sutrakhk From Hong Kong, joined Apr 2008, 115 posts, RR: 0 Posted (1 year 2 months 2 weeks 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 13042 times:
Background
Hong Kong Airlines will start the All Business Class flight from 7 March, 2012 between HKG-LGW-HKG. Before the long haul service start, HKA use the specific all-business A330-200 in regional routes to demonstrate the products and services, and they chose Shanghai (SHA) be the first port to receive the inaugural flight on 14 February, 2012.
As HKA use the all-J A332 on that day only, so I managed to do the same day return as well – to try their new service and taste the smell of the brand new aircraft.
Reservation
Booking wasn’t easy to be honest, especially my original plan was booking mixed-class return ticket which cannot do online. So I tried the reservation hotline, problem started…… I called the hotline 4 times, here are the results:
1. Cannot connect
2. Diverted to Hainan Reservation Hotline (Putonghua)
3. Cannot connect
4. Finally connected to Hong Kong Airlines Hotline, but they said they cannot issue the ticket for me, please use the travel agent……I was shocked
After all, I used the easiest way, booked online and do single class only
On the day of travel
On 14 February morning, I headed to the airport and arrived 3 hours before the flight
HX check-in counter in HKIA aisle K
Check-in counters
Dedicated counter for the flight
Upgrade for every passengers
Time to go through the security and immigration
Narrow bodies at one side
Head to the lounge for some food, lounge invitation
You can choose to use the stair
Or the lift to access the lounge
Entrance of the lounge
Seating area
Business corner
View from the lounge – MH 77E at Gate 23
Food corner
Hot dishes
Several kinds of Dim Sum is offering, nice!
Or you can choose cup noodles on the list
Drink corner
My choice
Washroom
The lounge was tiny but adequate, however I think HKA need a bigger lounge if all the business class passengers visit the lounge at the same time.
I left the lounge to take some more photos about the event that day.
Focus for the day, the first HKA All Business Class A330-200 B-LNJ, at Gate 25 loading the meal already
14 February 2012
Hong Kong (HKG) – Shanghai Honqiao (SHA)
Airline: Hong Kong Airlines
Flight: HX 238
Aircraft: A330-200
Registration: B-LNJ
Seat: 9K (Club Premier)
Gate: 25
Arriving Gate: B10
Gate 25
Boarding Pass
Expected departure at 15:15
Gate area
Flight crew and attendants board the plane
Once again, B-LNJ
Boarding started at 15:00, everyone got a certificate for the inaugural flight
Once I was onboard, photos here and there
First Cabin – Club Premier
Second Cabin (Front) – Club Premier
Second Cabin (Back) – Club Classic
Third Cabin – Club Classic
The single Club Classic seats at the rear – K side
A side
The back of the Club Classic seats
Bar area for Club Classic
Bar area for Club Premier
My seat 9K, the last row of Club Premier
Look private, right?
View from my seat
Seat pitch is good
Seat control
Table
Same problem as OZ
Overhead panel
15.4 inches IFE screen
Some reading materials
Safety Informartion
Sickness Bag
Location of the seat control, IFE control, headphone plug, power socket
Welcome drink and towel was offered
Push back at 15:30, and airborne after the powerful takeoff
Let’s have some entertainment
IFE remote
Headphones
Cruising above the clouds
Meal service started and my table was set
Starters
Crab Meat Salad with Horseradish Dressing, it was incredible, very delicious and good quality!
Main Courses
Beef Steak in Red Wine Sauce with Roasted Potato Wedge and Western Vegetable, the steak was tender, juicy, and the sides was nice also
After the meal service, let’s visit the washroom
Although not much time left, I manage to try out the flat bed
The pillow is supportive and the duvet is really comfortable, soft, warm and light
1 hour 50 minutes passed quickly, and it is time to deplane
One more, first cabin during deplane
Docked at Gate B10 in SHA
Passed the immigration in no time as we only have 110 passengers, and some are waiting their check luggages
HKA have extended the turnaround time at SHA to 2.5 hours rather than the normal 50 minutes (737) for media activities, so I take the time to visit the Terminal 2 – which is 15 minutes bus ride from Terminal 1
Terminal 2 – Airy, Modern and New
Terminal 2 is connected to Shanghai Rail Station
Back to Terminal 1, our flight is the last international flight for the day
Check-in area
HX check-in counters
Advertisement for the all Business flight to London
Although it was the one-off flight, HKA still have full set of signage in SHA
Counters
Again
Customs/Immigration
At airside again, some decorations at Gate B10
Press conference was over already
Lounge invitation
Lounge near Gate B11
Inside
Hot food
My choice
14 February 2012
Shanghai Honqiao (SHA) – Hong Kong (HKG)
Airline: Hong Kong Airlines
Flight: HX 239
Aircraft: A330-200
Registration: B-LNJ
Seat: 4A (Club Premier)
Gate: B10
Arriving Gate: 43
Gate B10
Boarding Pass
The load was light for the inbound flight
Boarding started at 20:15, and I was onboard B-LNJ again, this time in the first cabin
Seat 5A
Middle seats of row 3, the divider can be raised for privacy
My seat 4A
Door closed at 20:30 thanks to the light load, and I have the first cabin all to myself.
