Round the Pacific in J -- CX, OZ, NZ, TG
Jun 15, 2004, 6:06 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,347
Round the Pacific in J -- CX, OZ, NZ, TG
Hi all,
Here is a summary of Carfield’s early summer trip around the Pacific Ocean. I had two segments left on my Star Alliance RTW trip left from last year and it was expiring on June 9, 2004, so I needed to finish it off. What not matter than adding a CX “D” RT between LAX and TPE via HKG and an award CX J ticket RT AKL to HKG, and a relatively cheap “J” trip on TG from TPE to ICN. I will expand on the more interesting segments to spare you from the mundane details. But menu transcripts will all be provided. About Cathay Pacific, I am convinced that CX puts more efforts on the higher yield premium routes between Australia/New Zealand and Hong Kong, rather than its transpacific flights. The quantity of the entrées served in business class was way too small and I saw a number of passengers asking for a second entrée. Air New Zealand and Thai are fine, but the TG’s eight abreast business class Boeing 777-200 cabin is to be avoided at best. Here are the details!
Here are also the links to the picture album through ofoto.com... you will need to be an ofoto member (it is free join) in order to view it.
Album One
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=v4o8ged...&x=0&y=-5apjjs
Album Two
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=v4o8ged...&x=0&y=-3ni12y
June 1, 2004
CX 881 LAX-HKG Lv2355 Arr0620+2 Boeing 747-400 B-HUG (74J)
Arriving at LAX way ahead of time from an American flight from JFK! I headed to the extremely crowded Tom Bradley International Terminal. I checked in at the first class desk, since I am an Oneworld Emerald. I noticed that my seat assignment was changed from 14G to 15H, but I did not think much. Then I headed to the food court for a noodle dinner and looked at the planes. Soon I saw a CX’s Boeing 747-400 landed at R/W24R and realized that there was an aircraft change from Airbus A340-600 to Boeing 747-400. I was disappointed, but did not think much about change seats, since I think Row 15 is still on the first section of the main cabin. How wrong I was! 15H was indeed one of the worst seats in J class, and it was located in the extended J class section of these few Boeing 747-400s owned by CX – it was the aisle seat of the bulkhead row and was next to a crew closet and galley, and activities were nonstop throughout the evening. I was a bit upset that the agent did not notify me of an aircraft change and I would have asked for a seat change to upper deck. J class was almost all full and Y class looked pretty full as well. I went to the CX lounge, which was better than BR and MH for sure, but pretty boring at best. I really think that LAX should just demolish all the present lounges, and set up a Star Alliance, Oneworld, and Sky Alliance lounge complex. I went to the lounge and had a beverage and had a few phone calls.
TBIT was pretty busy at night and parked next to us were Korean Air’s Boeing 747 HL7465, Eva Air’s Boeing 747 B-16402, and SQ’s Boeing 777ER 9V-SVI. Boarding soon began at 11:15pm with a separate first/business and economy line. Once onboard, pre-takeoff beverages were offered with Biotherm amenity kits, choices of newspapers and hot towels. Champagne, please! Due to some late passengers, we were delayed slightly and doors were closed at 12:15am. With little activities at midnight, we took off from R/W25R at 12:37am for our thirteen hours and fifty-three minutes. I admit that this set of F/As was only average and was the “worst” set out of all my CX travels within the next two weeks. They were really average, as they all looked tired. They did not do much water runs and smiles were rather rare. But they got their jobs done.
Our routing took us to 28,000feet after passing Santa Barbara, San Jose, San Francisco and Santa Rosa, before reaching 30,000feet over Ukiah and left the US coast at cape Mendocino, and climbed to 32,000feet before hitting the Alaskan coast. We passed by Seward and Kenai, before climbing to 35,000feet and leaving the Alaskan city of Nome. Our routing was really northward and headed towards Anadyri, Siberian coast of Russia, and Nadnodka, and climbing to 37,000feet before reaching South Korean cities of Pusan and Cheju. We temporarily descended to 35,000feet before reaching to 39,000feet into Taiwan and headed to Hong Kong.
About twenty-three minutes after takeoff, the beverage trolley was rolled out with a bowl of almonds. Then linen was passed out as well as the salad tray. Here is the wine list and supper transcript! The wine list is applied to the return HKG-LAX flight a few days later as well.
Cathay Pacific Transpacific Wine List
Champagne
Champagne Deutz, Brut Classic
White Wines
Louis Max Saint Veran 2001
Wente Vineyards Reserve Riva Ranch Chardonnay 2001
Red Wines
Geyser Peak Sonoma County Shiraz 2000
Louis Max Mercurey Domaine La Marche 1999
Port
Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 1997
Supper
Salad
Marinated Portabello mushroom with bocconcini served with balsamic and olive oil dressing
It was a light salad served in a transparent bowl – I like mushroom, so I am fine with it.
Bread choices include sesame twist rolls and garlic bread
Entrée
Pan-fried lamb chops with Chinese style honey pepper sauce, egg fried rice and stir-fried kailan
Pan-fried seabass with herb butter, mushroom risotto with natural jus and selected baby vegetables
Light Selection
Noodles in soup with wonton and shui gaw
Sun-dried tomato and Proscuitto pizza
I had the lamb chops, which were nicer than I thought. It was perfectly cooked at medium rare and there were two thick pieces of lamb chops, and the entrée s were rolled out in a trolley – you see and pick your choice.
Cheese and Dessert
Cheese Plate
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
Marble cheesecake with raspberry coulis
Desserts were served as two separate courses – cheese was pre-plated, but the fruits were served in trolley with a choice of sliced watermelon, melon, pineapple, and cantaloupe. The cheesecake was really nice as well and served with tea and coffee.
Assorted bread
Tea and coffee
Praline
To give Cathay Pacific credits, this supper service is better than the one I had a couple years ago. The sliced fruit trolley was appreciated, and the entrées were filling. Most passengers took part with the supper, as the lounge offerings were rather poor at Los Angeles. After supper, Crystal Geyser bottled water was passed out and the lights were turned off. I watched a few short subjects before tugging in. I personally find CX’s business class seats to be less comfortable than SQ’s Raffle-beds on Boeing 777ER, ANA’s new style Club ANA, and Northwest, new WBC seats. I find that the lack of the second legrest extension at the end of the legrest rather uncomfortable and kept on sliding down the seat. For those munchies lover, the bar was set up with M&Ms, Carlbury ZIPS chocolate bars, Cookies, sandwiches, and peanuts. If you want, noodles and pizzas are available.
Snack
Noodles in soup with wonton and shui gaw
Sun-dried tomato and Proscuitto pizza
Haagen-dazs ice cream
Here is a summary of Carfield’s early summer trip around the Pacific Ocean. I had two segments left on my Star Alliance RTW trip left from last year and it was expiring on June 9, 2004, so I needed to finish it off. What not matter than adding a CX “D” RT between LAX and TPE via HKG and an award CX J ticket RT AKL to HKG, and a relatively cheap “J” trip on TG from TPE to ICN. I will expand on the more interesting segments to spare you from the mundane details. But menu transcripts will all be provided. About Cathay Pacific, I am convinced that CX puts more efforts on the higher yield premium routes between Australia/New Zealand and Hong Kong, rather than its transpacific flights. The quantity of the entrées served in business class was way too small and I saw a number of passengers asking for a second entrée. Air New Zealand and Thai are fine, but the TG’s eight abreast business class Boeing 777-200 cabin is to be avoided at best. Here are the details!
Here are also the links to the picture album through ofoto.com... you will need to be an ofoto member (it is free join) in order to view it.
Album One
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=v4o8ged...&x=0&y=-5apjjs
Album Two
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=v4o8ged...&x=0&y=-3ni12y
June 1, 2004
CX 881 LAX-HKG Lv2355 Arr0620+2 Boeing 747-400 B-HUG (74J)
Arriving at LAX way ahead of time from an American flight from JFK! I headed to the extremely crowded Tom Bradley International Terminal. I checked in at the first class desk, since I am an Oneworld Emerald. I noticed that my seat assignment was changed from 14G to 15H, but I did not think much. Then I headed to the food court for a noodle dinner and looked at the planes. Soon I saw a CX’s Boeing 747-400 landed at R/W24R and realized that there was an aircraft change from Airbus A340-600 to Boeing 747-400. I was disappointed, but did not think much about change seats, since I think Row 15 is still on the first section of the main cabin. How wrong I was! 15H was indeed one of the worst seats in J class, and it was located in the extended J class section of these few Boeing 747-400s owned by CX – it was the aisle seat of the bulkhead row and was next to a crew closet and galley, and activities were nonstop throughout the evening. I was a bit upset that the agent did not notify me of an aircraft change and I would have asked for a seat change to upper deck. J class was almost all full and Y class looked pretty full as well. I went to the CX lounge, which was better than BR and MH for sure, but pretty boring at best. I really think that LAX should just demolish all the present lounges, and set up a Star Alliance, Oneworld, and Sky Alliance lounge complex. I went to the lounge and had a beverage and had a few phone calls.
