What's better than spending New Year Day on CX J! (CX 885)
Jan 6, 2006, 8:18 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,347
What's better than spending New Year Day on CX J! (CX 885)
Dear all,
Happy New Year! Here is my first 2006 trip report and I wish everyone a wonderful 2006 and safe flights! As a traveler dedicated in maintaining my elite status, I decide to fly my usual Hong Kong winter trip in the New Year day! I bought a D fare from LAX to TPE via HKG on CX, and the report will only cover the long haul segment, as I am sure we are all familiar with the CX short haul routine.
Link to photo album:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...=8QbNHDNy5bsdM
January 1, 2006
CX 885 LAX-HKG Lv1125 Arr1845+1 Boeing 747-400 B-HOV
I arrived early in LAX at 8am, and the TSA stations are already pretty busy. The TSA procedures continue to be annoying and this morning, there is no separate TSA checked-in bags checkpoints dedicated for premium passenger, so the rather rude or indifferent agent directed me to the two closest TSA stations back in the entrance area. Thankfully the line was not too bad, as it was still early and the first flight out was the Varig and Korean Air’s flight bound for Narita. After the checkpoints, I headed back to the first and business class lines, and there were literally no one. This time, the agent, Andrea, was much more friendly, especially after I gave her a box of chocolate. Poor her! She has to work the midnight shift tonight as well, but is kind enough to un-block the priced exit row, 86A, for me. She apparently has to go through her supervisor before unblocking the seat for me. This morning, CX first and Emerald passengers are directed to use the Qantas lounge in the fifth floor, and folks from Lan Chile were also sharing the lounge this morning. There was no wireless service for those who care, and were no computer terminals. Only a photocopy machine is set up towards the back. As we all know, CX uses different lounges at different times and even different days. The lounge situation at TBIT really needs to be addressed. The Qantas lounge was not packed, but a few folks were there for the LA flights. The buffet includes the usual snacks, but also a few cold croissant sandwiches, as well as fruits, yogurt, and cheese plate. There were also bottled waters available, as well a self-serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage station. Newspapers limited to magazines and various Australian papers. Surprise that there was no US papers.
For plane spotters, here is a list of plane I saw and my photo album includes various close-ups of planes near my gate.
Lan Chile 767-300 CC-CDP; Air Tahiti Nui F-OSEA (CDG bound), Qantas’ Boeing 747-400ER at Terminal Four – VH-OEB (heading to JFK), VH-OEE (resting for the day), VH-OEJ (Wulanji Dreaming) arriving the latest from the SYD batch (and maybe the day flight back to SYD), and VH-OJA at TBIT; Varig MD-11 Star Alliance livery PP-VTH heading to NRT (one of the last couple flights), KE 777-200ER HL7598 heading to NRT/ICN, KE 747-400 HL7402 heading to ICN, AA’s 777-200ER N771AN, China Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 B-18212, Japan Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 with Classic livery JA8086 as JL61/2 to and from NRT
The flight was fairly full in all classes and as a D fare passenger, no chance for an operational upgrade… Boarding began at 10:48am at gate 103 and there is a separate F/J and Y passengers boarding line, and Y boarding is boarded strictly by row numbers. Don’t even think about jumping line! I was immediately welcomed to the upper deck, and the F/A was in good spirit and complained that no one was taking the champagne this morning. Too early for me! Cranberry juice was offered a pre-takeoff beverage, which was a surprise. Newspapers are set up in front of 86HK, as a mechanic was working on fixing the seat at 86C, as someone had accidentally slipped the discovery magazine package down the seat. I waited patiently while storing my bag. Newspapers include Hong Kong papers, and LA Times Sunday edition (lots of junk pages). Door was closed at 11:35am, as the ground crew was running up to the cockpit. Flying time was announced to be a long fourteen hours and forty-six minutes (with an actual flying time of fourteen hours and fifty-three minutes). We pushed back at 11:37am and then headed to R/W7L, which was a bit unusual due to storms in the coast. We took off at 11:49am as LAX was relatively quiet on the New Year’s Day.