When taxiing to runway, changed to mood lighting
766 miles to go
Dinner service started soon after takeoff
Starters
Phoenix Tailed Shrimp with Mixed Mushroom
Main Courses
Pan Fried Port Stuffed with Creamy Vegetable with Anna Potato and Western Vegetable, my best pork dish in the air so far
Dessert
Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream
Seasonal Fresh Fruit
Washroom visit
First cabin from the front
Seat 4D in flat bed mode
With mattress
Club Premier bar, will have some snacks during London flight
The senior FA lead me to try the Club Classic seat
The Club Classic seat in fully reclined mode
Seat pitch is very good!
Rear cabin
Menu, [Left]Club Premier [Right]Business Class
The flight touched down in 2 hours 10 minutes and the FA wish all the passengers have a happy valentines day!
Comment:
Lounge:
Lounge in Hong Kong was tiny, but with everything we need. One worry is that if the lounge can accommodate all the 116 passengers at the same time but rumors stated that HKA is finding the new place for the bigger lounge now. Serving Dim Sum in lounge is smart and easy way to make customers happy, good touch HKA!
Service:
Service was great, from check-in, at gate and even onboard, the staffs were nice and helpful. For this special flight, HKA have 18 FAs onboard to serve the customers and make the service very good. FAs in HKA is very young, but I found that they are cheerful and they really love their job in HKA, I found their service may even better than the major players in the world.
Hardware:
Seats:
Club Premier – The flat bed seats are the nearly the same as EY or OZ, I agreed that the seat on A330-200 is a bit narrow, but as a big man like me, I found it is still comfortable is seat and sleep with, the only problem is that the leg area is too open especially at the aisle seats, add a cover will be better.
Club Classic – The reclined seats are actually the regional business class seats on SQ and CX, but with more seating pitch, it makes the seating comfort upgraded a lot! Seating there for long-haul flight should be a joyful experience.
Entertainment:
The touch screen IFE offering is great with many choices of movies, TV and music. On the other hand, free onboard internet will be offered (with limit) on the LGW service, it is good for both leisure and business travelers to spend their time during the flight.
Price:
Club Premier is near the same price as other carriers, including Chauffeur service in LGW, I think it is value for money.
Club Classic is another tier, I can say this is a very good J minus product, which have a great seat, good meal and a dedicated onboard bar for 12 hours. For the price at around HK$13,000 round trip HKG-LGW-HKG, it believe it is a very good choice for the customers which can pay a bit more than Economy Class. Especially CX is offering Premium Economy Class (Y+) from April with the nearly the same price as HX, I would definitely choose HX over CX, for the 2-2-2 seats on A330 rather than 2-4-2 seats on 747, onboard WiFi, better seating pitch.
Good luck and hope Hong Kong Airlines will success for the new LGW route!!
Extra – Good Seats/Not so Good Seats
Club Premier – 9A, 9K Good inside seats at the back, but in case of no infants around you. 5A, 5K are aisle seats just next to the onboard bar, which can be avoid
Club Classic – 22-24 A,K Good single seats with lots of room, I would rate row 22 the best!
toby25 From Hong Kong, joined May 2008, 68 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (1 year 2 months 2 weeks 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 12085 times:
Excellent TR, I don't know much about HX and I was hoping for a detailed report like this one should I book with them. For some reason I always considered them as a LCC. How did you hear about this inaugural flight to SHA?
HX has gotten some bad press recently, I was reading on our IntraCX that they were blasted for transporting live dolphins from Japan; their advanced booking to LGW is only about 30% and they are getting pressure over the purchase of A380. I wonder what their current growth strategy is? Is HKG big enough for two full service carriers operating out of HKG?
