thaia345 From Indonesia, joined Oct 2006, 814 posts, RR: 17 Posted (1 year 9 months 6 days 10 hours ago) and read 19591 times:
Reason For Trip
This trip eventuated due to an urgent meeting I had in relation to our future expansion of our business in China, namely in the city of Tianjin. As I was only to be there for 1 night the quickest and most convenient schedule was Jakarta to Hong Kong by Cathay Pacific and then connecting with Dragonair to Beijing before taking the bullet train from Beijing to Tianjin, and first time for me in China, although I have been on them tons of time in Germany and Japan.
Date: 20 July 2011
Route: Jakarta (CGK) - Hong Kong (HKG)
Flight: Cathay Pacific CX798
ETD: 0005
ETA: 0550
Seat: 18K (Business Class)
Aircraft: A330-300
Flight time: 4hrs 20mins
Registration: B-HLA
1st Flight: 27 Aug 1994
Preflight
Took me a quick 20mins at this time of the night to reach the airport. Check in was swift and in no time I am already in the lounge. Pretty surpised that theres quite a bit of traffic at night. Theres Korean going off to Seoul, Air China to Beijing, Phillipine Airlines going to Manila and also Emirates going to Dubai. I just stayed im the lounge all the way till boarding was called.
Inflight
Boarding was on time and efficient. Was greeted at door 1L by a polite male purser. Load is pretty light with J being about 1/3 full. A polite crew on board but noticed they all looked pretty junior. Old regional J seats on this A333 are comfortable but definitely not ideal to sleep for a red eye flight.
Next to us on the tarmac
Seats are similar to MH old A333 but on CX it has an avod system, albeit one that runs in a loop.
Inflight Magazines
Old IFE onboard, and I rather use my own Ipad ☺
Instead of waking us up for breakfast, we had a very late night meal instead after take off
Date: 20 July 2011
Route: Hong Kong (HKG) - Beijing (PEK)
Flight: Dragonair KA900
ETD: 0800
ETA: 1115
Seat: 1A (First Class)
Aircraft: A330-300
Flight time: 2hrs 40mins
Registration:B-HYJ
1st Flight: 26 Nov 2002
Preflight
After disembarking I made my way thru the transfer area before making myself comfortable in CX's The Wing F lounge. Managed to get a nice long shower before settling down for some breakfast at the dining room where the catering and staff are from The Peninsula Hotel.
Views from the Lounge
After breakfast, there was an announcemt of a gate change to gate 71, from the previous gate 18. Great! Now I have to get to the other end of the terminal! At least in gives me time to some spotting on a very wet and humid summers day.
My impressions of CX F lounge is that its nice an airy and gives a good sense of privacy, but its still a far cry from my beloved TG Royal First Lounge in BKK.
My bird taking me to PEK
Inflight
When I arrived at the gate boarding already commenced and I immediately boarded. A polite crew greeted me on board and this aircraft has 12 seats in F.
Seats are in the old style cradle and although old, they were pretty comfortable.
Mealtime
After breakfast i managed to get about 45mins worth of sleep. All in all an uneventful flight.
Beijing Capital Ariport
My brief half day stay at St Regis Beijing
Views of Beijing South Bullet Train Station
An overnight stay at the extremely well appinted Raffles Hotel Tianjin and all for under 120usd!
Date: 21 July 2011
Route: Beijing (PEK) - Hong Kong (HKG)
Flight: Dragonair KA975
ETD: 2030
ETA: 2355
Seat: 11A (Business Class)
Aircraft:A320
Flight time: 3hrs 00mins
Registration: B-HSG
1st Flight: 25 Mar 1998
Preflight
After a quick 24hrs in Beijing and Tianjin its time to head back home albeit with an overnight stay in Hong Kong. After meetings in Tianjin I took the reliable bullet train back to Beijing and from there my pre-arranged driver took me to Beijing Capital International Airport.
The bullet train taking me back to Beijing, sadly a similar train crashed outside the city of Wuhan just a few days after I was done with this trip
Had about 2 hours to spare before departure so I checked if there were any earlier flight to HKG, there was but it was delayed and due to depart only after my original flight. Hence I decided to stick to my original flight. Managed to had a look around the airport before I proceeded to clear immigration and security formalities.
EK A380 in PEK
I Had a shower and then just spent the rest of my time in the CX/KA lounge till boarding was called.
KA Lounge in PEK
My bird taking me to HKG
Inflight
Nice and cosy in J on this A320 with only 8 seats available. Flight is full in both J and Y.