TBIT was pretty busy at night and parked next to us were Korean Air’s Boeing 747 HL7465, Eva Air’s Boeing 747 B-16402, and SQ’s Boeing 777ER 9V-SVI. Boarding soon began at 11:15pm with a separate first/business and economy line. Once onboard, pre-takeoff beverages were offered with Biotherm amenity kits, choices of newspapers and hot towels. Champagne, please! Due to some late passengers, we were delayed slightly and doors were closed at 12:15am. With little activities at midnight, we took off from R/W25R at 12:37am for our thirteen hours and fifty-three minutes. I admit that this set of F/As was only average and was the “worst” set out of all my CX travels within the next two weeks. They were really average, as they all looked tired. They did not do much water runs and smiles were rather rare. But they got their jobs done.
Our routing took us to 28,000feet after passing Santa Barbara, San Jose, San Francisco and Santa Rosa, before reaching 30,000feet over Ukiah and left the US coast at cape Mendocino, and climbed to 32,000feet before hitting the Alaskan coast. We passed by Seward and Kenai, before climbing to 35,000feet and leaving the Alaskan city of Nome. Our routing was really northward and headed towards Anadyri, Siberian coast of Russia, and Nadnodka, and climbing to 37,000feet before reaching South Korean cities of Pusan and Cheju. We temporarily descended to 35,000feet before reaching to 39,000feet into Taiwan and headed to Hong Kong.
About twenty-three minutes after takeoff, the beverage trolley was rolled out with a bowl of almonds. Then linen was passed out as well as the salad tray. Here is the wine list and supper transcript! The wine list is applied to the return HKG-LAX flight a few days later as well.
Cathay Pacific Transpacific Wine List
Champagne
Champagne Deutz, Brut Classic
White Wines
Louis Max Saint Veran 2001
Wente Vineyards Reserve Riva Ranch Chardonnay 2001
Red Wines
Geyser Peak Sonoma County Shiraz 2000
Louis Max Mercurey Domaine La Marche 1999
Port
Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 1997
Supper
Salad
Marinated Portabello mushroom with bocconcini served with balsamic and olive oil dressing
It was a light salad served in a transparent bowl – I like mushroom, so I am fine with it.
Bread choices include sesame twist rolls and garlic bread
Entrée
Pan-fried lamb chops with Chinese style honey pepper sauce, egg fried rice and stir-fried kailan
Pan-fried seabass with herb butter, mushroom risotto with natural jus and selected baby vegetables
Light Selection
Noodles in soup with wonton and shui gaw
Sun-dried tomato and Proscuitto pizza
I had the lamb chops, which were nicer than I thought. It was perfectly cooked at medium rare and there were two thick pieces of lamb chops, and the entrée s were rolled out in a trolley – you see and pick your choice.
Cheese and Dessert
Cheese Plate
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
Marble cheesecake with raspberry coulis
Desserts were served as two separate courses – cheese was pre-plated, but the fruits were served in trolley with a choice of sliced watermelon, melon, pineapple, and cantaloupe. The cheesecake was really nice as well and served with tea and coffee.
Assorted bread
Tea and coffee
Praline
To give Cathay Pacific credits, this supper service is better than the one I had a couple years ago. The sliced fruit trolley was appreciated, and the entrées were filling. Most passengers took part with the supper, as the lounge offerings were rather poor at Los Angeles. After supper, Crystal Geyser bottled water was passed out and the lights were turned off. I watched a few short subjects before tugging in. I personally find CX’s business class seats to be less comfortable than SQ’s Raffle-beds on Boeing 777ER, ANA’s new style Club ANA, and Northwest, new WBC seats. I find that the lack of the second legrest extension at the end of the legrest rather uncomfortable and kept on sliding down the seat. For those munchies lover, the bar was set up with M&Ms, Carlbury ZIPS chocolate bars, Cookies, sandwiches, and peanuts. If you want, noodles and pizzas are available.
Snack
Noodles in soup with wonton and shui gaw
Sun-dried tomato and Proscuitto pizza
Haagen-dazs ice cream
Last edited by Carfield; Jun 18, 2004 at 2:18 pm Reason: photo link added
Jun 15, 2004, 6:06 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,347
CX 881 continued
Hot towels were passed out at 12:30pm Hong Kong local time, followed by juices. Breakfast was served. For those unfamiliar with CX, a full breakfast was served instead of brunch. The different between breakfast and brunch is the additional yogurt and cereal course with breakfast.
Breakfast
Juice Selection
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
Melon, strawberry and watermelon
Yogurt and cereals
Fruit yogurt, cornflakes and granola
Strawberry banana bash or strawberry flavored, and cornflakes and granola, courtesy of Kellogg
Main Courses
Omelette with creamed mushrooms, grilled nurnberger sausage, hash brown potatoes, and grilled tomato
Imperial Noodles with Chinese Dim Sum served with Chili sauce
Abalone Clam and Mushroom congee accompanied by Pan-fried pork bun
As a good Chinese, I had the Dim Sum breakfast – a shrimp dumpling (hargow), a pork dumpling (Siu Mai), and a steamed chopped vegetable & pork dumpling (Fun Guo), accompanied by a reasonable amount of e-fu noodles.
Assorted Bread and Rolls
Croissant, almond Danish, and Wholemeal rolls
Tea and Coffee
After breakfast, hot towels were passed out again and soon descent began at 2:06pm. We landed at R/W7L at 5:30am HK local time and seven minutes later, we were parked at gate 1, next to SFO arrived CX 873 (B-HOS) at Gate 2. Hong Kong airport was very quiet and a bit stuffy since a/c was not turned on yet. I headed to the Wing for a shower before my flight to TPE. It was really nice, and then had a nice breakfast at the lounge. I flew CX 530 to TPE and was operated by an Airbus A330-300 B-HLG. It was pretty standard morning flights with brunch and a quick flight time of an hour and sixteen minutes. I stayed overnight at Caesar park Taipei near Taipei Station. It was raining a bit in TPE, so did not venture out far. After a quick dinner, I tugged in for the night before my next flight to Seoul on Thai Airways International.
Breakfast
Juice Selection
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
Melon, strawberry and watermelon
Yogurt and cereals
Fruit yogurt, cornflakes and granola
Strawberry banana bash or strawberry flavored, and cornflakes and granola, courtesy of Kellogg
Main Courses
Omelette with creamed mushrooms, grilled nurnberger sausage, hash brown potatoes, and grilled tomato
Imperial Noodles with Chinese Dim Sum served with Chili sauce
Abalone Clam and Mushroom congee accompanied by Pan-fried pork bun
As a good Chinese, I had the Dim Sum breakfast – a shrimp dumpling (hargow), a pork dumpling (Siu Mai), and a steamed chopped vegetable & pork dumpling (Fun Guo), accompanied by a reasonable amount of e-fu noodles.
Assorted Bread and Rolls
Croissant, almond Danish, and Wholemeal rolls
Tea and Coffee
After breakfast, hot towels were passed out again and soon descent began at 2:06pm. We landed at R/W7L at 5:30am HK local time and seven minutes later, we were parked at gate 1, next to SFO arrived CX 873 (B-HOS) at Gate 2. Hong Kong airport was very quiet and a bit stuffy since a/c was not turned on yet. I headed to the Wing for a shower before my flight to TPE. It was really nice, and then had a nice breakfast at the lounge. I flew CX 530 to TPE and was operated by an Airbus A330-300 B-HLG. It was pretty standard morning flights with brunch and a quick flight time of an hour and sixteen minutes. I stayed overnight at Caesar park Taipei near Taipei Station. It was raining a bit in TPE, so did not venture out far. After a quick dinner, I tugged in for the night before my next flight to Seoul on Thai Airways International.
