HKG-NRT-TPE-HKG-JFK CX
Jan 21, 2003, 10:47 pm
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Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,347
HKG-NRT-TPE-HKG-JFK CX
Dear folks,
Another CX trip report! I can’t believe that I have flown 11 segments on CX since January 1, but I will halt my CX travel after the return to the US. I have another CX YVR-JFK segment during February, but other than that, this will be the last installment of CX reports till March. This trip is the continuation of my OW Global explorer RTW fare bought earlier this month originated from New Zealand.
January 15, 2002
CX 504 HKG-NRT Lv0910 Arr1355
Boeing 747-400 B-HOY Asia’s World City livery and new J (74Y)
I checked in at the super efficient and friendly counters of CX First at CLK airport. The agent was amazed that I was flying four CX segments within the next two days. She was impressed. She could not check me in all the way from HKG to TPE via NRT. But it is no problem. I don’t have any bag to check in, but if I have bags, she will have no problem checking my bags all the way into TPE from HKG. I went to the Pier since the departure gate was 60. I was so happy when I saw the Asia’s World City livery because that is the plane with new business class. The pier is nice as usual and I have a light breakfast of dim sum and congee there. I don’t feel like eating eggs. Anyway, another meal will be served aboard.
The load of today’s flight was a bit light in the back and J was pretty full though. No wonder CX makes most money out from these Japanese routes. The flight attendants were pretty good for today’s flight to Tokyo. I was brought to my seat. With the new J seats, the overhead bins were enlarged in the upper deck. My roller on bag was fitted nicely on the overhead lockers. On the old configured Boeing 747s, there is no way a roller bag can fit on the overhead bin in the upper deck and you have to stall it in the closet spaces at the end of the staircase. 86A and C are the only seats with an armrest personal video. Although you have lots of legroom, you are easier to slide to the floor on the flat seat position due to the angle of the seat and the lack of anything in front of you to hold your body. I don’t think I am explaining the situation well here, but some of you may be able to help me out. Hopefully with less angle of recline, the sliding problem will be less obvious. The usual tray of pre-takeoff beverage includes OJ, water and CX delight was passed out after takeoff followed by newspapers offering and hot towels. Door was closed at 9:06am and we pushed back a minute later. We headed towards Runway 7R for our takeoff and not much activity to report. We lifted off at 9:23am and off towards the usual route of Taichung, Miyazaki and then along the coast of Japan, and then into Tokyo. We climbed all the way to 41,000ft and the flying time was a quick three hours and thirteen minutes.
On morning flights, CX does not have a separate beverage service, but the F/A passed out a tray of orange juice, CX Delight, water, and champagne after the seat belt sign went off. The entertainment program was the latest Studio CX kind with interactive system installed in F and J. Brunch was followed and here is the transcript and I have the Japanese lunch, which is pretty good.
Brunch
Seasonal Salad served with Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
Pan-fried beef fillet with tomato and onion sauce
Egg Fried Rice
Stir-fried Pak Choy
Or
Crepes Filled with Scrambled Eggs, Mushrooms and Tomatoes
Grilled Chicken Chipolata Sausage and Back Bacon
Broiled Tomato with herbs, Button Mushrooms
Cheese Selection with Crackers
Red Leicester, True Blue and Camembert with grapes and crackers
Almond Apple Pie served with Vanilla sauce
I like the apple pie much!
Croissant, Chocolate Muffin or Italian Roll served with preserves, honey and butter
Tea and Coffee
Movenpick Ice cream
Pralines
Japanese Selection
Appetizer
Beef Salad Japanese style with Plum and Shiso Dressing
Crape Roll with Shrimp Japanese Style
Broccoli and Cauliflower with Plum Mayonnaise
Soup
Miso Soup Corbicula Seaweed Dried Gluten Roll
Delicacy
Anger Fish Liver Crab Claw Globe Fish Slice Mixed Seaweed Yuzu Soya Dressing
Noodle
Bean Curd Skin Taste Noodles
Hot Entrée
Broiled Seabass Miso taste
Japanese Taro Bean Curd Skin French Beans
Carrot Crab Meat Sauce
Japanese Rice with Black Sesame
Assorted Pickles
Dessert
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
2 kiwi, orange, strawberry, cantaloupe and pineapple – the same fruit plate served as appetizer for the Western brunch
The obligatory hot towel service ended this wonderful brunch service. I took a nap and we were slowly descending into a beautiful and sunny Tokyo a little bit before noon, Hong Kong time. We landed on Runway 34L at 1:36pm NRT time (NRT is an hour ahead of HKG), and were quickly parked at gate 14. This same aircraft will bring me back to Taipei in two hours.
CX 451 NRT-TPE Lv1545 Arr1845
Boeing 747-400 B-HOY Asia’s World City 74Y with new J
After disembarking, I headed to the quiet transit area. NRT is pretty quiet during the 1-2pm time period, due to the departure of most European flights and the transpacific flights have yet to arrive at NRT. I went to the CX lounge and the agent immediately collected my ticket and passport, and brought it to the counter in the departure for check in. I was told to wait in the lounge and the agent later returned with my passport, ticket, and a new boarding pass for this segment. The CX lounge was the same old, with a buffet of snack items, sandwiches, sushi (the basic kinds, nothing fancy), and other light refreshments. I had a soft drink and found a nice spot overlooking runway 34L/16R and got ready for the afternoon activities to begin. If you like the big jumbo jets like the Boeing 747s, and 777s, NRT is the place to be. I saw almost all JAL’s 747 international variants such as –200 Resocha, -300, and –400, and NH has a mix of Boeing 767-300s, 777s, and 747-400s. United has its range of Boeing 747-400s and Boeing 777s and it is evidently that more 777s are used these days. Korean Air has a mixed batch of Boeing 747-400s used on the heavily traveled Seoul route and its afternoon flight from and to LA. Delta’s sole MD-11 flight from Atlanta flight arrived early this afternoon and followed by the takeoff of a China Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 heading to Taipei. The more special planes are the Turkish Airlines’ Airbus A340-300 heading to Istanbul, Scandinavian’s Airbus A340-300 heading to Copenhagen, and Air India’s Boeing 747-300 heading back to Mumbai. I always saw AI’s Boeing 747-400 at the US, and the smaller A310s at Hong Kong, but have yet to see the Boeing 747-300. The load for this flight was a bit less than the HKG-NRT flight, but pretty good with 2/3 of J class filled in the upper deck. Nevertheless, I was the only one occupying the exit row. Most passengers are Japanese heading to Taipei for business.
