tired and jetlagged after having travelled for 26 hours.
A man was waiting in the arrivals hall at the airport, but as I was the first person off the plane and had no checked luggage I got to the arrivals hall just before him and thought for a while there had been a mistake, but shortly afterwards he showed up and called for the car.
They used a Mercedes Benz S-class for the transfer (really comfy) and it was driven by a young man in a traditional uniform, quite funny. He spoke surprisingly good English though and was really friendly, so I got some valuable advice.

Scoring the upgrade

Once at the hotel the check-in formalities were completed by a friendly and efficient staff, I enquired if I could get a room on a high floor to get a good view from my room.
Eventually I was given my key, funnily they used regular keys at the hotel rather than plastic cards, although I think it was more of a gimmick (trying to stand out from the rest) rather than the hotel not being up-to-date.
The receptionist informed me he had upgraded me to a room on the Tai Pan floor which is the executive level located on the 18th and 19th floor.
Very nice! I thanked him a lot and proceeded to the lift.

I shared the lift with one of the young hotel receptionists, she asked which floor I wanted to go to and I replied “18th”. I then thought for a second, showed my key and added “I have 1801, that must be on the 18th floor right?” (just to be sure).
The girl just froze and stared at me with large eyes, eventually she said “You’re in room 1801?? That’s a suite!! It’s a really nice suite you know!!”.
OH!! I got quiet myself for a second but eventually answered “well that’s nice to hear” being quite astounded myself to hear that, nobody at the reception mentioned anything about an upgrade to a suite. How did that happen??

The suite

The room was located at the end of the corridor on the 18th floor, and gosh what a place!! Wow!! ^ ^
I have stayed in suites before, but this one was just enormous, it took a few minutes before I had looked around the entire suite and found all the nice features.
This suite was actually larger than my own place back home, it measured an amazing 110 square meters (or 1184 square feet).
First thing inside was a large hallway and a guest toilet, and then you enter the “living room”.
In the living room there was huge sofa for six people, a widescreen TV, and a workstation with a fax, internet connection and all kinds of writing materials. There was a nice complimentary fruit basket waiting on the table.
Right next to the living room was the dining area with a large cupboard and a large dining table and seats for six people. Coffee and tea making facilities and the mini bar were also available there as well as all kinds of cups and glasses.

Walking through the corridor from the living room there was a large closet on the left side and to the right the bathroom.
The bathrrom itself was enormous and had a jacuzzi bathtub, a large walk-in shower, an advanced toilet, two sinks and all toiletries and towels imaginable. Pretty much all of it in marble.
But the coolest thing, there was a TV in the bathroom (the second one so far), so you could have a bath in the jacuzzi and watch TV at the same time, preferably while having a drink (as there were facilities for that as well).

Continuing along the corridor you finally enter the bedroom located in a corner offering 180 degrees panoramic views of Taipei through large panorama windows (this was the 18th floor).
Really cool design with mirrors and more tinted glass and a huge bed and believe it or not, another TV, the third one in the suite!

OK so that’s about it. 110 sqm, panoramic views of Taipei from the 18th floor, two toilets, three TVs, two sinks, jazuzzi, dining area and sitting area for six people, a huge bedroom and turndown service in the evening. ^
I didn’t even bother counting the telephones, but there was a wireless one in the bedroom at least. Just too bad I didn’t get to stay very long in the suite, I could have lived there permanently.

Pics of the suite
The cool corridor on my floor
The working station with the fax machine behind
The dining area (for six people!) and the first TV
The huge sofa
The complimentary fruit basket
The cool bedroom
The second TV in the bedroom and the closet
The really cool bathroom with a huge walk-in shower and a jacuzzi (notice the plastic duck!)
The other part of the huge bathroom, and the third TV!
The fantastic view of Taipei from the suite
The cool view at night

The hotel

The hotel itself was also quite nice with friendly and helpful staff everywhere.
The lobby had plenty of shops (well, luxury shops) and there was actually a small shopping mall attached to the hotel. Right behind the lobby was The Brasserie in an atrium with large TVs showing the Olympic Games, really cool contemporary design, this is also where the breakfast was served.
There was supposed to be a spa on the 20th floor which I saw many people heading to, but I did not visit it myself.

