This is a trip report of a recent short holiday I took in Macau and Hong Kong. There are only a few pictures I took in HK and none of them related to air travel though.

My original intention was to take advantage of cheap airfares offered by budget carriers, Tiger Airways (TR) and Jetstar (3K), from Singapore to Macau for a 2-night break. I had paid for one way, SIN-MFM on 3K and return on TR. However, I decided later that I would spend one night in HK to meet up with some Singapore friends who would happen to be in HK as well. So, to avoid having to travel back to MFM to catch my flight on TR, I bought a separate ticket, one way, from HKG to SIN. I found a cheap fare on Zuji website for my one-way flight from HKG to SIN. UA had cheap one way and return fares out of HK to both SIN and SGN. The fare on Zuji was lower than on UA website, so I got myself ticketed on UA via Zuji. As a result, I had to forfeit my fare on TR, which was SGD 98, including taxes. Well, I suppose it was not too bad, considering the hassle saved of travelling back to MFM. Also, I had wanted to travel on UA again since my last trips on them more than 5 years ago.

Day 1

SIN-MFM
Flight 3K 575
Dep: 1400 Arr: 1730
A320

I left my home in the eastern part of Singapore at around 1240, got into a cab and reached the airport around 1250. When I got to the check-in counters at Terminal 1, there was no one in the line for the 2 counters that were open. I suppose by that time, most passengers would have checked in. I asked if I could be seated in row 13, the emergency exit row. The agent checked and said an aisle seat was available. That was perfectly fine for me and what I had exactly wanted. As I was booked for one way on 3K, he asked to see my return ticket from Macau. I showed him my UA e-ticket out of HK instead. Everything was fine and he issued me my boarding pass on a paper receipt.

I got to the gate at around 1.30pm. Departure boards showed that gate was closing, which is typical here in Singapore as early as 40-45 minutes before departure time. I passed through security and sat down while waiting for boarding to commence. As I waited, I heard groups of tourists talking and laughing loudly amongst themselves. The lounge was definitely abuzz with these groups of people, many of them senior looking, and probably on family and friend trips. The profile of the passengers definitely seemed different from the SQ flight I got off from Bangalore just two days prior to that. I wished then that I could have some peace for the three hour ride to Macau.

20 minutes before departure, a cabin crew made the boarding calls. Usually, the ground agents would do that, so I wonder whether this is peculiar to 3K. There were more than 50 empty seats on this flight, hence about a 70% load. I sat down on my emergency exit aisle seat, relishing at the amount of leg space I had. The leather seat felt comfortable to sit in and I had no complaints about it though recline was really limited given the tight seat pitch at other rows.

Doors were closed and push back commenced 5 minutes early, guaranteeing us an on time arrival into Macau. At 2.10pm, we took off from the runway. Food and beverages must be bought on board only. I didn't purchase anything when the carts passed me. However, an hour later, I asked for a pepsi and a sandwich. The crew asked if I would like to try the gourmet pie instead. I paid SGD 10 in all. The food came and while the pie was heated and edible, I didn't find anything too gourmet about the pie. I felt it was overpriced but thought I had no choice and was something I knew would happen while travelling on budget carriers. Anyhow, consuming the food and drink did help me to pass some time and making myself a little more comfortable. The crew were generally alright and tried to chat with some passengers when doing food and duty free sales. I think they were trying their level best to make everyone comfortable but still, I cannot put them on par with the SQ girls. Probably, it was the mental psyche that I had, being on board a budget carrier.

Throughout the flight, there was no announcement made by the pilots for the passengers. It was a fair ride though and we started our descent into Macau International Airport (MFM) just before 5pm. We landed about 20 minutes later. The bags took a while to come out but it was not a very long wait. I experienced longer waits at other airports before. After retrieving my bag, I took a cab to my hotel.

Day 2

Ferry Ride to Hong Kong

I checked out and took a hotel shuttle to the Macau Ferry Terminal. There are regular ferries to HK and parts of South China. I bought a ticket to Kowloon for HK$140 (less than SGD30) for the one hour ride to Kowloon side of HK. There are ferries to Hong Kong Island but as my hotel was located at Kowloon side, it would be easier. It was then a comfortable ride to HK. I cleared immigration and took a cab to my hotel. I stayed at Prudential Hotel, just above Jordan MTR station. Again, I got good rates from Zuji website. Many of my friends had recommended staying at this hotel for its location, being just above the MTR. Well, I must say I was happy with the room and would not mind returning to the same hotel again.

Below are some pictures I took while in HK.



This is Causeway Bay over at Hong Kong Island. Time Square is one of my favourite malls. See that signboard in red. It has 3 Chinese characters - 'Xu Liu Shan' or 'Hui Lau Shan' in Cantonese. This stall has got my favourite mango desserts and has many outlets thoughout HK. They used to operate an outlet in Singapore but closed down after a while.



A scene over in Kowloon. Can you see the difference between the old and new on both sides of the road?



