hkskyline

Hong Kong's pandemic restrictions continue to be far stricter than most of the world, imposing PCR test requirements before departure and suspending flights that fly passengers who fail to comply with the documentation or test positive upon arrival. This makes any trip unpredictable. With mandatory quarantine in designated hotels and a shortage of rooms, any denial of boarding or flight cancellations outside the passenger's control can result in a mad scramble to rebook hotels, but the hotels would likely tell you they're full and the next available time would be in several weeks' time.

With that stress overhang, I got even more worried, although not surprised, when Lufthansa was banned from bringing passengers to Hong Kong for July 1-5, just a few days shy of my departure. It was part of the notorious flight suspension scheme that the government has imposed on the few international airlines left that fly to Hong Kong. Luckily, that scheme was scrapped just days before I flew.

But another problem emerged. My LH 911 would have a relatively short connection in Frankfurt of only 1h45. While it's a legal connection, I tracked that flight's daily performance in the lead-up to my departure and was appalled at how badly delayed it usually gets, eating up an hour of that transfer time easily.

Worried I would be stranded in Frankfurt if there is a misconnect since the quarantine hotels probably can't accommodate a 1-day delay, I called the Cantonese call centre hoping they could move me to LH 909, which departs an hour earlier albeit that flight has consistently been delayed as well. The first try didn't work, and the second agent gave a more detailed explanation when I pressed why. Apparently, there is no space in my booking class to move the flight.

Lufthansa sent me an email 2 days before departure reminding me I could use their digital documentation check service to verify I've got all the right documents to board. Hong Kong requires a negative PCR test within 48 hours of departure, a quarantine hotel reservation, and vaccine proof to fly.



While the online check was quite quick with an email reply minutes after uploading the files, I kept getting an error because they are looking for payment proof for my quarantine hotel, and the hotel reservation confirmation was not enough. After a few tries, I gave up and decided it would be sorted out at the airport.

Nevertheless, online check-in worked for both my flights and I was able to secure a seat, although the email confirmation noted the boarding pass will be available after my document check. Similar to my inbound flight, I was able to check-in more than 24 hours before my flight, strangely.

Heathrow has been on the news for all the wrong reasons lately with insanely-long security lines, cancelled flights, and missing baggage. These seem to persist from my arrival in the UK 2 weeks earlier. So to be safe, I arrived at Terminal 2 almost 3 hours before departure for the 1-hour hop to Frankfurt.

The Queen's Terminal was busy, and there was a long line snaking out of the Lufthansa check-in counters. However, it moved reasonably quickly, which I presume is because travel in Europe is pretty much restriction-free by now. It was my turn in no time and the agent asked for my COVID-related documents for Hong Kong. She knew what to look for and for every document she called out, I pulled it out of my folder for her, but she only glossed over them.

With boarding passes on hand, the next hurdle would be security. I was lucky again, as the wait wasn't too long and I cleared to airside within a reasonable time. The horror from the news did not materialize for me, and even the gate number for my flight was not yet available because I got there so early.





I had more than 2 hours to kill at this small terminal. I browsed around the duty-free store to see what food items I could snatch up.





If you forgot to bring any electronic equipment, be sure to visit this vending machine near the satellite terminal exit.



Plane spotting was all right with a good variety of European airlines, although a few international carriers were across at the satellite.

I kept an eye on FlightAware to check whether the 2 inbound flights are arriving on-time. The earlier LH 908 departed Frankfurt half an hour late, which explains why the return LH 909 was sitting at the gate and were not boarding on time.



The inbound flight for my departure, LH 910, actually left Frankfurt on time, which was quite reassuring as LH 911 has been persistently late all week. It pulled into the next gate at 3:40pm, the earliest that week. I was very relieved. My 4:30pm departure seems feasible.



