Our Trans Maldivian seaplane back to MLE was on a slightly different aircraft, this time with taller windows more suited for sightseeing. On this flight, we had to stop at one other resort to pick up 2 other passengers. Except for the heat due to lack of air conditioning, we did not mind making this stop, if only to experience the delight of an additional pair of water landing and takeoff



Seaplane on the way back to MLE



Our stopover resort, to pick up 2 more passengers


Check-in at Male was quick, and we proceeded to the Leeli Lounge – Cathay’s contracted lounge that’s shared with other airlines. This evening there were a few other passengers including China Eastern and Emirates. We found the lounge adequate – size was good enough, food offerings decent, although lighting could be improved.















After a few nibbles and reading, it was time to board our flight to Hong Kong. As with all MLE flights, we used a shuttle bus to get to our parked Airbus A-330.


CX602
MLE-HKG
Actual flight time: 6:00
Actual departure: 10:27pm
Actual arrival: 7:27am+1
A333
Seat 15G


Another excellent and uneventful flight from CX! Boarding was painless, crew was friendly and efficient, and dinner service completed within 2 hours. The food on this flight was amazing!











After dinner service and a 3-hour nap later, we were in Hong Kong!



The Arrival Lounge HKG


Since we landed early morning and hotel check-in time was not till afternoon, we figured to check out Cathay’s Arrival Lounge. It was our first time to experience this lounge and needed to ask for instructions (it wasn’t the easiest lounge to find!). This lounge is past arrival halls where all meet and greet happen and just right before the public transport and parking options. It also sits right across Plaza Premium lounge, which serves a handful of other airlines.

The lounge was quite small, and being an arrival lounge, passengers came here with luggage and all, leading to a little crowding at the reception desk. They also have a few showers which we didn’t get to try due to being fully booked at the short time we were there.

Food offerings were decent – with fruit, bread, pastries, juice, and hot items like scrambled egg, bacon, and noodles.















After a quick bite and catching up on emails, it was time to head to the city.