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Hong Kong and Bangkok – BA A380 First and CW, Cathay First and Premium Econ, W Hotels

Hong Kong and Bangkok – BA A380 First and CW, Cathay First and Premium Econ, W Hotels

Old Jan 31, 2015, 10:49 am
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Hong Kong and Bangkok – BA A380 First and CW, Cathay First and Premium Econ, W Hotels



Hong Kong and Bangkok – BA A380 First and CW, Cathay First and Premium Econ, W Hotels
December 2014 – January 2015 - matthandy






BA First, Tai O fishing village, Marvelous suite W Hotel Bangkok, Mo Man Temple Hong Kong

This Report Features The Following

Hong Kong

British Airways First Class (A380) London to Hong Kong including the Galleries First Lounge and the Concorde Room at Heathrow Terminal 5

New Year's Eve fireworks in Wan Chai

Dragon's Back walking trail

Shek O Beach

Hong Kong Disney Land

Lantau Island and the Big Buddha

Tai O fishing village


Bangkok

Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong to Bangkok including the Wing F lounge

Marvellous Suite at the W Hotel Bangkok

Wat Arun

Cathay Pacific Premium Economy Bangkok to Hong Kong including the Cathay Pacific lounge and the Qantas lounge


Hong Kong (again)

Fantastic Suite at the W Hotel Hong Kong

Sheung Wan

Mo Man Temple, Central

Star Ferry Harbour Tour

The Hong Kong skyline

British Airways Club World (A380) including the Wing F lounge

Background

Welcome to my 28th trip report on Flyertalk!

A couple of months ago British Airways had a crash sale, two tickets in business class to most destinations around the world for Ł2014, an absolute bargain. Even better, for single travellers like me, it was possible to book one ticket for just Ł1007. I saw a thread about the sale on FT on my phone whilst waiting at the station in Munich on my way to the airport to head home. Excitement wasn't the word. I had planned time off between Christmas and the 12th of January so I decided to book almost the furthest possible distance that I could get. Hong Kong was attractive because it was on the A380, I've been several times before and I love it. Also, I had friends living there.

I originally booked to leave on the 1st of January, returning on the 9th (my membership year ends on the 9th) but after talking with my friends they were only available on the 3rd of January. I’d already booked the flights but I took advantage of the '24 hour cooling off period' and phoned up the Gold line and changed the flight to the 30th of December. That way I'd arrive in Hong Kong just in time for the New Year's celebrations.

Once I had the flights booked I chose my seats. As it was somewhat last minute I wasn't able to get the seat that I wanted, upper deck window on the A380 so settled for one of the middle seats upstairs.


BA Club World (upgraded to First Class) on the A380 – London to Hong Kong

On the day of the flight I was keen as mustard to get going. I'd been in London the previous evening, taking my sister to see Miss Saigon, which was excellent. After getting the train back home in the morning I finished packing and then jumped in the car to head to Heathrow. It normally takes about an hour to get to Terminal 5 from my home in Kent but this time around it was quicker as the traffic was good. I had to slow down as I got close to ensure that I didn't enter the car park earlier than my booking. I was two minutes over.

I parked the car and made my way to the First check in zone (a Gold card perk) located at the far south end of the terminal. No queues (there were at the Club desks) and I quickly had my bag tagged and checked in and boarding pass in hand. Security was fine, in fact the airport didn't seem very busy at all which I found surprising.

I made my way to Galleries First and found it to be reasonably empty, great. For those of you not familiar, Galleries First is for BA Gold card holders and Oneworld Emeralds. It's not actually the lounge for First class passengers, as this is the Concorde Room, opposite.

Personally, I really like Galleries First. I like the fact that the seating areas are well spaced and I actually prefer the terrace here than the Concorde Room. I think that the food and drink are pretty good, some people disagree, but I think that they are wrong . Judge for yourself.


