As part of my discounted Hong Kong Airlines business class ticket, I had to fly to Bangkok and back. It gave me the chance to test out two more business class seats offered by Hong Kong Airlines.
I actually tried to ditch these segments in Hong Kong. There was no reason to go to Bangkok (the Hyatt Regency won’t open until next month) and I just wanted to get home. While I wasn’t optimistic about my chances for success, I figured it would not hurt to ask the ticket counter agent if I could drop my HKG-BKK-HKG segments and just fly back to Los Angeles.
Oh, it was possible all right. Possible for a $300 change fee…and add-collect of nearly $3,000! So on to Bangkok it was…
My A330-300 on the way down featured similar business class seats to my LAX-HKG flight. The staggered lie-flat beds offered comfort and privacy, though the ~2 hour flight to Bangkok was too short to nap on.
The western meal choice was beef tenderloin and although cooked well-done, turned out very nicely. My colleague told me his steak turned out medium rare…
The return to Hong Kong was aboard an older A330-300 with 2-2-2 seating in business class. These seats are still used by Singapore Airlines among others and I was still able to enjoy a nap onboard due to the 4:00AM departure time.
Breakfast choices included a Chinese noodle dish, scrambled eggs, or crepes. The scrambled eggs were fine, but the hot almond croissant was very tasty. Hong Kong Airlines also offers very decent espresso onboard.
CONCLUSION
I commend Hong Kong Airlines for excellent onboard cuisine, western choices on each flight, and great service and comfort overall. One flight left to Los Angeles: will I end up with the new business class seat?
Stay tuned for a full trip report.
Looks like very, very cheap industrial yogurt. Nice going, cheap-o classless mainland China (masquerading as HK) airline.