Nov 5, 2015, 9:32 am
Last edit by: Schwann
QR/CX to and from Hong Kong
Update October 2019.
CX used to fly to DOH, but this route was cancelled in February 2016, so now all flights are on QR metal although codeshared by CX.
Currently, QR operates the B777-300ER (and occasionally B777-200LR, for operational reasons) to Hong Kong and these aircraft sometimes have QSuite.
Lounges at HKG International Airport
Plaza Premium First Lounge -This is the default QR contract lounge for customers travelling in Business Class. You may however use any OneWorld Business lounge, or any OneWorld First lounge if you have Emerald status.
The Pier – This lounge is the newest lounge at HKG. Multiple reviews can be found online of its offerings, It is an excellent J lounge. Access is quite far by Gate 65. The F Pier is good. Access is for OneWorld Emerald, and QRPC Platinum Cardholders. It is located by Gate 63.
The Wing – It has been refurbished. The J lounge is to the left of immigration. You have to go one floor down for J lounge and near Gate 3 (F lounge is at same level as immigration, just to the left). It is often crowded as it is convenient. Most prefer the Pier J lounge but that can be quite far from the QR gates. The F lounge is nice It is located immediately to the left as you come through Border Control. Some prefer the F food at the Wing (rather than Pier), with both a buffet and a la carte. Access is for OneWorld Emerald, and QRPC Platinum Cardholders.
The Bridge – If you are travelling in J, this is the lounge that QR/CX will automatically send you to. It is a large lounge, but well stocked and perfectly comfortable. In addition to J passengers, access is also for OneWorld Sapphire and QRPC Gold Cardholders. It is located close to Gate 40.
The Deck – One of the newer J lounges, J/OneWorld Sapphire/QRPC Gold Cardholders. It is located by Gate 16.
Update October 2019.
CX used to fly to DOH, but this route was cancelled in February 2016, so now all flights are on QR metal although codeshared by CX.
Currently, QR operates the B777-300ER (and occasionally B777-200LR, for operational reasons) to Hong Kong and these aircraft sometimes have QSuite.
Lounges at HKG International Airport
Plaza Premium First Lounge -This is the default QR contract lounge for customers travelling in Business Class. You may however use any OneWorld Business lounge, or any OneWorld First lounge if you have Emerald status.
The Pier – This lounge is the newest lounge at HKG. Multiple reviews can be found online of its offerings, It is an excellent J lounge. Access is quite far by Gate 65. The F Pier is good. Access is for OneWorld Emerald, and QRPC Platinum Cardholders. It is located by Gate 63.
The Wing – It has been refurbished. The J lounge is to the left of immigration. You have to go one floor down for J lounge and near Gate 3 (F lounge is at same level as immigration, just to the left). It is often crowded as it is convenient. Most prefer the Pier J lounge but that can be quite far from the QR gates. The F lounge is nice It is located immediately to the left as you come through Border Control. Some prefer the F food at the Wing (rather than Pier), with both a buffet and a la carte. Access is for OneWorld Emerald, and QRPC Platinum Cardholders.
The Bridge – If you are travelling in J, this is the lounge that QR/CX will automatically send you to. It is a large lounge, but well stocked and perfectly comfortable. In addition to J passengers, access is also for OneWorld Sapphire and QRPC Gold Cardholders. It is located close to Gate 40.
The Deck – One of the newer J lounges, J/OneWorld Sapphire/QRPC Gold Cardholders. It is located by Gate 16.
QR/CX to and from Hong Kong
Sep 15, 2014, 11:35 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 3,208
QR/CX to and from Hong Kong
I recently had the pleasure of flying QR J from the Middle East to Asia via Doha.
Lounge
First, I was very impressed by the lounge in Doha. I only spent 30 minutes there because of a short connection (not helped by a remote gate) but the lounge appeared very spacious and I liked the attention to small details. For example, the bottles of water at each seat and the individual hotel-like toiletries in the showers.