A long line snaked out of Gate 18. It's actually an A/B gate, and the Lisbon flight next door was almost ready to board so their passengers were huddled around as well. Boarding was excessively slow, and I kept hearing one of the staff barking at passengers to force their hand carries into the hold. A few were very dissatisfied and argued, and I was worried I would meet the same fate. Worrying about Heathrow's luggage woes, I was concerned it won't make it to Hong Kong, and I would start my quarantine with virtually no supplies. Luckily, I made it through presumably because that agent was too busy arguing with the passenger to bother handling someone else.

I didn't agree with how she exhibited customer service, but I would shortly find out why she had to be that assertive.

The flight was absolutely full and I had to re-arrange the luggage rack to fit my wheeled hand-carry in. Luckily, I was at the first row in Economy as I expected to make a run for it in Frankfurt in case of any delays. Despite the lengthy boarding, the doors closed at 4:40pm and we pushed back 8 minutes later. With only a short delay, I was hopeful to make my connecting flight to Hong Kong.





I was delighted to see BA's A380 again but mindful these birds will be less and less common going forward unless I'm at a major Emirates airport.







I chose a left window expecting this departure route as the plane will make a 180-degree turn and I would see London as we head towards the continent.









However, we were quite a distance south of London so I had trouble trying to spot Parliament and the City despite the beautiful weather.





I could make out Canary Wharf. Apparently, that's Central London out there.











It took about 20 minutes to reach the English Channel. It would take less than 10 minutes to cross it.





I wonder if that's Antwerp in the distance? There is no IFE on board so there was no moving map to track my location. The crew handed out a bottle of water and chocolates, the same as the inbound flight.



Then the sky got cloudier below. Just 40 minutes after take-off, the announcement came that we're 20 minutes from landing. The whole process of getting onto the plane has taken much more time than the flight itself.



Going through the same flight's routing during the week, the prevailing winds would not likely allow me to see Frankfurt's skyline during landing as we would come in from the east.













We landed on a far runway at 7:06pm and it was a long taxi to the terminal. With almost 2 hours to go before my next flight to Hong Kong, I was finally very relieved I made it against the odds with the earliest arrival for LH 911 into Frankfurt that week.

Lufthansa is quite unique as they operate a number of 747 jumbo jets as well as the rare A340.









We pulled into the B pier and I took a glance at the boards upon entering the terminal that the same plane would fly back to London again shortly. My next flight would depart from pier Z, which looked near on the map but was actually a very long walk away. There was even a train ride, so any substantial delays to my first flight would easily jeopardize my connection, especially with an expected detailed documentation check before I could get on the plane thanks to Hong Kong's strict requirements.

More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/lh911.htm

Next part - the long-haul leg.

GregWTravels

These vending machines actually came in very handy for me on a trip to the US (though from T5), when I pulled out my iPod and the headphones were broken. Very handy.


Looking forward to reading the rest of the report.

JAXPax

Interesting report thus far.

GregW: Often I see these in the United States and usually quite overprice compared to what you'd get online or even at a big box retail store. That is, until you find yourself like your situation facing a lengthy flight with broken or no headphones (or realizing your phone charging cable is 20 miles away in a Hilton room) and run the cost-benefit analysis of the moment and suddenly find these machines the most brilliant and fair-priced thing you could ever see in an airport.

gaobest

ace TR. Hope fra connection was successful.

Airport pricing is a bit premium and just so worth it while up in the air especially regarding entertainment and tech. I’ve bought headphones and yummy food at the airports many a trip. Now I’m craving food lol

hkskyline

Thanks for your comments! I made it to the next flight and here is leg #2.

I was very grateful the flight from London (LH 911) arrived more or less on time. We reached the gate at 7:19pm and the Hong Kong flight would depart at 8:50pm. While I thought I had ample time, what I didn't expect was the long walk and train ride to get to the Hong Kong gate. Despite being a fast walker, it did take some time and add to that a reasonable wait to go through security.