The location of the hotel was fine with plenty of shops, department stores and restaurants within walking distance from the hotel.
The nearest MRT/underground station called Zhongshan was also withing walking distance, about five minutes from the hotel.

Pics of the hotel
The entrance to the Regent Hotel
The lobby
Overview of the pretty cool brasserie with live music
Some of the food in The Brasserie
The Brasserie in the morning where the breakfast is served
Inside the breakfast restaurant

Next: A review of China Airlines Dynasty Class and the ground facilities in Taipei

A-340 GOT

Jacob_m ; great report as always, sound like an excellent journey so far. No bad upgrade in Taipei. However I really like your itenary & routing. Always nice to get trice mileage (or so) instead of for example doing ARN-FRA , did you book this trip online?. I always try to find these "creative" routings, but when booking via company travel agent they are always very sceptical... Was in HAM this summer when the new SEN lounge was refurbished, looking forward to next visit in HAM to try out the new lounge and the great terrace.

jacob_m

On the Hong Kong-Taipei sector of my fare I had the choice between three different airlines – Cathay Pacific, Dragonair and China Airlines. Really great as I had heard they are all fine and I had actually not tried any of them.
I decided to use Cathay Pacific on the outbound flight and China Airlines on the return to experience the lounges and ground services at the respective hubs (CX has its hub in Hong Kong and CI its hub in Taipei).

Now a review of China Airlines Dynasty Class/Business Class, which I don't think has been covered much here before.

Check-in at Taipei airport

I took a taxi from the hotel to the airport and arrived at Taipei Taoyuan airport at around 8.25, just over one and half hour before departure.
Just like Cathay Pacific China Airlines uses terminal 1 for most of its departures.

I found the China Airlines check-in area straight in front of the entrance with the priority check-in area to the right.
The priority check-in area was divided into a business class section and a first class section. The first class section had red carpets and in front of it there was a young girl waiting to greet any first class passengers and help them with anything they may need.
There were four business class desks open and two of them were empty so I was served straight away.
The friendly check-in agent could only check me in to Hong Kong and told me I had to visit a transfer desk in Hong Kong to get the remaining boarding passes, baggage was not an issue since I only had hand luggage.
I was also given an invitation to the China Airlines Dynasty lounge and a brief description how to get there.
The check-in process was very swift and with no wait at either passport control or security I was soon standing in the international transit hall.

Pics
The departure hall at Taipei airport terminal 1
The China Airlines premium check-in. First class to the right, business class to the left
The departure board, quite a few flights to Hong Kong
Several shops just before passport control

China Airlines Dynasty lounge, Taipei

The China Airlines Dynasty lounge was located on the immediate right after security control, on the first floor in a long lounge corridor.
I handed over my lounge invitation to the girl at the reception and was allowed inside.

The lounge was vast and had a pretty cool design with comfortable chairs, neon lighting and several widescreen TVs.

There were two self-service buffet areas with a decent amount of food, mostly Asian dishes though like dumpling, meat buns, roasted sweet potato and Chinese biscuits.
There was also a decent selection of soft drinks, but the selection of alcoholic drinks was so-so, only one type of red wine for example which was far from incredible. Spirits included vodka, gin, one type of whisky and one type of cognac. That’s about it.
I also tried the coffee (since I'm a real coffee addict) and it was quite watery and had absolutely no taste.

On the other hand a really nice thing about the lounge though was the noodle bar located at the far end of the lounge where they prepared noodles with different garnishes on demand.
There was also a small restaurant section next to it where they had a TV playing classical pieces by Mozart and Beethoven, very nice and relaxing atmosphere.
I really wasn’t very hungry at 9 am after a rather extensive breakfast and a full meal service on the next flight in an hour, but I could not resist the temptation to try some of the nice noodle dishes at the noodle bar so I decided to have a look.

On offer they had:

I decided to have the beef noodle dish which was a pretty good choice, although I could not finish all of it as I was quite full.

The lounge also had a pretty good selection of newspapers and magazines (all the standard business magazines were available free of charge), next to the newspaper rack there was also a separate room with ten internet computers with free internet access.
There seemed to be a first class lounge available as well for first class passengers, right after the reception desk there was a door on the right side marked “first class”, but obviously I did not get the opportunity to see what they had in there.

