Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok International

I took the shuttle from the Sheraton Hotels and Towers in Kowloon to Kowloon station. I had seen the bus waiting at a traffic light, which gave me three minutes to reach the stop, which is easily doable from the hotel entrance. Usually I took the one at the back entrance of the Peninsula, but this had left a couple of minutes earlier, so I would be quicker with the bus from the Sheraton despite making additional stops on the journey to Kowloon Station.
A quick shuttle bus ride with only one additional real stop – i.e. picking up other passengers – at other hotels, I and the only other passenger were dropped off at the Kowloon terminal. A train was expected to arrive in two minutes and so I decided to check my luggage at the airport instead of the Kowloon station. 25 minutes later I arrived at Chek Lap Kok airport. I had boarded the very last car of the train which arrived close to the bridge leading from the platform to the counters of Cathay Pacific. It pays to have a look at the airport map where the check in counters are located and board the plane accordingly to avoid walking all the way back it one does not already have checked the luggage at the Kowloon station.

Business Counters had a small line and I was checked in quickly and I was given a lounge invitation. I did not really understand the need for an invitation as I could visit any Oneworld Business Class lounge. Maybe, they try to convince non-experienced travellers to not do lounge hopping. At this time my flight was scheduled to depart from gate 50 which is one of the gates at the end of the Wing.

Security had longer lines, mostly given to two tour groups, one with young pupils from Hong Kong. I let them go ahead, so that the group was not divided or mixed with other passengers, which would make it more difficult for the guides. The security people directed them to their own security line, which was a nice touch and helped to speed things up. Laptop out of the bag and since I had checked my liquids, there was no need to remove anything else from my carry on. There was no need to be padded down and I put my laptop back.
There had formed longer lines at immigration, but a friend mentioned that I could use the eChannel for leaving Hong Kong as well. The last time I flew out of Hong Kong was in the middle of the night and immigration was basically empty and I was also told during registration, that it is only for the way into Hong Kong. But it seems I misunderstood this information and I could use one of the two machines available to frequent visitors, which were different from those for Hong Kong residents, though the indication at the gate was a bit misleading (something like eChannels ASEAN Pass Holders which I read as one term rather than eChannels and ASEAN Pass Holders).

With plenty of time, I decided to do some lounge hopping and started with the The QANTAS Hong Kong Lounge also used by British Airways and sometimes referred to as QANTAS and British Airways Lounge, which is located on the same level as The First Class Section of the Wing, i.e. the same level (7) where you enter the secure area. It is open from 09:30 to 23:30.

The lounge is quite big but was fairly empty and I used this opportunity to take a few pictures of the lounge. The rear part of the lounge was curtained up and I did not notice a dedicated part for First Class or Emerald Members. There is a bar area and a buffet area with the seating area facing the concourse on the balcony.
On the buffet were breakfast offerings like sausages, scrambled eggs and also a large bowl of fruit salad. Dim-sum was also available and later during the day there was an food made to order service offered. I eat a bowl of fruit salads, which was quite good, and had a sparkling water as well as an Australian sparkling wine (something I did not get that often to try). In addition to sparkling wine, a selection of Australian and International wines, Australian and Asian beer, spirits and off course soft drinks were available from the buffet or the bar. I did not discover Champagne, but I might have requested it from at the bar.

I later moved from the area with chairs and table to the more comfortable arm chairs at the entrance and sat there for round about an hour working with my laptop. The WiFi was strong and I had not difficulties to set up a stable VPN.

The stylish and airy lounge is very nice and offers good view towards the tarmac from the chairs closer to the gallery. The lounge also offers shower suites and a family zone, which was not yet available as only half of the lounge was open.

My gate changed to 44, which was still a bit to walk and so I decided with 45 minutes before boarding was about to start to walk over there. On my way to the “The Bridge” Lounge, I paid a quick visit at the Cabin, which was very busy with the IT Corner the only area which was by contrast fairly empty. Nevertheless, I left the lounge quickly and continued to “The Bridge”, which was busy, but I had no difficulties to find a seat next to the long bar with room to spread out and a quick espresso by Italian company Illy. Around boarding time I left the lounge and walked over to my gate.

An equipment change had happened and instead of the scheduled Airbus A 330-300 with the international configuration, an Airbus A 340-313 was awaiting us. On the one hand, I was a bit disappointed, as I wanted to see the long-haul configuration of the A 330, on the other hand, I had never been on the old and much discussed older long-haul configuration of Cathay Pacific, which is also used by Virgin Atlantic (which I have flown in 2013), Air New Zealand, Air Canada, Jet Airways and Delta.

Boarding started in time at 12:45 with two passengers in wheelchairs, among those one passenger in Business Class. We were allowed to board shortly thereafter. Again, the boarding passes very checked and stamped while queuing. Finally we could board the aircraft.

17 August 2015
HKG – TPE
[Hong Kong International – Taipei Taoyuan International]
CX 466 (Cathay Pacific); Airbus A 340-300 (B-HXD)
Gate 44
13:15 – 15:15 [effective 13:21 – 15:14]
Business Class
Seat 14 A

Both jet-bridges were used and I was among the first passengers to board the aircraft. At the door I was greeted and since the other passengers were not yet there, used this opportunity to take a few pictures of the cabin before I stored my carry on. The purser noticed it and we chatted shortly about these seats and the new seats in comparison.
I was asked for my choice of pre-departure drink and I asked if it was possible to get a Cathay Delight, which was of course possible and brought to my seat shortly.