The selection of pre-takeoff beverage includes water, champagne, and grapefruit juice. Newspapers and hot towels were passed out, after everyone was seated. The door was closed on time at 3:45pm and we pushed back a bit later. We slowly taxied towards Runway 34L and lifted off at 4:01pm. The flying time was three hours and forty-six minutes, and the flight route took us over Yokohama, Nagoya, Kobe, Kagoshima, before turning towards Taipei. We climbed all the way to 39,000ft.
In-flight service was a bit better than the TPE-NRT flight. Maybe it is due to the longer flying time and dinner times. The same medium haul dinner was served, but with a separate dessert course. The normal beverage service was served with a choice of Japanese snack mix and almonds. The dinner transcript was stated as below:
Dinner
Marinated Seafood Pasta Salad
A plate of diced shrimps and scallops, accompanied by red pepper strips, mango sticks, artichoke hearts, and red onions on top of a bed of spaghetti! Very fresh and nicely presented, and done!
Grilled Eel on Steamed Rice and Braised Vegetables
Or
Stir-fried chicken with Sweet chili sauce
Egg Fried Rice
Pak Choy and Carrots
Pretty good entrée! The sauce was not too spicy!
Or
Grilled Beef Fillet with Chausseur sauce
Penne Pasta with Parmesan Cheese
Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Red Peppers
Movenpick Ice cream
A choice of Stracciatella (Chocolate Chip), Strawberry, and Truffle Chocolate – pretty standard choices of CX’s ice cream in first and business class!
Selected Bread and Rolls served with Butter
Garlic bread or wheat rolls
Tea and Coffee
I took a nap after the dinner service and after the pilot turned on the seat belt sign, the flight attendants passed out a tray of orange juice or water, with more hot towels. What a nice gesture! Three hot towel flights on a three hours flight – that is a pretty amazing thing, since most US airlines has slashed hot towel service on all domestic flights these days. It is a god’s blessing if you see one hot towel on one of this premium transcontinental flight.
We landed on Runway 06 at 6:39pm and taxied right into gate B4. TPE was extremely quiet, but the sister ship of the Asia’s World city, the Spirit of Hong Kong Millennium was parked at B6. Of course, the inevitable thing happened. I slipped during my descent of the stairs from the upper deck to main deck. The head purser immediately came to my assistance and asked if I needed any help from the ground staff. I said that I was fine but was touched by her genuine concern and the immediate offer of help. Then I took the city bus into the city. I stayed overnight at the Caesar Park hotel, Taipei, formerly known as Hilton Taipei. The staff was very friendly and had known me as a Hilton Honor member. I was not upgraded to the Executive floor but was offered a suite. There are minimal changes only limited to the change of name tag from Hilton to Caesar Park… the basic uniform remained the same. Everything is the same.
January 16, 2002
CX 461 TPE-HKG Lv1125 (1200) Arr1315
Airbus A340-600 B-HQB
One of my “firsts” in 2003 – flying the A340-600 is an exciting experience, despite the flight was delayed due to late arrival of the aircraft from LA earlier that morning, which caused the HKG-TPE flight to be late… a chain reaction. Fortunately, I have cushioned much time into my connections. Some folks are less fortunate but the CX agent was quick to respond. I saw an agent immediately putting someone on the earlier flight to Hong Kong and she apologized for putting him on a middle seat. This is truly customer service and then she escorts the passenger to the gate. I went to the lounge and waited a bit, and the agent kept us informed about the delays and the change of gate. I headed to the gate a few minutes earlier and admired this new airplane. Most passengers were unaware of the newness of this plane. The flight was pretty full in all classes except F with three passengers only. Boarding began at 11:48am and I was glad that there was a separate line for F and J passengers. Because the distance between Door 1 and 2 is a bit longer for this Airbus A340-600, and the jetway at TPE is not capable to stretch that wide, everyone is boarded through door one.
The cabin was very spacious and the ceiling was pretty high. The new F and J class were the same as other F suites and new J class. The overhead locker has a more slimmer design and this Airbus A340-600 is definitely different form the older –200/300 series. I did not check out the Y cabin, but for J class, there is a bar near door 2 with four lavatories near that area too. Door was finally closed at 12:03pm and we pushed back two minutes later. The F/As wasted no time in serving everyone a choice of orange juice, champagne, or water, newspapers, and hot towel. Then we took off from Runway 6 at 12:17pm. This plane is extremely quiet during takeoff, and it performs very well. You can barely hear the noise of the retracting of the gears.
Due to the larger J cabin, the F/As had a pretty difficult time serving the whole cabin. The service is fine, but it is unfair to demand very personal service due to short flying time. In terms of meals, CX has ceased to serve bread for this “refreshment” flight. I personally like to take those flights continuing from Seoul, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka because there is more food served on this flight. Anyway, the transcript of the menu is:
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
Apple, 2 slices of cantaloupes & melon
Kung Po Chicken
Steamed Rice
Pak Choy and Shiitake Mushroom
Or
Penne Pasta Sicilian Style with Prawns
Basically penne pasta with tomato sauce, chopped olive, and two grilled shrimps on top of it. Pretty good for pasta served by an Asian carrier!
Pistachio Mousse with chocolate sauce
A separate dessert service… it was a bit rich for me. I will rather have a piece of cake for dessert, but I think it must be more expensive to serve a cake these days, since both CX and SQ like to serve mousse as dessert these days.