Walking towards First check in


First class check in area


Decorations in the terminal


Galleries First terrace, in the early evening light


Seating on the terrace


The view – looking north


The view - looking east


The view - looking south

The first thing to be done after entering any lounge (after dropping off one's bag in a suitable spot) is to seek out Champagne. Easily done in Galleries First as there is a selection of three help yourself Champagnes on offer. I'm partial to a glass of Tattinger Rose so I went for that before heading back out to the terrace to browse the food menu.

Deciding to go for the burger I flagged down one of the staff that was clearing the tables and promptly ordered. I did also want to go and have a look at the buffet options too so I took my camera and had a quick wander around the lounge. Personally, I find the food pretty good. I despair when people call it 'slop'. Perhaps my standards are low, but I don't think so. There was a good selection and range of food available (it was around 4pm at the time) including a full selection of sandwiches and cakes for afternoon tea. Although not available this time around joints of meat are common in the buffet as well as pies which have been very good.

Back to the terrace to enjoy my burger. As it goes, it was great. The portion size was a little small but for lounge food it met my expectations.

After the burger I wanted to put my feet up so moved to a different set of seats and went to the buffet for some dessert before taking off my shoes and getting settled in. Unfortunately, a father who was out on the terrace with his 2 or 3 year old boy had other ideas. The father was having a very important phone call and seemed to not see that his child was running amok around him. I am reasonably tolerant, given that I have a young niece and nephew but after the second time that he ran up to me and took the spoon from my plate I was starting to get a bit annoyed. The father did come and shoo him away and apologised but it would have been better if he'd not ignored his son for the last 15 minutes.


Tattinger Rose on the terrace


My view


Wander around the lounge


The Gold bar


The work area


Coffee area


More seating


Wine selection


Wine and Champagne bar


Afternoon tea – sandwiches and cakes


Soup, cheese and cold meats


The salad bar


Hot food selection


Back on the terrace


Champagne


My burger arrives


Relaxing

Whilst I settled into watching a film on my iPad, sipping Champagne and eating cheesecake I checked the BA app on my phone to see if a gate had been announced. It had, but also to my surprise, my seat was showing as 4A, which is in First! Had I been upgraded? I almost spat out my Champagne and quickly jumped up to pay a visit to the customer services desk and enquired if I had indeed been upgraded. Yes, the lovely lady confirmed that I had been and printed a new boarding pass out for me. Fantastic!

I hastily returned to the terrace and collected up my belongings and made my way to the Concorde Room. As I exited Galleries First one the ladies on the desk said that I was going the wrong way. I suppose she thought that I was heading to the gate. I explained that I was heading across the corridor and she said that she hoped I enjoyed myself.

By this point, boarding was due to the start in about 30 minutes so I didn't really have time to make full use of the CCR. I did however take the opportunity for a glass of Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle which is a staple in the CCR and on board in First and I have to say is rather enjoyable.



The Concorde Room


More Champagne


A view of the CCR terrace – I actually prefer Galleries First


Overlooking the departures area




Up Next



My first experience of First on the A380 (in possibly the worst seat in the cabin!) plus the slightly disappointing tasting menu but a great breakfast.
matthandy is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2015, 12:12 pm
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Two reports on the go at the same time?! You are spoiling us
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Old Feb 1, 2015, 8:24 am
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I really do enjoy reading your TR's Matt, thank you for continuing to write them!
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Old Feb 1, 2015, 9:05 am
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Looking forward to the rest of the report!!

Nice sunset with background within the lounge, gives a relaxing feeling
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Old Feb 1, 2015, 10:35 am
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Originally Posted by matthandy
A couple of months ago British Airways had a crash sale
Is this the same as Malaysian's crash sale?
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Old Feb 1, 2015, 10:38 am
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both the concorde and the galleries first are great lounges coming from the US
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Old Feb 1, 2015, 12:52 pm
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British Airways First Class on the A380 – London to Hong Kong



After finishing my drink in the CCR it was time to head to the gate, a C gate, which meant a trip on the underground train (or a walk but I was too full of Champagne for that!). The train arrived pretty quickly and after a brief stop at the B gates I was soon off the train and making my way up the escalators to the C gates.

