I've always thought of Hong Kong to be an expensive until I saw Cathay had a very decent two for one sale in Premium Economy for $600 return from Kuala Lumpur which seemed to be very good value as economy prices weren't far off. You guys may remember I was challenged to budget and keep this trip from being too spectacular so the prices seemed to justify itself as Premium on Cathay only cost $100 SGD over regular economy fares so I though... why not.
After checking out of the Sama Sama hotel we made our way towards the sky bridge which connects the hotel directly to KLIA. The hotel offer's buggy services between the hotel and terminal which is very convenient, fast and it makes heads turn as you zip past other passengers inside the terminal.
Having One World Sapphire status allowed us to check in via the business/ first desk which saw our bags get priority tags as well as receiving a lounge pass and fast track cards. The general immigration lines were slowly flowing so we walked straight up to the priority lanes which wasn't manned at all, no one asked for the passes and the officer didn't even bother looking up at us.
Array of airlines.. I wanted to take them, all of them.
We approached the security lanes which didn't have priority lanes so we lined up like everyone else, waiting, observing and people watching, a family who travels for the first time, the impatient business traveller and us. We finally cleared security and I absolutely love it when we don't have to remove laptops and lags, bags straight through the x-ray machine and that was it.
Our flight was departing from the satellite terminal so a train ride was necessary to reach the lounge and gate. It was a smooth journey as we waited under five minutes for a train trip which took approximately five minutes. There was an array of shops I wanted to explore but I didn't need a $2000 bag so it was upstairs to the Cathay lounge.
The Cathay First and Business lounge is located upstairs where the majority of the lounges are located at KLIA. We entered the lounge and was greeted by a very confusing looking lounge angel as she directed us inside the lounge.
The lounge was very Cathay. White marble for the outside and an assortment of spirits, hot and cold items as well as ample space for seating and a apple and windows work area.
The self serve buffet area.
Magazine and reading materials.
Shared hightop bench seating.
Healthy options.
Pasta and curry fish being the hot options.
Spirits and wine.
Some plane spotting in the lounge.
We spent roughly an hour in the lounge with seating by the windows which gave a pleasant view of the near by gates for a few shots and snaps of planes. The hot food options were of decent quality and I observed the staff constantly replenishing the food. I wasn't really in a mood to sit so we left the lounge, grabbed a Starbucks frappe and walked towards gate 36.
Check Out A Thai Air Asia Flight
Check Out A Thai Air Asia Flight
We faced another quick passport check and faced two staff members dressed in Cathay uniform who were actively policing the queues and directing passengers to the right sections. A quick check of our boarding passes and she directed us into the priority section by the window which gave a nice view of our aircraft.
Todays chariot.
Boarding procedures commenced not long after I sat down and the agent ensured everyone who was in our little section boarded before the general passengers did. So far a great virgin experience on Cathay Pacific. We headed towards door 2L and flashed our boarding passes at the smiling crew who directed us through the mini business cabin towards the premium cabin.
The herringbone business class seats looked amazing and a quick wipe of drool from my mouth as I made my way to our cabin that saw we were the only passengers travelling in premium today. Today we were in 33A and C, the seats were comfortable as I started to play and browse on the very interactive CX Studio. Months of researching on the Cathay premium product had come to an end as I sat there while many of the flight crew smiled and greeted us as they passed through the cabin. The purser made general announcements in Cantonese and english and before knowing the captain started pushing back.
Plenty of space for my bag.
A view across the cabin.
Very decent legroom.
Hey Big Girl.
A slight left turn on the runway bought back the familiar sounds of engine roar as we gained speed down the runway and glided towards the blue sky. As our seats were on the wing the sounds of the rolls royce engines sounded ever so pleasing as it cut off the sounds of a crying child back in economy, today was going to be a good flight and no infant, child or demanding adult would interfere with my experience.
As the captain levelled the metal mid air the seat belt signs had been extinguished like the Olympic flame which bought the flight attendants to life as three of them made their way from economy into premium and proceeded to collect the unused headphones and store them into one of the overhead compartments. Whoosh, the sounds of the curtains being drawn separated us by class as we got handed a bag of nuts, a antiseptic towelette and change for good envelope.
I decided to switch seats to 33D and space myself out as well as start to explore the cabin and seat.
The very responsive inflight entertainment touch screen, its not like the type where you really have to start punching and begin a IFE seat war with the passenger in front of you. Contents were plentiful with a wide array of international movies, music and traditional Chinese movies and series. Kids had the options of cartoons, games as well as inflight shopping, duty free and destination services and tips.