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
The flight went by quickly and we landed on R/W7L at 1:48pm. We parked at Gate 64 and the crowd at the HKG airport was amazing. As I was exiting, an engineer with a special logbook was walking into the aircraft. I guess he was checking up the performances of this new plane, and solving some of the teething problems. I exited through immigration and custom to collect my bags from the baggage storage service. Then I went back to infamous first class check in counters, and my bags were quickly checked to JFK. The agent was very kind and it was evidently that my flight was severely overbooked today. Maybe there was hope for an operational upgrade – I don’t think so! I am on a D fare and CX seems to have many full-fare J and MPO members traveled on these YVR and NYC flights. CX has a large base of MPO members at the YVR area, due to the immigration and “astronauts” years. Anyway, my flight to YVR was extremely full due to the cancellation of one of AC’s flights to Vancouver. I have rarely seen middle seats occupied these days in J class. Anyway, CX 888 went out 100% in all classes.
CX 888 HKG-YVR Lv1605 Arr1115
Boeing 747-400 B-HOS (74B) with old J class
I went to the Wing today and had a nice lunch of dim sum, Cream of chicken soup, sushi, and a nice Green tea mousse cake. I like the dining experience at the CX lounges at Hong Kong. It has spoiled me. Interesting planes this afternoon included this brand new Vietnam Airways’ A321 (VN-A346) and Ethiopian Airways’ Boeing 767. For LAX flight this afternoon, CX uses B-HOR, and for YYZ, it has B-HXC, and for YVR, it has B-HXD. Although the full J class cabin, Jimmy, Nora, and Alice did a great job in taking care of the whole J cabin. I like Jimmy the best because he is very courteous and is in charge of the trolley activities… everything from initial beverage service to tea/coffee service. He did it again for the brunch service later. Of course, his handsome face and model figure have nothing to do with my high marks. Haha! I also like the purser too because she helped out during meal services in J class. She is very friendly and polite. Nora passed me headsets and newspapers shortly after I was seated. Orange juice, water and champagne were served as pre-takeoff beverage. We began boarding at 3:30pm and I almost forgot to tell you about that boarding line. It was long beyond belief. It was pretty clumsy to have to check passport and all the ground agents were busy in assigning seats for these AC passengers. The door was finally closed at 4:13pm and pushed back two minutes later. We were using Runway 25L for takeoff, so the taxi towards the runway was done in minimal time. After a Malaysian Airlines’ Boeing 737-400, we took off at 4:24pm. Interestingly, another brand new CX’s A340-600 was being loaded at one of the bays outside of CX’s preferred gates. It is highly abnormal, since most CX schedule flights used jetways for takeoff and landing, except the DHL redeye flights departing at 3am to TPE, KIX, and SIN on weekdays. It is B-HQA and I guess it must be doing a special flight for some special guests.
Flying time was ten hours and forty-seven minutes. We first climbed to 29,000ft as we were heading toward Taichung and Chilung, Taiwan. Then we climbed to 33,000ft before passing Miyizaki and traveling along the eastern coast of Japan. We climbed to 35,000ft before reaching south of Adak, and slowly ascending to 36,000ft, and then further to 37,000ft before reaching the Canadian air space. Seat belt sign was off at 4:34pm and the beverage service began immediately. The infamous pistachio nuts was served by the savory service – roast beef and sundried tomato on top of potato cakes with dill cream.
Dinner
Seasonal Salad served with Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Appetizer
Marinated Prawn Salad with Yellow capsicum and Semi Sun-dried tomato
Both salad and appetizer were identical with my HKG-ICN flight. They were the same menu. Nothing more to say about it!
Main Courses
Pan-fried beef fillet with tomato and onion sauce
Grilled Salmon fillet with Tomato, Olive, and pepper confit
Thai Style Chicken with Lemon Grass sauce
Garganelli with Olive, Caper and Tomato sauce
Accompaniments
Roasted Potatoes with Parsley, Steamed Rice, Basil Noodles, Pak choy with Black Mushrooms and carrots, Fresh seasonal vegetables
The entrée selection was different except the beef and the pasta. The salmon was run out before reading my row, and I had the chicken, which was pretty nice. The chicken was sliced into chunks and the noodles were nice. I like CX’s trolley service – so first class!
Cheese and fruit
Cheese selection with crackers
Red Leicester, Camembert, and True Blue with assorted crackers and grapes
Or
Fresh seasonal fruits
Grapes, pineapple, watermelon, orange and grapefruit
Dessert
Orange Chocolate Mousse cake served with Raspberry sauce
I had the cake, which was nice, but I believe that I had the same cake on BA first class on the TPE-HKG flight a couple years ago.
Or
Movenpick Ice cream
Bread – Onion rolls, garlic bread, and sourdough
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
Refreshment
Your choice of:
Multi-grain Rye Bread with Proscuitto Ham and Pickles
Barbecued Pork Pizza
Chicken-flavored Instant Noodles
Movenpick Ice Cream
Freshly Baked Cookies
After dinner service, most passengers went to sleep and the order for refreshments was taken at 9:10pm Hong Kong time. I had a bowl of noodles. A snack bar was also set up in the galley area. Peanuts, orange cereal bars, “Picnic” bars, almonds, chocolate chip cookies, Japanese snacks, and M&M Peanuts were the snack selections this evening. I felt asleep after refreshment and did not wake up till brunch time. Hot towel and juice was passed out at 1am Hong Kong local time.
Brunch
Juice Selection – orange juice, apple juice, and soya milk
Appetizer
Fresh Seasonal Fruit
Pineapple, cantaloupe, orange, strawberry and two kiwi slices
Main Courses
Scrambled Eggs with Cottage Cheese on English Muffin
Chinese dim sum served with Chili sauce – 2 slices of turnip cakes, “cotton” chicken, and hargow – shrimp dumplings, not as good as before…
*Plain Congee with Tangerine Peel and Gingko Nuts
Glutinous Rice dumpling with Five Spiced Pork in Bamboo Leave
A special creation by Mr. Kinsen Kim of Yung Kee
Accompaniments
Grilled Breakfast Steak, Fried Potatoes, Broiled Tomato with Herbs, Button Mushrooms
Bread Selection
Croissant, Chocolate Muffin or Soft Roll served with Preserves, honey and butter
Tea and Coffee
The whole brunch service was completed in an hour. I sometimes think that CX can serve breakfast in J class maybe an hour and half prior to arrival. It does not take two full hours to serve the whole J cabin. My flight was totally full, and it took an hour for the first passing of hot towels to the second passing. We began our descent at 2:49am and made a straightforward approach into YVR’s Runway 8L. Landing gears were down at 3:12am HK time, and we touched down at 11:15am Vancouver local time. A beautiful morning and we had a clear view of the mountains. For those traveling on CX 888, everyone has to exit the airplane and stay in a holding room for continuing into JFK. A coffee and tea station with various breakfast pastries (muffins and donuts) was set up. A guard is stationed at the entrances of the gates.