The place was so busy and I thought that priority boarding might be a bit of a scrum however, literally just as I arrived at the gate boarding was announced so I strolled up the desk to have my boarding pass and passport checked and then made my way down the air bridge to board. BA has a dedicated air bridge for First class passengers on the A380 which is a nice treat. I was one of the first in the cabin but it looked as though the crew had forgotten to turn on the welcome lighting, so everything was a boring shade of white. Once a few more passengers arrived the lighting was changed, unfortunately, with more passengers it meant that it was difficult to get photos. I'm not one of these people that shoves a camera in people's faces.

London to Hong Kong

Flight: BA25
Carrier: British Airways (BA)
Aircraft: Airbus A380-800 – G-XLEH
Scheduled Departure Time: 18:35
Scheduled Duration: 11h 45m
Scheduled Arrival Time: 14:20
Travel Class: First
Seat: 4A (seat map)

First impressions of the cabin? Well, it's huge! The First class cabin on the A380 has 14 seats, the same number that BA squeezes into the nose of the 747. The difference in space is significant. The suites are arranged in four rows, four suites by the windows and three pairs in the middle of the cabin. Row 4 is located at the back of the cabin, and therefore right next to the galley. The privacy is reasonably good but because the seats are not staggered in row 4, it is possible to look across into the middle pairs. Row 4 is certainly the worst row. Given that I'd received this upgrade for free though, I could hardly complain.

The seat itself is largely the same as on the 777 and the 747 however the space around the seat has been significantly increased, providing a storage cubby hole right next to the passenger. On my seat was a cushion and a pillow. This was large and deep and could more than take everything that I wanted for the flight. In addition, there was a large locker at the side of the seat which can take a standard size roller case. There are also the normal lockers above each window seat.


My seat, 4K


BA motif at the back of the cabin


Overview of the cabin from my seat


The locker by the side of the seat

The crew came around to offer pyjamas and an amenity kit and then a welcome drink, I decided to have some water. The menu was also handed out. On A380 routes out of Heathrow a tasting menu is offered and when I saw it on the menu, I decided to try it out.

Whilst everyone else boarded the Captain announced a flying time of 11 hours and 25 minutes.

We pushed back on time and then had a very long taxi around to the northern runway. I believe that this is due to the fact that the A380 is only cleared to use specific taxi ways due to it's size.

We took off at around 7pm. It was ridiculously smooth of course, to the point where you wonder if you are actually going fast enough to leave the ground.

Within 10 minutes or so the seat belt sign was off and the crew started the service.

Here is the menu:


I decided to start with a glass of Pinot Noir, which was excellent and then selected the tasting menu to eat. I asked the crew member if it was possible to only have a small glass of wine with each course as I didn't want to get too drunk before trying to get to sleep. The crew member obliged, and she asked after each course if I'd like to keep the wine or change it and whether I was ready for the next course or not.


Welcome drink and newspaper


Pinot Noir and nuts before dinner


Tasting menu – Crab, salmon and caviar starter


Tasting menu – Duck and mushroom consommé


Tasting menu – Sea bass


Tasting menu – Beef and oxtail


Tasting menu – Changed to the profiteroles

The starter was good, memorable, interesting and was well presented. The consommé was something else, it was absolutely stunning. I loved it and wish that the portion was larger. The sea bass was ok, nothing special really. The samphire was strange. I've never had it before and found that it felt like it had fish bones inside it. I left it. The beef was very good, and the oxtail croustillant was fantastic. For dessert, I decided to swap the mixed berry dome on the menu for the profiteroles which were very good.

The wine selection was also very good and was well paired with the food. Overall, however, I felt that the tasting menu was somewhat disappointing. The portion sizes weren't very big and I was left feeling a bit slightly hungry. For me, a tasting menu should be indulgent and this wasn't really. On inspection, the normal menu might have been better or perhaps and combination of the two, for example, having the soup between the first and second courses and the cheese to finish. Having said that though, I like the idea overall and I'm pleased that BA is trying to do something slightly different to the norm.

