kyushuman

My friends and I had planned a New Year reunion in BKK, so I was thrilled to find CO had matched discounted holiday fares in Business Class to Asia when NWA announced theirs in October. I snagged a MSP-EWR-HKG ticket for just $400 more than the cheapest Y ticket was going for at the time, and was excited to try J class on such a long flght. The odd routing, going east for 2.5 hours before heading west for 16 hours, seemed kinda crazy, but the price was right! I added an Emirates ticket HKG-BKK-HKG in J, but the total cost for all the tickets was less than $2200. And of course, even though NWA had announced its sale for Asia for WBC, there were no seats out of MSP!
Most of my flying has been on NW/KL, so my comparisons will be to that, though I have also flown many Asian airlines in the past 5 years as well, since I used to live in Japan and China for a total of 6 years.


MSP-EWR
CO
Operated by NW
Scheduled departure time: 10:37.
Check-in at MSP was very busy, since it was the Sunday after the Xmas weekend. Even the FC line took a long time to get through, about 15 minutes. I had enough time, after 10 minutes at security, to stop at the WorldClub for a quick snack and drink. Worldclubs have pretty good snacks, and in the morning you can get a bagel with cream cheese, as well.
My original ticket gave me about 85 minutes to connect at EWR, so I was concerned when NW’s schedule changed in November and moved the flight about 25 minutes later, so I’d only have 59 minutes to connect at EWR, changing terminals, and going through security again. I was offered an alternative flight, but NW’s next earlier flight gave me more than 5 hours at EWR, and CO’s was on a Jungle Jet with no FC, so neither of those were going to make me too happy. I ended up keeping my flight, and hoping for no problems.
We boarded on time but then sat and waited for some connecting pax, departing about 45 minutes late! Yikes. But the captain said we’d catch up most of that. The flight was quite pleasant in First. My seat was 1A, and there was a light lunch served, a choice of a pastrami and swiss sandwich on rye bread, or a cold chicken pasta salad. I took the sandwich, which was good and fresh, though the salad is also good (NW serves it on several routes out of MSP). Both entrees came with a green salad and slice of cheesecake. Service was good, and FAs came several times for drink refills during the meal. There was some turbulence, so their service ended early, but I was full anyway. As usual, I got to overhear lots of personal information and conversations between FAs. I swear this happens all the time on NWA--our FA had 8 years of experience, and hopefully will get a regular schedule soon. She’s been flying on reserve (backup) for all of her 8 years with NWA, etc....... I often fly Asian carriers, and speak some Asian languages, but have NEVER overheard a personal conversation on an Asian carrier. Just something I always notice!

We ended up arriving about 20 minutes late, at 2:35pm. My CO flight was scheduled to depart at 3:15, so I’d have to hurry, but I made it quite easily. The Air Train was just leaving, but I caught the next one, only 90 seconds later. Security was strange, in that the Elite Access line was actually LONGER than the regular line--especially on a holiday, I didn’t expect that to be true. So I went in the regular line, and made it through in about 5 minutes. Anyway, there was just enough time to pop into the Presidents Club and pick up a USA Today and a NY Times (Sunday--so there was lots to read!). PCs seem to have better reading materials than NW World Clubs--better magazines, and usually they also have local papers, while NW just has USAToday, FT, and WSJ.

EWR-HKG
CO 99, scheduled flying time 15:45
When I arrived at the gate, they were still boarding Y, but there was no line. Even though Business Class had been zero’d out for several days, the flight went out with about 5 seats open in J, though Y looked completely full. Walking around the back, Y looks insufferable for this long journey. Even with the IFE, it seems tough with only 31” pitch in 3-3-3 configuration.
But I turned left upon boarding, and went to my seat, 2E. Busniess First is 2-2-2, with some of the widest seats in the air. I don’t see many good or bad seats in the front cabin of J, though the rear J cabin on my flight featured 3 (!) crying babies, and is located just in front of the Y cabin. I’d recommend the front cabin.
The seat is similar to the NWA new J seat, with a 170 degree recline. Which you tend to slide down. I am not a big fan of these seats, though of course there is more pitch than there used to be, so I guess they’re not all bad.
Service included pre-flight drinks (CO doesn’t serve Dr. Pepper on Int’l Flights--too bad!), and I was also handed an amenity kit (Crabtree and Evelyn products, nice), a menu, and headphones. The headphones are crap, about the same as Y on most carriers. No noise cancelling ones, which UA and NW have had for years! Here is the inflight menu, edited somewhat for length:

EWR-HKG

TO BEGIN:
Warm roasted nuts, served with your favorite beverage.