However, a lingering stress factor remained. In recent days, this flight was delayed overnight on several occasions. This would mess up the quarantine hotel booking and given how hard it is to secure a room, I doubt I would be able to delay my 7-night reservation by 1 day. This would mean I have to call around the list of designated hotels on the spot to hopefully find a space and if not, I would need to return to London and start this trip all over again, likely with several weeks' delay.

After a long walk from my London flight's gate and a train ride, I emerged into a fairly empty pier Z. My next flight would depart from all the way at the end, with more walking ahead.







A line of special counters greeted me near my gate. It was about 8:20pm by the time I got here so even with a more-or-less timely arrival, my 1h45 connection was quite tight with only 30 minutes left. The documentation check was more detailed here, where the agent checked my quarantine hotel against the list of allowable designated hotels, something the London agent did not do. She didn't ask for my payment proof, which the digital document check online had.

However, some poor souls were not as lucky. One loud chap was calling someone in Mandarin as he didn't have all the required documents, while a few were turned away with timed-out PCR tests. I presume they got it too early as the 48 hour deadline is only for the flight to Hong Kong and not the start of your journey if you are connecting from elsewhere. That bit is specifically mentioned on the government's website.



This A340 would be my home for the next 12+ hours.



The flight was already boarding by the time I reached the gate and it looked like they were finishing up. I only needed to scan my boarding pass by myself at the automated gate to enter. I booked a window seat at the very back to the A340, but the flight looked full and I had a seatmate, a vet school student who had flown in from the UK earlier as well.

Boarding finished at 8:51pm and we pushed back at 9:13pm. It is interesting to see Lufthansa staffs this flight with a few Mandarin-speaking flight attendants even though local Hong Kongers don't speak Mandarin but Cantonese. Even the flight map would display in Simplified Chinese at times but we use Traditional Chinese. However, there were a number of Mandarin-speaking passengers on board. Flights to China are also severely restricted due to an even more onerous COVID-zero strategy so they would have to endure 2 sets of quarantine in Hong Kong and in China to get home.

Interestingly, the crew announced there were 3 empty seats up in Premium Economy and Business and to contact them if anyone wants to pay for an upgrade. That's the first time I heard of on-board upgrades.



We took off to the south and by the time we veered east, I couldn't spot Frankfurt anymore.







Similar to the inbound, dinner was only 1 choice, a vegetarian pasta. It tested my taste buds and was a forgettable meal. I was so stressed about making this flight that all else won't matter much now.



Then as the sun set, we closed the shades and tried to catch some sleep.



The flight was mostly smooth and I don't recall hearing the seat belt sign go on as we took the southerly route over Turkey, Iran, and northern India.



Also similar to the inbound, breakfast was a cold sandwich with cheese once again. The bread was actually decent but it certainly catered to German taste buds more than Asian ones.



By now, the sun had already risen and as we neared Guangzhou, I opened my shade to be amazed at the sight of cities!









I couldn't spot Guangzhou but could see Shenzhen coming up on the other side of the river.





I could see Hong Kong's airport in the distance (top right) with the new runway making it even bigger.





Macau is on the right half.



The Hong Kong - Zhuhai - Macau Bridge is a 55km bridge and tunnel link connecting the 3 cities, the longest such sea crossing in the world. Dubbed a white elephant that will never turn profitable, it was a visionary project for Sir Gordon Wu, who is chairman of Hopewell Holdings, a property developer, highway, and hotel operator.



As we turned towards the east, Macau's full view came up. Note the new towers on the left of the river is Zhuhai already.



I was a bit surprised we didn't turn back north for a 07 landing. That means we'll descend over the city for a spectacular landing from the east.

































The huge piece of land next to Disneyland is a quarantine camp for COVID patients. If I test positive during my hotel quarantine, I would probably be sent here to recover. It's not really a hospital by design. You are confined to your room and doctors won't come see you unless you call for help.







