Showing posts with label Cathay Pacific. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cathay Pacific. Show all posts

April 30, 2017

A Week in Japan: Planning & Booking II

Introduction
Planning & Booking
Planning & Booking II
Star Alliance First Class Lounge LAX
Asiana First Class A380 LAX to Seoul (ICN)
Asiana First Class Lounge Seoul (ICN)
Asiana A330 Business Class Seoul (ICN) to Kyoto (KIX)
The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto
Cathay Pacific Business Class 777-300ER Kyoto (KIX) to Hong Kong
Conrad Hong Kong
The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines First Class 777-300ER Hong Kong to San Francisco
Hyatt Regency SFO

For a variety of reasons, we shortened our upcoming trip by a few days.  Unfortunately that means no visit to Osaka or Tokyo but we'll still get 3 days in Kyoto and 3 days in Hong Kong.  All hotels remain the same - we just mixed it up a bit with the flights.  If you're interested in reading more about the initial booking process, please read the first planning and booking segment.

We swapped our United Polaris flight for Asiana's A380 first class service from LAX.  Instead of 130,000 United miles, this set us back 110,000 United and 105,000 Aeroplan miles.  Not the greatest use of an additional 75,000 miles but we'll be more comfortable.  In Seoul, we'll visit the Asiana First Class lounge for a shower before boarding an Asiana A330 in business class to Osaka (KIX).

After three nights in Kyoto, we'll take the train back to KIX and fly Cathay Pacific business class direct to Hong Kong.  Not as fancy as Cathay first but should be plenty fine for a 4 hour flight.  I booked this flight with 40,000 (total) British Airways miles - pretty good deal considering the length of the flight and better than Alaska's award chart by 5,000 total miles.

Everything else remains the same.  I should have the first segment up in the next month or so!

April 23, 2017

A Week in Japan: Flight Milenomics

Last week, I published the Planning & Booking segment of the trip report for our upcoming trip to Japan and Hong Kong.  I included the mileage and cash cost of each flight segment and I've receive some questions around how to value the redemptions.  I figured I'd write a post around the flight valuations and can follow-up with hotels if interesting.

Valuing miles is definitely more art than science but I personally value the vast majority of airline miles between 1.5 and 2 cents a piece.  I wouldn't redeem unless I'm getting really close to 2 cents and one of the newest benchmarks is the ability to redeem Amex Membership Rewards points (with Amex Business Platinum) for 2 cents against airfare - which to me is essentially as good as cash.

Here's a recap on the miles redeemed (for 2) for our upcoming trip:
  • United Polaris Business Class DEN - KIX for 130,000 United MileagePlus miles
  • Cathay Pacific First Class HND - HKG for 55,000 Alaska Mileage Plan miles
  • Singapore Airlines First Class HKG - SFO for 140,250 Singapore KrisFlyer miles
And the cash costs when I looked last week:
  • $9,276 for United to Osaka
  • $8,168 for Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong
  • $16,392 for Singapore Airlines to San Francisco
  • $212 for United home to Denver
  • $268 in taxes/fees

In total, that is 325,250 miles redeemed for $34,048 in flights.  Note that is the retail value and if you were going to purchase the flights, you could likely do somewhat better with discounts, credit card bonus categories, and mileage earning.  Let's assume that all in, that would amount to a 20% rebate (would vary wildly based on status and fare class but I think a fair assumption) valued as cash knocking the retail value down to $26,970 (including taxes/fees).

At that rate, the blended rate for each mile redeemed would be 8.3 cents.  Still amazing.  But how much would you actually pay for these flights?  That question is totally subjective but this is our fifth anniversary and I'd consider a splurge.  The best I could do to mimic the flights (combination of United and ANA) in economy priced out at $1,323 each.  No thanks.  

I think premium economy fares would be a fair comparison as I think a lot of you would be willing to pay a premium to be a bit more comfortable for a big trip like this for a special occasion.  How do those flights price out?  $3,238 each on Orbitz.  Since this is not a premium fare, booked from an OTA, and unlikely to earn as many miles, I'll discount the rebate to 15% which brings the fare to $5,505 for 2.  