The business center was huge with plenty of desktops and printers, and the game room also looked fun from my quick glance. Only thing that I could see that was an issue for most pax was the smoking room, which seems out of place in this day and age of second-hand smoke.
Flight details/options
I had a choice between Cathay and Qatar for the DOH-HKG segment. I had never flown QR and wanted to compare their on-board service to Cathay Pacific. There was also a good chance (according to QatarA340's helpful stickie in this forum) that QR would operate its refurbished/new? A330 with lie flat seats although in a 2-2-2 configuration.
QR 816 departed on time at 0715. I missed the gate action since I was one of the last to board, even though I was at the gate 20-25 minutes before departure. Flight landed on time and we were given a reasonably convenient gate at HKG.
Service
Overall, I was very impressed with the on-board service. The mostly female cabin crew was a mix of Asian nationals.
Everything was on par to better than Cathay. Again, I was impressed by small things such as offering a choice of hot OR cold towels and presenting them in their own little tray, and providing new cutlery with each food course. Putting the menus in a leather folder was also a nice touch. The amenity kits was nothing special (I would rather have more skin creams than bad cologne for example) but no worse than Cathay and far better than what Swiss, ANA, BA and Lufthansa offer in their J cabins. Lastly, QR offers pajamas on this flight which was a pleasant surprise given that it is a daytime flight. Although I found QR's service better overall, I found it interesting that none of the FAs addressed me by name, which is standard procedure with CX, and I was not offered a newspaper when I boarded (but this might be because I was the last pax to board the cabin). I did like that QR's purser came around about 30 minutes before landing, asking every pax about their flight experience.
Food
Although I have never flown Cathay on any Middle East route, I found the food to be better than what Cathay usually offers on their long-haul service. DOH-HKG is an 8.5-hour flight. Flight departs in the morning so there was a meal service immediately after takeoff and another around two hours before landing. What I liked the most was that the first meal service was a choice of breakfast OR lunch (sorry, I didn't copy the menu). Since I had gotten up at 0300 and was already served a basic breakfast on my first flight (or could have eaten in the lounge), I was grateful that I didn't have to eat another breakfast. The second meal service included a delicious seafood salad appetizer plus one of three meal choices. I also liked having the entire selection of breads on my tray as part of the meal service.
IFE
QR's Oryx is good but not as good as Cathay's StudioCX in my opinion. Both offer a large screen to watch on-demand movies (although the bulkhead seats in QR J have smaller screens that are appear to be attached to the armrests, so avoid those!). I prefer Cathay's IFE remote (although it is smaller than QR's smartphone looking device) and touch screen options. I didn't search the entire catalog, but my impression was that CX offers more programming options. QR also edits the movies for content, whereas CX does not. One area where QR is better is that they don't show countless commercials before each movie but this isn't enough to tilt the comparison.
Seat
In the upright and reclined position, seats were comparable. To my own shock, I did not even try to recline the seat to the flat position because it was a daytime flight for me and I was happy to just eat and watch movies, so I am not 100% sure it was lie flat (I believe it was). Most of my fellow pax did sleep during the flight. At the end of the day, however, the 2-2-2 configuration is inferior to Cathay's J configuration which offers all-aisle access. Fortunately, I didn't have anyone in the seat next to mine so it was quite spacious in the end. The load in J on my flight was about 50%. As another data point, I have flown LH's lie-flat J seat, which is also in a 2-2-2 or 2-2 configuration, and the QR seats are better in my view.
Toilet
I think QR fails here with only one lavatory in the forward part of the plane for 18 J pax, and the lavatory feels small. I believe there might have been another lavatory behind the front J section but this was not obvious due to the drawn curtains during the flight.
Overall
QR by a nose over CX, although it probably would have been a tie if the flight was full. I would not hesitate to fly QR on this route again.
Lounge
First, I was very impressed by the lounge in Doha. I only spent 30 minutes there because of a short connection (not helped by a remote gate) but the lounge appeared very spacious and I liked the attention to small details. For example, the bottles of water at each seat and the individual hotel-like toiletries in the showers.