Overall a rather nice lounge, actually a surprisingly nice lounge! ^

Pics
The lounge invitation
The entrance to the China Airlines Dynasty lounge
The reception desk
Inside the vast lounge
Plenty of seats, I really like the interior!
The great noodle bar
The menu at the noodle bar
Yummy beef noodles to eat and a glass of red wine
The TV in the noodle bar playing classical pieces by Mozart and Beethoven
One of the two self-service buffet areas
Roasted sweet potato on offer
Several Asian dishes like dumplings and meat buns
Chinese biscuits
Alcoholic drinks in the lounge
Several internet computers
Nice Chinese vases and the entrance to the CI First class lounge

I spent about 40 minutes in the lounge and then had a look in the transit area before heading for the gate.
The regular tax-free shops with cigarettes and alcohol were there, also a newsstand and a shop with electronics, but nothing very spectacular.
A rather interesting shop though was a museum shop of The National Museum of History in Taipei, in the transit hall at the airport!! I wonder how much they sell there…
Otherwise Taipei terminal 1 is rather dull, it reminds me a bit of the old Don Muang airport in Bangkok. It certainly wouldn’t hurt giving the terminal a facelift.

Pics
The main tax-free area

Boarding

I arrived at gate A4 30 minutes before departure where boarding had just started.
Economy class passengers boarded the plane by sections and were standing in a long line while there was a separate exit for business class passengers to the left of the podium where there was no wait whatsoever.
As business class passengers could board at their leisure I basically walked straight onboard the plane, a completely hassle-free boarding experience!

Pics
The large gate area for the flight to Hong Kong
Separate exit for business class passengers, no wait whatsoever!

Taipei-Hong Kong, flight CI 605 operated by China Airlines
Departure: 10:00
Arrival: 11:45
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Class: Dynasty Class (Business Class)
Seat: 01A

I entered the cabin through the front door and was directed to my seat by a smiling FA.
I had prebooked 01A for the flight, window seat on the first row with ample legroom, but as usual it meant I had to place all hand luggage in the overhead bins.

My jacket was taken, newspapers and earphones were handed out and I was offered a pre-departure drink.
On the tray they had orange juice, water, and something reddish. I asked what the latter was and they said it was “melon water”, I decided to give it a try and it was absolutely awesome.

The menus were also handed out, already on the ground, and shortly afterwards another FA came to take meal orders, she addressed all passengers by name which was a nice touch.
It was a bit strange to decide what to eat before we had even left the gate, but it did save quite a bit of time in the air and it meant the crew could focus on other things instead, so actually quite clever!
Business class ended up being completely full on this flight.

Pics
The business class cabin on the Airbus A330
Lovely flight attendants offering pre-departure drinks and newspapers in the cabin
A glass of “melon water” before departure

The doors were closed at 10 am (almost sharp) and a rather nice safety demonstration video was shown on the main screens. The captain also made an announcement welcoming us onboard China Airlines and told us the flight time was expected to be 1h 14min.
We finally took off at 10.15 am on runway 23.

Pics
Nice safety demonstration video - Welcome onboard China Airlines!
At the runway waiting for our turn to take-off
The terminal building seconds after take-off
The inflight map (in Chinese, but obviously later in English as well)

Meal service

At 10,000 feet the captain made an announcement “cabin crew, 10,000 feet” which apparently meant the crew could start the inflight service (the seatbelt sign was switched off a few minutes later).

The menus had already been handed out before departure and here is what was on offer on the flight to Hong Kong (and a photo of it):

Pics
The business class menu

Quite an impressive menu for such a short flight and a great selection of drinks as well, the drink list (called “Dynasty Lounge”) had an excellent description of all the wines.

The inflight service started almost immediately with refreshing towels and then the meal trays were handed out.
I had ordered the fried chicken with rice which was very tasty and the food was plentiful.
A glass of water was available on the tray and bread rolls were offered shortly afterwards.
The FAs delivered all trays directly from the galley (instead of using a cart) which looked very elegant but meant they had to work really hard with a full cabin to serve.