CX 888 YVR-JFK Lv1225 Arr2030
Boeing 747-400 B-HOS (74B)
D73 is the gate – the normal holding room for CX 888. Sometimes CX uses one of the gate at 50 as well. The excellent thing about the YVR design is that these rooms can easily change to a holding room. Sometimes these gates are used as USA gates too and vice versa. Flexibility is the strength of YVR. I am just glad that I don’t need to deal with the YVR immigration agents.
During that time, I picked a spot and stood for the whole hour. I was surprised to see an older JAL’s Boeing 747-200 at YVR and was happy to see a SQ’s Boeing 777-200ER 9V-SVA arriving from ICN. Due to the catering and security checks, we did not board till 12:27pm. Please be forwarn about the boarding procedures. Transit passengers board first, followed by passengers departed from YVR. The agents were really strict about it due to security reasons and to keep the head counts right. Judging from the load on CX 888 – 60% are heading to NYC and 40% heading to YVR, and then about 10% joining us from Vancouver. I believe that there is room for a nonstop service to New York but if the nonstop flights become a reality, will there a need for CX 888 with a stop at YVR? There seems to be not too many passengers flying the YVR-JFK route, but the belly seems to fill with cargoes. Maybe a daily CX 888, complemented by a thrice-weekly nonstop flight is a good idea. After this stupid war with Iraq and when the world economy improves a bit, CX can then have a double daily flight. Well, premium traffic is pretty good on CX 888 and you can tell from the improved caterings from the flight to YYZ. A fresh crew leaded by an excellent purser, Dominic Yeung, took good care of us. Each flight attendant spent some conversation time with each passenger. The main deck J class is 60% full. Boarding began at 12:27pm, due to the lateness of the flight from Hong Kong and the security checks. It was done quickly and the door was closed at 12:40pm. A tray of CX delight, cranberry juice, water and champagne was passed out, followed by a fresh load of English newspapers and the obligatory hot towel. We pushed back in a minute and headed towards R/W26L for takeoff. After an AC’s A330-300 C-GHLM took off, we lifted off at 1pm.
Due to strong tail winds, flying time was only four hours and twenty minutes, which will make us arriving into JFK a bit early despite of our late departure from YVR. I recorded very detail information, since the sky map is my only form of entertainment as of this point. I watched “Doria” and “Simpsons” for more than five times, as of this point, although I found them as funny as always. Our cruising attitude is 37,000ft, and here is the list of places we passed by – Sandpoint, Kalispell, Shelby, Havre, Glasgow, Glendive, Bismarck, Valley City, Wausau, MI, Green Bay, Manistee, London, Ontario, Jamestown and began our descent near Scranton, NY.
Lunch service began shortly after takeoff. First, we had our beverage service, accompanied by a dish of pistachio nuts. Then the full long haul lunch service was served. The main course was served in the a la carte style, not pre-plated casserole dishes on similar length intra-Asian flights, like HKG-NRT, or SIN-HKG. The service definitely beats AC by million light years. If I am paying full fare, I won’t even have a difficult time picking my preferred carrier. The only things that hold back me are slightly late return departure time from Vancouver, and BA ground staffs in JFK.
Lunch
Salad
Field Greens with Sun-dried tomato and Mushrooms served with Creamy Dill Cucumber dressing
Nothing much other than a few slices of lettuce and cabbage… nice presentation and I like the mushroom… The dressing was Kraft brand, similar to those used by Air Canada.
Appetizer
Prosciutto Ham and Melon
Very nice appetizer! Three slices of ham with a mixed of cantaloupe and melon sticks, followed by three mozzarella cheese and pesto on tops of tomato slices… fresh!
Main Courses
Stir-fried chicken with Black Bean sauce
Assorted Seafood on Pasta with dill sauce
Salad of Tender Beef Slices with Seasonal Greens served with Teriyaki Sauce
Accompaniments
Steamed Rice, Stir-fried Pak Choy
I had the chicken, which was pretty nice as Chinese food went.
Cheese Selection with Crackers
Cheese selections include blue, Cheddar, and Camembert, and fruits include grapes!
Dessert
Coffee Ice cream and Walnut Parfait served with Raspberry Sauce
Bread
Selected Bread and Rolls served with Butter
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
During the initial beverage service, a detailed US INS/Custom forms instruction video was shown, and after lunch, things got pretty quiet, as most people began to work or to catch up on sleeps. Then about an hour prior to arrival, F/As took another beverage order and served the wonderful Haagen Dazs Vanilla and Almond Ice cream bars.
Light Refreshment
Ice Cream bars
As we began our descent, another round of hot towel and the flight soon came to an end, as we touched down on R/W31R at 8:20pm NYC local time. We quickly parked at Gate 6 and disembarked at 8:24pm. After flying these eleven segments, I have a better understanding of CX service and there is no doubt that CX is definitely one of the best, if not the best, airline in the world. I just hope that the J class cabin can be renovated as soon as possible. Some of these older Boeing 747s are showing their ages and a new refurbishment will be nice. Indeed one of the bathrooms in J class was broken on the second segment, which caused quite a line for bathroom.
If you have read all my CX reports, thanks for doing so and I hope you enjoy them! I hope these reports will give you a sense of CX’s operations. Now I am flown most of CX’s network, except the Hong Kong to European sector. Hopefully I can squeeze a LHR-HKG flight in the future.