Pre-departure drink

Cathay Delight

The regular choices were water, orange and apple juice and champagne (Billecart-Salmon Brut Champagne). A hot towel was also served while we waited on the ground with the second jet-bridge already pulled back from the plane. The captain welcomed us on board while the front jet-bridge was attached to the front door and members from the ground crew on the plane. He expected some nasty weather, but would try to circumnavigate it. The flight time would be 1:20 and he expected an on time arrival despite we were a bit delayed due to air traffic control and some last minute cargo to be loaded onto the plane. The crew welcomed us shortly thereafter and announced the safety video. The screens were not folded out, which was a bit of a surprise. Usually, if the screens have to be pulled out, this is done by the crew prior to the safety video, but not so on this flight.
Finally at 13:15 the front jet-bridge was pulled back and we were pushed back at 13:21 and taxied to our runway 25 L for takeoff. With a few other planes ahead of us, we had to wait before the captain at 13:49 powered the four engines and we left Hong Kong’s Chep Lap Kok airport bound for Taipei Taouyan International.

Our flight was operated by an Airbus A 340-313 with the registration B-HXD, which was delivered to Cathay Pacific on September 19, 1996 as new plane. At this time, the plane had still the old Hong Kong registration VR-HXD, which was changed on December 09, 1997 to the current one B-HXD. At the time of delivery the plane was equipped with 26 seats in Business Class and 257 seats in Economy Class but was in 2014 re configured with 28 seats in Premium Economy Class and only 211 seats in Economy Class, while the Business Class remained unchanged.

The Airbus A 340 was powered as indicated in the “13” by four CFMI CFM56-5C4 engines.

This flight had no first class, so the passengers in Business Class are not disturbed by passengers in Economy Class boarding the plane. Business Class is in a 1 – 1 – 1 a herringbone layout slanting inwards and forwards so that the window is behind you.

The dining- and worktable comes out from the side panel but was sloped downwards and did not feel particularly strong and especially during light bumps I fear the tray may slight off the table. These Olympus seats are made by B/E Aerospace and offer a seat width of 23.5 inch, which is even wider than those of the Cirrus seats in the 777 and 330 used by Cathay. The seat goes fully flat and converts to a bed with a length of 81 inch which equals to 205 cm or 6.75 ft. seat offers a reading lamp and a plug which could be used by a standard European plug. Unlike the seats of Virgin Atlantic, those seats do not flip over if converted to a bed.

At 13:55 the meal service started and menus were already handed out on the ground.
Finally time to see, what was on offer on this short hop to the Republic of China, which is the official and political correct name of Taiwan
(click on icon, opens new window).

Meal service

Fresh seasonal fruit
Wok fried prawns, jade melon, steamed jasmine rice and chilli sauce “yu huang”
Babich Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

The tray tables on this flight were not laid with linen, as it seems to be a standard approach for the A 340. The load in Business Class on this flight was quite light and therefore the crew did not use the cart but brought the trays row by row and asked for our choice of beverage. Like on the flight to Surabaya, the two options for the main course where shown and we could choose what we like to have. I went with the prawns and asked for a glass for Babich Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, which was brought along with a sparkling water.
The prawns were quite good, tasty and flavourful while the rice was also quite good, not dry. From my experience if rice is part of a dish, it is best on Asian airlines while from my experience rice served on European or US Airlines tend to be a bit dry.

25 minutes later the trays were cleared. The service was routinely, but given that the load in Business Class was less than 50%, I think the crew had a less hectic job than on a full flight like on my flight from Hong Kong to Taipei the week before.

I used the remaining flight time to discover the seat. Some of the arguments are that it feels craped with the “high” walls between each seat, which makes interactions with other passengers, especially a travel companion impossible. On the other hand, if gives you a lot of privacy and you could easily avoid seeing any other passenger on this flight. Another point is that you could not look out of the window and that your feet point toward the aisle. I have no problem with the later one, while looking out of the window would be nice, but is for me not a necessary factor. The seat was comfortable and the available positions were okay for me. If asked, I could not say if I like this seat or the new one better. But of course this is a very subjective impression and I can fully understand other passengers’ point of view and if travelling with someone who is afraid of flying, I would of course avoid this configuration.

30 minutes prior to landing the captain came over the intercom and announced the weather in Taipei with 32 °C and an on time arrival. He expected us to be on the ground at 15:05 and we should be at the gate in time. He informed the crew about the remaining flight time of 30 minutes. A few minutes later he came again on the intercom and he asked the crew to prepare the cabin for arrival, which was done by the crew with the usual announcements and asked us to store all our belongings.

We approached Taouyan Airport from the North and touched down on runway 23 L at 15:08 and reached our gate 6 minutes later right in time.

Like always, the jetty was attached to the front door first and we could disembark quickly with passengers in Premium Economy held back. I walked towards immigration, where a long line awaited me. It took me nearly 40 minutes before I finally was able to enter the Republic of Taiwan and pick up my checked luggage from belt and head for the bus stop.

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