ArrVea

Hello,

This Sat 1/21/17 will be my first time flying through HK (LAX-HKG-MNL). I'll also have access to the Wing and Pier First Class lounges (as OWE)--and it will probably be the last year I'll have access to it.

I have a 7 hour layover--do you recommend I just stay in the airport and check out the different lounges? Or will that be too much time at the airport? Would I be able to see the city for a little bit, maybe see the harbor, and then have enough time to get to the airport and still enjoy the lounges.

In particular, I've heard about the Cabanas--but I also read that there can be a wait time since there are only 5.

My scheduled arrival is 8am on Sat 1/21 and the scheduled departure is around 3pm. I'll be arriving on business class seat on American Airlines but will be flying economy to Manila on Cathay.

Do they offer/sell upgrades at the lounges for One World Emerald? How is immigration leaving the airport? Busy? long lines? How about security to come back? Would I be better off seeing all that HKIA has to offer? Any and all advice would be appreciated.

moondog

I would definitely go to the city, and stop by a lounge on your way out.

MSPeconomist

I'd normally agree, but it seems like this will be the one and only time the OP will have access to the CX FC lounges, so I'm hesitant to offer strong advice, especially before a coach flight

moondog

HKG-MNL is pretty easy in economy.

Maybe someone can guest him into lounges on future trips.

The lounges are great for what they are, but HK has an excellent food scene.

QRC3288

"Lounges" plural, probably not if you want to see the city too. Airport Express train is 24 minutes round-trip to Hong Kong Station, which is situated in Central on HK Island and offers great views of downtown HK and the Harbor. A bit more complicated for a newcomer but feasible is get off at Kowloon Station (21 minutes instead of 24....stop before the last one), cab it over to Tsim Tsa Tsui and have superior views of HK Island, since you're across the harbor. Kinda like standing in Jersey City and looking at Manhattan....hope I don't get flamed here for saying that

It all depends how you build it up in your mind and what you enjoy. If you really really want to try the lounges, hang out and do whatever, I can't say that's really what I enjoy but......I kinda get it. Especially if you're not going to be OWE or come back to HK any time soon. HK is an amazing city. But judging from a lot of folks on here, it does seem people get really excited about the lounges and whatnot, so you've gotta figure out what's more important for you.

Realistically, I'd block 3+ hours round-trip to/from the City to at least see a few basic sights and whatnot. Something like 2-4 hours is definitely enough to see a few of the lounges in HK, but not all of them. I know you're probably just putting the Pier F and Wing F on your bucket list, but let me vouch for the Pier J as well. It's superb. I'm at HKG nearly weekly, and find myself picking Pier J more often than Pier F these days (I have access to F as a CX DM, OWE equivalent).[/QUOTE]



Ha. Ha...

No.

I'm not sure what type of ticket you're on. If you really want to sit in J class, and you're on a separate CX ticket, you can pay the fare difference. If you're on a discounted economy ticket that has a penalty or no refund, usually you'll need to cancel the ticket and rebook. There is no "let's make a deal" American carrier-style to sit in J.

If you're on an AA codeshare ticket, I'm not too sure how these work. It sounds like you might be on an AA ticket stock and upgraded your AA sector with AA miles? This is out of my wheelhouse. But I know that CX won't let you upgrade that unless you pay the cash fare difference - no special deal - and a lot of discounted tickets can't even do this, you effectively have to cancel and rebook in J.

Immigration leaving airport: even in a "bad" situation, 15-20 minutes. Normally less. Easy peasy.

Security back in: "Bad" = 10 minutes. Usually 5 minutes or less.

Exit immigration: (you must go through this leaving HK too): probably the "worst" (relatively speaking) element to HKIA. If you don't have the Frequent Visitor Card or HKID, then you must go through the visitor lines. The lines never seem longer than ~20 minutes (and frequently much shorter), but they are somewhat chaotically arranged. I wish HKIA would at least put a main feeder queue for exit immigration like they do for entry immigration...

Long story short, HKIA is a superb airport and nothing like the routine hassles what you're probably used to in the US. Flying to/from HK, where every flight is international, is hands down an easier experience than flying domestically in the US without PreCheck. Nothing to sweat. Overall there isn't too much to be worried about here.

Hard to say, you know yourself better than us. Hanging out at HKG is just about "experiencing" lounges. This isn't Michelin starred dining or the Four Seasons anything, thy are just lounges in an airport after all. However, I do get it how that can be a really cool experience - the lounges in HK are abundant and very, very well done, particularly CX's newest renovations - so you'll have to make the call yourself whether you want to experience the airport or just hang out at the city.

FWIW, if you go the airport route you should check them all out. Why not. Wing F, Wing J, Cabin, Bridge, Pier J, Pier F (all operated by CX) and Qantas (only opens in the afternoon). G16 is the last CX lounge but it's currently closed for renovations.

Nicc HK

They are excellent lounges, but are only lounges. Given the increase in pollution there are few days when there is good viewing weather in HK, however this Saturday looks good. Check www.hko.gov.hk. Cool but fine and dry, not sure on sun.

Visit HK not the lounges!

I had a client transitting for 6 hours recently, and came up with the following trip for him.

1. Train to Kowloon Station, taxi to TST Star Ferry for the 1 hour Star Ferry Victoria Harbour cruise, but getting off on the return at Central Piers. Alternative Star Ferry straight across to Central Piers
2. Tram up to The Peak then walk up to Victoria Peak Garden for the views (not many tourists go up there). Alternative would be Peak Walk along Harlech then Lugard Roads Allow 1 hour also walk clockwise on the path not anti-clockwise as personally I think the views are better that way.
3. Late lunch at M at the Fringe (Was Business after all but many good places to eat).
4. Airport Express back to CLK.