The business center was huge with plenty of desktops and printers, and the game room also looked fun from my quick glance. Only thing that I could see that was an issue for most pax was the smoking room, which seems out of place in this day and age of second-hand smoke.
Flight details/options
I had a choice between Cathay and Qatar for the DOH-HKG segment. I had never flown QR and wanted to compare their on-board service to Cathay Pacific. There was also a good chance (according to QatarA340's helpful stickie in this forum) that QR would operate its refurbished/new? A330 with lie flat seats although in a 2-2-2 configuration.
QR 816 departed on time at 0715. I missed the gate action since I was one of the last to board, even though I was at the gate 20-25 minutes before departure. Flight landed on time and we were given a reasonably convenient gate at HKG.
Service
Overall, I was very impressed with the on-board service. The mostly female cabin crew was a mix of Asian nationals.
Everything was on par to better than Cathay. Again, I was impressed by small things such as offering a choice of hot OR cold towels and presenting them in their own little tray, and providing new cutlery with each food course. Putting the menus in a leather folder was also a nice touch. The amenity kits was nothing special (I would rather have more skin creams than bad cologne for example) but no worse than Cathay and far better than what Swiss, ANA, BA and Lufthansa offer in their J cabins. Lastly, QR offers pajamas on this flight which was a pleasant surprise given that it is a daytime flight. Although I found QR's service better overall, I found it interesting that none of the FAs addressed me by name, which is standard procedure with CX, and I was not offered a newspaper when I boarded (but this might be because I was the last pax to board the cabin). I did like that QR's purser came around about 30 minutes before landing, asking every pax about their flight experience.
Food
Although I have never flown Cathay on any Middle East route, I found the food to be better than what Cathay usually offers on their long-haul service. DOH-HKG is an 8.5-hour flight. Flight departs in the morning so there was a meal service immediately after takeoff and another around two hours before landing. What I liked the most was that the first meal service was a choice of breakfast OR lunch (sorry, I didn't copy the menu). Since I had gotten up at 0300 and was already served a basic breakfast on my first flight (or could have eaten in the lounge), I was grateful that I didn't have to eat another breakfast. The second meal service included a delicious seafood salad appetizer plus one of three meal choices. I also liked having the entire selection of breads on my tray as part of the meal service.
IFE
QR's Oryx is good but not as good as Cathay's StudioCX in my opinion. Both offer a large screen to watch on-demand movies (although the bulkhead seats in QR J have smaller screens that are appear to be attached to the armrests, so avoid those!). I prefer Cathay's IFE remote (although it is smaller than QR's smartphone looking device) and touch screen options. I didn't search the entire catalog, but my impression was that CX offers more programming options. QR also edits the movies for content, whereas CX does not. One area where QR is better is that they don't show countless commercials before each movie but this isn't enough to tilt the comparison.
Seat
In the upright and reclined position, seats were comparable. To my own shock, I did not even try to recline the seat to the flat position because it was a daytime flight for me and I was happy to just eat and watch movies, so I am not 100% sure it was lie flat (I believe it was). Most of my fellow pax did sleep during the flight. At the end of the day, however, the 2-2-2 configuration is inferior to Cathay's J configuration which offers all-aisle access. Fortunately, I didn't have anyone in the seat next to mine so it was quite spacious in the end. The load in J on my flight was about 50%. As another data point, I have flown LH's lie-flat J seat, which is also in a 2-2-2 or 2-2 configuration, and the QR seats are better in my view.
Toilet
I think QR fails here with only one lavatory in the forward part of the plane for 18 J pax, and the lavatory feels small. I believe there might have been another lavatory behind the front J section but this was not obvious due to the drawn curtains during the flight.
Overall
QR by a nose over CX, although it probably would have been a tie if the flight was full. I would not hesitate to fly QR on this route again.