Their single business Club Classic seat look a tad lonely like that lol and the bar looks very plastic. Do you know if HX will operating their A330 all business class aircraft to other ports outside of London?
airbuseric From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 4015 posts, RR: 52 Reply 2, posted (1 year 2 months 2 weeks 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 12043 times:
Great report to show the new product of HK Airlines. I think it's not bad, but not sure if they can get the public to pay a bit more cash to fly in the 'business minus' cabin. The aircraft interior looks very 'Chinese' to me and remembers me to my local Chinese restaurant... a lot of shiny red and bling bling. First time to see this in combination with an aircraft interior.
I must agree on the food quality which looks really nice.
"The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going"
burj From United States of America, joined Nov 2007, 838 posts, RR: 5 Reply 4, posted (1 year 2 months 2 weeks 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 11805 times:
Wow! I always enjoy your trip reports and look forward to reading them!
This is a really unique product and flight and I'm so glad you get to try it out!
The club classic seat looks like the same seat Delta uses for BusinessElite on their 757s... However the recline didn't look that good considering all the pitch.
I LOVE the single seats at the back of the plane! They remind me of the first class seats on the larger CRJ's and ERJ's...where they have 1-aisle-2 seating... It is always cool to have both a window AND an aisle seat!
Regarding the lounge...how much connecting traffic will they have there? I wonder how many of the people on this special HKG-LGW flight will be originating in HKG, since they probably won't be spending much time in the lounge before the flight...
Thanks again for sharing your unique experience with us!
gabrielchew From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2005, 2512 posts, RR: 14 Reply 5, posted (1 year 2 months 2 weeks 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 11293 times:
Thanks for posting this - I was wondering what their planes looked like on the inside - looks great! Unfortunately, as you mentioned, their website isn't very good. I'm finding it quite hard to get a quote on their LGW-HKG services.
abrelosojos From Venezuela, joined May 2005, 4915 posts, RR: 55 Reply 6, posted (1 year 2 months 2 weeks 1 day 1 hour ago) and read 11254 times:
I am rather impressed - their seats and the entire feel of the cabin looks very impressive and the configuration on a 330 is revolutionary. I don't know what the business case is, and have not done quick math, but I must give an applause to HX for trying something new - if they can beat CX at their own game, this is a good thing. More importantly, anything to get CX to shake out their lethargy!
Thank you very much for writing this up. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Saludos,
A.
PS: Below is not good - and the exact same thing happened to me as well - worse case was that their agents seemed entirely clueless. They really do need to separate an Hong Kong focussed entity from the service ethos of Chinese Hainan Airlines.
Quoting sutrakhk (Thread starter): Reservation
Booking wasn’t easy to be honest, especially my original plan was booking mixed-class return ticket which cannot do online. So I tried the reservation hotline, problem started…… I called the hotline 4 times, here are the results:
1. Cannot connect
2. Diverted to Hainan Reservation Hotline (Putonghua)
3. Cannot connect
4. Finally connected to Hong Kong Airlines Hotline, but they said they cannot issue the ticket for me, please use the travel agent……I was shocked
ronerone From Jordan, joined Aug 2004, 1541 posts, RR: 54 Reply 7, posted (1 year 2 months 2 weeks 1 day 1 hour ago) and read 11078 times:
I have never in my entire life of traveling over 30 years seen something like this before.
This has got to be the slickest design, and the BEST looking cabin, combination of loud colors, and overall theme i have EVER seen!
I have taken this whole premium only idea by HK Airlines for granted, but only until right now! I am not sure how viable this idea is, as putting up a fight against CX at its very own home is not a test any airline can pass. But i am most certainly sure that i am trying this product out real soon!
Thank you for sharing this!
Regards,
Roni
A Stop Away From One-Stop, Is Non-Stop : Airbus A340-500
BOACCunard From United States of America, joined Dec 2009, 784 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (1 year 2 months 2 weeks 14 hours ago) and read 10165 times:
I must say, this looks like a rather splendid product.
All-premium services do not exactly have a history of success so it will be interesting to see if this can buck the trend. I hope it does.
Is there any difference between Club Premier and Club Classic other than the seats? If they are two entirely different classes of service would you say it is business and premium economy, or, um... Business plus and business, or something? How do they show up in GDSes? I'm a bit confused at what the different classes of service mean here. If Club Classic is marketed as a very luxurious premium economy product (at least in terms of pricing and fare codes) I think that would help.
My first thought too. It seems very cramped so I can imagine that they would be looking at another location.
Quoting sutrakhk (Thread starter): the only problem is that the leg area is too open especially at the aisle seats,
The other thing that I noticed was the table hinge which, at least in the photos, appears to project quite a bit. But the cabin does provide a lot of space for passengers.
