Thursday, December 29, 2011
New Years Trip Ver. 2
Thursday, December 22, 2011
New Years Trip booked!!!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Cathay Upper Deck Biz: HKG-PVG
The seats on this 744 were of the Herringbone type which I did not like very much. There was very little storage and I felt a bit claustrophobic as I settled down in my seat.
Another attractive FA stopped by my seat and offered me a choice of OJ, Champagne, or Water. Since it was 8am in the morning, I did not want to look like a drunkard so I went with the OJ. The FA also offered to hang my jacket. Let me tell ya, the FA wearing the white on Cathay are the most attractive and also the most junior of the bunch. I couldn't help but be nice to them, saying please and thank you after each request . I have long heard that Cathay hired Flight Attendants from neighboring countries based on service not on looks but it seems now days they are hiring more pretty local girls. Some say the service level has dropped because of this but I did not notice this on my flights. The Flight Attendants on the Intra Asia routes were definitely more junior compared to those on the transoceanic routes.
After a smooth takeoff, an American Pilot came on the PA to introduce himself and told us some information about the flight..Surprisingly, all 4 of my flights on Cathay had either American or British Pilots. I guess most of Cathay Pilots are former pilots for legacy carriers in the US. Who woulda funked it. Haha.
The Japanese FA came by to distribute the day's menu and took my meal order. I decided to go with the Dim Sum option as it was excellent on the earlier leg. I also ordered the signature drink of Cathay, Cathay Delight.
My drink arrived shortly and as expected it was pretty tasty. The drink was green in color and had a hint of coconut and kiwi in it.
The service in CX regional Biz was done from carts and everything was placed on a single tray. Although the presentation lacked a bit, the food was tasty and I was pretty satisfied.
After lunch, my tray was cleared and I decided to test out the seat in bed mode. Again, I have to complain here because even though I don't have broad shoulders, I felt as if I was in a coffin. I am glad they are switching these seats out to new generation biz seats. I reclined my seat to the more comfortable upright position and proceeded to watch a couple more episodes of Big Bang Theory.
The Japanese flight attendant approached me and thanked me for my business and asked me very politely to fill out a survey. Although the survey took about 10mins to complete I was able to get a Cathay pen out of the process :-)
Before I knew it, we were on approach into Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Once again, I did not see the ground until 1000-2000ft off the ground due to the heavy smog and pollution in Shanghai.
I was one of the first to reach immigration and my First Class tagged bag was the 3rd one out of the carousal. Not bad, from gate to curbside in under 15min. Really makes you wonder if LAX will have this kind of efficiency if US had a 2 billion population. I have never had to wait more than 5min for immigration at PVG even though I hold an American passport. Really amazing how overstaffed the airport is.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The Wing + The Pier Lounge + HKIA
Seoul Incheon International Airport although a true marvel of both architecture and utility, I feel it lacks in the area of convenience, where the quickest method to the city takes no less than 1 hour. Another qualm I have with Incheon is the organization of the terminals. All airlines aside from Asiana Airlines and Korean Airlines is banished to the Satellite terminal creating major inconveniences when trying to arrange meet ups prior to flight.
I have no major qualms with Singapore's Changi International Airport but I feel the inconsistencies between the terminals at Changi is a major negative. However, I like the fact that the shops are open around the clock unlike at HKIA. Also, although the MRT connects the Airport to downtown Singapore, there is no express service to the city.
Hong Kong International Airport features delectable architecture with brand new terminals featuring high ceilings and large windows great for spotting. DFS shopping is excellent and the terminal even features a Zara. An underground train connects one end of the terminal from the other. And lastly, Hong Kong is only 20min away from the airport and is conveniently accessed using the Airport Express train system.
Also it offers excellent First Class lounges with above average amenities. On my trip, I had the chance to sample both of the First Class lounges: The Wing and the The Pier...
Both lounges are similar featuring excellent shower Cabanas which I will feature in this report.
Upon entering the Wing, I inquired about the possibility of an upgrade on my onward flight to Shanghai as it was on a 744 3 class plane sold as a 2 class flight. However, I was quickly denied and was told that they process status based on status on their frequent flyer program Marco Polo Club. Since I was on an award ticket and had no status on Cathay, I pretty much had no chance even with my originating flight being in First. Slightly depressed I asked for the availability of a shower Cabana and was quickly directed to one of the open Cabanas.
Upon entering my private Cabana, I couldn't help but notice how big the room was. It featured a tub, shower, sink, toilet and rest area, I could basically spend an entire morning relaxing in the space. I will let the photos do the talking...
I took a much needed shower in the rain shower and ran some water in the tub to soak. Unfortunately the water pressure in the tub was awful therefore I was only able to get about half a tub of water when I got out of the shower. Nonetheless, the bath was comfortable and I was even able to spend 15min lounging in the relaxation area.
After a well deserved rest, I headed out to explore the rest of the lounge.
The lounge featured an excellent buffet area, but I was too full to enjoy its offerings. I instead headed out to the seating area. As soon as I sat down, I was offered a drink and I went with a glass of orange of juice. I tried out the WIFI and the signal was excellent.
Soon after, I headed out to check out the Pier Lounge, and it was more of the same thing. Pretty soon it was time to board my flight to Shanghai and I headed out to my gate.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
CX F, LAX-HKG, Trip Report 8/20/11
Once through security my buddy and I made our way to the OneWorld Lounge. Knowing that as an OneWorld F passenger, I am only allowed to bring 1 guest who is traveling on an OneWorld carrier, when I got to the lounge, I had to beg the lounge dragon to get my buddy traveling on Asiana into the lounge. But with a little pleading we made ourselves into the busy OneWorld Lounge and in no time was sipping on our first bottle of Peroni. I had to pace myself because I had bigger better things in front of me and did not want to get wasted before the flight even started. So after a glass of bubbly and the Peroni I bid farewell to my friend and headed down to my gate to find a massive F class line already forming for boarding. And of course there were plenty of Emeralds in the line. Blehhh...