After all meal trays had been handed out they passed through the cabin offering drinks.
They used a very elegant table for the drinks with a white tablecloth, all the wine bottles were on display and they had made a great effort with the champagne, there was a large ice bucket on the table with ice to keep the champagne chilled. Wow!! A big hands up for doing all that on such a short flight!! ^
I asked for some red wine to drink, the FA showed me both bottles available and I decided to try the Californian wine Telegraph Peak which had got excellent reviews according to the drink list (and in fact it was good indeed).

As dessert they offered fresh seasonal fruits and some kind of blueberry dessert with crumbs, I have no idea exactly what it was but it was simply fantastic!!
I was almost tempted to ask the FA if they had a spare one (but I was quite full anyway).

The meal trays were collected and the drink table then passed a second time with coffee, tea. I had some coffee to drink.

Pics
The meal tray with the fried chicken main course, very tasty food!
An FA offering wine, champagne and soft drinks from a nicely decorated table
A cup of coffee after the meal

The seat

The business class cabin on the A330 had six rows with a 2-2-2 configuration.
The entire cabin had a rather attractive design with several variations of purple, the design actually matched the uniforms of the crew and the China Airlines logo, which was quite cool.
The seats were in leather and were spacious and quite comfortable, I was seated in 01A and had very good legroom as well.
The seat could be made lie-flat (I saw fellow passengers reclining their seats) but I can’t comment myself about how well you sleep in the seats. Amazingly the crew handed out pillows and blankets to all passengers despite the short flight time and the fact that it was a daytime flight.
The only drawback about the seat was the location of the seat control which was on top of the armrest, a few times when I moved my arm I accidently pressed one of the buttons. Although certainly not the end of the world they should have placed it somewhere else where you are less likely to touch it by accident.

Each seat also had a personal TV and they seemed to have a rather extensive inflight entertainment system onboard, but I never tried it.
They also had a new rather cool video control especially designed for business class (according to the inflight magazine it looks different in economy class).

Pics
The comfortable business class seat
The seat control
The video control, especially designed for business class

Arrival in Hong Kong

Other than the full meal service they also sold duty free items onboard, the Taiwanese man sitting next to me wanted to look at some necklaces and everything was brought to him without a comment.
The flight passed in no time (too quickly in my opinion), all too soon we were descending into Hong Kong. Just like during the climb the captain made an announcement “cabin crew, 10,000 feet” to indicate roughly the time left of the flight.
The hard-working crew started running even faster back and forth to do everything they wanted to do to keep a high service level.
My jacket was returned and I was quite amazed they were fully confident the jacket belonged to me, I never gave them my boarding pass and there were quite a few passengers in the cabin who had coats and jacket. Well done!
A few last requests were taken care of and the last cups and glasses were collected, I think the last crew member had a seat just 30 seconds before touchdown.

The approach into Hong Kong was quite spectacular flying east of the city with a fantastic view of central Hong Kong (and the old Kai Tak airport) through the clowds, then a left turn and a final descent passing the gigantic port in Hong Kong before we touched down at 11.35 am on runway 25R, actually 10 minutes ahead of timetable.
Business class passengers could once again disembark through the front door, sitting on the first row I was one of the first passengers off the plane.

Pics
Great view of central Hong Kong during the approach, the old Kai Tak runway is still easy to recognise
Lots of ships anchored outside Hong Kong
The massive port seen during the final approach, most impressive!

Verdict

This was my first flight with China Airlines and honestly I had no idea what to expect, the airline is not mentioned very often on Flyertalk (and other similar sites) and the airline does not belong to a major alliance.
But I have to say it was a thoroughly positive experience, I was really positively surprised.
The service was really exceptional and all the FAs were really sweet, friendly and helpful and spoke excellent English as well.
Regarding the inflight service it was just superb and they went to great length to ensure that. They did things I didn’t think anyone would do on a short flight of one hour and 15 minutes like handing out pillows and blankets to all passengers, preparing a large ice bucket for the champagne, selling duty free, having a table with all drinks displayed for the meal service, and so on. That’s a lot of hard work in a very short time, and they did it!
Check-in was very quick as well and the lounge in Taipei was very well-appointed, especially with the noodle bar. Food and drinks onboard were excellent as well and the selection of alcoholic drinks pretty impressive.
Well done China Airlines! ^ ^

jacob_m

Thanks! The upgrade in Taipei was fantastic, easily the best hotel upgrade I have ever received, by far. Never stayed in a room/suite exceeding 100 square meters before, it was enormous, only drawback: it was quite easy to mislay things...