Jun 15, 2004, 6:07 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,347
TG 634 TPE-ICN in J
June 4, 2004
TG 634 TPE-ICN Lv1250 Arr1615 Boeing 777-200 HS-THE
I arrived at Taipei’s rather ancient terminal one around 10:30am, and headed to the Thai’s check in counter. Trans-Asia Airways is the handling agent for Thai, and the agent was rather dull, but efficient. There was only one person in front of me, so wait was minimal. I asked for a window seat and soon received a lounge pass as well. The TG lounge was operated in cooperation with Trans Asia Airways as well, which is located in the public area. It has no window and minimal food selections of sandwiches, Chinese buns, sliced cakes, and light snack, with a self-service bars. There was no computer at all. I stayed a little bit before looking at the newspapers stand and soon headed to the restricted area. Our gate was A5 this afternoon and the inbound flight arrived early from Bangkok. We parked next to China Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 (B-18206), Airbus A340-300 (B-18807 from HNL), and B-18802 heading to Bangkok. The flight was about 50% full in business class and economy class was rather full, as Seoul becomes a very popular destination for Taiwanese due to the influence of Korean soap operas and music in Asia recently. Boarding began at 12:27pm and the cabin was clean and bright, but the 2-4-2 seating arrangement is pretty cramped for business class. Fortunately I had both 12K and J to myself, and the F/As were great in assisting with carryon bags. A choice of apple juice, orange juice, and water was offered, with menus, headsets, and choice of newspapers. Hot towels were also offered prior to takeoff. Door was closed early at 12:46pm, and we pushed back a minute later. We took off from Runway 05 at 12:57pm. Flying time was two hours and seven minutes. We climbed up to 37,000feet and the routing was a simple TPE-Jeju-Gwang-ju-Incheon.
Seat belt sign was turned off at 1:01pm and linen was placed on our tray five minutes later. Appetizer trays were passed out with the first round of beverage trolley. A three-course meal was served on this relatively short flight and I think the portion is a bit smaller than expected, but the three-course meal is nice. What Thai needs to work on now is variety. Here is the wine list and menu transcript!
Wine List
Champagne
Lanson
Red Wine
Chateau Jayac Les Gravieres 2001
Savigny-Les-Beaune 1999
White Wine
Rully 1999
Montagny 2000
Linnkoepfle grand cru Gewurztraminer 2001
Taipei to Seoul
First Course
Goose Liver Mille-feuille, Marinated tomato, Cuttlefish Salad
Self-descriptive – the cuttlefish salad was served with a spicy tomato sauce.
Main Course
Pork Tenderloin with Pumpkin in Red Curry, Steamed Rice, salted egg, Chinese broccoli (Medium Hot)
Or
Stir-fried beef tenderloin with broccoli, Chinese yellow noodles, carrot
I had the beef entrée, which was okay, but it could use a few more strips of beef.
Assorted breads, crackers, butter, cheese
Breadbasket had white or wheat rolls, and fresh garlic bread. A wedge of white cheese was pre-plated at the bread plate with crackers.
Dessert
Tiramisu
Tea, coffee
Espresso, Cappucino
Dessert was served separately and Tiramisu was rather nice.
For entertainment, a variety of short subject programs was shown in the personal television system, and no fancy AVOD, but three channels of cycled short programs, and sky map was available. For economy, an episode of “Fraiser” and an interview with STING were shown in the mainscreen, along with various Thai’s exercise, duty free and promotional videos. Sky Map was shown at all other times. It was a nice day to fly and had a beautiful view of Korean resort of Jeju and the west coast of South Korea. Duty free service began at 2:07pm. Although the F/As were not offering beverages until asked, they were okay friendly. Descent soon began at 2:39pm and we landed at Runway 33R at 4:04pm Seoul local time (Seoul was an hour ahead of Taipei). We parked at gate 40 at 4:15pm. We parked next to a SQ 777 9V-SVD from Vancouver, and we saw an Air China’s A319 B-6023, Asiana’s Boeing 747-400 Combi HL7413, and Asiana Star Alliance painted Boeing 767-300. I stayed overnight at the brand new Hyatt Incheon airport hotel, which was located within five minutes car ride from the airport. The shuttle service ran from 5:30am till 10:30pm daily and we have to wait at Bay 13B. You will find an English bus stop. I was upgraded to the regency club floor and had a nice room with a view of the airport and Runway 33R and L. The airport was really busier than I thought. The restaurant was quite nice with an International menu. The Hyatt hotel was a bit more expensive but I feel it was worthwhile. Northwest and Korean Air (overseas base) F/As and pilots stayed at this Hyatt hotel.
TG 634 TPE-ICN Lv1250 Arr1615 Boeing 777-200 HS-THE
I arrived at Taipei’s rather ancient terminal one around 10:30am, and headed to the Thai’s check in counter. Trans-Asia Airways is the handling agent for Thai, and the agent was rather dull, but efficient. There was only one person in front of me, so wait was minimal. I asked for a window seat and soon received a lounge pass as well. The TG lounge was operated in cooperation with Trans Asia Airways as well, which is located in the public area. It has no window and minimal food selections of sandwiches, Chinese buns, sliced cakes, and light snack, with a self-service bars. There was no computer at all. I stayed a little bit before looking at the newspapers stand and soon headed to the restricted area. Our gate was A5 this afternoon and the inbound flight arrived early from Bangkok. We parked next to China Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 (B-18206), Airbus A340-300 (B-18807 from HNL), and B-18802 heading to Bangkok. The flight was about 50% full in business class and economy class was rather full, as Seoul becomes a very popular destination for Taiwanese due to the influence of Korean soap operas and music in Asia recently. Boarding began at 12:27pm and the cabin was clean and bright, but the 2-4-2 seating arrangement is pretty cramped for business class. Fortunately I had both 12K and J to myself, and the F/As were great in assisting with carryon bags. A choice of apple juice, orange juice, and water was offered, with menus, headsets, and choice of newspapers. Hot towels were also offered prior to takeoff. Door was closed early at 12:46pm, and we pushed back a minute later. We took off from Runway 05 at 12:57pm. Flying time was two hours and seven minutes. We climbed up to 37,000feet and the routing was a simple TPE-Jeju-Gwang-ju-Incheon.
Seat belt sign was turned off at 1:01pm and linen was placed on our tray five minutes later. Appetizer trays were passed out with the first round of beverage trolley. A three-course meal was served on this relatively short flight and I think the portion is a bit smaller than expected, but the three-course meal is nice. What Thai needs to work on now is variety. Here is the wine list and menu transcript!
Wine List
Champagne
Lanson
Red Wine
Chateau Jayac Les Gravieres 2001
Savigny-Les-Beaune 1999
White Wine
Rully 1999
Montagny 2000
Linnkoepfle grand cru Gewurztraminer 2001
Taipei to Seoul
First Course
Goose Liver Mille-feuille, Marinated tomato, Cuttlefish Salad
Self-descriptive – the cuttlefish salad was served with a spicy tomato sauce.
Main Course
Pork Tenderloin with Pumpkin in Red Curry, Steamed Rice, salted egg, Chinese broccoli (Medium Hot)
Or
Stir-fried beef tenderloin with broccoli, Chinese yellow noodles, carrot
I had the beef entrée, which was okay, but it could use a few more strips of beef.
Assorted breads, crackers, butter, cheese
Breadbasket had white or wheat rolls, and fresh garlic bread. A wedge of white cheese was pre-plated at the bread plate with crackers.
Dessert
Tiramisu
Tea, coffee
Espresso, Cappucino
Dessert was served separately and Tiramisu was rather nice.
For entertainment, a variety of short subject programs was shown in the personal television system, and no fancy AVOD, but three channels of cycled short programs, and sky map was available. For economy, an episode of “Fraiser” and an interview with STING were shown in the mainscreen, along with various Thai’s exercise, duty free and promotional videos. Sky Map was shown at all other times. It was a nice day to fly and had a beautiful view of Korean resort of Jeju and the west coast of South Korea. Duty free service began at 2:07pm. Although the F/As were not offering beverages until asked, they were okay friendly. Descent soon began at 2:39pm and we landed at Runway 33R at 4:04pm Seoul local time (Seoul was an hour ahead of Taipei). We parked at gate 40 at 4:15pm. We parked next to a SQ 777 9V-SVD from Vancouver, and we saw an Air China’s A319 B-6023, Asiana’s Boeing 747-400 Combi HL7413, and Asiana Star Alliance painted Boeing 767-300. I stayed overnight at the brand new Hyatt Incheon airport hotel, which was located within five minutes car ride from the airport. The shuttle service ran from 5:30am till 10:30pm daily and we have to wait at Bay 13B. You will find an English bus stop. I was upgraded to the regency club floor and had a nice room with a view of the airport and Runway 33R and L. The airport was really busier than I thought. The restaurant was quite nice with an International menu. The Hyatt hotel was a bit more expensive but I feel it was worthwhile. Northwest and Korean Air (overseas base) F/As and pilots stayed at this Hyatt hotel.
