FLIGHT#16: THE CABIN & CX751 HKG-BKK in Biz Class with photos
Nov 24, 2010, 12:34 am
#1
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FLIGHT#16: THE CABIN & CX751 HKG-BKK in Biz Class with photos
FLIGHT#16
Cathay Pacific #751
Hong Kong, China (HKG) – Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)
Date: Nov. 5, 2010
Departure: 14:25
Arrival: 16:20
Length: 2:55
Miles flown since start of trip: 36,591 mi.
Aircraft: Airbus 330-300 (33B)
Seats: BUSINESS 20A, 21A, 20K
After fifteen flights since we left our home in Germany, it was time to move on to Thailand, month five of http://fifthgradearoundtheworld.com. This segment was the third of sixteen segments of our Oneworld Business Class Round the World ticket.
CHECK-IN:
Having been to HKIA many times, we quickly arrived at an empty Business class check-in. With sadness in my heart, we had to walk past the empty Cathay Pacific First Class podiums. The agents there were poised to greet us once again there but instead I refused their gaze as we did the “walk of shame” to the more traditional Business class check-in desks.
Olafman and son checking in with Cathay Pacific. Hubby's taking the picture.
We had arrived early hoping that we could take an earlier flight. Luckily, we changed to the next flight without any drama. I always hate it when I am sent from check-in to the ticketing desk to clean up a ticket. In my mind “taking an earlier” flight should be an easy fix at check-in even though quiet a few airlines think otherwise. The benefit of flying on the earlier flight meant we would get the long-haul business class product instead of the regional seats. YEAH! I always love to squeeze in a disco nap!
Much has been writing about the lack of “fast-track” at HKIA. I agree but it is what it is. Luckily security was empty at 11:30 am so it didn’t matter. It HAS pissed me off in the past though when flying First Class.
LOUNGES:
Continuing my day of sadness, we looked, forlorn, at the convenient entrance for First Class passengers to The Wing. The Business Class entrance is way down near Gate 2 which is no where as convenient. Today we were off to CX’s newest lounge: THE CABIN.
The entrance to THE CABIN
Located near gate 23, THE CABIN is on the level below the departure level and can be accessed by either stairs or elevator. This lounge feels different than the others. First off, it was very quiet with relatively few passengers. We chose to go to the IT side with lots of Mac computers and the Cathay Solus Chairs. I liked sitting in this modern suite. It had a very comfy feel. It does need a bit more table area as I had trouble fitting my laptop along with my drinks and snacks.
The “IT” side of THE CABIN
The Cathay Solus Chair: a private suite
A view down the hallway
Besides a line of iMacs on the main counter, there were cubical behind that give a bit more privacy. It’s nice that CX has chosen to put Mac in all their lounges.
The iMac counter
iMac work area
Corbin plays some computer games
The food offerings in THE CABIN are different than the other lounges. Most notably is the Deli which has nice salads and smoked salmon with all the trimmings. The Health Bar offered a large variety of fruit drinks which reminded me of Lufthansa’s Senator Café in my old homebase Munich. I ordered a glass of champagne mixed with grapefruit. The main catering area offered noodles, soup and dim sum.
A Champers with grapefruit with some smoked salmon
A branded computer in THE CABIN
Overall, I was very impressed with THE CABIN. I would choose it first over THE WING or THE PIER because it seemed more intimate but still had views of the airplanes. I really liked the deli items on offer. I can always eat smoked salmon!
Of course, being a FT geek, I had to visit another Oneworld lounge, the Qantas Business Class Lounge near Gate 15. No flights were leaving so it was very quiet. The food area didn’t have much out. Instead, a waiter approached me with a menu and asked if I wanted anything. It offered some sandwiches and noodles. I was just lounge surfing so I didn’t need any food. I did like the long dining table with lots of chairs around it.
The dining table in the Qantas Business Class Lounge at HKIA
During our stay in the CX lounge, we downloaded a couple of television programs from our home computer using our BeyondTV program. It’s nice to have up-to-date TV while traveling.
BOARDING:
We walked for ten minutes to get to Gate 42 where boarding had already begun. As there was no line in the Business class side, we walked right on to our waiting Airbus 330-300. We were greeted at the door by a lovely flight attendant and quickly found our seats in the last two rows of the front section of business class. The plane had a two class configuration with the long-haul business class fully flat seats. These are the same seats that we had on our 747 flight from Johannesburg. Normally, CX uses their regional seats on this route. Since the flight continues on to Delhi, we were treated to the flat seat.