See what I'm talking about in terms of the art?  That brings the redemption per mile to 1.7 cents - right in the middle of my valuations.  Another factor to consider is that I'm mileage rich and it's not that big of a deal to burn 325,250 miles on a balance of +1,000,000 miles.  It's a different story when considering paying $3,000 - $6,500 for two tickets.  I'd much prefer to spend the miles which require a bit of time and ingenuity to acquire and save the cash for other experiences.  In addition, there are both comfort and enjoyment factors that need to be considered.  We'll arrive rested (on both ends) and enjoy our vacation and make the transition back to work a lot easier.  We also love flying - especially on these carriers and wouldn't be able to do it without miles.

Overall, this is a great set of redemptions regardless of your valuation.  

April 16, 2017

A Week in Japan: Planning & Booking

Introduction
Planning & Booking
United Polaris Business Class 787-8 San Francisco to Osaka (KIX)
Intercontinental Osaka
The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto
Park Hyatt Tokyo
Cathay Pacific First Class 777-300ER Tokyo (HND) to Hong Kong
Conrad Hong Kong
The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines First Class 777-300ER Hong Kong to San Francisco
Hyatt Regency SFO

I'm still working on a couple of segments from our latest trip to Al Maha in November of last year.   I plan to finish those trip reports in April but given that our next trip is coming up next month, I wanted to get the introductory post on the blog.

 Hotels:

At the moment, we have 10 hotel nights planned.  We fly out early to San Francisco, catch the direct United flight to Osaka and land early afternoon.  I booked the Intercontinental Osaka for 40,000 IHG points for the overnight.  We have nearly 150,000 IHG points so seemed like the right thing to do given we'll only be in town for one night and convenience is key.  The hotel is located next to the train station so will be convenient to get from the airport and to Kyoto.

In Kyoto, I booked the Ritz-Carlton for a total of 210,000 Marriott Rewards points using a combination of Marriott Rewards points and SPG points.  This was an incredible redemption given cash rates of $1,700 per night!  The property looks gorgeous and we're really excited about visiting Kyoto.


April 1, 2017

A Week in Japan: Introduction

Introduction
Planning & Booking
United Polaris Business Class 787-8 San Francisco to Osaka (KIX)
Intercontinental Osaka
The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto
Park Hyatt Tokyo
Cathay Pacific First Class 777-300ER Tokyo (HND) to Hong Kong
Conrad Hong Kong
The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines First Class 777-300ER Hong Kong to San Francisco
Hyatt Regency SFO

I'm still working on a couple of segments from our latest trip to Al Maha in November of last year.   I plan to finish those trip reports in April but given that our next trip is coming up next month, I wanted to get the introductory post on the blog.

We were in Tokyo last August and loved it.  We decided to go back on the flight home and started thinking about when and where.  We wanted to spend some additional time in Tokyo along with a visit to Kyoto.  We were able to snag flights on United's direct service from San Francisco to Osaka (closest international airport to Kyoto) and began planning from there.

I do want to give United's Polaris soft (hard product won't be installed on these planes for years) product so leaning towards keeping the direct flight.  For another 40,000 miles a piece we could fly Asiana first class through Seoul which would be more comfortable and more fun but take longer.

16,000+ miles of flying

March 26, 2017

Cathay Pacific First Class Space Opened Up!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about an award ticket downgrade on Cathay Pacific booked with Alaska Mileage Plan miles.  We had been booked in first class from Tokyo's Narita airport to Hong Kong prior to Cathay Pacific downgrading the flight to an aircraft without a first class cabin.  I opted to cancel the ticket and refund the miles - I figured something better would open up later.

I have been checking award space (using BA's website) every few days and last week, two first class seats opened up between Haneda and Hong Kong!  Even better than trekking all the way out to Narita!


I quickly called Alaska, fed the flights to a great agent, and had the award secured in less than 5 minutes.  Taxes and fees came to about $100 but at 27,500 miles/person, this award is an absolutely steal.

The flight is blocked at over 4.5 hours and a similar flight distance (1,800 miles) between Denver and Boston.  Consider that United first class between those two cities would cost 25,000 United MileagePlus miles per person - and that's if you can find the seats (tough to do these days) at the saver level.

