Innocent Abroad

Prologue

This Live Trip Report was supposed to celebrate my entry into the second millennium of Flyertalk posting but abstaining for a week in order not to cross the 1000 line was a total failure

Anyway, the TR will celebrate my first time ever east of Jerusalem. Well, I once changed planes at AMM but it’s only 69 miles east, so doesn’t really count, is it?

A conference at Perth is the formal reason for this trip but I will spend a couple of days in Hong Kong and Singapore as well. Flight-wise this is also a maiden trip for me on all carriers (CX, SQ & QF), so everything could have looked perfect unless I was traveling in..... Y But it would be fun, I know!

TP-wise this trip is a disaster; flying on lowest economy fares, the four segments on CX from TLV to SIN (13K miles) will yield only 80 TP. In comparison, my common “hop” from TLV to LHR (2200 miles) in PE yields 90 TP I'm seriously considering starting a new thread - TP Crawl Deals - what do you say?

So, here is the scheme of the trip; I will discuss many more details about it as I take the first leg of the trip tomorrow.



As always you are more than welcome to come on board as Innocent Abroad heads to The East.

kosy91

Subbed! #excited

EDIT: I've flown CX A359 from LGW to HKG in Y and the A359 from HKG to SIN. Both very comfortable journeys

Innocent Abroad

Thanks kosy91 ^ [writing this from seat 40K somewhere over the Mediterranean ]

Innocent Abroad

I love afternoon departures out of TLV

On the way to the airpot you can see how convenient the ride from Jerusalem will be once the new high-speed rail link between the city and the airport will be completed (in a couple of months).




The ride will take some 25 minutes and it will be the first electrified rail line in the country; welcome to the 21th century

Upon leaving the car (courtesy of my lovely OH who offered to drop me off at the airport) I saw that an LY 747 is parked at the new concourse of TLV T3



The airport was very quite (did I say I love afternoon departures? ) and I was at the Dan lounge in 10 minutes; that's very quick even in my book! Since I was traveling HBO I truly appreciated the fact the CX added an e-invitation for this third-party lounge with my mobile BP (also a relatively recent novelty in TLV) and there I was at the lounge, which is isn't so bad as I sometime think



I also wanted to check whether the new concourse (E) is already operating so went there on my way to the gate. Well, it isn't but I was able to snatch a photo before the security guy rushed to stop me from taking a picture In his own words: "wait until it's opened and then you can take as many pictures as you like".



I thought also it is wrothwhile mentioning the very handy TLV app, which gives accurate information about departure gates and boarding times and it's available also in English.




That's all for the time being; next up - CX flight from TLV to HKG on the shiny A359.

Mats

!מעולה
I look forward to reading more.

Innocent Abroad

CX676 (TLV-HKG)
Take-off: February 6, 2018, 13:01 (scheduled - 12:45)
Landing: February 7, 2018, 4:04 (scheduled - 5:15)
Airbus 350-900 (registration: B-LRT)
Class: economy, seat 40K

When you're flying east of TLV (other than to AMM) you must fly first north or south. This was our flight path:



Interestingly, the day I left for the trip AI announced it will begin operating a DEL-TLV flights that will fly over Saudi Arabia, hence will be much shorter than LY flight to BOM; today, Saudi Arabia denied that she gave its permission. Oh, I just love middle-eastern eastern politics

CX began service to TLV less than a year ago and it's already a great success. Initially there were four flight per week and from next month there will be six. CX also opened recently an office in Tel Aviv and has plans sending to TLV its new Airbus 350-1000 later this year.

On the way to the gate I could see the beauty (although the glasses at TLV make photography a very hard task):



I knew from the outset that the flight will be relatively lightly loaded but I didn't expect to have the entire three bulkhead seats for myself



In fact, under such condition the bulkhead trio doesn't do much as you cannot spread out

What I really liked is the IFE screen on the wall (you don't get it too often in bulkhead rows), which means you can watch it during takeoffs and landings. Also, the small compartment at the bottom is very handy and the picture quality superb (as well as the selection even if I "wasted" two and a half hours on Blade Runner 2049 )



The pursuer came to welcome me personally onboard (probably because I have an OneWorld Emerald) and said that she is happy to see me again. Nice touch although it was my first time with CX

Then looking out of the window I saw something that a year ago was unimaginable - CX and two HU aircrafts at TLV:



I do not envy LY CEO these days

Menues were handed out and I just knew this is not my typical flight in economy - printed menus, three main choices and two real meals on a 9 hour flight, quite unusual these days...

Service began with a snack and white wine (after twenty minutes) and continued with lunch (a bit more than an hour after takeoff). Food was very good as long as we remember that we're talking about Y food. Here's the menu, lunch and breakfast (served roughly an hour before landing):







And there is a funny anecdote about the breakfast yogurt you see in the second photo. It was initially brought with lunch and then couple of minutes later the FA rushed through the cabin to collect it because it was mistakenly distributed. a rather strange mistake, I must say. I also liked the aft galley and the "island" in its middle with snacks and drinks in between meals. Again, not the usual Y experience. Really, I cannot imagine why would someone fly to HKG with LY's old airplanes (they send here a mix of 767 [not a joke], 747 and 777) and notorious service.