Carfield
Another CX trip report! I can’t believe that I have flown 11 segments on CX since January 1, but I will halt my CX travel after the return to the US. I have another CX YVR-JFK segment during February, but other than that, this will be the last installment of CX reports till March. This trip is the continuation of my OW Global explorer RTW fare bought earlier this month originated from New Zealand.
January 15, 2002
CX 504 HKG-NRT Lv0910 Arr1355
Boeing 747-400 B-HOY Asia’s World City livery and new J (74Y)
I checked in at the super efficient and friendly counters of CX First at CLK airport. The agent was amazed that I was flying four CX segments within the next two days. She was impressed. She could not check me in all the way from HKG to TPE via NRT. But it is no problem. I don’t have any bag to check in, but if I have bags, she will have no problem checking my bags all the way into TPE from HKG. I went to the Pier since the departure gate was 60. I was so happy when I saw the Asia’s World City livery because that is the plane with new business class. The pier is nice as usual and I have a light breakfast of dim sum and congee there. I don’t feel like eating eggs. Anyway, another meal will be served aboard.
The load of today’s flight was a bit light in the back and J was pretty full though. No wonder CX makes most money out from these Japanese routes. The flight attendants were pretty good for today’s flight to Tokyo. I was brought to my seat. With the new J seats, the overhead bins were enlarged in the upper deck. My roller on bag was fitted nicely on the overhead lockers. On the old configured Boeing 747s, there is no way a roller bag can fit on the overhead bin in the upper deck and you have to stall it in the closet spaces at the end of the staircase. 86A and C are the only seats with an armrest personal video. Although you have lots of legroom, you are easier to slide to the floor on the flat seat position due to the angle of the seat and the lack of anything in front of you to hold your body. I don’t think I am explaining the situation well here, but some of you may be able to help me out. Hopefully with less angle of recline, the sliding problem will be less obvious. The usual tray of pre-takeoff beverage includes OJ, water and CX delight was passed out after takeoff followed by newspapers offering and hot towels. Door was closed at 9:06am and we pushed back a minute later. We headed towards Runway 7R for our takeoff and not much activity to report. We lifted off at 9:23am and off towards the usual route of Taichung, Miyazaki and then along the coast of Japan, and then into Tokyo. We climbed all the way to 41,000ft and the flying time was a quick three hours and thirteen minutes.
On morning flights, CX does not have a separate beverage service, but the F/A passed out a tray of orange juice, CX Delight, water, and champagne after the seat belt sign went off. The entertainment program was the latest Studio CX kind with interactive system installed in F and J. Brunch was followed and here is the transcript and I have the Japanese lunch, which is pretty good.
Brunch
Seasonal Salad served with Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
Pan-fried beef fillet with tomato and onion sauce
Egg Fried Rice
Stir-fried Pak Choy
Or
Crepes Filled with Scrambled Eggs, Mushrooms and Tomatoes
Grilled Chicken Chipolata Sausage and Back Bacon
Broiled Tomato with herbs, Button Mushrooms
Cheese Selection with Crackers
Red Leicester, True Blue and Camembert with grapes and crackers
Almond Apple Pie served with Vanilla sauce
I like the apple pie much!
Croissant, Chocolate Muffin or Italian Roll served with preserves, honey and butter
Tea and Coffee
Movenpick Ice cream
Pralines
Japanese Selection
Appetizer
Beef Salad Japanese style with Plum and Shiso Dressing
Crape Roll with Shrimp Japanese Style
Broccoli and Cauliflower with Plum Mayonnaise
Soup
Miso Soup Corbicula Seaweed Dried Gluten Roll
Delicacy
Anger Fish Liver Crab Claw Globe Fish Slice Mixed Seaweed Yuzu Soya Dressing
Noodle
Bean Curd Skin Taste Noodles
Hot Entrée
Broiled Seabass Miso taste
Japanese Taro Bean Curd Skin French Beans
Carrot Crab Meat Sauce
Japanese Rice with Black Sesame
Assorted Pickles
Dessert
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
2 kiwi, orange, strawberry, cantaloupe and pineapple – the same fruit plate served as appetizer for the Western brunch
The obligatory hot towel service ended this wonderful brunch service. I took a nap and we were slowly descending into a beautiful and sunny Tokyo a little bit before noon, Hong Kong time. We landed on Runway 34L at 1:36pm NRT time (NRT is an hour ahead of HKG), and were quickly parked at gate 14. This same aircraft will bring me back to Taipei in two hours.
CX 451 NRT-TPE Lv1545 Arr1845
Boeing 747-400 B-HOY Asia’s World City 74Y with new J
After disembarking, I headed to the quiet transit area. NRT is pretty quiet during the 1-2pm time period, due to the departure of most European flights and the transpacific flights have yet to arrive at NRT. I went to the CX lounge and the agent immediately collected my ticket and passport, and brought it to the counter in the departure for check in. I was told to wait in the lounge and the agent later returned with my passport, ticket, and a new boarding pass for this segment. The CX lounge was the same old, with a buffet of snack items, sandwiches, sushi (the basic kinds, nothing fancy), and other light refreshments. I had a soft drink and found a nice spot overlooking runway 34L/16R and got ready for the afternoon activities to begin. If you like the big jumbo jets like the Boeing 747s, and 777s, NRT is the place to be. I saw almost all JAL’s 747 international variants such as –200 Resocha, -300, and –400, and NH has a mix of Boeing 767-300s, 777s, and 747-400s. United has its range of Boeing 747-400s and Boeing 777s and it is evidently that more 777s are used these days. Korean Air has a mixed batch of Boeing 747-400s used on the heavily traveled Seoul route and its afternoon flight from and to LA. Delta’s sole MD-11 flight from Atlanta flight arrived early this afternoon and followed by the takeoff of a China Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 heading to Taipei. The more special planes are the Turkish Airlines’ Airbus A340-300 heading to Istanbul, Scandinavian’s Airbus A340-300 heading to Copenhagen, and Air India’s Boeing 747-300 heading back to Mumbai. I always saw AI’s Boeing 747-400 at the US, and the smaller A310s at Hong Kong, but have yet to see the Boeing 747-300. The load for this flight was a bit less than the HKG-NRT flight, but pretty good with 2/3 of J class filled in the upper deck. Nevertheless, I was the only one occupying the exit row. Most passengers are Japanese heading to Taipei for business.