Patience definitely payed off here.  We both love flying Cathay first and while this won't be the "full experience" it should still be pretty fun.  Even better that we get to fly out of Haneda which will save us ~90 minutes of travel time.

Stay tuned for the introduction and planning & booking posts!

March 4, 2017

Award Ticket Downgrade - What to Do?

Back in December, I was able to book both of us in Cathay Pacific first class from Tokyo (NRT) to Hong Kong.  I used Alaksa Mileage Plan miles to book each ticket for 27,500 miles.  A great deal considering this is a five hour flight on a premium route on one of my favorite first class products.


Unfortunately, Cathay Pacific isn't doing great financially and they've been cutting first class (frequencies and service on board).  I received an email from Alaska a couple weeks ago letting me know that my first class flight had been downgraded to business class in a regionally configured aircraft.  While that isn't the end of the world, the whole point of flying out of Narita (90 min bus ride) vs. Haneda (20-25 min taxi) was to fly Cathay in first.

I used the British Airways website to check Oneworld availability and on the day we're looking to fly, there really only are a few options.  I called Alaska to see what they could do for me and it was either keep the ticket or refund the miles and taxes and figure it out from there.


I opted for the latter option and am going to wait it out a bit to see if anything opens up.  At this point, my options are direct flights in business class on JAL or Cathay.  Or we could get exotic and book a paid flight on Hong Kong Airlines (haven't flown them but hear the business class product is decent) for around $650 each.  Or we could get really nuts and book Thai Airways first class all the way from Tokyo to Bangkok to Hong Kong with a stop at the first class spa for 60,000 United miles each.  That is a bit of a crazy routing (would take an extra 5-6 hours) but would be a lot of fun.  Emily still needs some convincing to pull the trigger on that one.

Will keep you all posted as we figure it out.

April 24, 2016

My 5 Favorite First Class Products

Over the past four years, I've been fortunate enough to fly on some of the world's best carriers in international first class.  If you're wondering how I've been able to do that, start here.

In fact, I've flown more than two dozen segments on nine carriers with another few dozen flights in international business class.  People often ask about my favorite carriers, flights, amenities, seats, etc...it's not the easiest question to answer since crews matter and vary from flight to flight.

Amenities (pajamas, amenity kits) are rotated.  Catering can be vastly different from one flight to another especially when comparing flights from a home base (i.e Singapore Airlines out of Singapore) vs. an outstation (i.e. Singapore Airlines from Frankfurt).  Don't forget aircraft - while the seat on Emirates' A380 and 777 is very similar, the experience is vastly different given the shower and onboard bar on the A380.

All that said, here are my personal rankings of the top 5 international first class products (in order):

1)  Etihad Airways A380 First Class Apartment

Hands down, Etihad offers the best first class product in the sky.  The amount of personal space is just ridiculous given that Etihad has a single aisle on their A380 vs. the double aisle that every other airline uses.


Etihad has amazing amenity kits stocked with Le Labo products and very comfortable pajamas.  The entertainment system is top notch and they offer live TV and wifi.

April 17, 2016

How to Book Cathay Pacific First Class Award Tickets

Here at ATRP, we spend considerable time writing abut how to earn miles and points.  Using those miles and points to actually book award tickets and hotel nights with points is where the real fun begins.  I get a lot of questions about booking Cathay Pacific first and business class award tickets using American AAdvantage miles.  This post is a step-by-step guide to search for award availability using British Airways' search engine.  Since American doesn't actually show Cathay's availability online, this is the easiest way to find flights with open seats.

Cathay Pacific 777-300ER at LAX
Once you find availability, you'll need to call American Airlines to actually book the flight.  Having the availability on hand will make the transaction MUCH easier.

July 25, 2015

Review: The Pier Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge

Introduction
Planning & Booking
Qantas First Class Lounge LAX
Cathay Pacific 777-300 ER First Class Los Angeles to Hong Kong
The Pier Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge
Le Meridien Bangkok
Thai Airways First Class Lounge & Spa
Thai Airways 747-400 First Class Bangkok to Hong Kong
Conrad Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge Hong Kong
Air India 787-8 Business Class Hong Kong to Seoul
Asiana First Class Lounge Seoul
Asiana A380 First Class Seoul to Los Angeles

After clearing transit security, we made our way to The Wing for a quick shower.  While The Wing is totally awesome, I was excited to check out The Pier which had just opened a few days earlier.  The shower felt great and I caught up on email while rehydrating and downing yet another cappuccino.  We still had a few hours to go until our flight to Bangkok so we made our way down to The Pier.