The route today was fairly typical, as we climbed to 30,000feet as we hit the Californian coastal cities, like Santa Maria, Monterrey, and passing Cape Mendocino before climbing to 32,000feet. Then we headed towards Alaska – Kodiak Islands and the Bristol Bay before climbing to 34,000feet over the Bering Sea. We climbed further to 36,000feet before crossing into Japanese cities of Iwaki, Nagoya, Osaka, Okayama, Kurashiki, Oita, and Kagoshima. Then we climbed up to 38,000feet as we entered the Taiwanese airspace, and then climbing more to 39,000feet as we passed Taipei and heading to Makung and then onto Hong Kong. Nothing too extraordinary!
I like the daytime flight because the meal service was less rushed and more elaborate, plus it is better for jet lag. I will sleep the first part of the flight, and then stay awake till I get to Asia, and then just sleep just like normal at 10 or 11pm. The service began with a beverage and canapé service, and today’s flight, a nice shrimp cocktail with mango salsa was offered. I finally had a glass of champagne. Then the AVOD system was turned on and there was a new startup menu, and was a bit easier to navigate. But I am really sick of the Royal Bank of Scotland commercial at the beginning of every program, and I am sure RBS has produced various commercials, and CX has more than one sponsor. I don’t mind the ad, but when the marrying ad was played the tenth time, it started to get into my nerve. The program lists are great and I watched a few Hong Kong TV programs. I am glad to report that CX finally has the senses to bring back better programming from TVB, and am happy to catch up with some of music programs like the Music specials featuring Leo Ku, Miriam Yeung, Justin Lo, and Mark Lui in Australia. Then I watched a few sitcoms.
Lunch began at 12:42pm and here is the menu transcript!
Wine List
Champagne
Champagne Deutz, Brut Classic
White Wines
Arthur Barolet & Fils Saint Veran 2004
Blackstone Monterey County Chardonnay 2003
Red Wines
Sebastiani Sonoma County Zinfandel 2001
Mercurey Domaine Louis Max 2001
Special Wine:
2001 Masi Costasera Amarone classico
Port
Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 1999
CX 830,831,872,873,880,881,882,883,884,885 1-1-2006
Lunch
Salad
Seasonal Mixed salad served with Ranch dressing
Well the featured salad include the usual Mesclun mix with asparagus, yellow and red cherry tomatoes, as well as the Naturally Fresh’s lite ranch dressing. It is an okay airplane salad.
Appetizer
Fine Smoked salmon and Gravlax Salmon with Crème Fraiche
The salmon plate was nicely presented with slices of smoked salmon, as well a nice gravlax salmon.
Main Courses
Stir-fried Rainbow Beef
Steamed Rice and Stir-Fried Kailan
Pan-fried Halibut with Saffron Sauce
Fingerling Potatoes and Baby Vegetables
Bacon wrapped Pork Fillet with Balsamic
Argula Risotto and sautéed vegetables
I chose the pork main course, but there was way too much sauce. The risotto was nice, and the portion was okay.
Smoked Mozzarella Ravioli with Portabello Mushroom in Herb Sauce
Cheese
And
Fresh Seasonal Fruit
Cheese selection includes Gorgonzola, Cheddar and a soft milk cheese (Port Salute), as well as Carr’s crackers.
Fruit plate features watermelon, pineapple, melon, cantaloupe, and grapes.
Dessert
Pecan Pie served with Whipped Cream
Assorted Bread and Rolls (garlic bread and Focacia)
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
The meal was quite hearty and the pace was fine. My only wish list for 2006 is that Cathay Pacific will finally take away these nasty casserole dishes. I guess it is hard to expect the old trolley service briefly introduced before the SARS. Since CX is making lots of money now, it can hopefully afford to get rid of the casserole dishes and pre-plate the entrees in the galley like Singapore Airlines, China Airlines, EVA Airways, and many top airlines in CX category. For the second meal, I can understand, but for the first main meal on a long-haul flight, entrees should be served properly.