The booking was made through an online site called Go To Gate (www.gotogate.se) which has an excellent and very advanced booking engine allowing you to create the itinerary segment by segment and choose flights and airlines yourself with almost no limitations (as long as you can match a good fare, otherwise you get a price I can assure you don't want to pay).
These type of booking sites are quite rare nowadays but everything worked perfectly, will definitely consider using them again.
If you have a fare you want to use you can look up the fare rules and routing options on e.g. Expertflyer and then create the itinerary on this site based on that info, that's what I did.
Indeed most company travel agencies would probably not be too happy to book such itineraries (neither would probably the one of my company).

The China Airlines segment is up now. Great airline! You have some very nice flights to look forward to!

jacob_m

Transfer in Hong Kong

I proceeded to the Lufthansa transfer desk to pick up my remaining boarding passes for the day, two desks were open with only a short wait before it was my turn.
The booking agent at SAS had prebooked 02K for me which was a window seat on the second row, however I decided to make a try to switch to an emergency exit seat instead as having that extra legroom and direct access to the aisle is quite worth it.
The Lufthansa agent seemed sceptical and said something about me already having a good seat in the “forward compartment”, but I asked if she could at least check.
She didn’t really seem to listen much to what I said, instead she made a phone call (in Cantonese) and then finally printed my boarding passes.
To my utter surprise the boarding pass she handed me said 09A, emergency exit window seat, (same seat as on the outbound flight but on the opposite side of the cabin). Nice!

I was also given an invitation to the “Star Alliance lounge”, knowing there is no common *A lounge in Hong Kong I had to ask which lounge I was actually supposed to use, it turned out the “Star Alliance lounge” equalled the United Airlines lounge.

Pics
The Lufthansa transfer desk

All transfer passengers have to pass a security control in Hong Kong before proceeding to the next departure gate, but fortunately it was very quick, just like last time.
I had a look in a few shops before heading for the lounges, I needed to stretch my legs a bit anyway before being seated for another 12 hours again.
Hong Kong airport has a pretty decent selection of tax-free shops but honestly they are quite expensive, it’s a not a place where you make any real bargains.

Pics
Very nice shopping at Hong Kong airport
Overlooking the gigantic terminal building towards the main departure hall and tax-free area
Another photo of the terminal, that’s the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse on the first floor

Thai Airways Royal Orchid lounge, Hong Kong

Having quite a bit of time left before departure I made a visit to the Thai Airways lounge which is by far the nicest Star Alliance lounge in Hong Kong, it was only a short walk from both the gate and the UA lounge I had planned to visit afterwards, which was rather practical.
I presented my LH business class boarding pass and after they had taken a copy of it I was allowed inside, no objections whatsoever about being in the wrong lounge. Really great staff in the lounge, friendly and helpful!

The reception desk is quite cool with pink and purple neon lighting, the business lounge is to the left of the desk, the first class lounge to the right (it’s strange they even have a first class lounge with so few TG flights with a first class cabin).

The lounge is quite large and has an excellent selection of food and drinks.
The food includes a nice buffet with vegetables, some hot food (can’t remember exactly what it was), instant noodles, packed sandwiches, fruits, nice desserts (including apple pie with custard) and even lovely ice cream.
Drinks included a great selection of soft drinks, beer, wine and a fairly good selection of spirits.

I had some light snacks and a glass of red wine and had a seat in front of one of the widescreen TVs in the lounge, the TV showed table tennis from the Olympic Games in Beijing and one of the contestants was a young man from Hong Kong which obviously drew some attention from the lounge visitors.

The lounge also has several internet computers with free internet access so I took the opportunity to check my e-mails before leaving the lounge.