The Hallway at The Pier

Our boarding passes were scanned and we were shown into the lounge. WOW.  My new favorite lounge at HKG.

July 11, 2015

Review: Cathay Pacific First Class 777-300ER LAX to Hong Kong

Introduction
Planning & Booking
Qantas First Class Lounge LAX
Cathay Pacific 777-300 ER First Class Los Angeles to Hong Kong
The Pier Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge
Le Meridien Bangkok
Thai Airways First Class Lounge & Spa
Thai Airways 747-400 First Class Bangkok to Hong Kong
Conrad Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge Hong Kong
Air India 787-8 Business Class Hong Kong to Seoul
Asiana First Class Lounge Seoul
Asiana A380 First Class Seoul to Los Angeles

We headed down to the gate around 30 minutes prior to boarding.  Morning at TBIT on Monday is quiet - there were only a handful of flights departing so the terminal was mostly empty.  We snapped a few pictures of the 777 that would be taking us to Asia and soon enough, boarding was called.


Cathay Pacific 777-300ER

This would be my third first class ride on Cathay's 777-300ER in 2015 (Hong Kong to LAX and New York to Vancouver) and I was looking forward to some Krug, a great meal, and one of the best beds in the sky.

June 20, 2015

Brothers in Asia: Planning & Booking

Introduction
Planning & Booking
Sheraton Gateway LAX
Cathay Pacific 777-300 ER First Class Los Angeles to Hong Kong
The Wing Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Hong Kong to Bangkok
Le Meridien Bangkok
Thai Airways First Class Lounge & Spa
Thai Airways 747-400 First Class Bangkok to Hong Kong
Conrad Hong Kong
Air India 787-8 Business Class Hong Kong to Seoul
Asiana A380 First Class Seoul to Los Angeles

Booking this trip was actually more difficult than expected.  Finding availability from the west coast to Asia over the weekend proved to be difficult.  I was able to find availability on Monday so we decided to spend the weekend in San Diego and Los Angeles visiting family before taking off for Hong Kong Monday morning.

Hotels:

We needed an overnight at LAX and I originally booked the Hilton LAX for around $150 AI.  I checked last week and found the Sheraton Gateway LAX (stayed here in 2013) was selling for $130 AI.  We'll spend Sunday night there before heading to LAX early Monday morning.

Bangkok is a challenging hotel city given the extremely low cost (comparatively speaking) of luxury hotels.  It typically doesn't make sense to redeem points given the price and this trip was no exception.  I booked an Executive Deluxe room at the Le Meridien (also stayed here in 2012) for $150 USD per night.  The rate includes breakfast and evening cocktails/appetizers which made the rate even better.  


Le Meridien Bangkok Lobby

In Hong Kong, I booked the Conrad for 80,000 points per night.  As a HHonors Gold member, we should receive access to the executive lounge (with complimentary breakfast) which is supposed to be one of the best in the system.  Given that cash rates were selling for $500USD+ I got a great value for the last of my Hilton Honors points (at one point last year, I had over 700,000).

Total Hotel Costs:  240,000 HHonors Points and $430

Flights:

I've become a huge Cathay Pacific fan so I was excited to grab two first class seats on Cathay's morning service from LAX to Hong Kong.  We'll then continue on Cathay's regional business class service to Bangkok after a few hours relaxing in one of Cathay's first class lounges.  At 67,500 American Advantage miles and $68 in taxes and fees for each ticket, this is one of the best mileage redemptions out there.  I was able to find space using the British Airways website.  Once I found space, I called AA to book the ticket.


Cathay All Day

While not the best redemption in the world, I'm sitting on a ton of United miles so decided to redeem 35,000 United miles (and $21) each to fly Thai's 747 first class service to Hong Kong.  Cash tickets go for about $650 (on Thai, Cathay, and Emirates) which is a great deal but still would have cost us a lot of money for a really short flight.  Booking online was really simple and I had plenty of miles in my account for both of us.

