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After traveling from LA to Hong Kong on an A350, doing a bit of lounge hopping at HKG ( Autus and Centurion), and hearing reports of a Typhoon, we were anxious to get on the plane before our delay turned into a cancellation. Luckily we did, and while Hong Kong Airlines regional business class isn’t anything to write home about, it’s spacious enough, offered friendly service, and was a comfy ride for a relatively short flight.
Initial impression
Red, red everywhere. I’m liking the theme, but the plane has distinctly seen better days, and had a particular scent to it upon entering the aircraft. With that said, we were met with smiling faces and a welcoming crew.
The Deets:
- When: August 2018
- Where: Hong Kong to Bangkok
- Cabin: Business
- Aircraft: A330
- Seats: 12A,C
- Flight Time: 2 hours 45 mins
Cabin Layout:
Here are the details from SeatGuru. 2-2-2 layout with angled seats. While we both fell asleep due to exhaustion…this route, and the seats are best suited for comfort and relaxation.
And in real life:
Seats:
If you’re looking for guaranteed aisle access…go with the middle seats. As you can see in the pic above, both of them have it, whereas the paired seats on the window pin one passenger in. I found the seat to be decently wide at 21 inches, but there is no storage to speak of, and the crew insist upon personal items being stowed in the overhead upon take off and landing. As I mentioned before, the seats show quite a bit of wear and tear, which I don’t really mind, but I did notice remnants of the prior occupant, which is unacceptable ( I attribute this to potentially accelerating the turnaround to avoid further delay, and wasn’t was I experienced on the return route or the long hauls).
IFE and seat controls are on the right side, power on the left. Write it off to jetlag, but I found the seat controls hard to locate. They’re in a flip up panel. There is a the littlest of storage “sleeves” under the power outlets.
They do assign quite large water holders.
Service and food:
We were offered pre-departure juice and water as well as menus. Seeing as though we’d already had food on our long haul, and food in the lounge, I opted for just a glass of red wine and dessert. Both were lackluster. I’d highly recommend getting some of the noodles in Autus prior to departure.
Overall:
The flight was really everything I expected, and if you compare intra-Asia business class with intra-European or even American it far exceeds most anything you’ll receive in terms of hard product comfort. For a two hour flight, and one that was INCREDIBLY choppy ( we flew around/over a lightning storm that was the worst I can remember) it was nice to be able to recline way back, nod off for a bit, and watch a movie.
You may get lucky tho…rumor is that Hong Kong Airlines is running their brand new A350 with Super Diamonds on this very route, so I would keep an eye out…it’ll look like this – UH-mazing.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
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- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
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- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
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- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
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Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
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Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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