Cabin views
Inflight Mags
Menu
Mealtime
Otherwise flight itself was uneventful and managed to also take a short nap. This is my last shot just before descend commenced
Date: 22 July 2011
Route: Hong Kong (HKG) - Jakarta (CGK)
Flight: Cathay Pacific CX777
ETD: 0920
ETA: 1305
Seat: 2A (First Class)
Aircraft:B747-400
Flight time: 4hrs04mins
Registration:B-HUF
1st Flight: 05 Aug 1993
My overnight stay at the fabulous W Hotel Hong Kong
Preflight
Aftet a quick overnight stay at the great W Hotel Hong Kong, i was soon back again at HKIA and of course the fastest way was by airport express train. Check in was quick and convenient at Kowloon Station.
Taking the Airport Express train to HKIA
Once i arrived at the airport it was directly to security and immigration. Busy morning rush hour but due to HKIA's usual efficiency, took me no less than 10mins to clear both security and immigration.
HKIA
The rest of my time was just spent at The Pier First Class lounge.
Inflight
My ride to CGK
Was first to board in F.
Cabin Views
Inflight Menu
My first time jn F on the B744, usually my F runs are on the B773ER. A fantastic crew on board and service is top notch right from the start. Flight was pretty quiet in F with only me and another pax.
Taxi and take off
And the obligatory visit to the Lav
IFE
Mealtime
About to take a nice long nap
Great service is ensured throughout the flight and the crew was a real enjoyable bunch. Looking forward to my next CX suites flight to LAX on 25th Aug.
My next trips are:
1. Paris and Frankfurt with TG F and Lufthansa Private Jet between LBG & FRA!! (Trip done, just need me to finish up the report)
2. Los Angeles, San Diego & Vegas with CX F and domestic USA with private jets
3. Frankfurt with the usual TG F
That’s my trips that are lined up till end of Sep 2011. Will have more after that.
Please also enjoy my previous TR’s from newest to oldest.
MSS658 From Belgium, joined Oct 2010, 2212 posts, RR: 14 Reply 5, posted (1 year 9 months 5 days 9 hours ago) and read 16755 times:
Hi
Nice trip report, it was an enjoyable read. As mentioned by PeterJ, It is interesting to see the diversity of the hard product offerings of Cathay and Dragonair.
thaia345 From Indonesia, joined Oct 2006, 814 posts, RR: 17 Reply 6, posted (1 year 9 months 5 days 5 hours ago) and read 16505 times:
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 3): Great report, hoot to see CX and Dragonair service, never knew the latter had F seating, thought it was just J and Y.
Hi Mark, KA do have F seating on some of their A330's but not much, i think mainly on the A333 which flies to PEK and PVG
Quoting PeterJ (Reply 4): nteresting to see the diversity of hard product within CX/Dragonair.
Quoting MSS658 (Reply 5): It is interesting to see the diversity of the hard product offerings of Cathay and Dragonair.
Actually it is a bit confusing for customers as sometimes you really do not know what you are going to get, something like TG and their ever so often equipment swaps!
flythere From Hong Kong, joined May 2010, 384 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (1 year 8 months 4 weeks 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 14769 times:
Great report thaia345!
Just to my curious, based on your frequent travel on CX F and TG F, which one do you more preferred? And is there any reason for you to stick with TG besides the lounge that you mentioned?
thaia345 From Indonesia, joined Oct 2006, 814 posts, RR: 17 Reply 8, posted (1 year 8 months 4 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 14625 times:
Quoting flythere (Reply 7): CX F and TG F, which one do you more preferred? And is there any reason for you to stick with TG besides the lounge that you mentioned?
Hi Flythere!
If you compare the regular TG F product on the A346 & B744, i will take CX anytime. But if I am to fly on TG's leased B773ER from 9W, i do like it better as the suite has a much higher level of privacy. But in generic comparisons both have plus and minus which are:
1. CX Suites are more spacious than TG
2. On TG leased 9W bird, there is more privacy
3. CX has the much better bed comfort and IFE
4. TG is much cheaper in F than CX
5. Lounge and groudndservice in home airports (HKG for CX and BKK for TG), TG is way ahead on this aspect.
B7474 From United States of America, joined Mar 2001, 247 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (1 year 8 months 3 weeks 4 days 13 hours ago) and read 13643 times:
gabrielchew From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2005, 2512 posts, RR: 13 Reply 10, posted (1 year 8 months 3 weeks 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 13533 times:
Looks like you stayed in some nice hotels. USD120 for the Raffles in Tianjin is a great bargain. Interesting mix of airlines and classes. J,F,J,F!
ronerone From Jordan, joined Aug 2004, 1541 posts, RR: 54 Reply 11, posted (1 year 8 months 3 weeks 3 days 22 hours ago) and read 13284 times:
Hi TGA345,
The Raffles Tianjin by far was the ultimate highlight of this TR! What a beauty!!!!
