I grabbed a transit card from the agent on the ramp and was escorted up to the security area. There was a bit of a queue at security as only one machine was in operation. This soon changed as two more set of security personnel opened up two further lines. I made my way over to the CX lounge to grab a shower in the Cabanas.
The agent welcomed me in and went to the shower rooms first. I was given one of the larger cabana rooms with bath and shower. The water feature in the cabanas was dry today, perhaps this is pending the upcoming renovations?
After my shower I headed back over to the other side of the terminal to the QF lounge. I was welcomed in and told they would make an announcement when boarding commenced. I grabbed some water and fruit and fired up the laptop to catch up on emails etc.
The lounge had some other pastries and breakfast items such as cereals along with some dim sum.
Boarding was announced at 07:15 and I headed on down to the gate.
There was a dedicated line for F,J and OW elites and my passport was checked prior to reaching the podium. My boarding pass was swiped and I was wished a pleasant flight.
Flight QF0029 HKG-LHR Seat 2A
Aircraft: 747-400
Departure time: 07:55
On board I was directed to my seat where a crewmember took my jacket and handed out amenity kit and PJs. He asked if I would like some champagne, orange juice, water and I said you could have stopped at the first item.
A glass was delivered to my seat along with a small bowl of almonds. The bottle of nectar of the gods was then presented before me.
There was no refill this morning and my glass was taken just before we pushed back at 07:52. The manual safety briefing followed and we took off at 08:11 after taxiing to the far end of the runway. There were only 7 in F for this flight. The captain announced a routing and told us the flight time would be 12 hours and 15 minutes.
Menus were handed out and the crew took coffee / tea orders first. These were delivered and then orders were taken for breakfast.
The CSM dropped by and introduced himself and handed out landing cards for the UK including a fast track voucher.
HONG KONG TO LONDON
BREAKFAST
Orange Juice
Apple Juice
Tomato Juice
Mango Juice
Pear Juice
Guava Energiser Drink
Fresh Fruit Salad
Bircher Muesli
Toasted Muesli
Cereal Selection
Yoghurt and Honey
Toast
Croissant
Apricot Danish
Strawberry Jam, Orange Marmalade, Honey, Vegemite
HOT SELECTION
Scrambled Eggs on Toasted Sourdough with Breakfast Sausages, Grilled Bacon and Tomato Ragout
Hazelnut and Chocolate French Toast with Cinnamon
Or
CHINESE HOT SELECTION
Steamed Chinese Bun
Seafood Congee with Fried Cruellar
Stir Fried Egg Noodles with Bok Choy
Pork, Beef and Prawn Dumplings
I went straight in with the scrambled egg deal and asked for a cheeky glass of bubbly to go with it.
The IFE was spotty again and the sound kept dropping out on the programmes I was watching. I spent most of the flight watching the world go by below me. There were some spectacular views to be had over northwest China and over the Tibetan plateau. I was still drinking the champagne until the bottle ran out.
Loved the zig zag valley in this one
There are many more pictures from the sky in the photo link.
I eventually succumbed to sleep and pulled the blanket up over me and passed out for a while.
I woke up 5 hours out of London and decided to persevere with the IFE for a while longer despite the sound dropping out.
Around 2 hours out of London the crew dropped by with a hot towel and took drinks to have before lunch. I asked for a glass of the Shiraz. There was no wine list handed out for this flight and the crew had them written on a sheet.
The Shiraz was a Mt Langi Ghiran ‘Cliff Edge’ Shiraz. It was delivered to my seat with the canapés and it was a mighty fine drop.
Orders for lunch were then taken by the crew.
LUNCH
CANAPES
Crostini of Cheery Tomato and Olive Tapenade
Prawn and Water Chestnut Fishcakes
SALADS AND OTHER THINGS
French Onion Soup with Gruyere Croutons
Hot and Numbing Salad of White Cut Chicken
Smoked Salmon with Potato and Preserved Lemon Salad
LIGHT MEALS
Seared Sea Bass with Lemon and Olive Oil Dressing and Steamed Greens
Reuben Sandwich
Big bowl of Sweet Corn and Shiitake Mushroom Congee with Toasted Sesame
Osso Bucco Pot Pie
Our signature Steak Sandwich with Tomato and Chilli Relish
MAIN COURSES
Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Tortellini with Sage Burnt Butter, Spinach and Potatoes
Seared Sea Bass with Romesco Sauce, Sauteed Zucchini and Potato Galette
Chinese Style Roasted Five Spice Duck with Plum Sauce, Rice and Gai Lan
Roast Rack of Lamb with Vegetable Tagine, Almond Couscous and Harissa
Tangerine Beef with Sesame Dan Dan Noodles and Kan Kong
SIDE SALAD
Salad of Baby Leaves with your choice of dressing,
Aged Balsamic and Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Lemon Juice and Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Palm Sugar Vinaigrette
CHEESE
Hand selected blue, soft and hard cheese served with accompaniments
DESSERT
Caramel Custard with Orange Salad and Almond Biscuits
Milk Chocolate and Chestnut Torte with Blueberry Compote and Cream
Nice Cream Chocolate Coated Raspberry Ice Cream
Whole or Sliced Seasonal Fruit
PETITS FOURS
A selection of Cacao hand made chocolates
Berry Polenta Cake
Roasted Almond and Cognac Biscuits
The crew offered more canapés before the meal service began.
My table was set and the soup was delivered to my seat. As far as I am concerned you can never go wrong with soup on a plane.
Next up I went with the Middle Eastern inspired Lamb dish. The lamb was juicy and perfectly cooked. The Shiraz just kept slipping down nicely. The gentleman in the seat in front of me seemed to enjoy the Shiraz also. So much so that later in the flight as we were approaching Heathrow he gave us a rendition of whatever music he was listening to on his headset.
I opted for the caramel custard dessert. Probably the weakest dish of all the meals I ate.
After the meal everything was cleared away and I changed back into my civvies ready for landing.
We landed at 13:07 and had a very short taxi to our gate. I thanked the crew and made my way to immigrations. The IRIS machines were working and I was through in a jiffy. I made a brief comfort stop and then waited by the baggage carousel. It fired up a few minutes later and my bag was the fourth one out.
The crew on these two QF flights were quite good and I had no real complaints. They weren’t quite a chatty as other crew I have had in the past. The food was quite good and of a standard I expect from QF, nothing was outstanding though.
I passed a major flight milestone around 180 miles out of LHR in that I crossed the 1.5 million butt in seat miles mark. I couldn’t think of a better way of doing so than whilst seated in the nose of a QF 747.
A Hex and two tube ride later I was home to my cold flat.
More photos here