Route of the month - London to Hong Kong

Alex McWhirter looks at how new services can benefit business travellers. This month: options from London to Hong Kong. There are changes afoot on this most competitive of business routes. The most significant of these is the arrival of Hong Kong Airlines (see In Focus) with an all-business class service out of Gatwick this month. But March also sees the departure of Qantas and the introduction of British Airways’ daytime westbound service. Hong Kong Airlines will operate overnight in both directions, with the inaugural flight departing Hong Kong on March 7 at 2350 to arrive into Gatwick at 0555 the next day. The return service leaves Gatwick at 2130 to reach Hong Kong at 1745 the following afternoon. Qantas withdraws from the route at the end of the winter timetable. Its last flight from Hong Kong departs on March 24 with the final service leaving Heathrow on the same day. Alliance partner British Airways will step in to fill the gap, but its three-times-weekly service with a smaller B777 aircraft does not fully compensate for the loss of seats, as Qantas flew daily (from Melbourne through to London via Hong Kong) with a B747. Still, it does mean that BA provides a daylight service to London. It departs at 0915 to reach Heathrow at 1500. Nonstop flights on this route are dominated by Oneworld carriers. Skyteam does not get a look in. Air New Zealand holds the fort for Star Alliance. There was speculation that the Kiwi carrier would pull off the route this year as it is struggling to make profits from its London services (see news story, businesstraveller.com/tags/air+new+zealand). But the airline’s management has had a change of heart. What has changed is the airline’s retiming of its five-times-weekly daytime London flight to depart Hong Kong at the more palatable time of 1000. The new schedule takes effect on March 27. What they offer All six carriers – Air New Zealand, BA, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Virgin Atlantic and Hong Kong Airlines – fly nonstop. All except Qantas provide fully-flat seats in business. Hong Kong Airlines provides passengers with 180-degree beds in Club Premier and cradle seats in Club Classic. All carriers, except Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines, offer a premium economy cabin. The former aims to introduce a premium cabin initially on flights CX255/252 on selected days from May. Cathay offers the best choice of schedules while Virgin Atlantic’s service continues on to Sydney, which means its prices can be higher as it concentrates more on selling tickets through to Australia. Air New Zealand (ANZ) uses a B777-200 on the route. This aircraft is not fitted with the carrier’s latest seating, as found on its B777-300ER (for reviews of the new business and premium economy seats visit businesstraveller.com/tried-and-tested). While there is little difference in the B777-200’s business class, the seating is less spacious in premium economy. On the upside, ANZ configures economy class nine-across (3-3-3) on the B777-200, compared with ten-across on the B777-300ER. It is not known if the B777-200 will be retrofitted with the new seating. Visit Business Traveller’s sister website, seatplans.com, for seating layouts. Indirect competition Seven European airlines – Air France, Finnair, KLM, Lufthansa, SAS, Swiss and Turkish Airlines – and two Gulf carriers – Emirates and Qatar Airways – serve Hong Kong from London and regional airports. Including transfer time on the ground, the fastest services take a few hours longer than flying nonstop. The Hong Kong route is a busy one for Emirates. It’s so popular that the Dubai-based carrier schedules three daily flights, two of which are operated by A380s. A passenger leaving Heathrow on an Emirates B777-300ER at 2200 will reach Dubai the next morning at 0845. The continuing service by A380 departs at 1005 the same day to arrive in Hong Kong at 2105. Prices These can be costly unless you travel at less busy times and include a Saturday-night stay. Business Traveller chose flexible flights for the last week of March (for outbound flights on a Sunday, returning the following Friday night) and with BA and Virgin Atlantic they peaked at £7,200 to £10,400 for business and first class, £2,500 for premium economy and about £2,000 for regular economy. Stay away for a Saturday night, in contrast, and you will pay around £6,000 for first class, £3,000 in business, £1,300 in premium economy, and £700 for an economy seat. Lower fares are also offered by indirect carriers, and this is the market Hong Kong Airlines is aiming to crack, with Club Classic priced at about £1,900 and Club Premier around £2,850. But check for introductory offers.