Last edited by fallinasleep; Sep 15, 2014 at 11:41 am
Sep 15, 2014, 12:50 pm
#2
Join Date: Aug 2010
Programs: QR Gold, BAEC, Marriott Rewards Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 1,142
I'm taking this flight next month so many thanks for posting. Very much looking forward to it, probably because of the upgraded J seats & IFE in QR's 330-200 aircraft on the HKG route.
Cheers!
Cheers!
Sep 15, 2014, 11:19 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: SFOSJCOAK
Programs: AA-EXP & 1MM+, AS, MR-LTT, HH Gold
Posts: 7,581
Lastly, QR offers pajamas on this flight which was a pleasant surprise given that it is a daytime flight. minutes before landing, asking every pax about their flight experience.
Toilet
I think QR fails here with only one lavatory in the forward part of the plane for 18 J pax, and the lavatory feels small. I believe there might have been another lavatory behind the front J section but this was not obvious due to the drawn curtains during the flight.
PJ for daytime flight. Impressive!
If indeed only one lav for the entire J cabin, that stinks.
Sep 16, 2014, 7:30 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 3,208
It was three rows of 2-2-2 between the two galleys and I believe there was at least another row behind the second galley. In looking at Qatar's seat map, it is misleading as both versions of the A330-200 with lie-flat seats show all four rows of 2-2-2 between the galleys. Given the issue of the smaller video screens in the bulkhead rows, I would recommend pax request seats in rows 2 and 3 to be safe.
Apparently, according to the seat map, there are three more toilets behind the second galley, but these are behind curtains so not obvious to the front cabin J pax. Also, there was no need for the pax to use them on my flight given the light load.
Just remembered my QR flight offered GSM/wifi for a fee. I didn't test this out, but it is definitely a nice feature (that Cathay does not offer). Given that it is a daytime flight, I could see how this could be very valuable to some pax.
Sep 16, 2014, 7:36 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 3,208
As long as QR offers a lie-flat seat on this route, I would choose it over CX, and I would choose a middle aisle in row 2 or 3 to avoid having to jump over other pax. Having said that, my load was roughly 50% so just about everyone had two seats. Not sure if the light load in J is normal. Could be that CX doesn't sell much of their code-share allotment.
Feb 22, 2015, 11:12 am
#8
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 3,944
Codeshare – QR5800/QR5801:
Codeshare – QR5800/QR5801:
It is nearly 11 months since the Codeshare agreement DOH-HKG came into effect and it is about time to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of it based upon experience.
The following is based upon my personal experience and opinion of these two flights.
Advantages:
Aircraft:
QR has the clear advantage that it saves one aircraft that can be used on other routes. With demand for aircraft fast outstripping those available this would be sensible.
Searing:
For most, but not all, passengers the Business Class seating of 1-2-1 rather than 2-2-2 appears to be an advantage.
Disadvantages:
Baggage allowance:
Between DOH and HKG only the economy baggage allowance is 30kgs. Connecting flights are a completely different matter. If your ticket says QR5800/QR5801 then your allowance is 30 kgs. for the entire journey. If it is CX640/CX645 then you baggage allowance is only 20 kgs. These rules are buried deep within CX baggage rules.
OLCI:
Cannot be used! Because QR5800/QR5801 are actually operated by CX then QR's OLCI will not allow check-in for these two flights. The same is now true for CX OLCI. It was not so last August. Seamless travel!
Upgrades:
for these flights Upgrades are not possible in spite of the flight number being QR, as well as CX. I recently saw the statement “Not wholly operated by QR” as the reason. (Where?)
Flight Awards:
Having checked several different dates I cannot find any award itineraries that include QR5800/QR5801.
Upgrade and Flight awards
For both upgrades and award flights to use QR5800/QR5801 I would have to book CPH-DOH on QR and then DOH-HKG on CX. Two uncoordinated tickets that one airline could change without notifying either the passenger or the other airline! Seamless travel?? Add to this IATA rules dictate that the baggage allowance would be CX's 20 kgs rather than QR's 30 kgs.
