JonNYC

Ah, yes, was just PM'd this, wasn't sure if it was posted abut yet. Flight goes to 1:35am departure on 30Oct, then goes to 12:35am on 07Nov thanks to the end of DST.

passports2life

I have confirmation from AA Twitter that the lounges will be open later 2a for flagship lounge and 1a for regular lounge "@passports2life The First Class lounge will be open until 2a and then the regular lounge will be open until 1a."

absoluy

Isn't it a bit odd that they would keep the flagship lounge open a full hour later than the "regular" (Admirals Club?)?

I would have thought since there's so many more J seats (and not everyone is OWE) that if anything it would make more sense to close the flagship and leave the Admirals Club open.

355F1

This is awesome. My PHX-LAX flight gets in @ 9:30 so I will have more than enough time to grab some excellent food @ the Qantas FC Lounge!!

Col Ronson

thanks i got tired haha. i've been lurking ever since but just not posting.

Go with the times i posted. Seeing how you have to get into the actual admirals club to get to the FL lounge, makes no sense the FL lounge is staying open later than the regular AC.

My thoughts were the QF lounges too but i think they close after the last OW departure, which i think are the CX departures. The OW website does list 1130PM but i've seen it stay open later than that.

marnold3

I'm waiting in the Flagship Lounge for flight 193 right now. It's fairly busy but not unpleasantly so. The 77W they're using for tonight's flight 193 inaugural to HKG took a rather strange route getting here. As far as I can tell from Flightaware, the routing seemed to be GRU to JFK to ORD to LAX.

marnold3

About an hour and a half to go in what has been a very pleasant inaugural flight. I'll post a complete report when I get to HKG.

Longboater

Pleased to hear. I'd seriously consider this flight over DFW-HKG.

marnold3

I was on flight 193 (inaugural flight) on Sept. 7 and wanted to share my experience. I was picked up at my home at 10 PM and arrived at Flagship Check-In just after 11 PM. There I was issued a new boarding pass and escorted to TSA Pre-check. Deposited myself in the Flagship Lounge for about forty five minutes when an announcement was made that the festivities were about to start at gate 41. I decided to go down and see what was going on at the departure area. When I got there, two dragons were dancing and making an attempt to drive away any evil spirits. I watched for a while and then returned to the FL. There may have been some speeches but I didn’t stick around for those. At 12:50 AM an announcement was made that the FL would be closing at 1 AM but that we were all welcome to stay in the Admirals Club that was open to 2 AM. Since boarding was scheduled to begin at 1:15, I took just enough time in the AC to take a photo of the 77W that would fly us to HKG.



When I arrived at gate 41, they were already pre-boarding those passengers requiring assistance. Soon after they called for first class to board. I was really surprised and delighted when I got to my seat (1A) to find that Bertie would be the purser for the flight. She was the same purser on the inaugural flight to Sydney last Dec. 17th and she definitely remembered me. I knew with Bertie as purser that we would definitely be getting great service in F. Items already at the seat included a Cole Haan amenity kit, a mattress pad, two pillows and two comforters, and Bose headphones. Another FA came through with pajamas but I declined those. Bertie then came by taking drink orders. I had water which was served with warm almonds. The water was served in a real glass (not plastic). Actual pushback from the gate occurred at 1:47 AM, eight minutes ahead of schedule, and we were very soon airborne and on our way to Hong Kong. I had originally planned on not eating any dinner but changed my mind once aboard the flight and had a chance to look at the menu. Dinner service started with Kalamata olives and Terra vegetable chips and your choice of beverage. I had water. That was followed by caviar and roast duck on a crostini.



The soup was crab and roasted corn chowder that was really excellent. I had my salad with a spicy sesame dressing that really had a bite to it. There were several choices among small plates including smoked salmon, char siu duck, burrata cheese with heirloom tomatoes, an antipasto plate, and wagyu beef sliders. I opted for the char siu duck which was excellent. At this point, I had enough to eat and declined any entrée or dessert. For the record, the entrée choices included beef chateaubriand, black bean chicken, pumpkin ravioli with lobster tail, and roasted butternut squash. There were many choices of sides to be had with your choice of entrée. The dessert selection included the traditional ice cream sundae, a hazelnut chocolate bar, and pumpkin sticky date pudding. Bertie came by and served me cappuccino with biscotti for my dessert. After dinner, I read for about two hours and then put my pjs on and went to sleep. With two pillows and two comforters I was really comfy and slept like a log. When I woke, we were still about four hours from HKG. An FA came by and asked if I was ready for breakfast. I opted for the full American spread (scrambled eggs, bacon, roasted potatoes, and herbed tomato).



It was really tasty and really hit the spot. It was served with OJ, coffee, and a wonderful smoothie. About two hours out of HKG, I asked Bertie if she could get the crew to autograph my first class menu. She did so and even got the captain to acknowledge the number of international inaugural flights I have been a passenger on. The flight landed about 8:20 AM and we had no water cannon salute. I guess they’re getting used to AA at HKG by now. At that time of the morning, I cleared the arrival process very quickly and was soon on my way to the Ritz-Carlton in Kowloon. This was a very nice flight with great service by some experienced flight attendants and I wouldn’t hesitate to book it again.

ijgordon

Thanks for the recap!
Wish they would do a real caviar service, not just a half teaspoon on some endive. I miss the pre-2001 caviar cart, as well as the individually made salads where you could add lobster. Then again, I don't miss the lack of flat beds... I suppose with dine-on-demand the cart wouldn't make sense anyway.

Do they not include Five-Star Service for F passengers on this route like I believe they do for LAX-SYD?

DoctorORD

Great report! Hope to do this flight at the end of the month.

If the SYD flight is any indication, that caviar is basically American fish eggs - not sure how it compares in taste/quality with the "real" stuff you get on EK/SQ/etc?

Surprised there were 2 blankets - even on ex-LHR on 77W F they only seem to provide 1 blanket and 1 mattress pad.

What is the best way to organize sleep time on this flight to arrive fresh in HKG? Can we use any HKG lounges with our AA-F boarding pass?

G-CIVC

There's no arrival lounge in HKG for non-CX oneworld pax. If connecting to oneworld, presumably can use any oneworld lounge.

AAExecPlatFlier

Looking out for the next few weeks, as expected, loads are not great --- definitely better than SYD and AKL, but would expect upgrades to fairly easy (on most days).

DoctorORD

Hmm... there's an 8:30 PM MH flight to KUL I could easily buy a ticket on, and then cancel "if my plans change". (ps - why the heck are CX intra-asia tickets so expensive?! USD$900 to go to Bangkok?? The CX engines seem to default to only the most flexible Y fares).

Would I have to cross immigration or security again to get to The Pier? Or maybe there's a transfer desk where I can get a boarding pass, and then head to The Pier?

prw555

Yes, transit desk upon arrival HKG, but will involve re-clearing security.