Pics
The entrance to the Thai Airways lounge
The really cool reception desk with neon lighting, very friendly staff there as well
Sitting areas in the lounge
The great self-service buffet
Plenty of soft drinks
Good selection of alcoholic drinks
Great selection of vegetables (I like the presentation of the food)
Soft drinks and ice cream
One of the widescreen TVs in the lounge

United Airlines Red Carpet Club, Hong Kong

Most of the lounges in Hong Kong are located within a rather limited area on the first floor of the Y-shaped terminal building, I left the TG lounge and decided to find the UA lounge which I was supposed to use. I passed the AF, EK and JL lounges, the Virgin Atlantic clubhouse and the generic Plaza Premium lounge before I found the UA lounge at the very opposite end of the lounge area.

Just hearing United Airlines Red Carpet Club makes me sceptical, most of the RCCs I have visited have been rather dull with very poor food and drinks (if hardly any), so I can’t say I had any high expectations of this lounge either.
Still I decided to give it a try since I had not been there before, always nice to try new lounges, also it was the lounge I was supposed to use as a Lufthansa premium passenger.

The lounge was actually surprisingly nice, easily the nicest UA RCC I have visited so far.
Very airy and spacious with a fantastic apron view, very modern seating and a really good selection of food and drinks which I had not expected.
The selection of food included hot food (noodles and some kind of beef dish), toast, vegetables, hot pastries, cheese and crackers, chocolate bars and desserts. There might have been sandwiches as well. Far better than most UA lounges, this was actually not bad at all. ^
The drinks selection was also quite OK with lots of soft drinks, beer, wine and spirits.

Overall much better than expected, but perhaps not comparable to the Thai Airways lounge, also the lounge was rather crowded with several UA and *A departures in the early afternoon.
I spent about half an hour in the lounge before it was time to head to the gate.

Pics
The entrance to the United Airlines lounge and the reception desk
Inside the lounge
Nice view of the apron from the lounge with a UA B747 to ORD on the right
A Thai Airways Boeing 747 seen from the lounge
Drinks in the lounge (quite a good selection), toast and cheese
Hot food including noodles and some beef dish
Hot pastries
Biscuits, chocolate bars, cheese and crackers

tsastor

I again really enjoy your report. Nowadays flying mostly SAS P-class and w/o the Gold card it is hard to remember that air travel could also be fun...

ionlyflyupfront

[QUOTE=jacob_m;10249009]The seats were in leather and were spacious and quite comfortable, I was seated in 01A and had very good legroom as well.
The seat could be made lie-flat (I saw fellow passengers reclining their seats) but I can’t comment myself about how well you sleep in the seats. Amazingly the crew handed out pillows and blankets to all passengers despite the short flight time and the fact that it was a daytime flight.
The only drawback about the seat was the location of the seat control which was on top of the armrest, a few times when I moved my arm I accidently pressed one of the buttons. Although certainly not the end of the world they should have placed it somewhere else where you are less likely to touch it by accident.


Just like to point out there is no way these seats go lie flat and yes the move at the slightest touch of the stupidly placed controls. They use the same seats on the A340 that recline further but yet they still charge the same mega premium for the A330 over the noram C class seats they offer on the 747's which are about 10 years out of date, all be it the F seats are superb and great for sleeping

coolfish1103

Excellent report nevertheless.

If you are on CI's flight for HKG-TPE next time, pick a 744 and you will most likely be seated in First Class seats.

jacob_m

Time to return to Europe, another 12 hours in the air with nice food and drinks.

Boarding

Boarding started 25 minutes before departure from gate 43, a short walk from the United Airlines lounge.
Just like my previous flight from Hong Kong there were two exits, one for first class, business class and Star Golds passengers (to the left of the podium) and one exit for economy class passengers (to the right of the podium).
Premium passengers could board at their leisure while economy class passengers boarded by sections. Lufthansa staff went around the gate area looking for first class passengers who were escorted onboard past all other passengers (some first class passengers seemed to have been escorted from the lounge as well).