A great design with a usb and connectivity port which also includes a mini storage compartment below.
Contents inside the seat pocket.
A Malaysian flight attendant made his way into the cabin with a tray of drinks to commence the food service so I went with a coke to which he happily placed down on the retractable drink holder. I asked him to return once he was finished as I wanted to place a duty free order with him.
While having a browse through the in flight duty free magazine and my eyes got attracted to a cute plush toy Cathay branded horse which I really wanted, the second thing I saw was that Cathay stocked a travellers sim card that didn't need to get activated as well as came with a three day unlimited MTR pass which was of great value at $150HKD.
The Bahasa speaking flight attendant returned five minutes later and I pointed to him to the items I wanted which he was happy to go and have a look for and unluckily the plush horse wasn't available as it wasn't stocked.
Branded by Cathay.
A few minutes after another friendly Malaysian flight attendant greeted us as she took our meal orders. A thing to note is that on longer premium routes passengers would get catered meals from business as well as economy but due to the short flight time of four hours we only got offered a choice of meals from economy which was between a sweet and sour fish or curry chicken which was served with rice. The side dishes included 3 pieces of fruit, a semi warm bread roll and a kit kat.
Crunchy sweet and sour fish with egg fried rice.
Curry chicken with rice.
We naturally went with either option as the flight attendant grabbed two meal trays from her trolley in the economy cabin behind her. The meals were of great quality and tasted fine although it was a tad disappointing that premium passengers received meals from economy. After finishing the meals I decided to leave the tray on the seat beside me as I began to stretch and snap up pics of the cabin.
A few flight attendants floated though the cabin and asked if I wanted anything to which I asked for water and was given a bottle from business class while she observed and headed into the business cabin and returned with two additional pillows just incase I wanted to dose off. The flight attendants were very friendly with their service and smiles were always on like it it had been surgically enhanced on their faces.
Nothing beats having a cabin to yourself.
The bulkhead seat 33H with footrest.
Seat, pillow, blanket and pocket contents.
Space and comfort in the premium cabin.
The only negative thing I can say about the Cathay experience would be that the cabin doesn't have its own dedicated flight attendants and we share's the same meals and lavatories with the economy passengers which often see's a array of death stares when you emerge through the curtain to head towards the lavatories.
Combs, and air freshener.
I noticed he lavatory was kept in a very clean and tidy condition throughout the flight. I decided to walk towards the rear galley and head back towards my cabin where I decided to snap up some pics of the smaller economy cabin. I've grown to love Airbus and am very fond of the couples seating on either side of the plane to which I'll be taking in economy in the next coming weeks. The seating width and leg room looked very decent for a legacy carrier.
The screens look huge, a very appealing economy seat.
Some snaps of smaller economy cabin.
As I returned and sat down in my seat, the senior purser emerged from the business cabin and found her way to my seat as she smiled and kneeled down and asked if I would participate by filling out a survey to which I happily accepted as she giggled and smiled and handed over a document and Cathay pen which I could keep upon completing the survey.
The inflight service manager in her sleek black uniform emerged ten minutes after and introduced herself and asked a variety of questions as to how service, food and general flight was not to mention welcoming a low sapphire member and thanked us for flying Cathay. That probably was the seal of approval that would personally rank Cathay's service and staff interaction's higher than Singapore Airlines.
The captain announced there would be slight turbulence on descent as he switched on the seat belt signs early as the flight attendants secured and buckled down as we descended into Asia's world city - Hong Kong. I was excited as Hong Kong was always a city that fascinated me, from the history to culture as well as shopping and food. I didn't know when I would have the opportunity to go to Hong Kong and before I knew it we were slowly approaching land.
Nearly there.
And we have touchdown.
As the plane began to decline in speed I whipped out my camera to snap some pics of the planes and scenery that was at the airport and it was a beautiful scene as we made our way to the gate past many different carriers.
A first seeing British Airways A380.
Finnair, Emirates and Singapore.
We arrived at a very distant gate and the flight attendants blocked off economy until we de planed, I thanked the crew on the way out as we passed the ever so comfortable looking business class seats. We walked a fair distance, went up a few escalators until we reached immigration which gave Singapore officials a run for their money. I wanted a stamp in my passport and asked nicely only to receive a piece of paper which was a shame.
We made our way to the baggage carousel to collect our luggage which was already circulating on the conveyor belt and expressed ourselves through the nothing to declare exits towards the express train towards Kowloon.
Hong Kong, I'm totally ready for you.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment