[christ]

I flew HK Airlines business class on the A330 from Narita to Hong Kong on the 2150 flight.

The price was about HKD 2,900 and was less than a third than Cathay and JAL.

At check in there was no queue and the agent was very friendly. She said unfortunately the lounge was closed but gave me a voucher for about HKD 250 which could be used anywhere but she warned me most places were closed past security.

I was through security in less than 5 minutes.

Boarding was delayed by 30 minutes and no announcements which was frustrating. For economy, they had endless sets of queues by seat numbers around the gate. Boarding for business was easy as it had a separate area and separate jetty.

I was at the front and the cabin service manager immediately introduced himself – certainly a change from cathay (though in fairness JAL did the same). He said the cabin was fairly empty and if I was sure I wanted to sit by the galley and I said it was fine. There were only 4 people in business. Immediately bottles of water were offered and orders taken before take off. The crew were mostly young and very friendly and nothing too much trouble.

Food was basic as was an English breakfast or a curry. I had the breakfast and it was very nice but they could have done better through taking the foil off etc – they did rush to clear it when I took it off. Food was served within 20 minutes of take off and they had a selection of wines and spirits.

No entertainment on the plane as I don’t think they renewed their contract. I don’t think there was WiFi. Full blankets and bedding etc.

The flat bed lacked privacy but actually was very comfortable and I slept well. I preferred to the JAL seat and the middle seats had a lot more privacy than JAL.

One strange point was that they left the seat belt sign on despite little turbulence and so people seemed to ignore.

We actually landed 15 minutes early and I waited about 1 minute for my bag and which came first – priority tagging seems to work.

So overall for the price and a night flight, I think was outstanding value and great energetic crew and a comfortable bed. I would definitely fly on the a330 again, although I do miss the cathay lounges.

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Swissdiver, AMcWhirter, Bullfrog

[christ]

Photos below

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AndrewinHK

[AMcWhirter]

Hello christ – I am sure readers will appreciate the time and trouble you took in compiling this flight check.

This carrier certainly appears to offer good value on this route.

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cwoodward

[cwoodward]

Hong Kong would I believe benefit from another (viable) local airline and perhaps Hong Kong Airlines will succeed this time around but
to be honest I have doubts as to the likelihood given that they have always been loss making and the ownership is hundreds of millions in debt from other reclass failed airline ventures.
Perhaps Greater Bay Airlines is the one that will become the competitor to Cathay Pacific but that star seems to have also faded since the driving force lost interest and entered HK politics as a legislator.

Any entity wishing to establish a viable airline in Hong Kong will need deep unencumbered pockets, in depth experience and the ability to fight hard for market share over a long period.
Many in the past of tried but come up short. Qantas also tried very hard a few years but failed to get off the ground !

Given the substantial and long standing cross shareholding between Air China and Cathay I don’t believe that pressure or assistance will applied by the China government at least for the foreseeable future.
I have often wondered if Singapore airlines would put together a consortium but it seems that they are happy with the status quo.

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Bullfrog, christ

[christ]

Perhaps Hong Kong Airlines is confused what its market is and i certainly am.

It feels a mix between a low cost carrier and a legacy carrier.

The business class fare was not much more than economy but yet economy was nearly full – perhaps people who fly on the airline do not consider looking at business class fares.

If it is trying to compete with a low cost airline, I feel most would use Hong Kong Express and which has generally better frequencies (as does Cathay for a full service airline).

Also people who want a true business service for catering / IFE will most likely go on Cathay (or other main airlines) and where cost is less of an issue. However purely for value for money, I think HK Airlines is worth it with a bed, despite basic food and less premium drinks.

I would give another chance on the A330 but suspect I would lean towards Cathay on the outbound due to the quality of lounges. I am not sure which lounge (if any), they use at HK as their lounge closed during COVID based on their very basic and out of date website. I expect many would also not like that there is no IFE but this is not a big deal to me.

I hope it does well as the crew were very enthusiastic and for me this is a huge positive – i may try again when i go to Taiwan but am tempted to try Eva Air (despite being a one world person).

[cwoodward]

It seems to me that the airline may be just trying to stay afloat looking perhaps for a white knight to rescue it or its Chinese backer to inject significant funding. While it is still flying I suppose there is a chance that ether will happen.

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Bullfrog

[Jacobwhite]

Hello, thank you for your post, it’s very interesting, I was wondering if it’s worth it to fly the business class.

[Author]

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