After dinner was cleared away I decided to go for a quick wander around to have a look at some of the other cabins on this aircraft. This was the fourth A380 that I had been on (in terms of airlines) and it was my impression that BA had done a very good job in terms of the overall design.

My first cabin visit was to the forward upper deck Club World cabin and the huge toilets which occupy the areas above the staircase. Interestingly, the Club World cabin extends right out into the landing area of the stairs, this is unusual. It has allowed BA to squeeze four rows of business class seats into the forward cabin whereas Qantas for example, has three.

Compared to the First cabin downstairs, the Club World cabin seemed positively packed! It looked a bit cramped actually, not something I would have said about the Qantas business cabin. It just felt like way too many seats. I had the same feeling on my return journey, where I was sat in 53K.

Moving back towards the rear of the cabin, I went through the galley and into the rear Club World cabin and then onwards to World Traveller Plus/Premium Economy. I very much liked the fact that BA had kept the design theme throughout both cabins, even including the BA motif on the bulkhead in the WTP cabin.


The famous front stairs of the A380


The forward Club World cabin – upper deck


The BA Speedmarque motif


The rear Club World cabin – upper deck


World Traveller Plus – upper deck

I didn't get past the premium economy cabin as there was lots of people queing for the toilets and it would have been very awkward so I made my way back downstairs. After asking a crew member to make up my bed and went to the toilet to change into my pyjamas. The toilets in First on the A380 are pretty disappointing, they are nothing special at all, basically just the same size as the economy toilets.

When I returned, my bed was made up and I settled down for the night, donning the ear plugs provided in the amenity kit.

I slept on and off for about 7 or 8 hours, mostly just dozing. It's very rare that I actually sleep well on a plane, even in First. I found the galley quite noisy with lots of rattling of crockery and glassware.

I woke up with about 1.5 hours to go before landing and found that it was lovely and light outside. I opened up the blinds slowly so as not to disturb everyone else.


First class cabin, before bed, looking rearwards


Bed all made up


Waking up – feet up in bed


The view outside


Overview of the cabin in the morning light

I went and got changed and in the mean time the crew cleared away my bedding and I took a look at the menu to decide what I wanted for breakfast. To be honest, despite saying that I was hungry after the tasting menu, my stomach hadn't yet woken up as it was very early in the morning in the UK.

There was a good selection available for breakfast and I decided to have some cereal to start followed by the full English.

Here's the menu:




View from the buddy seat


Relaxing before breakfast


Cereal to start


Full English

After breakfast was cleared away I packed up all of my stuff ready for landing and then filled in the immigration and customs card ready for arrival.

We had a beautiful approach into Hong Kong, the weather was excellent so it was possible to view all of the islands and coastline which is less well visited than Hong Kong island itself. We actually flew over the track called 'Dragons Back' which I'd be walking on the following day, although I didn't know so at the time.

The landing was very smooth and just slightly ahead of schedule. We parked up at gate 60 and with an air bridge attached to door 1 again, I was soon off the aircraft and into Hong Kong airport. After a short train ride and the usual 'no questions asked' approach to immigration I waited in the baggage reclaim for my bag. This didn't take very long. Then I took the Airport Express train to Central where I had planned to take a taxi. Unfortunately, it must have been shift change or something because I had to wait a whole hour. There were simply not enough taxis arriving quickly enough. At one point it was 10 minutes between taxis. Ridiculous.

I arrived at my friend's flat at about 4.30, almost two hours after landing. I was a little bit tired but ready for the celebrations ahead!


Dragons Back walking trail


Landing


Parked up at gate 60


Baggage reclaim


On the Airport Express to Central





Vedict


It was great the BA gave me the opportunity to try out First class on the A380 for free. That I am very grateful for. However, the cabin layout is such that my seat, 4A really is one of the worst, it is simply too close to the galley and the alignment limits the privacy available. 2A/K would seem to be the best seats for solo travellers.