Jun 15, 2004, 6:08 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,347
OZ 104 ICN to NRT in J
June 5, 2004
OZ 104 ICN-NRT Lv1130 Arr1340 Boeing 767-300 HL7263
I arrived at the Seoul airport about two hours prior to arrival and there was no wait at the deserted Asiana first and business class line. As usual, they could not issue the onward boarding pass to Auckland. Star Alliance really needs to focus on these “benefits” before expanding further. It was a rather unpleasant experience to wait for a boarding pass at the Narita airport. I got a window seat and our flight was very light, and I had both 3A and B to myself. I went to the Asiana lounge, which was pleasant as usual – the food buffet was okay, but it could use some meat-based sandwiches. Everything was vegetarian – salad, mushroom soup, instant noodles, rolls, cheese, crackers, and nuts. I used the computer for an hour before heading to gate 10. The flight was relatively full in economy, but not in business. Boarding began at 11:05am with separate business and economy class lines. Glasses of orange juice and champagne were available immediately. Headsets were already pre-placed. Slippers were then offered, as well as menus and hot towels. Door was closed at 11:25am, and we pushed back two minutes later. We followed Korean Air’s Boeing 747-400 HL7412 to R/W33L, and took off at 11:36am.
Flying time was an hour and fifty-eight minutes with a cruising attitude of 33,000feet. The routing took us from Seoul towards Yamago, Kyoto, Nagoya, Hamatsu, and Narita. Seat belt sign was turned off at 11:43am and a beverage was served with a pack of Macadamia nuts ten minutes later. Due to shorter time periods, meals were served in one course, but quite filling. Here is the wine list and menu transcript:
Wine List
Champagne
Piper-Heidsieck Brut
Red Wine
Le Haut – Medoc De Giscours
Mercurey, Burgundy, France
Kenwood Zifandel, Sonoma Valley, California
White Wine
Laroche Chablis Premier Cru Cuvee Premiere, Burgundy, France
Kenwood Sonoma Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, California
Lunch
Western
Appetizer
Cold Salad of Ginseng and Chicken Breast served with Mustard dressing
Beef Tenderloin Steak served with Peppercorn sauce, Accompanied by Baked Chateau Potato, Broccoli, and Chateau Carrot
Seasonal Fresh Fruit
Korean
A Famous Korean Cuisine “Bi-Bim-Bab”
Steamed rice mixed with various kinds of vegetable, accompanied by hot pepper paste and sesame oil, kimchi, assorted side dishes and bean sprout soup
Assorted Korean Cookies
I had the Korean lunch, which the infamous Bi-Bim-Bap was served with the side dishes of Kimchi and dried small fishes. For dessert, the Korean cookies were nice with glazed walnuts, sesame and rice crackers. No video was shown, but duty free and destination videos were served, but I don’t mind staring the Sky Map. I read a few magazines and descend soon began at 1:07pm. We landed at R/W16L at 1:34pm and parked at gate D93 at 1:42pm, and parked next to MIAT Mangolian Airlines’ A310-300 F-OHPT. I really enjoy Asiana’s service in business class, and compared to ANA and JAL, the service was comparable, and there was a choice of meals, which was appreciated. JAL and ANA did not offer a choice of meals in business class, but hot meals were offered. Although the Japanese offered slightly better amenities, Asiana is not a bad choice.
OZ 104 ICN-NRT Lv1130 Arr1340 Boeing 767-300 HL7263
I arrived at the Seoul airport about two hours prior to arrival and there was no wait at the deserted Asiana first and business class line. As usual, they could not issue the onward boarding pass to Auckland. Star Alliance really needs to focus on these “benefits” before expanding further. It was a rather unpleasant experience to wait for a boarding pass at the Narita airport. I got a window seat and our flight was very light, and I had both 3A and B to myself. I went to the Asiana lounge, which was pleasant as usual – the food buffet was okay, but it could use some meat-based sandwiches. Everything was vegetarian – salad, mushroom soup, instant noodles, rolls, cheese, crackers, and nuts. I used the computer for an hour before heading to gate 10. The flight was relatively full in economy, but not in business. Boarding began at 11:05am with separate business and economy class lines. Glasses of orange juice and champagne were available immediately. Headsets were already pre-placed. Slippers were then offered, as well as menus and hot towels. Door was closed at 11:25am, and we pushed back two minutes later. We followed Korean Air’s Boeing 747-400 HL7412 to R/W33L, and took off at 11:36am.
Flying time was an hour and fifty-eight minutes with a cruising attitude of 33,000feet. The routing took us from Seoul towards Yamago, Kyoto, Nagoya, Hamatsu, and Narita. Seat belt sign was turned off at 11:43am and a beverage was served with a pack of Macadamia nuts ten minutes later. Due to shorter time periods, meals were served in one course, but quite filling. Here is the wine list and menu transcript:
Wine List
Champagne
Piper-Heidsieck Brut
Red Wine
Le Haut – Medoc De Giscours
Mercurey, Burgundy, France
Kenwood Zifandel, Sonoma Valley, California
White Wine
Laroche Chablis Premier Cru Cuvee Premiere, Burgundy, France
Kenwood Sonoma Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, California
Lunch
Western
Appetizer
Cold Salad of Ginseng and Chicken Breast served with Mustard dressing
Beef Tenderloin Steak served with Peppercorn sauce, Accompanied by Baked Chateau Potato, Broccoli, and Chateau Carrot
Seasonal Fresh Fruit
Korean
A Famous Korean Cuisine “Bi-Bim-Bab”
Steamed rice mixed with various kinds of vegetable, accompanied by hot pepper paste and sesame oil, kimchi, assorted side dishes and bean sprout soup
Assorted Korean Cookies
I had the Korean lunch, which the infamous Bi-Bim-Bap was served with the side dishes of Kimchi and dried small fishes. For dessert, the Korean cookies were nice with glazed walnuts, sesame and rice crackers. No video was shown, but duty free and destination videos were served, but I don’t mind staring the Sky Map. I read a few magazines and descend soon began at 1:07pm. We landed at R/W16L at 1:34pm and parked at gate D93 at 1:42pm, and parked next to MIAT Mangolian Airlines’ A310-300 F-OHPT. I really enjoy Asiana’s service in business class, and compared to ANA and JAL, the service was comparable, and there was a choice of meals, which was appreciated. JAL and ANA did not offer a choice of meals in business class, but hot meals were offered. Although the Japanese offered slightly better amenities, Asiana is not a bad choice.
Jun 15, 2004, 6:09 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,347
NZ 34 NRT to CHC to AKL in J
June 5, 2004
NZ 34 NRT-CHC Lv1815 Arr0825+1 Boeing 747-400 ZK-NBS with Rolls Royce engines
Due to the early arrival times, the transit counters operated by Japan Airlines were not too crowded. JAL is the ground-handling agent for Air New Zealand, instead of my preferred Japanese airline – ANA. The agent was having problems checking me in but made an effort to call various desks. Thirty minutes later, she was able to check me in and I was correct that there was an aircraft change at Christchurch today. That was the problem with the agent because she only saw one coupon on my ticket, but the machine was showing two segments but with the same flight number. Anyway, I got the boarding passes and headed towards the departure level. Knowing how the lounges in Tokyo Narita ran – I went to a coffee shop for a Japanese lunch and then walked around the airport. Then I found the yahoo café with complimentary Internet access, which was cool. Then I tried to hunt for the Yamato and Aska lounges. I discovered the Aska lounge was a smoking lounge with no window, and the Yamato lounge was the non-smoking lounge with windows. The snacks were limited to cheese balls, crackers, Otsumami, cookies, and Green tea muffins, with beer machines and some kinds of beverages.
For plane-spotters, here are a list of registration numbers that I jogged down.
Air Japan Boeing 767-300 JA612A, Delta’s Boeing 777 N861DA, Japan Asia Boeing 747-300 JA8189, JAL’s Boeing 747-400 JA8901 from Amsterdam to Denpasar, JAL’s Boeing 747-400 JA8079 to LAX, NH’s Boeing 747-400 JA8097 from JFK, Air Pacific’s Boeing 767-300ER DQ-FJC, and Air Canada’s Airbus A340-300 C-FYLC to Toronto
After spending four hours at NRT, I finally get to fly Air New Zealand’s Boeing 747-400 for the first time. Boarding began at 5:50pm at gate D97 with separate F and J lines. The loading was relatively light in both business and economy, due to the winter seasons in New Zealand. I had both 8A and B to myself and the seats were the classic kinds – not much different from Boeing 767-300ER, but the recline was quite fine for a nice evening of sleeping. But the cabin can be cramped when it is full. The personal entertainment units were the basic kinds, and for the upper deck, Row 11 is the exit row, but no window at 11A and B, so 11H and K is the best. Bulkhead rows should be avoided at best – very limited legroom unlike some other airlines (Row 7). This set of Air New Zealand F/As was extremely kind and friendly. They helped with carryon bags and made the Japanese tourists feel welcomed. Orange juice, water with a slice of lemon, and champagne were immediately offered, followed by newspapers and the amenity kits and shoebags. The F/As were friendly and efficient and helped with everything from operating the seat to movie schedules. Door was closed early at 6:07pm and we pushed back eight minutes later due to congestion at NRT. We had a long taxi to Runway 16R, and took off at 6:32pm. Flying time was ten hours and thirty minutes. We climbed to 10,100m and then 10,700 m before reaching Guam and then Truk, and then we climbed further to 11,300m before passing Panape. We climbed to 11,900m and passed by Honiara, Noumea, and Kingston from the Norfolk Islands, before reaching 12,200 m.