APPETIZER CART:
Smoked Salmon with cream cheese and caviar, with horseradish, OR
Foie Gras with truffles garnished with red grapes and oranges

SALAD:
Mesclun salad mis with English cucumbers, red onion rings, Roma tomatoes, and a Kalamata Olive, offered with your choice of Champagne Vinaigrette or blue cheese dressing.

Ciabatta bread, multi-grain and pretzel breadsticks and assorted rolls with butter

Executive Meal Option:
(Includes salad, entree, chocolate, no appetizer or dessert/cheese)

MAIN COURSES:

The Chef’s Selection:
Sterling Silver grilled rib-eye steak seasoned with pepper, accented by red wine sauce and chanterelle mushrooms. Served with cheddar cheese mashed potatoes with chives, and grilled green asparagus spears.

Surf and Turf
Grilled shrimp and Sterling Silver Tenderloin Beff, complemented by Cajun Hollandaise Sauce. Served with sauteed baby spinach with garlic, onion, and salsify. Also with oven-roasted baby carrots, jicama, and turnips.

Herbed Breast of Chicken
Enhanced by curry sauce, presented wtih apricot basmati rice, peach, and pepper chutney, and sauteed Swiss chard.

Chinese Noodle Bowl
Char-grilled jumbo shrimp accompanied by stir-fried noodles with vegetables, julienned Japanese omelette, and red bell pepper strips, along with sauteed Shiitake mushrooms.

Steamed rice and fresh steamed asparagus are available upon request to accompany any entree.

FRUIT AND CHEESE
Select American and imported cheeses accompanied by fresh seasonal fruit, assorted gourmet crackers and bread, served with Port Wine.

DESSERT CART
Featuring Mark Alexander Country Fresh Vanilla ice cream, offered with your choice of toppings, OR
Warm fruit cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream

********

SKYSNACKS:
A selection of light snacks and refreshments will be available.

********
MID-FLIGHT REFRESHMENT:
A selection of Open-faced sandwiches:
Shrimp with cocktail sauce on a French roll with lettuce and creamed Horseradish
Oven-roasted turkey breast and cheddar cheese on a French roll with lettuce and mayonnaise
Ai-dried beef on a french roll with a sauteed tricolor bell pepper julienne, complemented by balsamic mayonnaise

Apple Bavarian tart

************

LIGHT MEAL will be offered prior to arrival:

APPETIZER:
Fresh seasonal fruit
Assorted breakfast breads, with butter and preserves

MAIN COURSES:
Omelette:
Topped with cheddar cheese, offered with Lyonnaise potatoes and smoked pork loin.

Selected Cereal:
Served with milk and a banana

Congee:
Traditional Chinese rice soup, accompained by barbecued cha shu pork, and sauteed shiitake mushrooms, with a salty duck egg.


*********
Coffee and Chinese hot teas are available with all meals, as is Cappucino--which I had twice. The FAs were happy to make it, but seemed a bit surprised that I was asking for it. I don’t think it’s so popular.
*******

whew!

No wine list offered, which is kinda strange for such a nice service. I had a “French white”, which was quite good.
I chose the smoked salmon appetizer, and the surf and turf for my entree. Both were excellent, and the portions weren’t overdone, which was good since there were so many courses. I had some steamed rice with my meal, which was done to perfection as well.

For the later meal I really enjoyed the congee, though it wasn’t “traditional”, since it seemed to be made with the rice leftover from the first meal. It actually tasted really good, but on the return flight there was “real” congee. Funny enough, I actually liked the first one more! But then again, I’m not a traditionalist when it comes to Chinese food. Not true with Japanese food, since I lived there for more than 5 years.

After the meal, Duty Free was offered, and I might be getting some stuff upon my return. I liked the prices on Absolut and Bailey’s, and there is a cool Nike watch too. We’ll see.

There was LOTS of water on offer. In fact, on NW there is exactly ONE bottle of water per J pax, but there seemed to be an endless supply of bottles on this flight--a nice surprise. I had to ask for drinks, and didn’t see FAs bringing much, but when asked it was always brought with a smile. Between-meal snacks included packaged cookies, potato chips, Chinese mini-cakes wtih sweet bean paste inside, and chocolates.

IFE was fine, with a few channels I enjoyed. There is a comedy channel with sitcoms (beginning wtih “Will and Grace”, “Frasier”, and “Absolutely Fabulous”--I smell a fellow like me doing the programming at CO!) Also watched 3 episodes of “The Practice”, which I never watch at home, it was actually quite good. Movies included “Elf”, “Miracle on 34th Street”, and “Collateral”, among others. Other IFE stuff I liked was a dance music channel, as well as Opera. Nice choices, at least for my tastes. Of course, flying on SQ, with its 60 movie choices, all AVOD, and more than a hundred CD choices, makes this pale in comparison, but it was plenty for me to do for 16 hours. I also brought my computer, and did a little work as well.

We arrived about 50 minutes late into HKG, giving me just an hour to connect to the Emirates flight. In short, CO’s J product seems to be on a higher level than NW or DL’s. FA staffing seems to be better than on NW, though it just may be the specific jobs FAs do. I noticed Y FAs coming to help out the dessert service in J once the Y service was finished. Very professional, younger on average (maybe average age of 40, vs. 50 on NW) makes a difference with freshness in service and energy. I’m not complaining about NWA--since if I’d been doing the same job for 35 years, I’d be bored too. And it’s not fair to simply fire or pressure your older workers into quitting, like many Asian carriers do.

Also noticed at least 2 chinese-speaking FAs on the flight, while NW only has one translator FA onboard--and nowadays, I think they even got rid of those on most transoceanic flights, except for a Japanese FA on Japan flights.

The food and drink were excellent and continuously offered in BF. I was very happy with the experience.

HKG-BKK
Emirates Airlines flight EK 385

This was a short flight, and I had pre-selected my seat (5A). I asked if the flight was full, and the woman at the transfer desk said most seats had been sold, but there had been some cancellations. I wondered why until I saw that day’s HK South China Morning Post’s front page with the Tsunami destruction. Even then, nobody knew how bad it actually was.

Emirates uses the Air China lounge, across the hall from the Dragonair lounge--and a long hike from the Emirates gate. Leave 10-15 min. to briskly walk there. Now, I used to live in Beijiing, and the CA lounge there is spartan, to say the least! Unfriendly, with no reading materials you’d want to read (unless you like the 8-page propaganda paper China Daily), no food other than peanuts. Not worth it.
Well, this was a solid improvement, though not as good as Dragonair or CX lounges. There were several food choices, including sandwiches and nibbles, plenty of drinks, and a good selection of reading materials. But with only about 20 minutes there, I wasn’t really able to hang out for long.

The flight was on a 777, and seat pitch in C class is NOT good. I’d guess about 45 inches? On a full flight, it’d be a tight fit. Plus, after the 2-2-2 seating on the CO flight, 2-3-2 on EK feels very cramped.

But this was NOT a full flight. When I boarded, I saw one other man in J class. Then I overheard the FA tell someone, “Well, everyone is here from J class, let’s close the forward door.” Huh? Two pax in J, out of 49 seats! I will say that it was probably the most attentive service I’ve ever seen, with at least 3 FAs for the 2 pax. A full dinner was offered, with one of the best main courses I’ve ever had onboard a plane in my life.
Here is the menu:

LIGHT MEAL:

APPETIZERS:
Loch Fyne Salmon
Cured slices of Scottish salmon, served with caviar, quail eggs, and sour cream

Balontine of Duck
with mustard cress, orange segments, and mango and tomato chutney

MAIN COURSES:

Steamed Fillet of Long Fish
with preserved vegetable soya sauce, accompanied with Chinese greens, carrot flowers, and steamed rice.

Chinese style Roast Chicken
coated with a plum sauce, served with mixed vegetables, and fried egg noodles with bean sprouts and sping onions

Grilled Lamb Rack
topped with semi dried tomatoes, black olives, accompanied with mashed sweet potatoes, sauteed pumpkin, green asparagus, and baby squash

DESSERT:
Orange Chocolate Mousse Cake
Orange flavoured Chocolate Mousse cake, accompanied by fresh berries
The meal was served with tea, coffee, and espresso/capuccino, and there was a chocolate offered after everything was cleared. Really, the Lamb was one of the best Airline meals I’ve ever eaten! The accompaniments were excellent and really my favorite veggies of all--sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squash. Yum! And while I usually don’t even like lamb, this one was surprisingly moist. I highly recommend it.

IFE was not offered, at least video options. There were several audio channels available. To be honest, 3 hours is long enough for some movies and definitely some short comedy pieces, so I’d think they could switch it on for the flight. But I was sleepy anyway, so it was no problem on this evening flight. On the return in the daytime, I would have enjoyed it more.

So, all in all, I’d pick EK again on this short flight (about 3 hours), but I’d very carefully check to see which aircraft they’re using when deciding whether to fly EK on a longer flight. Great service, great food, on time.

Return flights:
EK 384
BKK-HKG
On time, B777, seat 5A again
This flight did have more pax on it, but only about 10 out of 49 seats. Glad again, since J feels so cramped.
Food and beverage was excellent (though no meal as good as the one on the outbound!), service again very good, attentive and friendly. I prefer this to Gulf Air, which seems less smooth and professional, though also good.
I’d recommend it, especially for the price (about 3000HK$, or about $400). Because of the late arrival time of the CO flight (scheduled at 20:15), CX was the only other option, but that was about $100 less for Y, so I went with EK. I credited miles to my UA account, which showed up after just a few days.

CO98
HKG-EWR
B777, seat 1B

Remember how wonderful my outbound flight was? Well, this was exactly the opposite: two FAs were sick, including the lead purser. This resulted in harried, unprofessional service, and several aspects of the flight really being poor, since they were operating with exactly the minimum number of FAs required by the FAA. If one other FA had been sick, they would have cancelled the flight. All of the FAs worked hard, but they were too busy to do a nice service. I wrote a long list of complaints, some which were seen as petty, on the CO board.
Food was nearly inedible, The purser had kept the duty free key, so no sales, my audio didn’t work for most of the flight, and upon arrival in EWR, it took nearly 2 hours to get through immigration, baggage, and customs! My bag was lost, nobody came around with drinks for most of the 15-hour flight, etc. I listened to the FAs complaining to no end about how busy they were. Not good, especially when you compare CO to any Asian carrier. You never would have known anything was amiss on SQ, TG, MH, CX.... to name a few. Instead, the drama of some missing workers continued for 15 hours.

CO1299
EWR-MSP
B737, seat 1A
An average flight, a light meal was served. Good, attentive service, flight was on time, nothing special, but no problems either.
Lost bag again! This was my 4th straight International trip (with NW, KL, CO, all in J class) that featured a lost bag on my return to MSP! Ugh.

Verdict:
CO’s BF is an excellent product when it works right: It’s professional, elegant, and has plenty of good choices. IFE is from the 90s, however, with not so many channels, so that needs some improvement. I don’t think you can call this “BizFirst” anymore--it’s really just a good Biz product. But a good way to spend 16 hours, unless your FAs get food poisoning in HKG!

AAPlatinum

Nice report - enjoyable reading.

Good to read about EK.

I have to agree 100% with your observation of US airline flight attendents vs Asian (and I'll add European) carriers.

Fliar

Thanks for writing this up. I'm booked on that same flight on EK later this year. I hope it won't be too full, but also look forward to that meal you describe!!

RTW4

A wonderful report. I am perplexed as to why the second light meal on the EWR-HKG seg is a breakfast given the time of arrival... THANKS SO MUCH

ORDnHKG

You know the mid-flight snack for CO actually is quite good, even F on SQ doesn't even offer those stuff on both of my SQ 1 and SQ 2 SFO-HKG-SFO, on in fact they don't have mid-flight snack at all, only cookies and instant noodles.

kyushuman

As a follow-up, I wrote to CO about my poorly functioning IFE, poor inflight service (especially compared to the outbound!) and baggage, food, and duty free failures.
About 3 weeks later, I got a personalized apology letter from CO which included a $250 voucher toward the purchase of a future CO ticket. Glad they responded, makes me more likely to try out CO again this year.

UA 882

That really is very nice and generous of them. I was flying in United First from SIN to NRT and my inflight entertainment didn't work. Customer relations sent me a $200 certificate.

VERY NICE REPORT!