Thai744 From Australia, joined Jun 2004, 249 posts, RR: 0 Reply 11, posted (1 year 2 months 2 weeks 9 hours ago) and read 9726 times:
Great trip report - thank you!
That is one of the funkiest, slickest, hottest (literally!) looking planes in the air. It's astounding.
I guess with red being a "lucky" colour for Chinese it makes sense to fit the aircraft out in this colour.
Club Premier looks great, but Club Classic looks like a "Premium Economy" product to me - is it marketed as such? Still very comfortable for a long-haul flight.
Definitely a boutique airline similar to Bangkok Air I feel. Worth keeping an eye on.
1stfl94 From United Kingdom, joined May 2006, 1452 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 6 days 23 hours ago) and read 8926 times:
Whilst it looks very funky, little bit Austin Powers style, I doubt this is going to last. Consider that between CX, BA, NZ and VS you have around 10 daily flights between London and Hong Kong are they really going to get enough bums on seats.
stipica From Croatia, joined Feb 2011, 398 posts, RR: 8 Reply 15, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 6 days 20 hours ago) and read 8625 times:
Hi sutrakhk !
I read almost daily trip report section and i must say your work is the best ... big fan ...
this HK offer is very interesting , as the whole company, especially 22A ... I like Chinese component that is present throughout the product and hope that everything is in place for success ... what is your opinion regarding the success and loyal passenger base ?
thank you for every moment you have invested in this trip report and for whole opus ... stipica
UNDpilot From United States of America, joined Dec 1999, 76 posts, RR: 0 Reply 16, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 6 days 13 hours ago) and read 8285 times:
Great report!
Club premier seats are identical to the newly installed business class seats on the Hainan Airlines A330-300s. There has not been a lot of talk of them but they are out there. I flew Hainan Shenzhen-Sydney in December and thought it was marvelous. Good to get the HNA airlines a bit more coverage on this website.
Carfield From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 1726 posts, RR: 9 Reply 18, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 5 days 8 hours ago) and read 7441 times:
Thanks for a super trip report! I am curious about the interior of HX all J class A330s and I sort of wish that I know about the inaugural flight to SHA. I will have join the flight and HX J fares to SHA is very reasonable.
The new cabin looks nice, but the cabin color scheme is not too my liking. Not a big RED fan, but knowing its link to HX and color scheme, I am not surprised. Just a softer color!
Other than that, the seats look nice, and I think Club Classic seats are miles ahead of those outdated CX regional J seats.
The food presentation looks nice and I hope HX will adopt it to all wide body business class service. My last J meal experience with HX was disappointing at best. But I agree the F/As are more trying than CX and make a greater effort in providing good service.
About the lounge, I agree with your comment. It is way too small for the London flights and needs to expand out. Cup Noodles are not very good and they can do better. At least use a more expensive brand...
Thanks for sharing and this trip report definitely is well-detailed!
sutrakhk From Hong Kong, joined Apr 2008, 115 posts, RR: 0 Reply 19, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 5 days 2 hours ago) and read 7218 times:
Quoting toby25 (Reply 1): Excellent TR, I don't know much about HX and I was hoping for a detailed report like this one should I book with them. For some reason I always considered them as a LCC. How did you hear about this inaugural flight to SHA?
HX has gotten some bad press recently, I was reading on our IntraCX that they were blasted for transporting live dolphins from Japan; their advanced booking to LGW is only about 30% and they are getting pressure over the purchase of A380. I wonder what their current growth strategy is? Is AND OLD: Hong Kong - Kai Tak International (HKG / VHHH) (closed), China - Hong Kong">HKG big enough for two full service carriers operating out of AND OLD: Hong Kong - Kai Tak International (HKG / VHHH) (closed), China - Hong Kong">HKG?
Their single business Club Classic seat look a tad lonely like that lol and the bar looks very plastic. Do you know if HX will operating their A330 all business class aircraft to other ports outside of London?
Very nice report - i thoroughly enjoyed it!
Actually I don't know why HKA would have a LCC image to public, haha
I heard about this flight during a radio program that about travel.
I don't know whether Hong Kong is big enough for 2 full service carriers, but I think competition is good thing for passengers.
Quoting burj (Reply 4): Wow! I always enjoy your trip reports and look forward to reading them!
This is a really unique product and flight and I'm so glad you get to try it out!
The club classic seat looks like the same seat Delta uses for BusinessElite on their 757s... However the recline didn't look that good considering all the pitch.
I LOVE the single seats at the back of the plane! They remind me of the first class seats on the larger CRJ's and ERJ's...where they have 1-aisle-2 seating... It is always cool to have both a window AND an aisle seat!