Here is a suggestion if feeling adventurous and can be done in 5 hours.

1. Take the cable car from Tung Chung (next to Airport) up to Po Lin Monastery (45 Minutes up, great views back to the airport).
2. Visit monastery. Interesting temple and great views.
3. Bus to Mui Wo along the South Lantau Road (About 40 minutes)
4. Ferry from Mui Wo across Victoria Harbour (with great views 30 Minutes) to Central Piers.
5. Take Airport Express from Central back to Airport.

FlyPointyEnd

We need to check if OP has access to the e-channels, 8am is a busy time at the immigration, and 2pm also could be a bit of a challenge. This would impact his time in the city...

MSPeconomist

It can also be a long walk to/from gates at HKG.

G-CIVC

QF lounge now opens at 0730

QRC3288

Ah, I take it back then. Try them all!

Kacee

+1

For first time visitor on a tight schedule, I'd definitely recommend a Star Ferry ride.

christep

Is this a post through a time warp from about 10 years ago? The pollution has been steadily getting better for several years, and M at the Fringe closed at the end of 2009!

ArrVea

Wow---thanks everyone for all your opinions and input, especially QRC & Nicc.

I don't know what e-channels are in the context of immigration, so I probably don't have access to it.

The ticket I got was LAX-HKG on American, and finally got my system wide upgrade to clear. HKG-MNL on Cathay is part of the same ticket, but in economy. I don't have any high hopes of being able to upgrade, as it seems the Asian carriers are more strict about that than AA. Every once in awhile I've been able to sweet talk an AAgent into an upgrade. But since, it's a shorter flight, and I'm in an extra leg room seat, I'll be fine

As for my layover, I think I'll try this. Tell me if it's even possible:

1) Upon landing at around 8am, transit back into the airside
2) Check out the Wing First lounge cabana (hopefully short wait), freshen up, breakfast
3) 9:30 head to immigration to leave airrport -- can I do this from airside or do I have to do this immediately after disembarking my AA flight?
4) 10:30 hopefully I will have cleared customs and can take Airport Express train to Kowloon station (I like the idea of checking out the Monastery, but the cable car is closed until June 2017)
5) Take taxi to Star Ferry station (is there a name for the station in Kowloon?)
6) Take Star Ferry across to Hong Kong/Central station
7) Walk around the water front
8) 12:30ish, take Airport Express from Hong Kong Station to HKIA
9) 1pm arrive at HKIA and get in security line
10) 2pm hopefully will have cleared security, so I plan to check out the Pier First Class

Does this all seem feasible? I don't get to Asia very often so I'd like to see some of Hong Kong since I've never been, but I am a lounge junkie too so I gotta check those out. Is 1pm too early?

moondog

Going airside and leaving again is possible, but definitely good form (e.g. requires inconveniencing an employee to process) when done intentionally. I'm not sure of OWE gets access to the Arrival on non-CX tickets; others can confirm. If it does, and the line isn't too long, the showers are decent enough.

QRC3288

This section - search around for it, I can't remember the key words. But basically this is permitted...albeit not really condoned for recreational purposes.

You cannot just leave airside. You must get an escort to the arrivals level. This sometimes can be quick, although recent reports were it was taking 20-30 minutes for CX to assist you, as they're trying to cut down on it. The reason is HK (and most countries) have both arrival and exit immigration. On the airside level, you're completely separate from the arrival level and cannot cross without an escort.

I spoke with the airport authority mid-2016 who specifically said this is not something the airlines are supposed to be permitting except in extraordinary situations. I'm hoping it doesn't get abused enough so that it gets tough to do...which ultimately penalizes those of us who actually live in HK and use the airport weekly. However, it's still possible.

I recommend you change and do the following:
Round-trip to Hong Kong Station.
You can walk very, very easily from HK Station to the Star Ferry in Central. It's about a 5 minute walk on a connected skybridge. Ask anyone where to go or check your phone map. Then take the Star Ferry to TST, walk around, and then get back and take the Star Ferry back to Central. Star Ferry costs a few cents, only takes a few minutes each way, and getting on/off the Airport Express w/o having to bother with a taxi is a lot easier for someone not familiar with the area than having to do the cab/Kowloon subway stop thing.

You can also buy a round-trip ticket to Hong Kong Station, which costs $180 HKD ($22.50 USD) total.

Fyi, Star Ferry in Kowloon is located in "TST" (Tsim Tsa Tsui). Look on a map of HK to familiarize yourself. Somewhat confusingly, TST is basically the southern-most part of Kowloon proper....Kowloon is really just the big peninsula that connects to China, and ISN'T Hong Kong island. To add to the confusion, the formal "Kowloon" Airport Express and subway station you're planning to get off from is really within the sub-district known as "West Kowloon".

Anyway, I just recommend doing Star Ferry round-trip from Central. Will be easier given the location of the Airport Express station. It's literally connected to the Star Ferry pier via skybridge. Walk via the IFC Mall.

Ha, man you will have "bad luck" if it takes you 20+ minutes to do this part. An hour is what I'd call...extremely conservative.

Given the extra time you have built in between 9 and 10, and if you do the round-trip to Hong Kong Station which will simplify things, you'll have plenty of time.

You could theoretically do the Star Ferry round-trip to TST in 30 minutes if you really want, basically making for a 90 minutes (including Airport Express rides) round-trip to Central. Of course I'm sure you'll want a little more time. But my point is, as long as you've familiarized yourself in advance and stick to walking around and subways, I think you'll have more time than you imagined.