All forty-one seats were in business were occupied and I think it was full in the back too. Unfortunately, the service overall did suffer because we were at capacity. The flight attendants distributed menus and hot towels while we were still on the ground along with an offer of juice, water or champagne.
Once in the air, I started to watch the HBO series “How to Make it in America”. I had never heard of it and really enjoyed watching it. The meal service began immediately and soon I had my salad starter in front of me. Unfortunately, no beverage service of offered until much later. For this reason a glass of water was preset on the tray. I’d much prefer a nice glass of white wine with my salad instead of water. Even on a shorter flight, this can be done better.
REFRESHMENT:
Starter:
***Marinated chili prawn salad with citrus vinaigrette
Main Courses:
***Sauteed monk fish fillets in mild chilli sauce, steamed jasmine rice and mixed vegetables
Matar paneer, pulao, bhindi dopiaza – peas with cottage cheese, basmati rice and braised okra served with spicy Indian style pickles and yoghurt
Murgh saag, pulao, matar masala – chicken saag curry with three color basmasti rice and pea masala served with spicy Indian style pickles and yoghurt
***Ice Cream
Tea and Coffee
The starter was a basic shrimp salad. It was fresh tasting but nothing special. Finally once I was finished with the salad, the drinks cart arrived and I got my glass of white wine. By this point I should have been on glass number two.
First course: Curried Prawn Mixed salad
For my main, I chose the monk fish. This is one of my favorite fish and is often referred to as the “poor man’s lobster” because it has a similar taste and consistency. Cathay’s chefs did an excellent job and I finished the entire dish! Yummy!
Main course: Sautéed monk fish fillet
Finally they cleared the trays and I ate a chocolate Haagen Dazs ice cream and had a nice cup of coffee.
Here were the drink offerings for the flight:
Champagne
***Billecart-Salmon Brut Champagne
White Wines
***P. Ferraud & Fils Vire-Clesse 2008
Drouet Frere Le Mont Fleur Sancerre 2009
Red Wines
RockBare McLaren Vale Shiraz 2008
Lionel Osmin Haut Capitole Fronton 2007
Port
Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2005
(My selections are notated by ***)
OVERALL:
This was one of the worst flights I’ve had on CX because of the service. Please understand, that it is still perfectly fine compared to the US carriers. Also I have flown much more in First Class than Business Class on CX so my perspective might be confusing the two. But I expect much more from CX in business class.
We’ll be taking the continuation of this flight from Bangkok to Delhi in January and hopefully it will be better then.
Cathay Pacific #751
Hong Kong, China (HKG) – Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)
Date: Nov. 5, 2010
Departure: 14:25
Arrival: 16:20
Length: 2:55
Miles flown since start of trip: 36,591 mi.
Aircraft: Airbus 330-300 (33B)
Seats: BUSINESS 20A, 21A, 20K
After fifteen flights since we left our home in Germany, it was time to move on to Thailand, month five of http://fifthgradearoundtheworld.com. This segment was the third of sixteen segments of our Oneworld Business Class Round the World ticket.
CHECK-IN:
Having been to HKIA many times, we quickly arrived at an empty Business class check-in. With sadness in my heart, we had to walk past the empty Cathay Pacific First Class podiums. The agents there were poised to greet us once again there but instead I refused their gaze as we did the “walk of shame” to the more traditional Business class check-in desks.
Olafman and son checking in with Cathay Pacific. Hubby's taking the picture.
We had arrived early hoping that we could take an earlier flight. Luckily, we changed to the next flight without any drama. I always hate it when I am sent from check-in to the ticketing desk to clean up a ticket. In my mind “taking an earlier” flight should be an easy fix at check-in even though quiet a few airlines think otherwise. The benefit of flying on the earlier flight meant we would get the long-haul business class product instead of the regional seats. YEAH! I always love to squeeze in a disco nap!
Much has been writing about the lack of “fast-track” at HKIA. I agree but it is what it is. Luckily security was empty at 11:30 am so it didn’t matter. It HAS pissed me off in the past though when flying First Class.
LOUNGES:
Continuing my day of sadness, we looked, forlorn, at the convenient entrance for First Class passengers to The Wing. The Business Class entrance is way down near Gate 2 which is no where as convenient. Today we were off to CX’s newest lounge: THE CABIN.
The entrance to THE CABIN
Located near gate 23, THE CABIN is on the level below the departure level and can be accessed by either stairs or elevator. This lounge feels different than the others. First off, it was very quiet with relatively few passengers. We chose to go to the IT side with lots of Mac computers and the Cathay Solus Chairs. I liked sitting in this modern suite. It had a very comfy feel. It does need a bit more table area as I had trouble fitting my laptop along with my drinks and snacks.
