milehighmike

I'll be in HKG at the end of this month and I've got the option to fly out of HKG in Club or PEK in First two days later. I'm a lowly Bronze so can't select seats for the pair of us until 1 week out in club whereas in first it's free. Would it be worth the added expense of flying to PEK and staying an extra 2 nights to fly out in F? The extra hotel costs are comparable to how much I would have to spend on seat selection.

I'm assuming that even the Business lounges in HKG would be better than whatever lounge I would have access to in PEK.

Cymro

I rather like CW and the HK timings ... it turns a late night in HK into an early night, and an early start in London, with plenty of sleep on the plane in between. Plus, as you say, excellent lounges.

For the sake of two days of my life, I'd definitely fly the overnight out of HK, but then again, I have no difficulty in sleeping on a plane as long as I'm flat. However, if you want to try the F experience, even on a 777, it's superior to CW on an A380 and, if you don't manage to sleep on the overnight flight, the day flight from PEK will be much easier for jetlag.

(Then again, my favourite flights are those that never happened in my mind, because I was asleep... until they invent teleportation, this is the closest thing!)

THEOBCMAN

Yeah you would have much better lounges in HKG plus added expense of getting to PEK but everyone’s flown CW, not everyone’s flown F. I certainly haven’t flown F & still trying to figure out best way of doing it.

I would love to say I’ve flown BA First just once and put a tick in that box. I’m sure people will tell you it’s quite a step up from CW.

Might be my rather biased enthusiasm to fly F but I would say go for PEK F !!

lostinlondon

I'm sure F is quite a step up but if time is worth anything and you've got the ££, I'd look into paying for the best seats in the house on the upper deck on the A380. Not the same, but an extra 2 nights sounds excessive just to fly in F (let alone BA F...)

All She Wrote

Personally I wouldn't go out of my way to fly F on a 777 over J on an 380. You'll still get back in just as good shape, save yourself the hassle and fly F another time

milehighmike

Thanks for the replies. I'm flying to PVG in First for the outbound so the novelty of flying back from PEK in the same cabin would likely have worn off and is less of a factor.

It's rather the sour taste in the mouth of having to pay £200 just to select where to sit in a business class cabin when I didn't have to previously being a silver, and that other airlines wouldn't have the cheek to do such a thing, even OW alliance partners. What's worst is that most of the best seats according to the seat guide master thread have already been taken so I'm effectively paying to ensure we are sitting together and not in one of the worst seats.

The trip is a holiday with the week cleared out on our return so we have the flexibility to extend the trip but my question pertains to whether the whole experience flying out of HKG on an A380 club is good enough vis a vis First in a 777 from PEK airport. I've done the same A380 flight in Club going to HKG and WT+ previously out of HKG and the times are quite convenient. Would imagine a flatbed would make it all the more better. Haven't tried the Qantas lounge in HKG yet, nor the Centurion lounge whereas the lounges in PEK leave a lot to be desired going by reviews.

I have enough avios in the bank to get to Beijing, but then it requires schlepping about with suitcases and checking in for 1 and a half days in a city we've already been to before (albeit not in a long while). So do I give BA more money for their impertinence, or am I better off spending that money extending the trip and fly out in a better cabin but worse airport. Decisions, decisions.

lostinlondon

I'd just get home. Pay £200 or whatever and go home. It's worth every penny, in my book.

milehighmike

It's more a reluctance to being ripped off by BA, especially when the best seats are already taken, plus I swear they've upped the price of seat selections since I was last bronze.

Agreed, once I've sampled the experience, I'm one of those that sees the trip like a seat in the sky, with various levels of comfort and pampering. Once you're settled in it's just a matter of waiting until you arrive at your destination.

You wouldn't happen to have children of your own? You sound like every parent I know at the end of their family holiday, absolutely can't wait for it to end!

lostinlondon

You can always check before you book. It's crap, but when you get a good CW seat it's unbeatable.

seaskybound

Have you been to Hong Kong? one of my favourite in the world

You can leave PVG early and spend a whole day there, then head to airport in the evening, shower, then fly

brunos

DOn't forget the potential big delays due to China ATC. From HKG to PEK might not be as bad as to PVG, but it can be bad. You night be losing a day of hassle for your PEK excursion.

If the big hanggup is emotional try to get over it.
My view is that seat selection is a great monetary benefit of silver status (you get lounge access in J anyway). Just see it as getting CW at a cheaper price and paying for seat assignment is part of the ticket price.BA needs to offer benefits to elites and that is a valuable one. It is natural that non-elites complain about not getting those, but that is one of the monetary motivation for trying hard to get status, not a "ripping off" of non elite pax. Just a suggestion to alter your mindset.

rossmacd

It would be madness to position to PEK just to take BA F. LX F or AF F, I may give it a thought but direct out of HKG is always going to win. Every time.

mmxbreaks

My thoughts:

Beijing isn't a great airport, has a terrible lounge and often gets airspace restrictions IME. HKG-PEK also takes 3hrs and you'll need to pay for that plus overnight accommodation for the late morning departure the next day - and that's assuming no HKG weather issues risking separate tickets.

Hong Kong has some of the best lounges on the OW network (although no First access for you as a Bronze), the A380 is BA's best aircraft and upper deck J is great. It's an overnight flight, the landing time misses rush hour and you should be able to get a full night's sleep.

In this scenario, as much as F on a day flight is fun, the A380 J is the winner. Unless you're TP hunting, in which case the extra 70TP from F may be useful.

esyorel

I had a look at UUA availability on the HKG route and appreciate that it is thin on the ground. Best option might be CX all the way, which is a bit cheaper, but still leaves me with a mounting pile of Avios

SLGO

Though may not be the right place to say :P , but why not try CX? CX J or F should be comparatively exceptional, and they fly out from HKG directly.