Hot towels were offered after takeoff and then beverage was served with bag of veggie crisp, which is the Nibbli’s cassava crunch. There is no wine list, so I can’t tell you what kinds of wine are served. Dinner menu cards were then passed out. As usual, a very nice dinner was served with appetizer first, entrée, dessert, and then cheese and fruits, followed by tea and coffee with Carlbury’s Chocolate mints. Here is the full transcript:
Dinner
Appetizer
Lobster terrine, scallops and asparagus
A very nice appetizer! Breadbasket includes garlic bread, wheat and soft white rolls.
Main Course
Prime beef fillet steak with pepper pan jus, crushed potatoes and roasted Mediterranean vegetables
Soy onion daikon glazed chicken with chili thread, jade rice, and sugar snap peas
Traditional Japanese dish of oven baked blue fish, vegetables and steamed rice with sour plum
Miso soup and Japanese pickles to complement your meal choice
I had the steak, which was perfectly cooked and tasty. The side dishes were fine and it was very filling.
Dessert
Green tea and chocolate mousse gateau
Cassis and marron ice cream selection with red currant sauce
I had the cake, which was very flavorful and light – perfect for an evening meal!
Cheese and fruit
Fruits include kiwi, papaya, and grapes slices, and there are three kinds of cheese.
Beverages
After dinner, lights were turned off. There was a snack counter at the aft section of the plane with fruits, crackers, cheese, chocolate bars – Milky ways and snickers, with water bottles. There is a complete lack of F/As patrols, and I had to refill my water glasses a few times. I think passing out water bottles will be a good idea. Lights were turned on at 3am Tokyo local time. Hot towels and juice were first passed out, followed by breakfast menu cards.
Breakfast
Beverages
Start the day with your choice of juice, freshly brewed or decaffeinated coffee, tea, Japanese green tea, herbal tea, or hot chocolate
Continental Selection
Fruit selection with assorted cereals and yogurts
Croissants, white and wholemeal toasts with fruit conserve
Pineapple, orange slices, strawberry and kiwi are featured on the fruit plates, and there was a choice of strawberry, fruit cocktail, and plain yogurts, along with Cornflakes. For bread, there are additional wheat rolls.
Hot options
Mozzarella cheese omelette with kassler ham and fried potato gems
Creamy scrambled egg tart with pork sausage, paprika potatoes, button mushrooms and asparagus
Japanese style breakfast of teriyaki style flat fish, Japanese omelette, fish cake and steamed rice
I had the scrambled egg tart entrée, which was perfectly cooked and no dried out scrambled egg.
Tea and coffee was served next, and candies (boiled) were offered prior to descent. Descent began at 7:34am and it was beautiful at the South Islands with great view of the Alps and the Cantebury Plain and west coast of New Zealand. It was really cold at Christchurch but the approach was really nice. We landed at Runway 02/20 at 8:01am and parked at gate 29 five minutes later. We were the first International flight arriving at Christchurch in this morning. For those going towards Auckland, NZ 34 merged with NZ 98 this morning, and the Osaka arrival Boeing 767 will be in charge of the short flight to AKL. So I headed to the Air New Zealand International lounge, which is pretty comfortable with a continental breakfast buffet (some breads and fruits and cereals), and a self-serve bar with one internet-connected computer with a printer. It was fairly quiet.
NZ 98 CHC-AKL Lv1005 Arr1125 Boeing 767-300ER ZK-NCJ
The Osaka flight arrived at 8:40am and parked at gate 27. Soon afterward, I spotted my first Air New Zealand’s A320 ZK-OJF arriving from Melbourne. Boarding began at 9:34am with the Osaka flights boarded first, followed by our Narita flights, and then the passengers from CHC (International connecting passengers). Business class was about 50% full with a couple uniformed employees – pilots and purser from our Narita flights. I had a window seat at 2K and was the only one with a neighbor. Despite the middle seats remained open, I did not feel like moving, since it was such a short flight. Door was closed at 10:02am and we pushed back a minute later. We took off at 10:10am for our hour and nine minutes flight to Auckland.
We climbed to 35,000feet and 9400m according to Sky Map, and for business class, we were served a light refreshment, which was an open-faced roast beef sandwich with grilled yellow and red peppers, 2 slices of goat cheese, and a strawberry mousse cake with pistachio nuts bottom, and a strawberry jam in between. It was a nice dessert. For economy class, it is the same as the express service, which was tea and coffee service with a cookie. Descent began at 10:49am, and due to rainstorm, we circled once before landing on R/W23L at 11:19am. Due to congestions at Auckland, we had to park at a remote stand at stand 81. We parked next to Qantas’ Boeing 747-400 VH-OJH.
NZ 34 NRT-CHC Lv1815 Arr0825+1 Boeing 747-400 ZK-NBS with Rolls Royce engines
Due to the early arrival times, the transit counters operated by Japan Airlines were not too crowded. JAL is the ground-handling agent for Air New Zealand, instead of my preferred Japanese airline – ANA. The agent was having problems checking me in but made an effort to call various desks. Thirty minutes later, she was able to check me in and I was correct that there was an aircraft change at Christchurch today. That was the problem with the agent because she only saw one coupon on my ticket, but the machine was showing two segments but with the same flight number. Anyway, I got the boarding passes and headed towards the departure level. Knowing how the lounges in Tokyo Narita ran – I went to a coffee shop for a Japanese lunch and then walked around the airport. Then I found the yahoo café with complimentary Internet access, which was cool. Then I tried to hunt for the Yamato and Aska lounges. I discovered the Aska lounge was a smoking lounge with no window, and the Yamato lounge was the non-smoking lounge with windows. The snacks were limited to cheese balls, crackers, Otsumami, cookies, and Green tea muffins, with beer machines and some kinds of beverages.
For plane-spotters, here are a list of registration numbers that I jogged down.
Air Japan Boeing 767-300 JA612A, Delta’s Boeing 777 N861DA, Japan Asia Boeing 747-300 JA8189, JAL’s Boeing 747-400 JA8901 from Amsterdam to Denpasar, JAL’s Boeing 747-400 JA8079 to LAX, NH’s Boeing 747-400 JA8097 from JFK, Air Pacific’s Boeing 767-300ER DQ-FJC, and Air Canada’s Airbus A340-300 C-FYLC to Toronto
After spending four hours at NRT, I finally get to fly Air New Zealand’s Boeing 747-400 for the first time. Boarding began at 5:50pm at gate D97 with separate F and J lines. The loading was relatively light in both business and economy, due to the winter seasons in New Zealand. I had both 8A and B to myself and the seats were the classic kinds – not much different from Boeing 767-300ER, but the recline was quite fine for a nice evening of sleeping. But the cabin can be cramped when it is full. The personal entertainment units were the basic kinds, and for the upper deck, Row 11 is the exit row, but no window at 11A and B, so 11H and K is the best. Bulkhead rows should be avoided at best – very limited legroom unlike some other airlines (Row 7). This set of Air New Zealand F/As was extremely kind and friendly. They helped with carryon bags and made the Japanese tourists feel welcomed. Orange juice, water with a slice of lemon, and champagne were immediately offered, followed by newspapers and the amenity kits and shoebags. The F/As were friendly and efficient and helped with everything from operating the seat to movie schedules. Door was closed early at 6:07pm and we pushed back eight minutes later due to congestion at NRT. We had a long taxi to Runway 16R, and took off at 6:32pm. Flying time was ten hours and thirty minutes. We climbed to 10,100m and then 10,700 m before reaching Guam and then Truk, and then we climbed further to 11,300m before passing Panape. We climbed to 11,900m and passed by Honiara, Noumea, and Kingston from the Norfolk Islands, before reaching 12,200 m.
Hot towels were offered after takeoff and then beverage was served with bag of veggie crisp, which is the Nibbli’s cassava crunch. There is no wine list, so I can’t tell you what kinds of wine are served. Dinner menu cards were then passed out. As usual, a very nice dinner was served with appetizer first, entrée, dessert, and then cheese and fruits, followed by tea and coffee with Carlbury’s Chocolate mints. Here is the full transcript:
Dinner
Appetizer
Lobster terrine, scallops and asparagus
A very nice appetizer! Breadbasket includes garlic bread, wheat and soft white rolls.