Regarding the lounge...how much connecting traffic will they have there? I wonder how many of the people on this special AND OLD: Hong Kong - Kai Tak International (HKG / VHHH) (closed), China - Hong Kong">HKG-LGW flight will be originating in AND OLD: Hong Kong - Kai Tak International (HKG / VHHH) (closed), China - Hong Kong">HKG, since they probably won't be spending much time in the lounge before the flight...
Thanks again for sharing your unique experience with us!
Thanks burj!
All 116 passengers are eligible to access the lounge, but it is the most extreme case, haha!
Quoting abrelosojos (Reply 6): PS: Below is not good - and the exact same thing happened to me as well - worse case was that their agents seemed entirely clueless. They really do need to separate an Hong Kong focussed entity from the service ethos of Chinese Hainan Airlines.
I agree, hope they can have thrie own reservation team soon!
Quoting BOACCunard (Reply 9): Is there any difference between Club Premier and Club Classic other than the seats? If they are two entirely different classes of service would you say it is business and premium economy, or, um... Business plus and business, or something? How do they show up in GDSes? I'm a bit confused at what the different classes of service mean here. If Club Classic is marketed as a very luxurious premium economy product (at least in terms of pricing and fare codes) I think that would help.
Actually other than the seats, Club Premier would have Bulgari amenity kits but Classic do not, 5 course meal vs. 3 course meal and the limousine service.
They marketed both as business class service, but according to their pricing, I believe it is focusing on the more popular Premium Economy class.
That is one of the funkiest, slickest, hottest (literally!) looking planes in the air. It's astounding.
I guess with red being a "lucky" colour for Chinese it makes sense to fit the aircraft out in this colour.
Club Premier looks great, but Club Classic looks like a "Premium Economy" product to me - is it marketed as such? Still very comfortable for a long-haul flight.
Definitely a boutique airline similar to Bangkok Air I feel. Worth keeping an eye on.
Let's hope they come to Australia soon!
Club Classic maybe treated as J minus in my opinion, and its pricing is about the same as those in Premium Economy, so when you consider thise class, you may take HKA as one of the choice.
Quoting LXM83 (Reply 12): It looks like they put a "Club Premier" sticker on each boarding pass?
After getting used to the colourful interior I kind of liked it.
Best regards, LXM83
That was the Tempoary Boarding Pass, the proper one is out already!
I read almost daily trip report section and i must say your work is the best ... big fan ...
this HK offer is very interesting , as the whole company, especially 22A ... I like Chinese component that is present throughout the product and hope that everything is in place for success ... what is your opinion regarding the success and loyal passenger base ?
thank you for every moment you have invested in this trip report and for whole opus ... stipica
In my opinion, as HX is not a member of the three alliances yet, so I think the normal business travellers would still go for OW or Star carriers in this route, so I think the target customers should be those leisure travellers who have 1-2 trips annually and they can afford a little bit more for Premium Economy class.
Conclusion:
If you are a traveler which do not stick to one alliance, for HKG-London service, I strongly recommend you to try HKA, since their departure/arrival time is the best (Both red eye), and 116 passengers on A330-200 provide you a very comfortable enviroment.
Especially if you are the one want to use the Premium Economy Class, let's compare on HKG-London route:
BA (772), CX (747), NZ (772), VS (346), QF (747), HX (332), I believe the Club Classic would be the top on the list with lounge access, nice seats with very good legroom(51" vs 36-38") .
Anyway , their Inaugural flight to London is on the way going to London now, good luck HKA!!
ORDJOE From United States of America, joined Aug 2010, 581 posts, RR: 0 Reply 20, posted (1 year 2 months 1 week 5 days ago) and read 7098 times:
The seats and meals look really nice, but agreed, the cabin design looks like this chinese restaurant near my house that opened in the 70s.
I
Quoting sutrakhk (Reply 19): In my opinion, as HX is not a member of the three alliances yet, so I think the normal business travellers would still go for OW or Star carriers in this route, so I think the target customers should be those leisure travellers who have 1-2 trips annually and they can afford a little bit more for Premium Economy class.
This market is far smaller than people think and most people willing to pay more are usually tied to a certain airline or alliance, my thought is this thing will fall flat on its face. I doubt it will get much business contracts either. This all J concept has been tried (maxjet, L'avion, openskies) and most have failed, openskies is struggling and now is putting in a Y cabin. It seems SQ's A345 all J service is the only one doing all right. I hope HK airlines does well as more competition is better, but I do not see this all J lasting too long.
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Even the mood lighting was red! There's way too much red in the cabin for my liking.
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