The “IT” side of THE CABIN
The Cathay Solus Chair: a private suite
A view down the hallway
Besides a line of iMacs on the main counter, there were cubical behind that give a bit more privacy. It’s nice that CX has chosen to put Mac in all their lounges.
The iMac counter
iMac work area
Corbin plays some computer games
The food offerings in THE CABIN are different than the other lounges. Most notably is the Deli which has nice salads and smoked salmon with all the trimmings. The Health Bar offered a large variety of fruit drinks which reminded me of Lufthansa’s Senator Café in my old homebase Munich. I ordered a glass of champagne mixed with grapefruit. The main catering area offered noodles, soup and dim sum.
A Champers with grapefruit with some smoked salmon
A branded computer in THE CABIN
Overall, I was very impressed with THE CABIN. I would choose it first over THE WING or THE PIER because it seemed more intimate but still had views of the airplanes. I really liked the deli items on offer. I can always eat smoked salmon!
Of course, being a FT geek, I had to visit another Oneworld lounge, the Qantas Business Class Lounge near Gate 15. No flights were leaving so it was very quiet. The food area didn’t have much out. Instead, a waiter approached me with a menu and asked if I wanted anything. It offered some sandwiches and noodles. I was just lounge surfing so I didn’t need any food. I did like the long dining table with lots of chairs around it.
The dining table in the Qantas Business Class Lounge at HKIA
During our stay in the CX lounge, we downloaded a couple of television programs from our home computer using our BeyondTV program. It’s nice to have up-to-date TV while traveling.
BOARDING:
We walked for ten minutes to get to Gate 42 where boarding had already begun. As there was no line in the Business class side, we walked right on to our waiting Airbus 330-300. We were greeted at the door by a lovely flight attendant and quickly found our seats in the last two rows of the front section of business class. The plane had a two class configuration with the long-haul business class fully flat seats. These are the same seats that we had on our 747 flight from Johannesburg. Normally, CX uses their regional seats on this route. Since the flight continues on to Delhi, we were treated to the flat seat.
All forty-one seats were in business were occupied and I think it was full in the back too. Unfortunately, the service overall did suffer because we were at capacity. The flight attendants distributed menus and hot towels while we were still on the ground along with an offer of juice, water or champagne.
Once in the air, I started to watch the HBO series “How to Make it in America”. I had never heard of it and really enjoyed watching it. The meal service began immediately and soon I had my salad starter in front of me. Unfortunately, no beverage service of offered until much later. For this reason a glass of water was preset on the tray. I’d much prefer a nice glass of white wine with my salad instead of water. Even on a shorter flight, this can be done better.
REFRESHMENT:
Starter:
***Marinated chili prawn salad with citrus vinaigrette
Main Courses:
***Sauteed monk fish fillets in mild chilli sauce, steamed jasmine rice and mixed vegetables
Matar paneer, pulao, bhindi dopiaza – peas with cottage cheese, basmati rice and braised okra served with spicy Indian style pickles and yoghurt
Murgh saag, pulao, matar masala – chicken saag curry with three color basmasti rice and pea masala served with spicy Indian style pickles and yoghurt
***Ice Cream
Tea and Coffee
The starter was a basic shrimp salad. It was fresh tasting but nothing special. Finally once I was finished with the salad, the drinks cart arrived and I got my glass of white wine. By this point I should have been on glass number two.
First course: Curried Prawn Mixed salad
For my main, I chose the monk fish. This is one of my favorite fish and is often referred to as the “poor man’s lobster” because it has a similar taste and consistency. Cathay’s chefs did an excellent job and I finished the entire dish! Yummy!
Main course: Sautéed monk fish fillet
Finally they cleared the trays and I ate a chocolate Haagen Dazs ice cream and had a nice cup of coffee.
Here were the drink offerings for the flight:
Champagne
***Billecart-Salmon Brut Champagne
White Wines
***P. Ferraud & Fils Vire-Clesse 2008
Drouet Frere Le Mont Fleur Sancerre 2009
Red Wines
RockBare McLaren Vale Shiraz 2008
Lionel Osmin Haut Capitole Fronton 2007
Port
Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2005
(My selections are notated by ***)
OVERALL:
This was one of the worst flights I’ve had on CX because of the service. Please understand, that it is still perfectly fine compared to the US carriers. Also I have flown much more in First Class than Business Class on CX so my perspective might be confusing the two. But I expect much more from CX in business class.