Main Course
Prime beef fillet steak with pepper pan jus, crushed potatoes and roasted Mediterranean vegetables
Soy onion daikon glazed chicken with chili thread, jade rice, and sugar snap peas
Traditional Japanese dish of oven baked blue fish, vegetables and steamed rice with sour plum
Miso soup and Japanese pickles to complement your meal choice
I had the steak, which was perfectly cooked and tasty. The side dishes were fine and it was very filling.
Dessert
Green tea and chocolate mousse gateau
Cassis and marron ice cream selection with red currant sauce
I had the cake, which was very flavorful and light – perfect for an evening meal!
Cheese and fruit
Fruits include kiwi, papaya, and grapes slices, and there are three kinds of cheese.
Beverages
After dinner, lights were turned off. There was a snack counter at the aft section of the plane with fruits, crackers, cheese, chocolate bars – Milky ways and snickers, with water bottles. There is a complete lack of F/As patrols, and I had to refill my water glasses a few times. I think passing out water bottles will be a good idea. Lights were turned on at 3am Tokyo local time. Hot towels and juice were first passed out, followed by breakfast menu cards.
Breakfast
Beverages
Start the day with your choice of juice, freshly brewed or decaffeinated coffee, tea, Japanese green tea, herbal tea, or hot chocolate
Continental Selection
Fruit selection with assorted cereals and yogurts
Croissants, white and wholemeal toasts with fruit conserve
Pineapple, orange slices, strawberry and kiwi are featured on the fruit plates, and there was a choice of strawberry, fruit cocktail, and plain yogurts, along with Cornflakes. For bread, there are additional wheat rolls.
Hot options
Mozzarella cheese omelette with kassler ham and fried potato gems
Creamy scrambled egg tart with pork sausage, paprika potatoes, button mushrooms and asparagus
Japanese style breakfast of teriyaki style flat fish, Japanese omelette, fish cake and steamed rice
I had the scrambled egg tart entrée, which was perfectly cooked and no dried out scrambled egg.
Tea and coffee was served next, and candies (boiled) were offered prior to descent. Descent began at 7:34am and it was beautiful at the South Islands with great view of the Alps and the Cantebury Plain and west coast of New Zealand. It was really cold at Christchurch but the approach was really nice. We landed at Runway 02/20 at 8:01am and parked at gate 29 five minutes later. We were the first International flight arriving at Christchurch in this morning. For those going towards Auckland, NZ 34 merged with NZ 98 this morning, and the Osaka arrival Boeing 767 will be in charge of the short flight to AKL. So I headed to the Air New Zealand International lounge, which is pretty comfortable with a continental breakfast buffet (some breads and fruits and cereals), and a self-serve bar with one internet-connected computer with a printer. It was fairly quiet.
NZ 98 CHC-AKL Lv1005 Arr1125 Boeing 767-300ER ZK-NCJ
The Osaka flight arrived at 8:40am and parked at gate 27. Soon afterward, I spotted my first Air New Zealand’s A320 ZK-OJF arriving from Melbourne. Boarding began at 9:34am with the Osaka flights boarded first, followed by our Narita flights, and then the passengers from CHC (International connecting passengers). Business class was about 50% full with a couple uniformed employees – pilots and purser from our Narita flights. I had a window seat at 2K and was the only one with a neighbor. Despite the middle seats remained open, I did not feel like moving, since it was such a short flight. Door was closed at 10:02am and we pushed back a minute later. We took off at 10:10am for our hour and nine minutes flight to Auckland.
We climbed to 35,000feet and 9400m according to Sky Map, and for business class, we were served a light refreshment, which was an open-faced roast beef sandwich with grilled yellow and red peppers, 2 slices of goat cheese, and a strawberry mousse cake with pistachio nuts bottom, and a strawberry jam in between. It was a nice dessert. For economy class, it is the same as the express service, which was tea and coffee service with a cookie. Descent began at 10:49am, and due to rainstorm, we circled once before landing on R/W23L at 11:19am. Due to congestions at Auckland, we had to park at a remote stand at stand 81. We parked next to Qantas’ Boeing 747-400 VH-OJH.
Jun 15, 2004, 6:09 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,347
CX 108 AKL-HKG in J
June 6, 2004
CX 108 AKL-HKG Lv1250 Arr2030 Airbus A340-300 B-HXB (34D with two class)
Yes, I did not stay at New Zealand at all. Due to time scheduling, I could not spend more than two days at New Zealand, so I decided that I would rather turnaround immediately. For those who knew Auckland airport very well, I did not need to go through immigration and custom in order to transit, so I decided that I would issue a Cathay Pacific award ticket through Alaska Airlines (only 60,000miles), and save the return for a longer vacation down under in a warmer time. Anyway, I headed to gate 8 after arriving from the remote stand, and since the inbound flight just arrived, there were two CX agents working at the gate. I received my boarding pass in no time and got the lounge invitation to the Qantas Club. Since I had an hour to kill, I headed to the Qantas Club and the agent welcomed me and directed me to the first class section, which was very quiet with a buffet area of soup, salad, and a light lunch buffet and a self-served bar. There was a business center and I went to get some work done before having a quick beverage. I headed back to the gate soon, and boarding began at 12:12pm. I flew a few Australian flights before and have this theory that Cathay Pacific puts more efforts on the “down under” routes than North American routes. Well, this flight was the best CX flight this year so far, and the F/A was attentive and cheerful. Service was nonstop – snacks were offered throughout the flight. As usual, drinks were offered immediately, along with newspapers, amenity kits, and hot towel. Just a quick note about the plane-spotting, it was quite a busy winter afternoon at AKL with Korean Air’s Boeing 777-200ER HL7526, Air Calin’s A320 F-OJSB, Malaysia’s Boeing 777ER “RI”, and SQ’s Boeing 747-400 9V-SMY.
Business class was quite full with 25 out of 30 seats filled, and yes, this aircraft was already transformed into the two cabin aircraft. Row 11 was the bulkhead seat, but they were all in front of the galley and bathroom, so much traffic throughout the flight. The door was closed at 12:46pm, and we pushed back two minutes later. We took off from a rainy Auckland at 1pm. Flying time was eleven hours and twenty-nine minutes, due to strong head wind all the way to Hong Kong. Our routing took us to 32,000 feet across the Tasman Sea and climbed to 36,000feet before hitting the McKay and the Northeast coast of Australia and passing Cairns. We climbed to 38,000feet and then 39,000feet before hitting the Philippines – Davao, Cebu, Manila, and Tarlac.
Seat belt sign was turned off at 1:15pm and the F/As were asked to remain seated a bit longer due to the turbulence in and out of Auckland. Beverage and the hot savories service began immediately. Hot savories were a satay service with beef and chicken – to be honest – they were not as nice as the one served by MH or SQ, but were fine. I think CX will be better off serving a cold canapé service. There was no peanut sauce to go with, and the beef was really tough. Here is the wine list and menu – the wine list was different from the LAX wine list.
Champagne
Champagne Deutz, Brut Classic
White Wines
Framingham Sauvignon Blanc 2003
Jacob’s Creek Reserve Chardonnay 2001
Red Wines
Chateau Haut-Vignoble Seguin, Saint-Estephe 2000
Hope Estate Merlot 2000
Late lunch
Hot savories
Beef and chicken satays
Salad
Seasonal salad served with balsamic vinegar dressing
Mesclun greens with yellow pepper strips, oven-roasted tomatoes, and cucumber slices
Appetizer
Marinated Prawns with Seafood Roulade and Mango Salsa
Nice appetizer with a prawn and a fish roll
Breadbasket includes garlic bread, Ciabatta, Sourdough bread slices, and wheat rolls
Main Courses
Beef Fillet Steak with Red Wine Wild Mushroom sauce, sautéed potato wedeges with Parsley, Asparagus and baby carrots
Stir-fried seafood with sweet bean sauce, steamed rice and stir-fried Pak choy
Chicken Teriyaki style, steamed rice, stir-fried Pak choy, Carrot and mushrooms
Penne Pasta with Tomato sauce and Chorizo sausage
I had the chicken entrée, which was a basic entrée, and quantity was the problem. I was not really hungry due to a long overnight flight before, but my neighbor asked for a bowl of noodles from the snack selection.
Cheese Board
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
For cheeses, there were blue cheese and two white cheeses – New Zealand I assumed, and for fruits, there were strawberry, melon, cantaloupe, pineapple, and kiwi.