The one thing I didn't really like about the flight was the aircraft Yes, it's shiny, quiet, has nice lighting and you feel fresher at the end but I found the interior design to be outdated or cheapish. I didn't take pictures this time but given that I have three sectors before me on CX A359 I will take them and elaborate more.

So how was my first time experience with CX? In one word - excellent. Great IFE, comfy seat and above all great crew; attentive, courteous and no less important takes safety issues seriously. For example, the flight attendants insisted that a guy sitting near me should close his laptop as we were about to depart (and then decent), that he should have his shoes on for take off and landing (it was a bulkhead row) and that he should not talk on his cellphone during taxi for takeoff Really annoying to see him, but was pleased with the crew's determined yet polite attitude. I recently had some careless, let alone, ignorant crews on TK and I could only hope that this does not reflect the overall safety approach of that airline.

And a final note - we took off fifteen minutes later than schedule and landed an hour and fifteen minutes early. Now, even with strong tailwind this seems a big difference. It seems that this is the case on most days, so I'm not sure hot to explain that.

Landing in HKG was smooth (and very early) and I was getting excited as I was about to set foot for the first time on Far East soil!

offerendum

The meal looks superb

hkskyline

I guess I'm spoiled living in Asia but for a 9 hour flight from Hong Kong to the Middle East, we do get 2 meals out of the Gulf carriers.

Innocent Abroad

Yes, erstklassig

Yes, you are; you should try some European carriers from time to time

G-CIVC

Thanks for the report. A very warm welcome to CX and HKG! I flew the 675/676 pair recently but maybe because I was a foreigner, the security at TLV on the return flight was rather intense. I arrived 3.5 hours before departure but ended up only having 10-15 minutes or so at the Dan lounge, and it was completely packed that day. I was in J and the meals out of TLV were not bad either. The crew were very cheerful, despite having just a little more than 24 hours layover in TLV after their 13 hour flight in.

My 676 departed at 3pm because of a strike in Israel that weekend, but some time later next season, CX is upgauging the service to an A350-1000 and will retime the return sector to HK departing at 3 permanently, presumably just because it arrives way too early nowadays. Anyway, I hope you have many more nice flights with CX down the road, and do enjoy the HKG lounges!

Innocent Abroad

Thank you G-CIVC. I did enjoy CX, the city and the lounges (more on that soon).

I'm sorry to hear about your experience in TLV but unfortunately security in Israel can be bothersome if you're not one of the "initiated". Nothing much to do about it, I'm afraid

Way too early indeed; why is that so? Simply over padding of the schedule? Anyway, it wasn't too bad because I met family just before immigration / security (there was a heated discussion here about this possibility) and then spent some time at The Arrival before heading to the city.

Innocent Abroad

A week before my trip began I got an email from my father who lives in New York. He wrote that he and his wife are going to go on a cruise in south east Asia, departing from Singapore. He attached their flight itineraries, just in case something will get wrong. I glanced at the itinerary (who on FT wouldn’t), more interested in carriers and airports than anything else and I soon realized that they land at HKG onboard CX flight from JFK twenty minutes after me. We must meet! But How? They are connecting to another CX flight and I go out to the city. I tried to look for answers in the web but was quiet confused; usually arriving and connecting pax, even if channeled through the same corridors, must part way in a timely manner and head either for security or for immigration. So, I started a new thread on the CX forum on FT and asked.

Well, I didn’t expect the outcome; many repliers said that there should not be a problem and indeed there are duty free and food shops before security/immigration. Then others suggested that I should not do it and might even be persecuted. From here on a heated discussion continued and I was left with my doubts - will it work on not? Well, it did. Got off the plane - that as you remember landed much earlier than expected – but soon realized that also the JFK flight was early. I strolled as slow as I can toward the security/immigration hall and once there I tried to be as unremarkable as possible. And then, here they are! And lo and behold we sit together and spend some nice twenty minutes of an “unexpected” and almost unbelievable coincidence.

We said goodbye and I went towards immigration, which was literarily empty and in no time, I was land-side. But the hour was 5:20 am L and there is no way I can check in to the hotel at this hour (I checked that beforehand and did ask for an early check-in). So, what does a status-gifted FT do in such situation? Of course, lounging



My bar of expectations was low as I read reviews of The Arrival and while it is small I found it perfectly convenient and helpful. Here are some pictures from the lounge and the “appetizer” to breakfast. The one thing I didn’t know is that there is also a-la carte dining but you have to ask for it…. Next time.








I spent almost two hours in the lounge, researching Hong Kong since I knew nothing about the city and had no time to prepare before the trip. As I was staying at the Hilton Garden Inn Mongkok, I found this FT thread on the hotel very informative and decided to take the bus, not because it’s very cheap (and it’s super cheap) but because I had plenty of time and also taking the bus is the best way to learn about a new place and I remind you that this is my first visit east of the western Middle East. And Hong Kong did unveil itself to me in a most impressive way.

offerendum

So far I only connected at HKG or arrived relative late so never did it to the arrival lounge. Thanks for the insight view.

kosy91

I used the arrival lounge when I landed on CX from KUL at mid-day and had a flight to LHR on BA later that night. OK food and some hot options. The lounge was small and dimly lit. Shower and bathroom were great but most of all the lounge attendant were kind enough to let us stay there for the better part of the day, as well as keep our luggage when we went for a stroll outside

Innocent Abroad