The cabin and the seat itself were very good and a step up from the same product on the 747 and 777 particularly in terms of personal space.

The food was a little disappointing. There were certainly elements that set it apart as a 'tasting menu' but I felt that the presentation and the portion sizes could have been better. I did enjoy the wine though.

The crew were ok. The service was quite perfunctory, not rude but not particular warm either. When I boarded I was greeted and served by a male crew member but during the actual dinner service one of the Hong Kong based female crew served me. Perhaps there was a cultural difference which led to the change in service style.

Overall, it was an ok flight, certainly better than it would have been in Club World. I'm keen to try out First on the A380 on a daytime route though.





Up Next



Fireworks over the harbour from Wan Chai and exploring the Dragons Back walking trail.
matthandy is offline  
Old Feb 3, 2015, 8:40 am
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Matthandy, being kind of hungry after that 'testing menu', why didn't ask for anything from a la carte menu?
You definitely can't do it in Y, not really in C, but in F?
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Old Feb 4, 2015, 5:09 am
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Thanks for sharing another of your TR, 2 on the go, is great. Loved all the photos, and glad you took your shoes off, liked the socks. Great having an upgrade, which meant albeit a very quick visit into the CCR, and a glass of LPGS. I thought the food offerings in F looked really big, would have been stuffed at the end of it, will be trying out A380 next month back from SIN-LHR, albeit though I do not think there will be a tasting menu, still maybe another time. Looking forward to the stage episode.^
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Old Feb 9, 2015, 4:24 am
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Thanks for sharing this. I have been following your other TR as well and looking forward to this as well. HK is one of my favourite cities in the world and it's always interesting to see it through the eyes of another.
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Old Feb 9, 2015, 10:35 am
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Great start. Looking forward to the rest ^
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Old Feb 9, 2015, 3:01 pm
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Another disgustingly brilliant trip report. Thanks matthandy!
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Old Feb 10, 2015, 4:28 am
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I've always hated the way BA have chosen the A380 layout. First and CW should all be in the upper deck with PE and economy all on the lower deck.
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Old Feb 10, 2015, 8:09 am
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Hi matthandy - great report, as ever ^

I was on your flight! (I actually recognised the crew from the photos, and then scrolled back and noticed the date!) I also got the beep, and got moved to 2K (which was better than 4A, it sounds). Alas, although I saw the seat change in the GF lounge, I was too busy panicking about finishing work to have time to visit the CCR

I actually thought the food and service were great, and exceeded my expectations, but again maybe I was lucky. I had the male crew member on the RHS of the cabin, who was terrific - anticipated my needs, slowed down pace of dinner, instinctively knew if I liked my glass of wine or not (and therefore how full to fill the glass!), left me alone when I wanted to be, and made/cleared my bed without me asking - great, SQ-like service

Funnily enough, he asked me if the tasting menu was enough, because he said some passengers had complained that the serving sizes were too small - he must've meant you Other than my beef being very, very tough and overdone (I was eating slowly, as trying to finish writing a report at the same time, so maybe it had sat in the oven for an extra 30 mins...), I thought the rest of it was quite nice - I quite like samphire! - and plenty enough for me. Wine was great too, especially that Sauternes. Oh well, shows you can't please everyone!

Hope you enjoyed the rest of your trip
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Old Feb 10, 2015, 11:05 am
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Originally Posted by kt74
I was on your flight! (I actually recognised the crew from the photos, and then scrolled back and noticed the date!)
How funny! Shame that we didn't get the chance to say hello. Lucky you getting 2K, must be one of the best seats in the house.

Yes, the male crew member served me initially, during boarding, he was excellent. The other crew member that served me for the remainder of the flight wasn't bad in any way at all but she simply wasn't as good as the other crew member. The CSD was excellent though.

So I'm not the only one that thought that the tasting menu was a bit skimpy! I found the beef dry too, so it wasn't just you. The oxtail pastry thing was amazing though. The presentation overall could have been a lot better and looking at other A380 BA F reports it should have been.
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