Pics
The large Lufthansa Boeing 747 at the gate in Hong Kong

Hong Kong-Frankfurt, flight LH 739 operated by Lufthansa
Departure: 13:30
Arrival: 19:20
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400
Class: Business Class
Seat: 09A

I entered the cabin through door 1L and was greeted by a male FA by the door, interestingly he greeted passengers by “Servus”, I guess we was somewhere from Bavaria. Really friendly man though, he was the FA who mainly served me during the flight and I ended up talking quite a lot to him about airlines, aircrafts and frequent flyer cards.
I found my seat 09A immediately on the right, my jacket was taken and I was offered a pre-departure drink, a choice between water, orange juice or bubbles. No need to thing twice about that.
Sitting in an emergency exit seat I had to place my hand luggage in the overhead bin during take-off and landing, but it was great to have that extra amount of legroom and easy access to the aisle.
Business class ended up being completely full on this flight.

The standard safety demonstration was shown and everything was repeated in Mandarin by one of the flight attendants, but interestingly not in Cantonese which is the official language of Hong Kong (I have to admit I’m pretty proud having learned to hear the difference between Mandarin and Cantonese).

The captain also made an announcement informing us the flight time was expected to be 11 hours and 10 minutes.
We finally pushed back at 1.40 pm and took off shortly afterwards from runway 25L. I once again enjoyed a nice view of Hong Kong before the clouds obstructed the view.

The seatbelt sign was switched off at around 30,000 feet and the inflight service started and the menus were distributed.
Shortly afterwards the purser came to my seat, introduced himself, and said “Mr jacob_m, I am happy to have you onboard today, has everything been OK so far?” After confirming everything had been just fine he replied “Excellent, well if there is anything I can do to for you, please do not hesitate to ask”.
Only about 3-4 passengers in business class were greeted by the purser (that I could see, including me) so it was obviously due to my Star Alliance gold status. A great initiative, very appreciated! ^

Pics
The forward business class cabin seen from my emergency exit seat 09A
Magazines (available at all times during the flight)

Meal service

The menu was handed out which also included the drink list, I really think they have very refreshing meal options on Lufthansa, lots of exciting dishes you don’t eat very often.

Here is the menu to Frankfurt:

The drink cart passed through the cabin offering cocktails accompanied by macadamia nuts.
The male FA who greeted me at the door did the initial drink run and he actually addressed me by name (which he didn’t seem to do with the others), again a very appreciated status recognition!
I asked for a gin and tonic and this time they mixed the drink for me.
Next the appetiser trays were handed out, a choice between Beijing duck and tuna, since I absolutely love duck it was an easy choice.

The woman next to me in seat 09C seemed to be an airline employee and was travelling on an ID-ticket (she might even have been upgraded). Quite interestingly she was offered all her courses last after all other passengers had been served, I had finished my course when she finally got hers and most of the time she was not given a choice.
I thought that was a nice gesture of Lufthansa, nothing wrong about my seat neighbour, she was nice and friendly in every possible way, but honestly I felt much more valued as a paying passengers when they served me and the other paying passengers first and then the airline employees (who had probably not paid much for their tickets) afterwards.
I can imagine many airlines wouldn’t do this…

As main course I chose the Garuppa which was some kind of fish served with rice, I also had some red wine to drink.
The trays were collected and then they passed through the cabin with the desserts. Everything looked really appetising on the table and the FA noticed I had a hard time to choose, I was actually asked if I wanted to think about it for a while as they would be back with coffee in a few moments, I ended up having fruit salad and the chocolate mousse.
I also had a cup of coffee and a glass of Johnnie Walker whisky.

Pics
Gin and tonic and macadamia nuts before the meal
Appetiser (duck, just excellent!) and fresh Thai salad
Main course
Chocolate mousse and fruit salad as dessert
Coffee and whisky

When the meal service was coming to an end they placed all open bottles with wine and champagne on the table in the forward business class cabin, available for self-service.
Orange juice and water were also available.

Pics
The drinks available for self-service in the forward business class cabin

The meal service took quite a bit of time, when it was over I think nearly three hours had passed. As this was a daytime flight I got to enjoy the nice scenery through my window, we flew past the mountains in western China and then passed just north of the Himalayas. Really great views!

Pics
The mountains around Western China
Approaching the Himalayas

Inflight entertainment

The inflight entertainment system on Lufthansa is pretty good. They had several interesting documentaries for example, among those one about highlights from the Olympic Games during the past century and another one about westerners who had moved to China to work and who shared their views and experiences.
Other than lots of movies and documentaries they also offer language courses, for example one in Mandarin, and several games.