Dessert
Chocolate Tart
Or
Tiramisu with Strawberry
I had the chocolate tart, because I am a die-hard chocolate fan, and looked really good. The whole tart was sliced in front of you. I did not see this kind of service for a while.
Assorted Breads and rolls
Tea and coffee
Pralines
After late lunch, Evian water bottles were passed out and another round of hot towels. I immediately reclined my seat and tried to find a nice sleeping position. I was really tired so I feel asleep shortly and had a nice nap for a couple of hours before hitting the Papua New Guinea. Then I watched a few comedies and the Cantonese program about the HK airport and CX – “City of Sky.” Throughout the flight, I was offered various snacks, and decided to have a bowl of noodles – shrimp and scallop with “Cantonese wonton” noodles. Sandwiches were offered, as long as the normal snack items of candy bars, cookies, and ice cream. At 7pm New Zealand time, the F/As did an informal run through of the cabin with all these snacks, and the F/A did not only walk through the cabin periodically, but actually asked if you want something else. That is the different between an average and an above average flight. At 10:42pm AKL time, lights were turned on and hot towels were handed out, and beverage order was taken. Here is the refreshment transcript:
Refreshment
Appetizer
Seasonal Fruit Plate
Strawberry, kiwi, orange slice, cantaloupe and watermelon
Main Courses
Chicken with Dried Fungus and Lily Flower, steamed rice, and stir-fried vegetables
Pork Piccata with tomato capsicum sauce, buttered linguini
The chicken entrée was rather plain and disappointing.
Light Options
Available at any time after the lunch service
Noodles in soup with scallop, Prawn, choy sum and mushroom served with chili sauce
Selected Sandwiches (Smoked salmon, roast beef, char-grilled vegetables with herb cream cheese)
Dessert
Ice cream
Selected Pastries
No ice cream was offered during this service, but rather throughout the time. It was the same New Zealand brand used by NZ, and for desserts, there was chocolate silk pie, lemon mousse cake, almond cake, and chocolate tart.
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
After the refreshment service, tea and coffee was offered (since the service was disrupted due to modest turbulence), and hot towels were offered again. Descent soon began at 11:57pm AKL local time/7:57pm HK time. We landed at Runway 25R at 8:29pm HK local time and parked at gate 69 shortly after. It was another excellent flight and on a daytime North American flight, only instant noodles were offered – it could not stop me wondering if the North American flights were so low yield, or the security demands by FAA forced CX to cut costs.
CX 108 AKL-HKG Lv1250 Arr2030 Airbus A340-300 B-HXB (34D with two class)
Yes, I did not stay at New Zealand at all. Due to time scheduling, I could not spend more than two days at New Zealand, so I decided that I would rather turnaround immediately. For those who knew Auckland airport very well, I did not need to go through immigration and custom in order to transit, so I decided that I would issue a Cathay Pacific award ticket through Alaska Airlines (only 60,000miles), and save the return for a longer vacation down under in a warmer time. Anyway, I headed to gate 8 after arriving from the remote stand, and since the inbound flight just arrived, there were two CX agents working at the gate. I received my boarding pass in no time and got the lounge invitation to the Qantas Club. Since I had an hour to kill, I headed to the Qantas Club and the agent welcomed me and directed me to the first class section, which was very quiet with a buffet area of soup, salad, and a light lunch buffet and a self-served bar. There was a business center and I went to get some work done before having a quick beverage. I headed back to the gate soon, and boarding began at 12:12pm. I flew a few Australian flights before and have this theory that Cathay Pacific puts more efforts on the “down under” routes than North American routes. Well, this flight was the best CX flight this year so far, and the F/A was attentive and cheerful. Service was nonstop – snacks were offered throughout the flight. As usual, drinks were offered immediately, along with newspapers, amenity kits, and hot towel. Just a quick note about the plane-spotting, it was quite a busy winter afternoon at AKL with Korean Air’s Boeing 777-200ER HL7526, Air Calin’s A320 F-OJSB, Malaysia’s Boeing 777ER “RI”, and SQ’s Boeing 747-400 9V-SMY.
Business class was quite full with 25 out of 30 seats filled, and yes, this aircraft was already transformed into the two cabin aircraft. Row 11 was the bulkhead seat, but they were all in front of the galley and bathroom, so much traffic throughout the flight. The door was closed at 12:46pm, and we pushed back two minutes later. We took off from a rainy Auckland at 1pm. Flying time was eleven hours and twenty-nine minutes, due to strong head wind all the way to Hong Kong. Our routing took us to 32,000 feet across the Tasman Sea and climbed to 36,000feet before hitting the McKay and the Northeast coast of Australia and passing Cairns. We climbed to 38,000feet and then 39,000feet before hitting the Philippines – Davao, Cebu, Manila, and Tarlac.
Seat belt sign was turned off at 1:15pm and the F/As were asked to remain seated a bit longer due to the turbulence in and out of Auckland. Beverage and the hot savories service began immediately. Hot savories were a satay service with beef and chicken – to be honest – they were not as nice as the one served by MH or SQ, but were fine. I think CX will be better off serving a cold canapé service. There was no peanut sauce to go with, and the beef was really tough. Here is the wine list and menu – the wine list was different from the LAX wine list.
Champagne
Champagne Deutz, Brut Classic
White Wines
Framingham Sauvignon Blanc 2003
Jacob’s Creek Reserve Chardonnay 2001
Red Wines
Chateau Haut-Vignoble Seguin, Saint-Estephe 2000
Hope Estate Merlot 2000
Late lunch
Hot savories
Beef and chicken satays
Salad
Seasonal salad served with balsamic vinegar dressing
Mesclun greens with yellow pepper strips, oven-roasted tomatoes, and cucumber slices
Appetizer
Marinated Prawns with Seafood Roulade and Mango Salsa
Nice appetizer with a prawn and a fish roll
Breadbasket includes garlic bread, Ciabatta, Sourdough bread slices, and wheat rolls
Main Courses
Beef Fillet Steak with Red Wine Wild Mushroom sauce, sautéed potato wedeges with Parsley, Asparagus and baby carrots
Stir-fried seafood with sweet bean sauce, steamed rice and stir-fried Pak choy
Chicken Teriyaki style, steamed rice, stir-fried Pak choy, Carrot and mushrooms
Penne Pasta with Tomato sauce and Chorizo sausage
I had the chicken entrée, which was a basic entrée, and quantity was the problem. I was not really hungry due to a long overnight flight before, but my neighbor asked for a bowl of noodles from the snack selection.
Cheese Board
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
For cheeses, there were blue cheese and two white cheeses – New Zealand I assumed, and for fruits, there were strawberry, melon, cantaloupe, pineapple, and kiwi.
Dessert
Chocolate Tart
Or
Tiramisu with Strawberry
I had the chocolate tart, because I am a die-hard chocolate fan, and looked really good. The whole tart was sliced in front of you. I did not see this kind of service for a while.
Assorted Breads and rolls
Tea and coffee
Pralines
After late lunch, Evian water bottles were passed out and another round of hot towels. I immediately reclined my seat and tried to find a nice sleeping position. I was really tired so I feel asleep shortly and had a nice nap for a couple of hours before hitting the Papua New Guinea. Then I watched a few comedies and the Cantonese program about the HK airport and CX – “City of Sky.” Throughout the flight, I was offered various snacks, and decided to have a bowl of noodles – shrimp and scallop with “Cantonese wonton” noodles. Sandwiches were offered, as long as the normal snack items of candy bars, cookies, and ice cream. At 7pm New Zealand time, the F/As did an informal run through of the cabin with all these snacks, and the F/A did not only walk through the cabin periodically, but actually asked if you want something else. That is the different between an average and an above average flight. At 10:42pm AKL time, lights were turned on and hot towels were handed out, and beverage order was taken. Here is the refreshment transcript:
Refreshment
Appetizer
Seasonal Fruit Plate
Strawberry, kiwi, orange slice, cantaloupe and watermelon
Main Courses
Chicken with Dried Fungus and Lily Flower, steamed rice, and stir-fried vegetables
Pork Piccata with tomato capsicum sauce, buttered linguini
The chicken entrée was rather plain and disappointing.
Light Options
Available at any time after the lunch service
Noodles in soup with scallop, Prawn, choy sum and mushroom served with chili sauce
Selected Sandwiches (Smoked salmon, roast beef, char-grilled vegetables with herb cream cheese)
Dessert
Ice cream
Selected Pastries
No ice cream was offered during this service, but rather throughout the time. It was the same New Zealand brand used by NZ, and for desserts, there was chocolate silk pie, lemon mousse cake, almond cake, and chocolate tart.