The famous Ladies Street Market. It's open during daytime and popular with tourists. Remember to shop around before buying and ask for lower prices if anyone plans to go there. In fact, there were many stalls selling similar items.



This is one of the many cake shops at Langham Place. Reminded me of the ubiquitous cake shops located in malls over in Japan. I love cakes.



Some more food. I love the food and dessert in HK. In fact, right now, I am craving for the Fried Beef Hor Fun (it's fried flat noodles with beef, for the international audience) I had over in a shop at Causeway Bay. Does anyone in Singapore know where to get good Fried Beef Hor Fun (Dry version)?

Day 3

From my hotel, I hopped onto a cab for the Kowloon Station for the Airport Express. I had earlier booked a train ticket online. There was a small discount for booking on the MTR website. I had to collect the ticket from the customer service counter. The staff there asked for the booking number and I showed it to him. He seemed to have difficulty trying to get into the system and issuing me with the ticket. He didn't look too pleased and frustratedly said it was not worth ordering a ticket online. I wasn't sure what he meant, probably referring to the inconvenience he was having to go through attending to my transaction.

Finally, I did get my ticket and hopped onto the comfortable train for the short twenty minute ride to the airport.

UA895
HKG-SIN
Dep: 1940 Arr: 2325
B744

When I booked the ticket, the system had allocated me a middle seat. I called up UA in Singapore and was advised that a request would be entered into the system for an aisle seat as they could not assign me an aisle seat at that point. It seemed like it was going to be a full flight. Indeed, it was. As I checked in, the agent could not give me a seat number. I thought I was going to be bumped but she assured me that I would get onto the flight as I had a confirmed booking. This was more than 2 hours before departure. She gave me a 'Departure Management Card' for me to clear immigration and security. I thought this normally happens to non-rev pax only. I didn't know this could happen for commercial pax with firm bookings. She said to turn up at the gate after the flight closed.

There wasn't much I could do but she did again confirm my request for an aisle seat. I went in to the departure lounge. I must say that HK airport is great for shopping and the food too. The airport was so much a hive of activities. One could spend time just watching planes and people go by.

Anyway, when I reached my gate, quite a distance away, I must say of the UA gates at HKG, boarding had already begun. There was one UA agent at the computer terminals and she looked busy. I passed her the Departure Management Card and she searched for my boarding pass amidst a pile of others that had been printed out as well. She found mine, matched my name again and passed it to me. It was an aisle seat in United Economy though I was hoping that it would be in Economy Plus or better.

I found my seat on the full flight and plugged in to Channel 9 immediately. I obviously didn't choose to fly UA for the PTVs, hence the fact that UA was still screening movies on the big screen didn't bother me. This flight was staffed by Singapore-based crew, as was being mentioned. I only saw oriental faces on board and didn't see any caucasians amongst the crew, so I am wondering if intra-Asian sectors are operated only by Asian crews.

Service onboard was good though I didn't eat the dinner. The crew tried their best to make everyone happy. They served drinks and a choice of hot meal. I must commend the crew for their hard work. As for the radio transmission, I noticed that after take-off, control of the flight was passed on from Hong Kong to Sanya, then Ho Chi Minh and finally Singapore. It was fun listening to the transmissions between air traffic controllers and the pilots on various flights. There was a long taxi out of HK but we made it to Singapore just about on time.

Baggage retrieval took a while in Singapore, considering that this full flight had come in all the way from Chicago. Many of the bags that came off had tags that showed domestic connections from other US ports. So, for pax wanting to fly UA on HKG/SIN sector, this is something to be forewarned in addition to the late arrival time. However, I think this is only a small consideration.

Overall, I think it might be worth paying a bit more to fly UA than on 3K from HKG to SIN for the more complete experience. Besides that, mileage can be earned on Star Alliance Frequent Flyer Programmes. UA is quite generous in this aspect as most fare types are mileage accruable.

Hope you had fun reading. Thanks!

Enjoyable trip report. Americans may forget sometimes how their carriers can seem "exotic" when operating shorter sectors on the other side of the world. I hear a lot of complaints from some clients about how mileage programs are getting stingy; I sometimes use SQ and other Asian carriers as examples of how it could be worse, as United is indeed alone in the neighborhood for crediting mileage on most fare types.

The flight crew you had are "Regional Flight Attendants". They're recruited mostly in Singapore and Thailand, and fly intra-Asia flights (SIN-NRT/HKG, BKK-NRT, NRT-TPE, HKG-SGN, NRT-ICN). They're not AFA members and AFA rules stipulate these flight attendants wear different uniforms than AFA members. I've definitely heard a lot of good comments about the service they provide. Their work rules are also competitive to many other Asian carriers (like SQ, they work on contracts for a set period of time).

Quoting FranxSIN (Thread starter): 20 minutes before departure, a cabin crew made the boarding calls. Usually, the ground agents would do that, so I wonder whether this is peculiar to 3K.