Qmiles and Qpoints:
Last August these were immediately credited to my account automatically. Now to claim them you have to act as if they are partner flights! Now – send an e-mail with reservation, ticket numbers all flight details, boarding cards etc etc. Seamless travel!
In-flight service:
Where in the Business cabin is QR's five star service that has been paid for? Cabin service for CX would probably just qualify for three stars. On all but one of my flights the FA's each seemed to have a specific task to perform and that task only. They were all rushing around the cabin falling over each other in such a 'ruddy blush' that the passenger felt they were sitting in a mainline railway station in rush hour rather than a tranquil business class cabin. My impression was that one FA saw to passenger needs, one laid tables, one served food, one cleared tables, one took drink orders and one served drinks. This was my impression and the following example confirms it for me. When my main course was served I asked for more wine. A couple of minutes later the drink orders FA came and confirmed that I wanted more wine and a couple of minutes after that my drink was actually served! No wonder the FA's look tired when they disembark.
In the following link the advantages of the codeshare are enumerated by QR.
http://www.qatarairways.com/global/e...ocale_id=en_gl
“The new agreement will give customers of both airlines more opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer points or miles. Top-tier members from Cathay Pacific’s The Marco Polo Club and Qatar Airways’ The Privilege Club will enjoy reciprocal benefits when travelling on flights between Hong Kong and Qatar, including lounge access, extra baggage allowances, priority boarding and many other priority services. “
“Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar Al Baker said: “Qatar Airways is delighted to extend our oneworld partnership with Cathay Pacific with this new initiative as it will offer our passengers the opportunity to enjoy an even greater range of five-star benefits. The advantages of this agreement, such as premium lounge access and extra baggage allowances, reflect our ongoing commitment to ensure that we offer the highest standard of in-flight experience.”
Are these not ALL Oneworld benefits and nothing to do with codeshare?
The above is based upon my opinions and observations of Codeshare. What are yours? Let us have a serious discussion on the advantages/disadvantages of codeshare to the QR passenger. Please be aware of the fact that there are probably differences depending on the partner supplying the aircraft.
It is nearly 11 months since the Codeshare agreement DOH-HKG came into effect and it is about time to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of it based upon experience.
The following is based upon my personal experience and opinion of these two flights.
Advantages:
Aircraft:
QR has the clear advantage that it saves one aircraft that can be used on other routes. With demand for aircraft fast outstripping those available this would be sensible.
Searing:
For most, but not all, passengers the Business Class seating of 1-2-1 rather than 2-2-2 appears to be an advantage.
Disadvantages:
Baggage allowance:
Between DOH and HKG only the economy baggage allowance is 30kgs. Connecting flights are a completely different matter. If your ticket says QR5800/QR5801 then your allowance is 30 kgs. for the entire journey. If it is CX640/CX645 then you baggage allowance is only 20 kgs. These rules are buried deep within CX baggage rules.
OLCI:
Cannot be used! Because QR5800/QR5801 are actually operated by CX then QR's OLCI will not allow check-in for these two flights. The same is now true for CX OLCI. It was not so last August. Seamless travel!
Upgrades:
for these flights Upgrades are not possible in spite of the flight number being QR, as well as CX. I recently saw the statement “Not wholly operated by QR” as the reason. (Where?)
Flight Awards:
Having checked several different dates I cannot find any award itineraries that include QR5800/QR5801.
Upgrade and Flight awards
For both upgrades and award flights to use QR5800/QR5801 I would have to book CPH-DOH on QR and then DOH-HKG on CX. Two uncoordinated tickets that one airline could change without notifying either the passenger or the other airline! Seamless travel?? Add to this IATA rules dictate that the baggage allowance would be CX's 20 kgs rather than QR's 30 kgs.
Qmiles and Qpoints:
Last August these were immediately credited to my account automatically. Now to claim them you have to act as if they are partner flights! Now – send an e-mail with reservation, ticket numbers all flight details, boarding cards etc etc. Seamless travel!