Boarding started within 3min and after walking onto the boarding bridge I turned left and headed in through 1L door of Cathay's magnificent 77W. I was so giddy I could not contain my excitement. I handed my boarding pass to the Service Manager on the plane and was immediately welcomed aboard and guided to my seat.
“Mr. Jiang, we were expecting you, here is your personal suite. Please make yourself comfortable.”
No less than 5 seconds later, one of the F class stewards came by and dropped off the Shanghai Tang Pajamas and Zegna Amenity Kit. He also offered me a drink.
Before he could finish his question, with a huge smile on my face, I blurted out.
“Glass of Krug please.”
The powerful 77W lifted off after a long rotation. 13Hrs and 25min away from Hong Kong International Airport.
The flight attendants snapped into action once the plane reached 10,000ft and distributed the menus for tonight's flight.
Once the seatbelt sign went off I went out to the bathroom to change into my Pajamas.
The IFE was turned on and I began to explore. Before the flight I had already selected the films I wanted to see and dove right into Fast Five. After a quick 3mins of commercial, the movie began to play. The screen size was perfect and the resolution was perfectly fine.
Although I had heard great things about Cathay's chinese food offering, the rack of lamb on the menu caught my eye. I had to have it. So my dinner choice was going to be Caviar with Balik salmon, Truffle with cauliflower soup, Lobster Salad, Rack of lamb, cheese plate and Hazelnut Cake with vanilla ice cream. I decided to switch to the 2007 Lynch Bages on offer(priced at $139 a bottle).
The Lynch Bages although delicious, tasted a slight bit bland as it did not have enough time to mature, but it still ranks among one of the best glass of wine I have ever tasted.
The Caviar and Balik Salmon were extravagant, not as large of an offering of Caviar as they had on board Turkish Airlines(they gave the whole jar) but still it was more than ample. The Balik Salmon was rippling with flavor better than any piece of smoked salmon I have ever tasted.
The soup came next and I could taste the faint bit of truffle in there.
This was followed by the lobster salad filled with 2 whole lobster claws.
The rack of lamb arrived and I dove right in. To be honest I was a little disappointed with this one. The lamb was cooked well with a slight pink center but I did not enjoyed the sauce and mostly regretted not getting the Seafood Stir Fry in XO Sauce.
Despite the full F cabin, the pace of the meal was perfect and I did not have to wait more than 2min for courses to arrive. Really marvelous job by the 2 flight attendants working F that day.
I was then offered some cheese. Although I have never been a fan of cheese, I will try anything on Cathay Pacific once. I just went with the goat cheese and was mildly impressed by the taste. This is certainly not the packets of cheddar they serve on United.
Dessert came next and the Hazelnut cake was moist and heavenly. I also ordered some Bailey's on Ice.
Extremely full at this point, the stewardess cleared the plates and offered to make my bed. I accepted and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. First class on Cathay has 2 bathrooms for 6 passengers. The one on the right is smaller, typical of what you see in economy class. The one on the left side is extremely large and well stocked with orchids. The bathroom was kept immaculate and was extremely pleasant to use.
Once I returned to my seat the stewardess was making my bed and this is what I love about Cathay. She went on to start a conversation with me, something I did not experience on Turkish F. I have always read that Cathay Flight attendants are very personable and easy to talk to unlike the robotic service on Singapore Airlines. The stewardess told me that this was only the second time that she has served anyone as young as me in First Class, and told me that it was a pleasure serving me.
After she was done I climbed on the bed and laid down, a bottle of water was placed at my bedside. The bed was extremely comfortable, wider than the Turkish Airlines First class suites. The duvet was extremely comfortable and I watched a couple more episodes of Big Bang Theory and clocked out for almost 8hrs.
Noticing that I had woken up, the stewardess came around to offer me a drink. I went with a glass of Johnny Walker Blue on the rocks. Seeing that I still had 4hrs left till Hong Kong, I decided to explore the snack menu. I ordered a bowl of Hot Pot Rice and 15min later, my Hot Pot Rice arrived with a bowl of winter melon soup. The soup was simply amazing, full of taste and extremely refreshing. The Hot Pot Rice was also very good, better than any Hot Pot rice I have had in the US. The chicken was moist and the rice was cooked to perfection. Definitely ranks up there as my favorite food I have tried on an airplane.
While I was finishing up my snack, the stewardess came around to ask me what I would like for Breakfast and when I would like it. I chose the mixed fruit smoothie, Ti Kuan Yin tea, fruit plate and the Dim Sum for 1.5hrs before landing.
After the snack I went on to watch another movie and before I noticed my breakfast service was about to begin.
The fruit smoothie was more of a fruit juice but it was excellent.
The fruit plate was fresh and well presented.
The dim sum was definitely delightful. The Har Gaw was excellent and the lotus leaf rice was as good as any dim sum served on land.
Sadly my flight was coming to an end. The IFE was turned off 15min before landing and after a quick descent we landed at a sleepy Hong Kong International Airport. We made it to the gate within 5min and I was the first to get off the plane. The flight attendants thanked me profusely for choosing Cathay Pacific and wished me a great stay in Hong Kong. Bringing my wonderful Cathay Pacific First Class experience to an end.