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
After the refreshment service, tea and coffee was offered (since the service was disrupted due to modest turbulence), and hot towels were offered again. Descent soon began at 11:57pm AKL local time/7:57pm HK time. We landed at Runway 25R at 8:29pm HK local time and parked at gate 69 shortly after. It was another excellent flight and on a daytime North American flight, only instant noodles were offered – it could not stop me wondering if the North American flights were so low yield, or the security demands by FAA forced CX to cut costs.
Jun 15, 2004, 6:10 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,347
CX 882 HKG to LAX in J
June 7, 2004
CX 882 HKG-LAX Lv1610 Arr1430 Boeing 747-400 B-HUF
Really don’t want to discuss much about this flight – it was better than CX 881 and the F/As were pretty friendly. But the meal service suffered some cuts – the portions of the entrées were less than normal, and for brunch, I had to ask for a second dim sum entrée. On the main meal service, cold canapé service was still here – a choice of salmon terrine or almonds. But there was no longer a choice for desserts – on lunch and dinner flights, there was always a choice of desserts – I don’t think it really costs CX extra money, but is a nice service. Our flight departed a bit late due to late connecting passengers (30 of them)… they made it to the flight on time, but their bags took a bit longer. Then we missed our slot and had to wait at the gate for thirty minutes (#9 at the startup list at 4:30pm). But when we made it to the runway, we took off at 5:09pm from Runway 25L. Flying time was twelve hours and thirty-four minutes. Routing was 29,000feet towards Taichung, and then Kagoshima, Miyazaki, and climbing to 33,000feet, and then 35,000feet and 37,000feet before hitting the Bay area. Here is the menu transcript – wine list is the same as CX 883 and applies to all transpacific flight through to July.
Dinner
Salad
Seasonal Salad served with Balsamic Vinegar dressing
Appetizer
Chicken vegetable roll with smoked yellowtail fish and plum sauce
Nice appetizer
Breadbasket has focaccia, ciabatta, and garlic bread
Main Courses
Pan-fried halibut fillet with olive, zucchini and red pepper sauce, boiled new potato wedges with parsley and green peas French style
*Beef tenderloin with leeks in gravy, steamed rice and baby bok choy with mushrooms
Chicken teriyaki style, sesame steamed rice and Japanese mixed vegetables
Penne pasta with plum tomato sauce, marjoram, buffalo mozarrella and Parmesan cheese
*Best Chinese food in the air entrée
I had this special entrée, which was tasty, but lack presentations – not as good as the Chinese food promotion with Yung Kee.
Cheese Board
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
Dessert
Baked Ricotta cheesecake served with raspberry sauce
Assorted breads and rolls
Tea and coffee
Pralines
For cheese, there was cheddar, blue and Gouda, and for fruits, there was melon, cantaloupe, strawberry, grapes, and grape fruit. There was only one choice of dessert.
Snacks
Selected sandwiches
Pizza with tomato, olives, and mozzarella cheese
Chicken-flavored instant noodles
Haagen Dazs ice cream
Snack counter was set up with ham sandwiches, cookies, chocolate bars, and peanuts.
Brunch
Juice Selection
Appetizer
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
Watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberry, and kiwi
Main Courses
Omelette with creamed vegetables, grilled Nurnberger sausage, hash brown potato, broiled tomato with herbs and button mushrooms
Mini Glutinous rice dumpling with assorted dim sum and chili sauce
Congee with Shredded chicken and lettuce, stir-fried barbecued pork, bamboo shoot and green peppers in plum sauce
Dim sum entrée was small with only a shrimp dumpling, siu main, and fun guo, with a mini glutinous rice dumpling – smaller than last year. It will be more filling with it goes with noodles or fried rice.
Assorted bread and rolls served with preserves, honey and butter
Croissants and Bran muffins
We landed at Runway 24R at 2:43pm and parked at gate 120, after waiting for a late Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 9V-SPC pushed back for its flight to Narita. I hope you like this set of International report – the next one will be on my Jetblue’s inaugural flight to San Jose on June 10.
CX 882 HKG-LAX Lv1610 Arr1430 Boeing 747-400 B-HUF
Really don’t want to discuss much about this flight – it was better than CX 881 and the F/As were pretty friendly. But the meal service suffered some cuts – the portions of the entrées were less than normal, and for brunch, I had to ask for a second dim sum entrée. On the main meal service, cold canapé service was still here – a choice of salmon terrine or almonds. But there was no longer a choice for desserts – on lunch and dinner flights, there was always a choice of desserts – I don’t think it really costs CX extra money, but is a nice service. Our flight departed a bit late due to late connecting passengers (30 of them)… they made it to the flight on time, but their bags took a bit longer. Then we missed our slot and had to wait at the gate for thirty minutes (#9 at the startup list at 4:30pm). But when we made it to the runway, we took off at 5:09pm from Runway 25L. Flying time was twelve hours and thirty-four minutes. Routing was 29,000feet towards Taichung, and then Kagoshima, Miyazaki, and climbing to 33,000feet, and then 35,000feet and 37,000feet before hitting the Bay area. Here is the menu transcript – wine list is the same as CX 883 and applies to all transpacific flight through to July.
Dinner
Salad
Seasonal Salad served with Balsamic Vinegar dressing
Appetizer
Chicken vegetable roll with smoked yellowtail fish and plum sauce
Nice appetizer
Breadbasket has focaccia, ciabatta, and garlic bread
Main Courses
Pan-fried halibut fillet with olive, zucchini and red pepper sauce, boiled new potato wedges with parsley and green peas French style
*Beef tenderloin with leeks in gravy, steamed rice and baby bok choy with mushrooms
Chicken teriyaki style, sesame steamed rice and Japanese mixed vegetables
Penne pasta with plum tomato sauce, marjoram, buffalo mozarrella and Parmesan cheese
*Best Chinese food in the air entrée
I had this special entrée, which was tasty, but lack presentations – not as good as the Chinese food promotion with Yung Kee.
Cheese Board
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
Dessert
Baked Ricotta cheesecake served with raspberry sauce
Assorted breads and rolls
Tea and coffee
Pralines
For cheese, there was cheddar, blue and Gouda, and for fruits, there was melon, cantaloupe, strawberry, grapes, and grape fruit. There was only one choice of dessert.
Snacks
Selected sandwiches
Pizza with tomato, olives, and mozzarella cheese
Chicken-flavored instant noodles
Haagen Dazs ice cream
Snack counter was set up with ham sandwiches, cookies, chocolate bars, and peanuts.
Brunch
Juice Selection
Appetizer
Fresh Seasonal Fruits
Watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberry, and kiwi
Main Courses
Omelette with creamed vegetables, grilled Nurnberger sausage, hash brown potato, broiled tomato with herbs and button mushrooms
Mini Glutinous rice dumpling with assorted dim sum and chili sauce
Congee with Shredded chicken and lettuce, stir-fried barbecued pork, bamboo shoot and green peppers in plum sauce
Dim sum entrée was small with only a shrimp dumpling, siu main, and fun guo, with a mini glutinous rice dumpling – smaller than last year. It will be more filling with it goes with noodles or fried rice.
Assorted bread and rolls served with preserves, honey and butter
Croissants and Bran muffins
We landed at Runway 24R at 2:43pm and parked at gate 120, after waiting for a late Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 9V-SPC pushed back for its flight to Narita. I hope you like this set of International report – the next one will be on my Jetblue’s inaugural flight to San Jose on June 10.
Jun 18, 2004, 10:41 pm
#13
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Good stuff, Carfield! Thanks for sharing your flights (and in-flight meals) with us! :-:
I quite agree -maybe they should demolish the Tom Bradley and start from scratch. The lounges are a shambles, and the times one has to bus out to the secondary hardstands...
Combined major alliance decent lounges might be the answer, if not demolition...
I quite agree -maybe they should demolish the Tom Bradley and start from scratch. The lounges are a shambles, and the times one has to bus out to the secondary hardstands...
Combined major alliance decent lounges might be the answer, if not demolition...
Jun 20, 2004, 1:52 am
#14
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: SYD
Programs: Too many golds, no plat: OZ*G, AC*G, NZ*G, VA Gold, QF Gold, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 5,350
Another great report, Carfield, thanks!
The food on AirNZ sounded good. Did you notice whether they had the bar open on the domestic sector of the flight, or was it all non-alcoholic drinks only?
I'm surprised by your comments about Cathay - I would have thought that the NZ routes would have fewer high-yield passengers (especially compared to the USA routes), as evidenced by them removing F from the AKL flights?
The food on AirNZ sounded good. Did you notice whether they had the bar open on the domestic sector of the flight, or was it all non-alcoholic drinks only?
I'm surprised by your comments about Cathay - I would have thought that the NZ routes would have fewer high-yield passengers (especially compared to the USA routes), as evidenced by them removing F from the AKL flights?