The selection of pre-takeoff beverage includes water, champagne, and grapefruit juice. Newspapers and hot towels were passed out, after everyone was seated. The door was closed on time at 3:45pm and we pushed back a bit later. We slowly taxied towards Runway 34L and lifted off at 4:01pm. The flying time was three hours and forty-six minutes, and the flight route took us over Yokohama, Nagoya, Kobe, Kagoshima, before turning towards Taipei. We climbed all the way to 39,000ft.
In-flight service was a bit better than the TPE-NRT flight. Maybe it is due to the longer flying time and dinner times. The same medium haul dinner was served, but with a separate dessert course. The normal beverage service was served with a choice of Japanese snack mix and almonds. The dinner transcript was stated as below:
Dinner
Marinated Seafood Pasta Salad
A plate of diced shrimps and scallops, accompanied by red pepper strips, mango sticks, artichoke hearts, and red onions on top of a bed of spaghetti! Very fresh and nicely presented, and done!
Grilled Eel on Steamed Rice and Braised Vegetables
Or
Stir-fried chicken with Sweet chili sauce
Egg Fried Rice
Pak Choy and Carrots
Pretty good entrée! The sauce was not too spicy!
Or
Grilled Beef Fillet with Chausseur sauce
Penne Pasta with Parmesan Cheese
Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Red Peppers
Movenpick Ice cream
A choice of Stracciatella (Chocolate Chip), Strawberry, and Truffle Chocolate – pretty standard choices of CX’s ice cream in first and business class!
Selected Bread and Rolls served with Butter
Garlic bread or wheat rolls
Tea and Coffee
I took a nap after the dinner service and after the pilot turned on the seat belt sign, the flight attendants passed out a tray of orange juice or water, with more hot towels. What a nice gesture! Three hot towel flights on a three hours flight – that is a pretty amazing thing, since most US airlines has slashed hot towel service on all domestic flights these days. It is a god’s blessing if you see one hot towel on one of this premium transcontinental flight.
We landed on Runway 06 at 6:39pm and taxied right into gate B4. TPE was extremely quiet, but the sister ship of the Asia’s World city, the Spirit of Hong Kong Millennium was parked at B6. Of course, the inevitable thing happened. I slipped during my descent of the stairs from the upper deck to main deck. The head purser immediately came to my assistance and asked if I needed any help from the ground staff. I said that I was fine but was touched by her genuine concern and the immediate offer of help. Then I took the city bus into the city. I stayed overnight at the Caesar Park hotel, Taipei, formerly known as Hilton Taipei. The staff was very friendly and had known me as a Hilton Honor member. I was not upgraded to the Executive floor but was offered a suite. There are minimal changes only limited to the change of name tag from Hilton to Caesar Park… the basic uniform remained the same. Everything is the same.
January 16, 2002
CX 461 TPE-HKG Lv1125 (1200) Arr1315
Airbus A340-600 B-HQB
One of my “firsts” in 2003 – flying the A340-600 is an exciting experience, despite the flight was delayed due to late arrival of the aircraft from LA earlier that morning, which caused the HKG-TPE flight to be late… a chain reaction. Fortunately, I have cushioned much time into my connections. Some folks are less fortunate but the CX agent was quick to respond. I saw an agent immediately putting someone on the earlier flight to Hong Kong and she apologized for putting him on a middle seat. This is truly customer service and then she escorts the passenger to the gate. I went to the lounge and waited a bit, and the agent kept us informed about the delays and the change of gate. I headed to the gate a few minutes earlier and admired this new airplane. Most passengers were unaware of the newness of this plane. The flight was pretty full in all classes except F with three passengers only. Boarding began at 11:48am and I was glad that there was a separate line for F and J passengers. Because the distance between Door 1 and 2 is a bit longer for this Airbus A340-600, and the jetway at TPE is not capable to stretch that wide, everyone is boarded through door one.
The cabin was very spacious and the ceiling was pretty high. The new F and J class were the same as other F suites and new J class. The overhead locker has a more slimmer design and this Airbus A340-600 is definitely different form the older –200/300 series. I did not check out the Y cabin, but for J class, there is a bar near door 2 with four lavatories near that area too. Door was finally closed at 12:03pm and we pushed back two minutes later. The F/As wasted no time in serving everyone a choice of orange juice, champagne, or water, newspapers, and hot towel. Then we took off from Runway 6 at 12:17pm. This plane is extremely quiet during takeoff, and it performs very well. You can barely hear the noise of the retracting of the gears.
Due to the larger J cabin, the F/As had a pretty difficult time serving the whole cabin. The service is fine, but it is unfair to demand very personal service due to short flying time. In terms of meals, CX has ceased to serve bread for this “refreshment” flight. I personally like to take those flights continuing from Seoul, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka because there is more food served on this flight. Anyway, the transcript of the menu is:
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
Apple, 2 slices of cantaloupes & melon
Kung Po Chicken
Steamed Rice
Pak Choy and Shiitake Mushroom
Or
Penne Pasta Sicilian Style with Prawns
Basically penne pasta with tomato sauce, chopped olive, and two grilled shrimps on top of it. Pretty good for pasta served by an Asian carrier!
Pistachio Mousse with chocolate sauce
A separate dessert service… it was a bit rich for me. I will rather have a piece of cake for dessert, but I think it must be more expensive to serve a cake these days, since both CX and SQ like to serve mousse as dessert these days.
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
The flight went by quickly and we landed on R/W7L at 1:48pm. We parked at Gate 64 and the crowd at the HKG airport was amazing. As I was exiting, an engineer with a special logbook was walking into the aircraft. I guess he was checking up the performances of this new plane, and solving some of the teething problems. I exited through immigration and custom to collect my bags from the baggage storage service. Then I went back to infamous first class check in counters, and my bags were quickly checked to JFK. The agent was very kind and it was evidently that my flight was severely overbooked today. Maybe there was hope for an operational upgrade – I don’t think so! I am on a D fare and CX seems to have many full-fare J and MPO members traveled on these YVR and NYC flights. CX has a large base of MPO members at the YVR area, due to the immigration and “astronauts” years. Anyway, my flight to YVR was extremely full due to the cancellation of one of AC’s flights to Vancouver. I have rarely seen middle seats occupied these days in J class. Anyway, CX 888 went out 100% in all classes.
