AY A350 HEL to HKG

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Viewing 9 posts - 16 through 24 (of 24 total)

  • stevescoots
    Participant

    I have taken my return journey and it was also on the A350. As OW emerald i opted to use the Cathay Pier which as always was excellent. without status it would be the QF lounge which is good as well.

    gate was 512 which was surprising as it was a bus journey and stair boarding, last time I had that in Hk was just for LC’s. That meant business and economy passengers crammed together and it was a wee bit stuffy. After boarding we were kept holding on the tarmac for 45 mins while they tried to find someone’s bag who was not flying (keep that thought in your mind for now) during this time the AC was set so high, or low depending on perspective that I ended up with sweat running down my forehead from the heat and I could see other passengers uncomfortable as well. The flight was just the same as the outbound, crew were fine, seat comfortable and I managed a good 8 hours combined. Cannot comment on the main meal as was fast asleep and did not really want breakfast. One thing I did notice was this time I was aft of the galley and there were overhead lockers over the middle isle in business class. On the outbound there were not any forward of the galley. I did notice on this aircraft, or at least around my seat the quality of the interior was poor, lots of panel gaps wobbly hinges on seat storage compartments and gap seals to the bulkhead already in need of some good old BA gaffa tape.
    On arrival at HEL there was about 45 mins before boarding for LHR, which was again delayed to offload someone’s bag…

    Landing at Heathrow and no bag! I was first to the belt and there was only about 15 bags so no-one else took it therefore its somewhere between HKG and LHR. Global baggage Solutions handle luggage enquiries at T3. Now, I have had bags go missing before with BA, QR, AA, but in each case they instantly know where it is, it might take 4 days to get to me but they know where it is. In this instance GBS do not know where it is and I got the district feeling it was just a nuisance to them. I tried Finnair but they said I have to wait 5 days for GBS to do their search. All I have from GBS is that one bag was found in HKG but it was not mine. My suspicion is that it was off loaded either at HKG or HEL when they were getting another passenger, however I would think it should be on the Finnair log. I have a friend who works at CX and she is going to take a wander down the basement at HKG tomorrow and have look for me where the unidentified bags go to die!
    Anybody else had experience of GBS looking for lost, I mean delayed baggage (as it’s known now)


    Flightlevel
    Participant

    Look forward to both these aircraft l’m still into A380 travel, that’s excellent unless the aircon is so low ( or high ) & you shiver like on an aircon bus! It hardly notices turbulence like the 747 did.. I agree CC are not very polite at night, its just bad training? The next new longhaul aircraft will be the 777X that’s very long range & high capacity & also carbon fibre.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    stevescoots
    Participant

    @Martyn, I saw your review and thought the device a bit gimmicky, mainly because whenever my bag has not arrived the airlines knew where exactly it was. However with no clue where i can now see the value!


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    Steve, I agree its a gimmick, …..until you need it. the very first time I used it my bag was lost in MIA (BA).. All airline staff knew that I knew EXACLTY where the case was and could not b/s me.

    When its not in bag checking location mode… its sending messages to people that I have arrived safe and sound.. (that part is defo a gimmick)..but it works and the texts/emails are ALL free.

    The firm has told me that it is partnering with one of the tech luggage firms so its product will be built into the case, but have not been advised which case mfg it will be.

    I seriously do not travel without my trakdot now…


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    Martyn

    Having read your comments, I purchased a Trackdot this week and ama waiting delivery, with some interest.


    stevescoots
    Participant

    I am ordering mine today, I figure the value of the 2 suits inside would not be covered by the compensation i would get should it not have turned up

    The bag is in HKG on its way to UK, my CX friend says it sounds like a weight off load, i forget the tech term she used but apprently common if a plane has a lot of freight booked on it as well and the passenger bags make it over limit, then the bags get taken off.especially as it took them 45 mins to off load as they weigh what has been taken off instead of just taking out a no-so passengers bag


    ffidrac
    Participant

    Just had my second experience of their A350 in J. Had been on the HKG-HEL leg in April and thought it OK. So booked a new trip as had liked the A350. Well what a difference – the crew were robotic in nature and had no charm throughout the flight. Surprising I got a Gold welcome (something that throughout this year has been consistently lacking on my BA flights) and then it then went downhill. There were no smiles or friendliness (one wonders if these are applicants who had not made the cut for CX employment). When we deplaned the crew member saying goodbye had no eye contact with any of us – so one wonders what was going on with this crew
    On my previous trip I had slept well in the cutdown version of the CX seat – not this time – it was lumpy and it felt as if there was no padding at all. OK I can cope with the small footwell and will be on a CX 350 next year so will be interested to see the difference
    There was however one more concerning issue. About 30-40 minutes out from HKG a young boy was observed to go into the cockpit – the cabin staff tried to disguise it by drawing the curtains but it was obvious when a stream of daylight could be seen – and that same boy came back into the cabin from the front when the plane was at the gate. Does anyone know if this is a contravention of aviation policy?


    stevescoots
    Participant

    I have flown both the CX 350 and the AY 350 in the past 8 days. the CX seat is miles ahead of AYs cut down version. That said I flew HKG to HEL last friday and it was a good flight, overnight and i managed about 7 hours sleep.

    curiously this is the 2nd time AY have misplaced my luggage this year. I had a tight connection in HKG from SGN and were were late landing, having to to be escorted (ran) from my CX flight to the AY gate so i expected the bag to stay in HK…..turns out it made it to HEL with me and despite almost 3 hours in HEL it got left behind!

Viewing 9 posts - 16 through 24 (of 24 total)
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