Snack
Selected Sandwiches
Barbecued Pork Bun
Chicken and Mushroom in Noodle Soup
Haagen Dazs Ice Cream
The snack basket in the galley features the usual junk food, as well as almonds. I was pleasantly surprised that real noodles were served now, instead of the old instant noodle. It is like first class. Some nice chicken breast strips and mushrooms were added on top of the noodles.
Dinner was served around midnight time in LA, and a dessert course was added to the final meal. Good! Hot towels and a round of juices began this nice supper service.
Refreshment
Appetizer
Fresh Seasonal Fruit
Watermelon, pineapple, strawberry, and melon
Main Courses
Roast Lamb Rack with Ginger Lemongrass Crust
Creamy Polenta and Seasonal Baby Vegetables
Roast Chicken Oriental Style
Steamed Rice and Stir-fried Vegetables
I had the chicken, as I did not like CX congee. Chicken was the soy sauce type… not too special, but good enough to fill me up.
Abalone Clam and Mushroom Congee
Accompanied by Pan-fried Pork Bun
Dessert
Key Lime Pie
I was surprised that the whole pie was once again presented, and the key lime flavor was more popular than the pecan type on the lunch service.
Assorted Bread and Rolls
Garlic, Focaccia and some nice sesame soft twist rolls…
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
CX 885-3107/3108J <NOV/DEC/JAN>
Of course, another round of hot towels rounded out the meal service at 1:22am LA time (5:22pm Hong Kong time). Then the light was once again turned off, and I watched a few more TV programs, and soon descent began at 6:16pm Hong Kong time. A hazy evening, and not much to see till the last minute before we touched down at 6:42pm at Runway 7L! We parked at gate 65 a few minutes later, and a perfect way to end today’s flight.
I am just happy to see the daytime LAX-HKG flight returned, and hope SFO will get a daytime flight too. The next report will be towards the end of the month.
Carfield
Happy New Year! Here is my first 2006 trip report and I wish everyone a wonderful 2006 and safe flights! As a traveler dedicated in maintaining my elite status, I decide to fly my usual Hong Kong winter trip in the New Year day! I bought a D fare from LAX to TPE via HKG on CX, and the report will only cover the long haul segment, as I am sure we are all familiar with the CX short haul routine.
Link to photo album:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...=8QbNHDNy5bsdM
January 1, 2006
CX 885 LAX-HKG Lv1125 Arr1845+1 Boeing 747-400 B-HOV
I arrived early in LAX at 8am, and the TSA stations are already pretty busy. The TSA procedures continue to be annoying and this morning, there is no separate TSA checked-in bags checkpoints dedicated for premium passenger, so the rather rude or indifferent agent directed me to the two closest TSA stations back in the entrance area. Thankfully the line was not too bad, as it was still early and the first flight out was the Varig and Korean Air’s flight bound for Narita. After the checkpoints, I headed back to the first and business class lines, and there were literally no one. This time, the agent, Andrea, was much more friendly, especially after I gave her a box of chocolate. Poor her! She has to work the midnight shift tonight as well, but is kind enough to un-block the priced exit row, 86A, for me. She apparently has to go through her supervisor before unblocking the seat for me. This morning, CX first and Emerald passengers are directed to use the Qantas lounge in the fifth floor, and folks from Lan Chile were also sharing the lounge this morning. There was no wireless service for those who care, and were no computer terminals. Only a photocopy machine is set up towards the back. As we all know, CX uses different lounges at different times and even different days. The lounge situation at TBIT really needs to be addressed. The Qantas lounge was not packed, but a few folks were there for the LA flights. The buffet includes the usual snacks, but also a few cold croissant sandwiches, as well as fruits, yogurt, and cheese plate. There were also bottled waters available, as well a self-serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage station. Newspapers limited to magazines and various Australian papers. Surprise that there was no US papers.