I have had the same experience for Thai Air Asia as well.

Quoting FranxSIN (Thread starter): The crew were generally alright and tried to chat with some passengers when doing food and duty free sales. I think they were trying their level best to make everyone comfortable but still, I cannot put them on par with the SQ girls. Probably, it was the mental psyche that I had, being on board a budget carrier.

It is good that you can lower your expectations. The service levels on LCCs are generally very good and once you can get past the fact that THIS IS AN LCC, it can be quite an enjoyable flight! The only LCC that I had some issues about was Tiger. As they are trained by the same people who takes charge of the SQ Girls, the Tiger-ladies come off as a bit snobbish with an air of SQ-esque aura about them, but they are in t-shirt and slacks.

Quoting FranxSIN (Thread starter): I only saw oriental faces on board and didn't see any caucasians amongst the crew, so I am wondering if intra-Asian sectors are operated only by Asian crews

NW and UA crew their intra-Asian sectors with these crew members based in their respective stations. I believe they have crew bases in Thailand (NW) and Singapore (UA/NW).

Quoting FranxSIN (Thread starter): Service onboard was good though I didn't eat the dinner. The crew tried their best to make everyone happy. They served drinks and a choice of hot meal. I must commend the crew for their hard work.

Yes, the service levels are awesome. The difference is very apparent if you happen to be using the same airline across the Pacific. Once the American-based crew takes over in HKG or NRT, the service becomes.... well, Americanised.

Nice TR

The pics are good.

Quoting FranxSIN (Thread starter): left my home in the eastern part of Singapore at around 1240, got into a cab and reached the airport around 1250.

Seems that you live really near the airport.

Wow, can you listen to the ATC when you fly with UA?? Are they the only one that offers this??



Thank you for sharing

B747forever

A nice trip report FranxSIN.

Your report brought back memories of my trips; Jetstar Asia one way to HKG and United Air Lines return SINHKG vv..

Yes, the crew who ply SINNRTSIN and SINHKGSIN on United Air Lines are Singapore-based. Indeed, some of them are ex-Singapore Airlines. They trade off the higher pay and benefits with a more predictable lifestyle and less workload according to one that I met. The Singaporean crew were very good on my flights and definitely left me with a good impression of United. Of course, the hard product was ancient and certainly not what I am used to.

Thanks for all the response.

Quoting B747forever (Reply 3): The pics are good.

Thanks, but I am no professional in this, so I am flattered. I was using only an ordinary Canon digital camera.

Quoting B747forever (Reply 3): Seems that you live really near the airport.

Yes, travelling time to the airport from my neighbourhood takes typically no more than 10 - 15 mins. Hence, it is not uncommon to see many cabin crew/airport staff choosing to stay around here for easy access to the airport.

Quoting B747forever (Reply 3): Wow, can you listen to the ATC when you fly with UA?? Are they the only one that offers this??

Yes, when you tune in to Channel 9 on board, though there is no guarantee it's turned on all the time. Not sure though if UA is the only airline to have this feature.

Quoting Singapore_Air (Reply 4): A nice trip report FranxSIN.

Thank you.

Quoting Singapore_Air (Reply 4): Jetstar Asia one way to HKG and United Air Lines return SINHKG vv..

I feel that unless the cost savings are significant, I will still stick to the normal carriers over the LCC ones. SIN-HKG vv is usually busy, so experience on board a full LCC flight may be less than ideal. Of course, LCCs have created opportunities for people who would otherwise not travel at all.

Quoting Ryanair!!! (Reply 2): Yes, the service levels are awesome.

Yes, agree and some of the ladies are quite good-looking too. They definitely exude the charm of typical Asian hospitality.

Quoting ForeverUnited (Reply 1): Americans may forget sometimes how their carriers can seem "exotic" when operating shorter sectors on the other side of the world.

In Singapore, we have both UA and NW operating here. They have been here for many years and offer promotion fares to Asia/USA frequently. UA started operating from our new Terminal 3 on 26 Mar. The airlines are popular with locals here, so they are not so 'exotic' to us actually. Thanks for the comments.

Nice report. I recognize all those places in HK. I never thought I'd want to go back so soon, but I feel like hopping on the next 777 and flying back tomorrow. I was at the ladies market. So hectic and crowded! The vendors love to bargain. They had me haggling for items i never even intended to buy just for the fun of it.. At the end of the market, Mongkok is a great to wander around and and eat some good cheap food. Made my head spin it with the throngs of people.
I enjoyed shopping at the Times Square Mall in Causeway Bay too.

I'd like to see your Macau pics.

Quoting Sh0rtybr0wn (Reply 6): I'd like to see your Macau pics.

Apologies that I had not taken too many photos of Macau as I was only doing a night stop.

However, I would be happy to share a few photos taken from the hotel shuttle bus as I made my way to the ferry terminal. These photos will not paint a complete picture of the territory though. Enjoy the pics.









Cheers.