CX 888 HKG-YVR Lv1605 Arr1115
Boeing 747-400 B-HOS (74B) with old J class
I went to the Wing today and had a nice lunch of dim sum, Cream of chicken soup, sushi, and a nice Green tea mousse cake. I like the dining experience at the CX lounges at Hong Kong. It has spoiled me. Interesting planes this afternoon included this brand new Vietnam Airways’ A321 (VN-A346) and Ethiopian Airways’ Boeing 767. For LAX flight this afternoon, CX uses B-HOR, and for YYZ, it has B-HXC, and for YVR, it has B-HXD. Although the full J class cabin, Jimmy, Nora, and Alice did a great job in taking care of the whole J cabin. I like Jimmy the best because he is very courteous and is in charge of the trolley activities… everything from initial beverage service to tea/coffee service. He did it again for the brunch service later. Of course, his handsome face and model figure have nothing to do with my high marks. Haha! I also like the purser too because she helped out during meal services in J class. She is very friendly and polite. Nora passed me headsets and newspapers shortly after I was seated. Orange juice, water and champagne were served as pre-takeoff beverage. We began boarding at 3:30pm and I almost forgot to tell you about that boarding line. It was long beyond belief. It was pretty clumsy to have to check passport and all the ground agents were busy in assigning seats for these AC passengers. The door was finally closed at 4:13pm and pushed back two minutes later. We were using Runway 25L for takeoff, so the taxi towards the runway was done in minimal time. After a Malaysian Airlines’ Boeing 737-400, we took off at 4:24pm. Interestingly, another brand new CX’s A340-600 was being loaded at one of the bays outside of CX’s preferred gates. It is highly abnormal, since most CX schedule flights used jetways for takeoff and landing, except the DHL redeye flights departing at 3am to TPE, KIX, and SIN on weekdays. It is B-HQA and I guess it must be doing a special flight for some special guests.
Flying time was ten hours and forty-seven minutes. We first climbed to 29,000ft as we were heading toward Taichung and Chilung, Taiwan. Then we climbed to 33,000ft before passing Miyizaki and traveling along the eastern coast of Japan. We climbed to 35,000ft before reaching south of Adak, and slowly ascending to 36,000ft, and then further to 37,000ft before reaching the Canadian air space. Seat belt sign was off at 4:34pm and the beverage service began immediately. The infamous pistachio nuts was served by the savory service – roast beef and sundried tomato on top of potato cakes with dill cream.
Dinner
Seasonal Salad served with Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Appetizer
Marinated Prawn Salad with Yellow capsicum and Semi Sun-dried tomato
Both salad and appetizer were identical with my HKG-ICN flight. They were the same menu. Nothing more to say about it!
Main Courses
Pan-fried beef fillet with tomato and onion sauce
Grilled Salmon fillet with Tomato, Olive, and pepper confit
Thai Style Chicken with Lemon Grass sauce
Garganelli with Olive, Caper and Tomato sauce
Accompaniments
Roasted Potatoes with Parsley, Steamed Rice, Basil Noodles, Pak choy with Black Mushrooms and carrots, Fresh seasonal vegetables
The entrée selection was different except the beef and the pasta. The salmon was run out before reading my row, and I had the chicken, which was pretty nice. The chicken was sliced into chunks and the noodles were nice. I like CX’s trolley service – so first class!
Cheese and fruit
Cheese selection with crackers
Red Leicester, Camembert, and True Blue with assorted crackers and grapes
Or
Fresh seasonal fruits
Grapes, pineapple, watermelon, orange and grapefruit
Dessert
Orange Chocolate Mousse cake served with Raspberry sauce
I had the cake, which was nice, but I believe that I had the same cake on BA first class on the TPE-HKG flight a couple years ago.
Or
Movenpick Ice cream
Bread – Onion rolls, garlic bread, and sourdough
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
Refreshment
Your choice of:
Multi-grain Rye Bread with Proscuitto Ham and Pickles
Barbecued Pork Pizza
Chicken-flavored Instant Noodles
Movenpick Ice Cream
Freshly Baked Cookies
After dinner service, most passengers went to sleep and the order for refreshments was taken at 9:10pm Hong Kong time. I had a bowl of noodles. A snack bar was also set up in the galley area. Peanuts, orange cereal bars, “Picnic” bars, almonds, chocolate chip cookies, Japanese snacks, and M&M Peanuts were the snack selections this evening. I felt asleep after refreshment and did not wake up till brunch time. Hot towel and juice was passed out at 1am Hong Kong local time.
Brunch
Juice Selection – orange juice, apple juice, and soya milk
Appetizer
Fresh Seasonal Fruit
Pineapple, cantaloupe, orange, strawberry and two kiwi slices
Main Courses
Scrambled Eggs with Cottage Cheese on English Muffin
Chinese dim sum served with Chili sauce – 2 slices of turnip cakes, “cotton” chicken, and hargow – shrimp dumplings, not as good as before…
*Plain Congee with Tangerine Peel and Gingko Nuts
Glutinous Rice dumpling with Five Spiced Pork in Bamboo Leave
A special creation by Mr. Kinsen Kim of Yung Kee
Accompaniments
Grilled Breakfast Steak, Fried Potatoes, Broiled Tomato with Herbs, Button Mushrooms
Bread Selection
Croissant, Chocolate Muffin or Soft Roll served with Preserves, honey and butter
Tea and Coffee
The whole brunch service was completed in an hour. I sometimes think that CX can serve breakfast in J class maybe an hour and half prior to arrival. It does not take two full hours to serve the whole J cabin. My flight was totally full, and it took an hour for the first passing of hot towels to the second passing. We began our descent at 2:49am and made a straightforward approach into YVR’s Runway 8L. Landing gears were down at 3:12am HK time, and we touched down at 11:15am Vancouver local time. A beautiful morning and we had a clear view of the mountains. For those traveling on CX 888, everyone has to exit the airplane and stay in a holding room for continuing into JFK. A coffee and tea station with various breakfast pastries (muffins and donuts) was set up. A guard is stationed at the entrances of the gates.