For plane spotters, here is a list of plane I saw and my photo album includes various close-ups of planes near my gate.
Lan Chile 767-300 CC-CDP; Air Tahiti Nui F-OSEA (CDG bound), Qantas’ Boeing 747-400ER at Terminal Four – VH-OEB (heading to JFK), VH-OEE (resting for the day), VH-OEJ (Wulanji Dreaming) arriving the latest from the SYD batch (and maybe the day flight back to SYD), and VH-OJA at TBIT; Varig MD-11 Star Alliance livery PP-VTH heading to NRT (one of the last couple flights), KE 777-200ER HL7598 heading to NRT/ICN, KE 747-400 HL7402 heading to ICN, AA’s 777-200ER N771AN, China Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 B-18212, Japan Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 with Classic livery JA8086 as JL61/2 to and from NRT
The flight was fairly full in all classes and as a D fare passenger, no chance for an operational upgrade… Boarding began at 10:48am at gate 103 and there is a separate F/J and Y passengers boarding line, and Y boarding is boarded strictly by row numbers. Don’t even think about jumping line! I was immediately welcomed to the upper deck, and the F/A was in good spirit and complained that no one was taking the champagne this morning. Too early for me! Cranberry juice was offered a pre-takeoff beverage, which was a surprise. Newspapers are set up in front of 86HK, as a mechanic was working on fixing the seat at 86C, as someone had accidentally slipped the discovery magazine package down the seat. I waited patiently while storing my bag. Newspapers include Hong Kong papers, and LA Times Sunday edition (lots of junk pages). Door was closed at 11:35am, as the ground crew was running up to the cockpit. Flying time was announced to be a long fourteen hours and forty-six minutes (with an actual flying time of fourteen hours and fifty-three minutes). We pushed back at 11:37am and then headed to R/W7L, which was a bit unusual due to storms in the coast. We took off at 11:49am as LAX was relatively quiet on the New Year’s Day.
The route today was fairly typical, as we climbed to 30,000feet as we hit the Californian coastal cities, like Santa Maria, Monterrey, and passing Cape Mendocino before climbing to 32,000feet. Then we headed towards Alaska – Kodiak Islands and the Bristol Bay before climbing to 34,000feet over the Bering Sea. We climbed further to 36,000feet before crossing into Japanese cities of Iwaki, Nagoya, Osaka, Okayama, Kurashiki, Oita, and Kagoshima. Then we climbed up to 38,000feet as we entered the Taiwanese airspace, and then climbing more to 39,000feet as we passed Taipei and heading to Makung and then onto Hong Kong. Nothing too extraordinary!
I like the daytime flight because the meal service was less rushed and more elaborate, plus it is better for jet lag. I will sleep the first part of the flight, and then stay awake till I get to Asia, and then just sleep just like normal at 10 or 11pm. The service began with a beverage and canapé service, and today’s flight, a nice shrimp cocktail with mango salsa was offered. I finally had a glass of champagne. Then the AVOD system was turned on and there was a new startup menu, and was a bit easier to navigate. But I am really sick of the Royal Bank of Scotland commercial at the beginning of every program, and I am sure RBS has produced various commercials, and CX has more than one sponsor. I don’t mind the ad, but when the marrying ad was played the tenth time, it started to get into my nerve. The program lists are great and I watched a few Hong Kong TV programs. I am glad to report that CX finally has the senses to bring back better programming from TVB, and am happy to catch up with some of music programs like the Music specials featuring Leo Ku, Miriam Yeung, Justin Lo, and Mark Lui in Australia. Then I watched a few sitcoms.
Lunch began at 12:42pm and here is the menu transcript!