I'm really excited about our flights home.  For 130,000 United miles each (and $42 in taxes) we confirmed Air India's 787 Dreamliner service from Hong Kong to Seoul Incheon.  I don't know anyone that's flown Air India so I'm looking forward to what should be a unique experience.  In Seoul, we'll connect to Asiana's flagship A380 first class service to LAX.  The product is similar to the 777 which we flew last year.  I was able to book both of us online using a combination of miles from my account and Emily's.

I booked my positioning flights (to San Diego and home from LAX) on United for $350 in cash.

Total Fight Costs:  465,000 American/United miles and $612 in taxes and fees

Summary:

For about $1,000 and 700,000 points and miles, I was able to put together a week long trip to Bangkok and Hong Kong.  That's 6 total hotel nights, 30 hours of first class flying, and another 8 hours of business class flying for two people.  We're off on Monday - follow along as we head to Asia!

June 14, 2015

Brothers in Asia: Introduction

Introduction
Planning & Booking
Sheraton Gateway LAX
Cathay Pacific 777-300 ER First Class Los Angeles to Hong Kong
The Wing Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Hong Kong to Bangkok
Le Meridien Bangkok
Thai Airways First Class Lounge & Spa
Thai Airways 747-400 First Class Bangkok to Hong Kong
Conrad Hong Kong
Air India 787-8 Business Class Hong Kong to Seoul
Asiana A380 First Class Seoul to Los Angeles

I have one more post to write about our trip to Europe which I will try to complete this week.  Next weekend, I'm mixing it up travel companion wise and taking my brother Jonathan (who lives in San Diego) to Asia for the week.  He turned 30 late last year and has never flow international first class or been to Asia and we both figured this would be a good time to check both of his list.  Emily and I have now flown 11 international first class segments together - it is going to be fun to show someone else the ropes.

There are so many places to see in Asia it is sometimes hard to decide where to go.  I wanted to head to cities that I had been to previously but also places that I considered my favorites.  So naturally Bangkok and Hong Kong fir the bill.  Once we had destinations picked out, I set about finding award flights for both of us.  With enough miles to go roundtrip on either Star Alliance or OneWorld carriers, we had plenty of flexibility.  But it was actually tricky to find an outbound flight leaving on Sunday from LAX to Asia so we settled on a Monday morning outbound.  That will give us a couple of days in Bangkok and 3 days in Hong Kong.


Our routing courtesy of the Great Circle Mapper

This actually worked out great as I will get a couple of days in San Diego and LA visiting family before overnighting in LA and leaving the next morning.  I was able to secure a couple of first class seats on Cathay Pacific's direct service from LAX to Hong Kong.  A great first experience for my brother as Cathay's first class is one of my favorite products.  We'll also make sure to check out the Qantas OneWorld First Class lounge at LAX which is supposed to be spectacular.

After our flight from LAX, we have a few hours to clean up and chill at The Wing.  Cathay's new first class lounge (The Pier) is slated to open prior to our departure so I hope to check that out as well.  After a quick hop to Bangkok, we'll start our adventure at the Le Meridien Bangkok.  Emily and I stayed here during our honeymoon and loved the hotel.  I'm excited to see what's changed over the past few years.

The bar at The Wing Hong Kong

Getting back to Hong Kong was hard.  Well it was easy but there are lots of fun ways to fly.  We could have paid cash (~$650 each) to fly Emirates first class and shower at 35,000 feet.  But I decided to forego the cash, use miles, and fly Thai's 747 first class service which will get us an hour long massage in the Royal Orchid Spa prior to departure.

In Hong Kong, I've previously stayed at the W and Grand Hyatt and wanted to check out something different.  So we have three nights booked at the Conrad Hong Kong.

After exploring all that Hong Kong has to offer, we'll head home on Air India (can't wait for this one) to Seoul followed by Asiana's A380 suites service to LAX.  I'm really excited to fly Asiana again - our last trip was awesome.  It will be Jonathan's first time on the A380 (also first time on the 747) which should be fun for both of us.

I am really looking forward to this trip - will post the Planning & Booking segment prior to our departure.  Thanks for following along!!

