Hong Kong Airlines Flight Experience Hong Kong-Denpasar-Hong Kong
The experience starts with a very informal check in procedure at aisle K at Hong Kong airport. No zig zag lines, just a welcoming office desk style setup where you are met, formalities are completed, and your bags taken away for tagging.
Hong Kong Airlines now have two lounges at Hong Kong Airport, the older of the two. The Bauhinia Lounge is located beneath Gate 23 and was the lounge we used on our last visit. The food and beverage choice were good, but we found the lounge quite crowded on our visit. For this trip we visited the new Club Autus Lounge situated at the infield terminal to service Gates 200+. This was a completely different experience, with good food options, both Asian and western, snacks and an open bar serviced by a full-time bar person, serving wine and drinks on demand.
There were several seating options, the ones nearer the full-length ceiling to floor windows gave an excellent view to the apron and one of the active runways, and piped birdsong played as background, all very welcoming and relaxing. After a couple of hours stay the flight was ready to board and our gate was nearest the lounge, so a short walk. In truth this terminal is quite small, and its length can be easily walked in a few minutes.
As business class passengers we were allowed priority boarding and were first on the aircraft, where we were met warmly by the crew, addressed by name, and personally shown to our seat, which is a nice touch, but with only five rows we wouldn't have got lost.
Hong Kong Airlines have large array of business class options, for a relatively small fleet. They only have 28 aircraft that offer business class, and those aircraft carry six variations of their business class product. This is probably four too many, as long haul international and regional versions are usually preferred by other airlines.
Our flight to Denpasar was operated by an Airbus A330v. The seats were arranged in a staggered 1-2-1 formation in pod type seats with lie flat beds. The entertainment system was state of the art, with the latest Hollywood, Bollywood and Asian genre films, and huge choice of TV programmes and albums to listen to.
Before take-off we were offered drinks, and the crew distributed the dinner menu. We had taken advantage of the service offered by the airline, in that we were able to pre-book our meal choice 48 hours before departure. We plumped for the beef, potatoes and vegetables, all served with a choice of champagne, wine or beer. After dinner we were served with a choice of tea and coffee, all served in in large builder’s style mug. The four- and half-hour flight passed so quickly, I am sure at some point I fell asleep missing half the film I’d been watching. We disembarked minutes after the airbridge was extended, and only the lengthy queues at immigration put a dampener on the experience.
For the return flight, we left Denpasar early evening. Check in was efficient and smooth, and navigation through Denpasar airport allowed us to do some last-minute shopping before relaxing in the Premium Lounge alongside passengers from Emirates, Qantas, Thai and many other full service carriers.
We boarded early, to find another business class layout on this particular Airbus A330T aircraft. This one interestingly known as the catchy "Optimares Maxima" configuration. The aircraft is fitted in a 2-2-2 layout, but interestingly set out in a way that even passengers sitting next to the window can access the aisle without disturbing their fellow passengers. Hong Kong Airlines is currently the only airline in the world to use this configuration with built-in inflight entertainment, and they only operate two aircraft in this configuration, B-LHA and B-LHB, this flight was on 'LHB'
I must admit I much preferred this setup as opposed to the pod system. It gives the cabin a bright, airy and futuristic feel. Again, the crew service was attentive and very personal, making several walk throughs enquiring about passenger welfare and dealing with any food or drink requests. This is a brand new configuration to the market, and I found the seats a little hard, but this did not stop my wife and I managing a sleep on the way home.
Disembarkation was quick, and we were soon on the train to the main terminal to collect our bags, grab a taxi and start our journey for the 45-minute drive home.
Cost wise, it is a little more expensive to fly business class rather than economy, though not as expensive as you may first think. I think good value can be found, especially if the flight is over three hours and operated by a wide-bodied aircraft like an A330, which will invariably be fitted with lie flat beds.
if you'd like to know more about these experiences or any others covered by my blogs, please get in touch.