Wine List
Champagne
Champagne Deutz, Brut Classic
White Wines
Arthur Barolet & Fils Saint Veran 2004
Blackstone Monterey County Chardonnay 2003
Red Wines
Sebastiani Sonoma County Zinfandel 2001
Mercurey Domaine Louis Max 2001
Special Wine:
2001 Masi Costasera Amarone classico
Port
Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 1999
CX 830,831,872,873,880,881,882,883,884,885 1-1-2006
Lunch
Salad
Seasonal Mixed salad served with Ranch dressing
Well the featured salad include the usual Mesclun mix with asparagus, yellow and red cherry tomatoes, as well as the Naturally Fresh’s lite ranch dressing. It is an okay airplane salad.
Appetizer
Fine Smoked salmon and Gravlax Salmon with Crème Fraiche
The salmon plate was nicely presented with slices of smoked salmon, as well a nice gravlax salmon.
Main Courses
Stir-fried Rainbow Beef
Steamed Rice and Stir-Fried Kailan
Pan-fried Halibut with Saffron Sauce
Fingerling Potatoes and Baby Vegetables
Bacon wrapped Pork Fillet with Balsamic
Argula Risotto and sautéed vegetables
I chose the pork main course, but there was way too much sauce. The risotto was nice, and the portion was okay.
Smoked Mozzarella Ravioli with Portabello Mushroom in Herb Sauce
Cheese
And
Fresh Seasonal Fruit
Cheese selection includes Gorgonzola, Cheddar and a soft milk cheese (Port Salute), as well as Carr’s crackers.
Fruit plate features watermelon, pineapple, melon, cantaloupe, and grapes.
Dessert
Pecan Pie served with Whipped Cream
Assorted Bread and Rolls (garlic bread and Focacia)
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
The meal was quite hearty and the pace was fine. My only wish list for 2006 is that Cathay Pacific will finally take away these nasty casserole dishes. I guess it is hard to expect the old trolley service briefly introduced before the SARS. Since CX is making lots of money now, it can hopefully afford to get rid of the casserole dishes and pre-plate the entrees in the galley like Singapore Airlines, China Airlines, EVA Airways, and many top airlines in CX category. For the second meal, I can understand, but for the first main meal on a long-haul flight, entrees should be served properly.
Snack
Selected Sandwiches
Barbecued Pork Bun
Chicken and Mushroom in Noodle Soup
Haagen Dazs Ice Cream
The snack basket in the galley features the usual junk food, as well as almonds. I was pleasantly surprised that real noodles were served now, instead of the old instant noodle. It is like first class. Some nice chicken breast strips and mushrooms were added on top of the noodles.
Dinner was served around midnight time in LA, and a dessert course was added to the final meal. Good! Hot towels and a round of juices began this nice supper service.
Refreshment
Appetizer
Fresh Seasonal Fruit
Watermelon, pineapple, strawberry, and melon
Main Courses
Roast Lamb Rack with Ginger Lemongrass Crust
Creamy Polenta and Seasonal Baby Vegetables
Roast Chicken Oriental Style
Steamed Rice and Stir-fried Vegetables
I had the chicken, as I did not like CX congee. Chicken was the soy sauce type… not too special, but good enough to fill me up.
Abalone Clam and Mushroom Congee
Accompanied by Pan-fried Pork Bun
Dessert
Key Lime Pie
I was surprised that the whole pie was once again presented, and the key lime flavor was more popular than the pecan type on the lunch service.
Assorted Bread and Rolls
Garlic, Focaccia and some nice sesame soft twist rolls…
Tea and Coffee
Pralines
CX 885-3107/3108J <NOV/DEC/JAN>
Of course, another round of hot towels rounded out the meal service at 1:22am LA time (5:22pm Hong Kong time). Then the light was once again turned off, and I watched a few more TV programs, and soon descent began at 6:16pm Hong Kong time. A hazy evening, and not much to see till the last minute before we touched down at 6:42pm at Runway 7L! We parked at gate 65 a few minutes later, and a perfect way to end today’s flight.
I am just happy to see the daytime LAX-HKG flight returned, and hope SFO will get a daytime flight too. The next report will be towards the end of the month.
Carfield
Thanks for the report.