April 18, 2015

Review: Cathay Pacific First Class 777-300ER New York to Vancouver

Introduction
Planning & Booking
Cathay Pacific 777-300ER First Class New York (JFK) to Vancouver
Fairmont Pacific Rim
Shangri-La Vancouver

Due to weather in Chicago, my flight to New York was delayed about 2.5 hours.  I had built in plenty of time so it wasn't a big deal.  I landed in Terminal 8 and took the AirTrain over to Terminal 7 for our flight to Vancouver.  Emily had flown in to La Guardia about an hour earlier and was waiting for me as I entered the terminal.

Our timing was actually perfect as the Cathay desk was just opening up for check-in to Vancouver as we arrived.  Check-in formalities were processed in a couple of minutes and we were handed lounge invitations and shown to fast track security.  Ten minutes later we were in the British Airways First Class Galleries Lounge.  The lounge was nothing special (we actually preferred the lighter, larger business class section) but was perfectly acceptable for a shower, fast wifi, and some decent food and drink. 

Around 9PM we made our way down to gate 6.  It is a pretty cool feeling to be at JFK around this time.  It is transatlantic "rush hour" and there are over half a dozen flights leaving within an hour to cross the pond.


JFK rush hour

February 22, 2015

Last Minute Switch - AA to Cathay

Originally, we were scheduled to fly home from Taipei via Hong Kong - spending the night at the W Hong Kong before taking American's direct service from HKG to DFW.  After a late night celebrating 2015 at the W Taipei, we had a great lazy day walking around the city. We headed back to the hotel in the early afternoon and I before I checked in to our flight to Hong Kong I decided to check if there were any "better" options to get us all the way home.

Strolling around Taipei

Amazingly, I found two first class seats on one of Cathay Pacific's flights from Hong Kong to LAX.  After some discussion, we both decided that we had already had such a great trip, one more night in Hong Kong wouldn't make it that much better and heading home a day earlier would be nice.  So I set about making the change.

February 15, 2015

Review: Cathay Pacific First Class 777-300ER Hong Kong to LA

Introduction
Planning & Booking
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class San Francisco to Hong Kong
Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
The Bridge Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Hong Kong to Taipei
W Taipei
Cathay Pacific 777 Business Class Taipei to Hong Kong
The Wing Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge
Cathay Pacific 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to Los Angeles

We were originally slated to fly home the next day on American's direct service from Hong Kong to Dallas.  I had been looking for other options prior to the trip but couldn't find anything.  The night before we were supposed to head home, I found availability on Cathay Pacific first class.  Because there were some challenges in switching our flight, I'm going to write a separate post about what we did and how we did it.  But now onto the trip report...

After spending a wonderful afternoon in The Wing, we made our way down to the gate.  Boarding had already begun and we were on the plane within minutes.  Cathay Pacific only has 6 first seats on their 777-300ER (vs. 8 on Singapore for example) so the cabin feels incredibly wide and spacious.  We were shown to our seats (1D and 1K) with Emily taking the window seats and me in the aisle.


Cathay Pacific First Class


Oh hey 1K

Our plane had Cathay's "refreshed" first seat which was cool.  While there isn't a door that closes, this is probably my second favorite first class seat (next to Singapore Suites).  The seat is unbelievable comfortable for both lounging and sleeping.  There is a fold out tv which can be angled to ensure you get the perfect viewing angle.  There's a touch screen seat control, remote, two reading lights, and power ports.  On the left hand side of my seat was a cubby to store small items.  


First of many glasses of Krug

February 7, 2015

Review: The Wing First Class Lounge

Introduction
Planning & Booking
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class San Francisco to Hong Kong
Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
The Bridge Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Hong Kong to Taipei
W Taipei
Cathay Pacific 777 Business Class Taipei to Hong Kong
The Wing Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge
Cathay Pacific 777-300 ER First Class Hong Kong to Los Angeles

Upon landing in Hong Kong, we headed to The Bridge for some coffee and plane spotting.  I previously reviewed The Bridge in this trip report series so won't go into much more detail than that.  After an hour or so in the The Bridge, we headed back into the terminal and made our way to The Wing.  The lounge is located on the opposite end of the terminal as The Bridge so it's a bit of a hike.  But it felt great to stretch our legs knowing we still had a lot of traveling to do.