Great report! I haven't seen KA's F cabin before, and the seating looks okay. Though how much different is the service to KA's already quite expanded J service?
As for CX's regional J seats, it's nothing to write home about, but i still think the seats are extremely comfortable!
And since your TR, CX now have new menu designs, which feature covers that are more plain and much simpler than the older versions (a trend many airlines seem to be adopting of late).
Thanks for sharing! Hope all is well!
Cheers,
Roni
A Stop Away From One-Stop, Is Non-Stop : Airbus A340-500
thaia345 From Indonesia, joined Oct 2006, 814 posts, RR: 17 Reply 12, posted (1 year 8 months 3 weeks 3 days 11 hours ago) and read 13106 times:
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 10): Interesting mix of airlines and classes. J,F,J,F!
This is due to the varied equipment that operates the routes i am flying.
Quoting ronerone (Reply 11): Though how much different is the service to KA's already quite expanded J service?
Almost the same but it does feel a little more personalised though
Quoting ronerone (Reply 11): And since your TR, CX now have new menu designs, which feature covers that are more plain and much simpler than the older versions (a trend many airlines seem to be adopting of late).
Thanks for sharing! Hope all is well!
You are welcome, and thanks for updating me on the Menu design. i am in LAX now, flying back on Tuesday on CX F, so maybe i can see the new menus then
abrelosojos From Venezuela, joined May 2005, 4917 posts, RR: 55 Reply 13, posted (1 year 8 months 2 weeks 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 12063 times:
Quoting thaia345 (Reply 12):
You are welcome, and thanks for updating me on the Menu design. i am in LAX now, flying back on Tuesday on CX F, so maybe i can see the new menus then
= WOW! I was on the LAX-HKG flight on Tuesday as well - how weird/ironic/sad. Though, which rotation were you on? Sadly, I was seated in J.
Thanks again for yet another stellar report. Personally, I find it unacceptable that CX can still get away with these JCL products regionally. And, maybe it is just me - but I found the meal service on CX's outbound legs to be very small?
thaia345 From Indonesia, joined Oct 2006, 814 posts, RR: 17 Reply 14, posted (1 year 8 months 1 week 6 days 16 hours ago) and read 11478 times:
Quoting abrelosojos (Reply 13): Though, which rotation were you on? Sadly, I was seated in J.
Hi Alex, i was actually on the CX881 rotation which departed LAX on 07 Sep at 0130hrs. Whivh one were you on?
Quoting abrelosojos (Reply 13): Personally, I find it unacceptable that CX can still get away with these JCL products regionally. And, maybe it is just me - but I found the meal service on CX's outbound legs to be very small?
Actually regional product wise, CX is really behind now, especially with TG using their newer A333 with lie flats or refurbished B777's also with lie flats around the region. My pick flying from CGK to HKG is usually GA due to their far superior inflight products.
abrelosojos From Venezuela, joined May 2005, 4917 posts, RR: 55 Reply 15, posted (1 year 5 months 1 week 2 hours ago) and read 8594 times:
Quoting thaia345 (Reply 14): Hi Alex, i was actually on the CX881 rotation which departed LAX on 07 Sep at 0130hrs. Whivh one were you on?
= Haha. I am sure I ran into you without knowing you - I was on 883 on 6SEP. Next time, we coordinate better!
Quoting thaia345 (Reply 14): Actually regional product wise, CX is really behind now, especially with TG using their newer A333 with lie flats or refurbished B777's also with lie flats around the region. My pick flying from CGK to HKG is usually GA due to their far superior inflight products.
= Agreed. I am dying to try GA - all I hear is how fantastic it is. Do you think they can maintain it?
thaia345 From Indonesia, joined Oct 2006, 814 posts, RR: 17 Reply 16, posted (1 year 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 7 hours ago) and read 6509 times:
Quoting abrelosojos (Reply 15): Agreed. I am dying to try GA - all I hear is how fantastic it is. Do you think they can maintain it?
Hi ALex.....yup, so far GA is maintaining their inflight product and service in J. On all aircraft from the B738 and A333/2. Only aircraft to avoid are the classic B737's which are far and few in between anyways, and their B744 which are mainly used on Haj flights.
As long as you stick to their mainline route, you will get their new aircraft with new inflight product.
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