We landed uneventfully under a sunny sky, and I was tired taking lots of photos as we descended over southern China. With the borders mostly shut and a 7-day quarantine requirement deterring tourists from coming, many international airlines have stopped flying or drastically reduced their frequences. Lufthansa is one of few airlines that have re-started flying to Hong Kong, but British Airways hasn't so I was very surprised to see one of their birds parked at the terminal.



Flying during the pandemic is stressful. Although life has pretty much gone back to normal in Europe, airports and airlines have struggled to recover, and the passenger experience has become quite awful. Blasted through the press constantly, I gasped and expected the worst, but luckily the news headlines didn't materialize and I think I was lucky.

I paid just over HKD$5300 for this roundtrip ticket, which is a relative steal although I had booked it back in March when Lufthansa had suspended their Hong Kong route, betting they would resume it with the quarantine cut to 7 days. It was still more expensive than the 1-stop itineraries through the Middle East that I used to fly before the pandemic.

More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/lh796.htm

Next part - life under hotel quarantine with a harbour view.

hkskyline

July 11, 2022

Since I had almost 4 months before departure, securing a quarantine hotel amongst roughly 40 choices was not too difficult. I wanted to try a new and better hotel with a larger budget this time, and I heard the Marriott properties also give points for quarantine stays, so I looked up the Courtyard on the Island side, which offers harbour view rooms for a very reasonable price of HKD$1350 a night, meals included, along with a good cancellation policy. Its 26 square metre size is also fairly spacious. The Four Points Sheraton in Tung Chung was also high on my list, but it was a bit too far from home and I preferred an actual harbour view than a sea view of the airport.

Securing a hotel is a major headache in any inbound journey, but getting a room booking is only the start of an anxious lead-up to departure. That is because the government suspends an airline's route if too many passengers test positive upon arrival, even though they may have gotten a negative PCR test for departure. My airline was banned a few times during the short time they resumed flying from Frankfurt, but luckily this suspension mechanism was removed for good just before my flight.

Other unpredictable events that would impact my return also weighed heavily on my mind. Thankfully, the airline didn't cancel my flight and I didn't catch COVID just before returning back to Hong Kong, so I landed on July 11 as scheduled amidst airport chaos in Europe. After passing my rapid test and retrieving my luggage, I exited into the designated bus check-in area. Unlike my previous trip in November 2021, they swapped the holding pen to the other side of the arrivals hall and set up much larger lines.



We would then head down the elevators to the limousine boarding area for our small bus. They didn't spray our luggage with disinfectant this time, and it was 5:41pm by the time I settled into my seat. A lot of staff were on hand trying to arrange our large cases at the front of the bus. It would cover several hotels on the Island side.



Staff can only check in 1 room at a time and after each use, the area is wiped down before the next inmate is invited over. I patiently waited in our socially-distanced holding pen at the entrance. I wasn't in a hurry to enter my prison cell anyway.



Check-in was efficient and they allocated a high floor room as I had requested earlier by email. By the time I was done, an elevator was ready for me. Welcome back to Hong Kong-style efficiency. The elevator could only be used by one party at a time, similar to checking in.

My room was at the end of a small corridor on the 23rd floor. I liked the seclusion and I would only have a neighbour on one side, meaning one less chance that someone nearby would be infected during their stay, which might subject the rest of us to daily PCR tests until we leave.

There was a small reception area at the door, which leads to a closet and the bathroom. Surprisingly, they have enough space for a tub but chose to put in a shower only instead. A huge work desk was placed right in front of the big windows which face the harbour. There was even space for a small couch. I knew I would be comfortable here.



In the bathroom, there was a reminder to pour water down the drainage hole every week. This is to prevent vertical transmission of viruses from the pipes. There were 2 large towels, 2 hand towels, and 2 face towels. 3 sets of shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion were placed, as well as 3 rolls of toilet paper and 3 boxes of facial tissue. There were other disposable toiletries, 2 packs of detergent, as well as what looks like a brand new cup. For any supply replacements, there is a QR code to scan to order online.