CX 888 YVR-JFK Lv1225 Arr2030
Boeing 747-400 B-HOS (74B)
D73 is the gate – the normal holding room for CX 888. Sometimes CX uses one of the gate at 50 as well. The excellent thing about the YVR design is that these rooms can easily change to a holding room. Sometimes these gates are used as USA gates too and vice versa. Flexibility is the strength of YVR. I am just glad that I don’t need to deal with the YVR immigration agents.
During that time, I picked a spot and stood for the whole hour. I was surprised to see an older JAL’s Boeing 747-200 at YVR and was happy to see a SQ’s Boeing 777-200ER 9V-SVA arriving from ICN. Due to the catering and security checks, we did not board till 12:27pm. Please be forwarn about the boarding procedures. Transit passengers board first, followed by passengers departed from YVR. The agents were really strict about it due to security reasons and to keep the head counts right. Judging from the load on CX 888 – 60% are heading to NYC and 40% heading to YVR, and then about 10% joining us from Vancouver. I believe that there is room for a nonstop service to New York but if the nonstop flights become a reality, will there a need for CX 888 with a stop at YVR? There seems to be not too many passengers flying the YVR-JFK route, but the belly seems to fill with cargoes. Maybe a daily CX 888, complemented by a thrice-weekly nonstop flight is a good idea. After this stupid war with Iraq and when the world economy improves a bit, CX can then have a double daily flight. Well, premium traffic is pretty good on CX 888 and you can tell from the improved caterings from the flight to YYZ. A fresh crew leaded by an excellent purser, Dominic Yeung, took good care of us. Each flight attendant spent some conversation time with each passenger. The main deck J class is 60% full. Boarding began at 12:27pm, due to the lateness of the flight from Hong Kong and the security checks. It was done quickly and the door was closed at 12:40pm. A tray of CX delight, cranberry juice, water and champagne was passed out, followed by a fresh load of English newspapers and the obligatory hot towel. We pushed back in a minute and headed towards R/W26L for takeoff. After an AC’s A330-300 C-GHLM took off, we lifted off at 1pm.
Due to strong tail winds, flying time was only four hours and twenty minutes, which will make us arriving into JFK a bit early despite of our late departure from YVR. I recorded very detail information, since the sky map is my only form of entertainment as of this point. I watched “Doria” and “Simpsons” for more than five times, as of this point, although I found them as funny as always. Our cruising attitude is 37,000ft, and here is the list of places we passed by – Sandpoint, Kalispell, Shelby, Havre, Glasgow, Glendive, Bismarck, Valley City, Wausau, MI, Green Bay, Manistee, London, Ontario, Jamestown and began our descent near Scranton, NY.
Lunch service began shortly after takeoff. First, we had our beverage service, accompanied by a dish of pistachio nuts. Then the full long haul lunch service was served. The main course was served in the a la carte style, not pre-plated casserole dishes on similar length intra-Asian flights, like HKG-NRT, or SIN-HKG. The service definitely beats AC by million light years. If I am paying full fare, I won’t even have a difficult time picking my preferred carrier. The only things that hold back me are slightly late return departure time from Vancouver, and BA ground staffs in JFK.
Lunch
Salad
Field Greens with Sun-dried tomato and Mushrooms served with Creamy Dill Cucumber dressing
Nothing much other than a few slices of lettuce and cabbage… nice presentation and I like the mushroom… The dressing was Kraft brand, similar to those used by Air Canada.
Appetizer
Prosciutto Ham and Melon
Very nice appetizer! Three slices of ham with a mixed of cantaloupe and melon sticks, followed by three mozzarella cheese and pesto on tops of tomato slices… fresh!
Main Courses
Stir-fried chicken with Black Bean sauce
Assorted Seafood on Pasta with dill sauce
Salad of Tender Beef Slices with Seasonal Greens served with Teriyaki Sauce
Accompaniments
Steamed Rice, Stir-fried Pak Choy
I had the chicken, which was pretty nice as Chinese food went.
Cheese Selection with Crackers
Cheese selections include blue, Cheddar, and Camembert, and fruits include grapes!
Dessert
Coffee Ice cream and Walnut Parfait served with Raspberry Sauce
Bread
Selected Bread and Rolls served with Butter
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
During the initial beverage service, a detailed US INS/Custom forms instruction video was shown, and after lunch, things got pretty quiet, as most people began to work or to catch up on sleeps. Then about an hour prior to arrival, F/As took another beverage order and served the wonderful Haagen Dazs Vanilla and Almond Ice cream bars.
Light Refreshment
Ice Cream bars
As we began our descent, another round of hot towel and the flight soon came to an end, as we touched down on R/W31R at 8:20pm NYC local time. We quickly parked at Gate 6 and disembarked at 8:24pm. After flying these eleven segments, I have a better understanding of CX service and there is no doubt that CX is definitely one of the best, if not the best, airline in the world. I just hope that the J class cabin can be renovated as soon as possible. Some of these older Boeing 747s are showing their ages and a new refurbishment will be nice. Indeed one of the bathrooms in J class was broken on the second segment, which caused quite a line for bathroom.
If you have read all my CX reports, thanks for doing so and I hope you enjoy them! I hope these reports will give you a sense of CX’s operations. Now I am flown most of CX’s network, except the Hong Kong to European sector. Hopefully I can squeeze a LHR-HKG flight in the future.
Carfield
Jan 22, 2003, 8:24 am
#2
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Join Date: May 2001
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Great report as always!
If you do decide to try a CX European segment, I would reccomend the daylight HKG-LHR flight (CX 253). I did it is F last August and was really impressed with the service, which included two full meals. I am sure C has the same service.
If you do decide to try a CX European segment, I would reccomend the daylight HKG-LHR flight (CX 253). I did it is F last August and was really impressed with the service, which included two full meals. I am sure C has the same service.