Not a bad walk from The Bridge to The Wing

I have read numerous reviews of The Wing but it was still a bit hard to find despite the fantastic signage in the airport.  When we found the entrance, we were warmly greeted and welcomed into the gorgeous space.  I love the look of this lounge - black lacquer, white marble, and red and brown leather make for a super sexy combo.


Ground floor entrance to The Wing

This way to The Cabanas

February 1, 2015

Review: Cathay Pacific 777 Business Class Taipei to Hong Kong

Introduction
Planning & Booking
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class San Francisco to Hong Kong
Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
The Bridge Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Hong Kong to Taipei
W Taipei
Cathay Pacific 777 Business Class Taipei to Hong Kong
The Wing Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge
Cathay Pacific 777-300 ER First Class Hong Kong to Los Angeles

Upon arrival at TPE, we made our way to the Cathay Pacific check-in counter.  While the business class queue was quite busy, there was no line for first class.  Since we were on separate reservations it took awhile to get everything sorted out but the representatives were great and soon we had our lounge invitation and boarding passes all the way to LAX in hand.  We were a bit early arriving to the airport so they proactively put us on an earlier flight so we could enjoy The Wing at Hong Kong.  Both agents told us "we would enjoy that lounge much more" and they were right.

We only had 45 minutes until boarding and queues for immigration were pretty long so we didn't make it to the lounge or really get to explore the airport at all.  We spent the last of our Taiwanese Dollars on a few souvenirs and were soon boarding the 777 that would take us back to Hong Kong.


Taxi at TPE - Delta, United heavies parked on the ramp

Today's flight would be configured with Cathay's new regional business class seats.  They are totally comfortable for an hour flight but look much more like domestic first class than anything resembling "lie flat."


We both thought these phone pockets were pretty cool

The flight was only 75 minutes so I didn't have a ton of time for pictures.  There was a very quick meal, coffee service, and of course the belly cam.  


On approach into HKG

Beyond that, the flight was uneventful and we were soon on approach to Hong Kong's International Airport.  Gorgeous views on the way in though.

Over the "piano keys" at HKG

Once on the ground, we made our way over to The Bridge to do some plane spotting before the real fun would begin at The Wing.

January 18, 2015

Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class A330 Hong Kong to Taipei

Introduction
Planning & Booking
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class San Francisco to Hong Kong
Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
The Bridge Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Hong Kong to Taipei
W Taipei
Cathay Pacific 777-300ER Business Class Taipei to Hong Kong
The Wing Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge
Cathay Pacific 777-300 ER First Class Hong Kong to Los Angeles

After a bit of shopping and a few more selfies, we were on our way to Taipei.  Boarding was called on time and we bounded down the jetway for what would be the first of three Cathay Pacific flights on this trip.  


PDB Champagne

The distance between Hong Kong and Taipei is 505 miles.  That's essentially the same distance between San Diego and San Francisco.  On the latter route, you'll see all single aisle aircraft.  A319s, A320s, 737s, maybe a 757.  Between Hong Kong and Taipei, Cathay is flying a mix of wide body aircraft that include A330s, 777s, and 747s!


Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class

Review: The Bridge Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge

Introduction
Planning & Booking
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class San Francisco to Hong Kong
Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
The Bridge Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge
Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class Hong Kong to Taipei
W Taipei
Cathay Pacific 777-300ER Business Class Taipei to Hong Kong
The Wing Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge
Cathay Pacific 777-300 ER First Class Hong Kong to Los Angeles

We left the Grand Hyatt a bit on the early side to ensure plenty of time to explore HKG.  This was also our first time flying Cathay Pacific and we wanted to lounge hop a bit.  Our cab driver dropped us off and since Emily had done way too much sopping in Hong Kong, he grabbed us a cart and loaded all of our luggage for us.

We found the business class check in counters where there was actually a bit of a line.  We waited for maybe five minutes before our check in was processed.  We received our boarding passes and lounge invitations and we were on our way to security and immigration.  Unfortunately, Hong Kong stopped stamping passports in 2014 so there would be no "stamp collecting" this morning.  We took the train to the far end of the concourse and made our way down the escalator to "The Bridge" which is Cathay's newly remodeled business class lounge.


Entrance to The Bridge at HKG