Taken SQ1 on gate 21 numerous times, and same for CX548 flights at gate 35.

is there any rule against visiting two lounges in one day?
after reading the various comments in this thread, i started thinking that if we end up flying out of the 520 gates maybe we can pop right into the pier upon landing to use the cabanas. then, walk down towards them and go into the wing for the remainder of the time. as i mentioned, we purposely chose a four-hour layover so we could visit the lounges and walk around the airport.

Totally OT. Please post in the right thread or start a new one. Thanks.

cxfan1960
CX CoMod

In Haneda too CX jets seem to hog around the same gate all the time. CX548 arrives in the afternoon and leaves again as CX549 in the evening. When CX542 arrives at night it will park at the gate where CX549 left in the evening, and that is where the plane will stay overnight. As that CX542 aircraft departs back to HKG in the next morning as CX543, the gate is temporarily unoccupied for 1 or 2 hours but is reserved for the incoming CX548 flight which is due to arrive in the afternoon.

And so the cycle continues.

Doesn't this also happen for LAX flights? Heard that CX881 and 885 seem to alternate the same gate at different times of the day, and 883 has its own dedicated one. Not sure if this is true though.

Actually, come to think of it there are also patterns for arrival flights as well, at least a few I'm familiar with. I've noticed with both the first (earlier) LAX arrival and CX873 (early am SFO arrival), they frequently drop pax off at Gates 1-4, or gate 21-23. Close in. Not a lock....but on maybe 10-12 flights this year, probably 75% have arrived there. On at least one occasion where I had to transit, I saw the 77A being towed back out of Gate 4 where we arrived...so I think that gate choice was convenient purposes only (not for a subsequent departing flight).

Also, the only times I've ever LANDED on the south runway (which is normally used only for departures or the occasional cargo arrival) was early in the wee early morning, and then we taxied straight to one of the close (1-4) gates. It makes me think that at least when the airport isn't very busy, CX has leased enough gates from HKIA that they have some flexibility to makes pax lives' more convenient.

And not sure if it's a pattern, but the last few times I've taken CX347 back from PEK in the last few months I've arrived at one of the last gates in the 60s...which is where I've noticed some really outrageous transit lines. Again last week, I saw 100+ pax crammed in the arrival area waiting for the small transit area below gate 65ish. Thinking of FT I stood around to count people, and stopped when I hit 100. Really a disaster, but subject of another thread...long story short though, there is at least somewhat of a pattern for certain arrival flights. Ditto to the the guy who posted above, SQ1/2 (to/from SFO and SIN) regularly both arrives and departs from gate 21.

methinks selected airlines do try to go to gates near their handling agents/lounge... from experience.
as for CX, if a flight turns for long haul, they'd try to put them at 1-4. if not then 60s are not uncommon-cannot avoid since 15-36 are usually for others, especially at busy hours (I've had mid-day LHR at "the pier" gates. rare tho). if a CX flight turns for short haul, then the 60/70s. (hence arrivals are not too fixed but departure can be more predictable)

QF/BA are at 15-19, or sometimes at the odd numbered gates of 21-31. KE is usually 19/21/23. LH: 20 (apparently, almost 90% of the time). the "Chinese" airlines are 5xx or 40-5x.

FWIW, the only time I've landed on the south runway (7R) was a few weeks ago on 883, arriving from LAX at 5:30am-ish. We proceeded to taxi around the terminal and park at gate 22.

As mentioned non-HKG based airlines (CX, KA, HX) will tend to bunch around certain gates - this can be picked up pretty easily through a quick scan of the hkia website, and I think most of the posts before this have identified the pattern.

There really is no distinction between short haul vs long haul for gate assignment with CX, save that because of the propensity of US bound flights to draw gates 3, 4 or 21, it tends to push short haul flights out towards the 60s. The rarest departure gates for CX are in the 15-19 area, though even now with a buildup of departures around the 1430-1630 and 2330+ mark it's not uncommon to see CX leave from there either.

Note also that gates 68, 70 and 71 cannot handle anything bigger than an A340 (no B777s or B747s), so these gates are usually assigned to CX A330s and A340s. Given the size of CX's A330 fleet and their propensity to fly regionals, this can again increase the perception that short haul flights tend to leave from those gates.

[QUOTE=Top of climb;17702610]Note also that gates 68, 70 and 71 cannot handle anything bigger than an A340 (no B777s or B747s), so these gates are usually assigned to CX A330s and A340s. [QUOTE]
Just to correct you on something, I once saw a 77W heading for DME depart from gate 70 about a year ago when the 77W was used for a short amount of time.

Strange that no one else has picked this up yet: You've mentioned in your original post and in the quoted one again that you wanted to visit the cabanas in The Pier lounge. The cabanas with open/airy feeling are only available in the F section of The Wing lounge, while The Pier has more private/closed Dayrooms:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/15321375-post10.html
The cabanas are indeed nice and still contemporary in design, but some are a bit dated already (scuffed corners, etc.). Since you've mentioned "we", I think cabanas would be more suitable since they have two different kind of chaises lounge to relax on. Last time I've been to The Pier and The Wing, I thought that The Wing had a wider selection of food as well. But there's another thread for this topic as well...

As others mentioned: With exception of certain long-haul flights, more or less random gates especially when it comes to PVG flights (that's where you're headed to?). But if you want to get into the F section of a CX lounge, then I think you have a better chance being faster (not necessarily closer) at a PVG flight departure gate with The Wing than with The Pier - that's my personal experience and is not representative. The direction of the train plays a major role to maximize your lounge time.

Hope this helps if you are eager to experience the cabanas.

...because the MOD shot him down so quickly for being completely OT.

In my experience, gates are not random. I tend to fly the same routes a lot and find that gate assignments for those routes are usually somewhat sticky, at least within the same area.

Thank you. I did indeed make a mistake despite reading the FAQ and confused the services at the pier and the wing.



I wasn't going to say anything but I'm happy that some have indeed picked up on this. My original question regarding gate assignments was specifically in relation to lounge use. I didn't want to make a fuss though.