Reception had reminded me to call 0 to order dinner. Since I was in a premium harbour view room, I could choose my meals from a selection and order by scanning the QR code, which leads to an online form. I could order meals the day before and also specify whether disposable cutlery is needed. There weren't that many choices, and since the same list is used for both lunch and dinner, I can easily exhaust everything by the end of the week. Luckily, the selection changes every week except breakfast.

Overall, the food was decent, although the soups were a bit disappointing. That was offset by a lot of fruits and vegetables on offer, and the overall diet was healthier than my last quarantine, which had carb-heavy meals but their food tasted better.























What a beautiful harbour view.









During check-in, I was given a bag of rapid tests, which I am supposed to do on my own every morning, and mark the results on a log sheet in the welcome pack. There was also a thermometer. In addition, authorities send people to the hotel to do a PCR test on me on days 3 and 5. Testing positive during quarantine would have dire consequences. I would be removed from the hotel and sent to a government isolation facility, and have my isolation clock re-set to another 7 days until I test negative again.





Health authorities have asked hotels to dispose everything in the room after I leave, even after all these negative tests. There is no recycling so I took some effort to wash most of the plastic containers used for my dinners to bring home.





A doorbell startled me as I wasn't expecting any further PCR tests on day 7 unless my neighbour tested positive. I opened the door and found a receipt for my stay. Shortly after, there was a second ring. This time, it was a graduation certificate with a beer to celebrate the end of my stay.



As sunset came and evening rolled in, I went back to my welcome pack and checked I have all the documents I need to leave. The quarantine order would still be required for my day 9 and 12 PCR tests that I need to do once I am set free.



They called me minutes before midnight to make sure I was ready. At exactly 00:00 on day 8, they rang my door and I was all set to check out and regain my freedom! Check-out needs to be escorted as the elevators need to be turned on to move me and a staff was on hand with a cart to help move my luggage.

Quarantine is an outdated concept in 2022, especially when there were over 3000 community infections being reported in the city every day during my confinement. Health officials admitted the risk of incoming travelers causing a local outbreak are minimal given the local situation, yet solitary confinement remains. No wonder the business community has been complaining and so many expats have left and not willing to return, to the detriment of our supposedly international city. While I had a great experience in this harbour-view hotel, the difficulty in securing a room and the unpredictable situation with flights contribute a lot of stress throughout the journey. Hope this is the last quarantine that I need to do to get home.

More photos on my website.

offerendum

Extend your pampering stay

pacificboot

Thanks for the detailed trip report! I was also on the LH flight last year, and purposely overnight-ed in Frankfurt to avoid the possibility of missed connection. I did 3 quarantine (one 2-week and 2 1-week) and am so glad its all over!

I was in J and found the food pretty good, but am surprised to see no choice for Y and also just a cold sandwich as second meal. I mean LH should have compassion for us waiting up to 3 hours without hot food at the PCR area and provided pax with a hot meal before that.

IWontRegretThis

Having done 3 Hotel Q and 1 home Q in HK, I do not miss it at all. Was a much needed refresher to go back last month finally with no Q.

hkskyline

LOL no staycations back at this hotel for a while! Although I did go back to my first quarantine hotel recently to try out their restaurant given their confinement catering was stellar. I was not disappointed.

I'm also glad my 2 sets of quarantine are now a part of history. I thought Lufthansa patterned out their food for German tastes given a sandwich is a fairly common breakfast item over there, as opposed to HKers who would normally get a hot meal. We're a bit spoiled by Cathay catering so the contrast was quite stark. I thought a while whether to go for J given the longer flight times to skirt around Russia but with the A340, I felt more comfortable by the window and not 2 deep away from the aisle for a toilet break so in the end put up with Y.

Yes! I got another trip on the cards soon. What a world of difference compared to this time last year when people had to go through 14/21 days in hotel confinement.