infinitium

Dropped by The Pier last week on a long haul trip and was disappointed to find the Aesop range of skincare and soaps no longer available in the shower and toilets. It's now replaced by some UK brand called Bamford (the bottle/product is made in China). Must be part of CX's cost cutting overhaul... very disappointing given Aesop was long considered an elite premium brand.

lsquare

alouie81

How was the food in Pier? Was it same prior to Covid or worst in quality?

I have heard a lot of complaints about CX that quality has gone down.

Even I sit in business class cabin, I feel the food was downgraded in quality. They don’t offer self serve snacks in kitchen area.

so far only Japan airline quality has not changed. I respect their hospitality and their persistence in keeping up the brand name and quality. Even though Covid has hit the travel industry hard!

infinitium

I was at the Pier twice in the last 3 weeks during lunch hours - crowd sizes are significantly smaller, which is great for keeping the hordes manageable and noise levels down.

Ordered the dim sum, dan dan noodles and wonton noodles from the bar - quality and portions seems unchanged since my last visit during the Pre-Covid years.

Washed it down with a Betsy beer - great to find Betsies are still self-serve @ the chilled fridge in the corner.

On my 2nd pass @ Pier, I went for the pizza - had no complaints. Tasted OK and was piping hot.

Grabbed a Portuguese egg tart on the way to the showers - still tastes as yummy despite my hesitance over grabbing one that's been sitting for god knows how long in the open. (Has CX learned nothing from Covid? The tray should at least be covered... jeez.)

Cambo

Bamford is considered (or at least assumed) as much a premium as the AESOP brand. Of course, it's largely all glamor and glitter, just ordinary soap does the work just as well, though will omit the perception of luxury in the brain .......

BrettG2909

I too was disappointed to see Aēsop gone, as I really like that brand. But as noted above Bamford is just as premium as Aēsop… in fact their hand soaps are considerably more expensive that Aēsop.

lsquare

Is it really made in China?

BrettG2909

not sure and who cares?

lsquare

Didn't someone in this thread complain about it?

CXYYZ

Where the product is made is a red herring. Hospitality versions of a good number of brands are made by specialist producers and not on the same production lines as the core retail version. Common manufacturing locations include China and Canada. This is not a sign of CX cutting corners as much as it is a sign of CX following common practice.

ernestnywang

Yes, there is a train on the departure side that runs from gate 10/11 to 35/36. The train itself takes only a couple of minutes, but you need to walk before and after and wait for the train (which comes every ~3 minutes).

The train only operates the other way around on the arrival side. Decades ago it used to run both ways on the departure side but that was long time ago. Going from The Pier to The Wing or The Deck, no trains are available.

tfung

Bamford is the same brand as the CX amenity kits given out in flight. Makes sense to use the same brand in the lounges as well. And as others have pointed out, it is on par as Aesop as far as brand image goes.

lsquare

Will Bamford be used throughout CX's lounge network then?

CarefreeBA

Bamford has been used in Cathay lounges for over a year now. Back in April 2022, they were using it in the LHR lounge and have been at all lounges across the network since.

peteryu

The train only operates the other way around on the arrival side. Decades ago it used to run both ways on the departure side but that was long time ago. Going from The Pier to The Wing or The Deck, no trains are available.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the detailed reply. How long will it take approximately to walk from The Pier to departure gates near The Wing then ?