I had brought my own laptop on this trip and used it onboard to get some work done and also to watch a movie I had downloaded but had not had time to watch.
There is a power socket at each seat in business class but it seemed to work for pretty much all plugs except for mine which is actually a standard European plug, quite strange!
I asked the male FA when he passed if it was possible to solve the problem in some way as I had quite limited battery power and he made a great effort and managed to find a spare adapter onboard.

Pics
Language course - Chinese for beginners
Tetris

More food onboard

Several drink rounds were made of water and orange juice and there was also a bottle of water available at each business class seat when we came onboard in Hong Kong.
Around 5-6 hours into the flight sandwiches were offered (very nice brie ones for example) as well as a full drink service and coffee and tea.

I watched another movie, the latest Batman movie, and had a bit of rest. The flight passed surprisingly quickly, soon we were already over western Russia flying just south of Moscow.
Around two hours before landing in Frankfurt a second meal was served, a choice between crabmeat salad and beef, I had the beef which was quite OK.
I also had some more wine to drink, they had two reds onboard, a French one and a Portuguese one. The male FA actually remembered which one I had last time but I ended up having a few glasses of both during the flight. He was actually quite interested in hearing what I thought about the wines as he wanted to get a better idea about what they serve onboard, I told him I preferred the French one since it was a bit sweeter than the Portuguese one.
Fresh fruits were offered as dessert followed by coffee and tea.

Pics
Mid-flight snacks: A brie sandwich, red wine and coffee (sorry the photo got quite dark)
Flying over western Russia
Second meal around two hours before landing

Arrival in Frankfurt

Somewhere around Berlin we started our descent to Frankfurt. Shortly afterwards the purser came back to my seat, addressed me by name again, thanked me for flying Lufthansa and hoped I had enjoyed the flight.
I told him the flight had been perfect in every way and he seemed happy to hear that and told me he very much hoped to see me onboard soon again.
These things are just so great to hear and actually made me think I will definitely consider flying Lufthansa again when they (and I think quite honestly) do appreciate my business and loyalty.
A big hands up to Lufthansa for doing this!! ^ ^
On this other hand it’s just sad to realise that I get far better recognition on Lufthansa as SAS Gold than I get on SAS.

A video was shown about Frankfurt airport and the arrival and transfer procedures and then the cabin was prepared for landing.
The male FA who had mainly been serving me had a seat opposite me by the emergency exit during the landing. He had provided such attentive service and been really concerned about my comfort onboard, he was very well aware of my gold status which he demonstrated several times in different ways.
We ended up talking a bit about Lufthansa and flying in general and I gave my compliments for the great facilities in the new C-pier in Frankfurt. He wasn’t familiar with the lounge facilities but knew the gates had been constructed for the Airbus A380.
Apparently Lufthansa will start operating the A380 in 2009 and one of the first destinations will most likely be Hong Kong, his Chinese colleague who also worked in the business class cabin had just been invited to a training session in London because he was fluent in Mandarin.

We finally touched down on runway 25R in Frankfurt at 7 pm, 15 minutes ahead of timetable, and once again taxied to terminal 1 and the brand new C-pier.
Very nice to be on the ground again after nearly 12 hours on that plane, but with another flight coming up.

Pics
The inflight map showing we are flying over Poland, only an hour left to go

Verdict

So two completed Lufthansa longhaul business class flights on this trip, and time for a quick summary (even if Lufthansa was far from a new airline to me).
On the whole it is perhaps not the most exciting airline around, but it is a safe, reliable and punctual airline with consistent service both on the ground and in the air, you know what to expect and you normally get it, they very rarely make me disappointed.
I really like the food onboard, they often have some very interesting dishes on the menu that stand out from the regular stuff and the drinks are not bad either.
The business class seats are pretty comfortable and sufficient for a few hours of proper sleep (certainly worked well for me), the entertainment system is also quite decent if you prefer to stay awake, a good selection of movies and documentaries.
The excellent status recognition on the return was obviously also a very big plus.