We’ll be taking the continuation of this flight from Bangkok to Delhi in January and hopefully it will be better then.
Last edited by olafman; Nov 24, 2010 at 1:11 am
Nov 24, 2010, 5:35 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2007
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Posts: 12,753
Nov 24, 2010, 8:09 am
#3
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Left
Programs: FT
Posts: 7,285
great photos of the cabin. i really loved the rueben and found they were very generous with the Lanson black label. i found the QF lounge almost too quiet in the morning hours but the "won ton min" was pretty nice.
what was the service issue with CX?
love your posts...making me think about doing the same with my wife when my child is about the same age as your son.
what was the service issue with CX?
love your posts...making me think about doing the same with my wife when my child is about the same age as your son.
Nov 24, 2010, 5:29 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2000
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Posts: 1,024
[QUOTE=mkjr;15267609what was the service issue with CX?[/QUOTE]
I felt like I was getting economy class service in business class. The only different was a better meal and a bigger seat. One pass on drinks is not enough for a two and a half hour flight.
Overall, it felt like they were doing the bare minimum to get through the flight.
It was a HUGE difference from the fantastic service we received on the JNB-HKG just a couple of days before.
I felt like I was getting economy class service in business class. The only different was a better meal and a bigger seat. One pass on drinks is not enough for a two and a half hour flight.
Overall, it felt like they were doing the bare minimum to get through the flight.
It was a HUGE difference from the fantastic service we received on the JNB-HKG just a couple of days before.
Dec 10, 2010, 3:28 pm
#10
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 51
Thanks for your report. I have enjoyed reading your recent TRs on FT and I must find time to read your blog. You and your family are very fortunate to have the chance to experience this voyage of a lifetime.
In my own experience and those of people I know, British Airways is the only major OW or Star carrier that can’t seem to deal with a simple change of flight at the check-in counter. Other airlines have let me change flights (and more!) quickly and with ease even at the gate.
I accept that more complex changes require a ticketing specialist. In these cases, some frontline staff have used initiative and common sense by revalidating/rerouting a coupon with a pen or allowed me to skip a connection by simply taking two coupons and stapling them together. I know it was easier with paper tickets but I have had e-ticket VCRs printed and changes made by hand.
I don’t agree that a premium security channel would be beneficial. HKIA security screening is amongst the most efficient in the world. The lines may appear long but the staff are able to process passengers very quickly. The delays I have experienced have been due mostly to passengers, who fit the “business traveler” profile, being totally unprepared with LAG bags, laptop computers and pocket contents as they reach the front of the line. These people who travel frequently really should know better, if not from their own experience then by watching other passengers in front of them in the queue. Unfortunately, the screening staff are too polite to admonish the inconsiderate passengers or call forward the next passenger in line. Instead of “fast track” where an ill-prepared passenger can still hold up the queue, HKIA should deploy Heathrow or Russian style staff to yell at passengers to be ready.
We had arrived early hoping that we could take an earlier flight. Luckily, we changed to the next flight without any drama. I always hate it when I am sent from check-in to the ticketing desk to clean up a ticket. In my mind “taking an earlier” flight should be an easy fix at check-in even though quiet a few airlines think otherwise.
Much has been writing about the lack of “fast-track” at HKIA. I agree but it is what it is. Luckily security was empty at 11:30 am so it didn’t matter. It HAS pissed me off in the past though when flying First Class.
Much has been writing about the lack of “fast-track” at HKIA. I agree but it is what it is. Luckily security was empty at 11:30 am so it didn’t matter. It HAS pissed me off in the past though when flying First Class.
I accept that more complex changes require a ticketing specialist. In these cases, some frontline staff have used initiative and common sense by revalidating/rerouting a coupon with a pen or allowed me to skip a connection by simply taking two coupons and stapling them together. I know it was easier with paper tickets but I have had e-ticket VCRs printed and changes made by hand.
I don’t agree that a premium security channel would be beneficial. HKIA security screening is amongst the most efficient in the world. The lines may appear long but the staff are able to process passengers very quickly. The delays I have experienced have been due mostly to passengers, who fit the “business traveler” profile, being totally unprepared with LAG bags, laptop computers and pocket contents as they reach the front of the line. These people who travel frequently really should know better, if not from their own experience then by watching other passengers in front of them in the queue. Unfortunately, the screening staff are too polite to admonish the inconsiderate passengers or call forward the next passenger in line. Instead of “fast track” where an ill-prepared passenger can still hold up the queue, HKIA should deploy Heathrow or Russian style staff to yell at passengers to be ready.