In-flight service:
Where in the Business cabin is QR's five star service that has been paid for? Cabin service for CX would probably just qualify for three stars. On all but one of my flights the FA's each seemed to have a specific task to perform and that task only. They were all rushing around the cabin falling over each other in such a 'ruddy blush' that the passenger felt they were sitting in a mainline railway station in rush hour rather than a tranquil business class cabin. My impression was that one FA saw to passenger needs, one laid tables, one served food, one cleared tables, one took drink orders and one served drinks. This was my impression and the following example confirms it for me. When my main course was served I asked for more wine. A couple of minutes later the drink orders FA came and confirmed that I wanted more wine and a couple of minutes after that my drink was actually served! No wonder the FA's look tired when they disembark.
In the following link the advantages of the codeshare are enumerated by QR.
http://www.qatarairways.com/global/e...ocale_id=en_gl
“The new agreement will give customers of both airlines more opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer points or miles. Top-tier members from Cathay Pacific’s The Marco Polo Club and Qatar Airways’ The Privilege Club will enjoy reciprocal benefits when travelling on flights between Hong Kong and Qatar, including lounge access, extra baggage allowances, priority boarding and many other priority services. “
“Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar Al Baker said: “Qatar Airways is delighted to extend our oneworld partnership with Cathay Pacific with this new initiative as it will offer our passengers the opportunity to enjoy an even greater range of five-star benefits. The advantages of this agreement, such as premium lounge access and extra baggage allowances, reflect our ongoing commitment to ensure that we offer the highest standard of in-flight experience.”
Are these not ALL Oneworld benefits and nothing to do with codeshare?
The above is based upon my opinions and observations of Codeshare. What are yours? Let us have a serious discussion on the advantages/disadvantages of codeshare to the QR passenger. Please be aware of the fact that there are probably differences depending on the partner supplying the aircraft.
Feb 22, 2015, 4:08 pm
#10
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: OTP // BKK // HKG
Programs: BA Gold, AA EXEC PLAT, TK*G
Posts: 74
Codeshare – QR5800/QR5801:
Qmiles and Qpoints:
Last August these were immediately credited to my account automatically. Now to claim them you have to act as if they are partner flights! Now – send an e-mail with reservation, ticket numbers all flight details, boarding cards etc etc. Seamless travel!
Qmiles and Qpoints:
Last August these were immediately credited to my account automatically. Now to claim them you have to act as if they are partner flights! Now – send an e-mail with reservation, ticket numbers all flight details, boarding cards etc etc. Seamless travel!
Feb 22, 2015, 4:19 pm
#11
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Sydney
Posts: 267
Given that both of these guys are now in oneworld, is there a significant benefit in booking the QR code over the CX (or the other way around on QR operated flights)?
Just booking the fare on the relevant operating carrier would at least resolve the issue of having to send in the ticket sub to get the miles credited, and given that its a J flight, I doubt there'd be significantly different earn rates when flying either.
Only issue I guess is if there's a significant price difference between the two...
Just booking the fare on the relevant operating carrier would at least resolve the issue of having to send in the ticket sub to get the miles credited, and given that its a J flight, I doubt there'd be significantly different earn rates when flying either.
Only issue I guess is if there's a significant price difference between the two...
Feb 22, 2015, 4:39 pm
#12
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: OTP // BKK // HKG
Programs: BA Gold, AA EXEC PLAT, TK*G
Posts: 74
In my case OTP - HKG had to be booked on QR codes because CX doesn't have a fare. Reservation showed QR5801, but on boarding pass it was CX640, hence the mismatch in crediting miles.
Feb 23, 2015, 3:58 am
#13
Join Date: Mar 2014
Programs: Oneworld, *A; Hilton, SPG
Posts: 488
But the boarding pass has an area with small text that says CX (flight#), sold as QR 5800/1. Didn't have a problem claiming miles retrospectively, though I would say quite annoying as they didn't post automatically as you'd expect. 