Tried & Tested

Hong Kong Airlines A330-200 Club Premier

30 Apr 2012 by Tom Otley

BACKGROUND Hong Kong Airlines launched its all-business class service in March, flying daily from Gatwick to Hong Kong International on an A330. It is divided into two sections – Club Classic, with 82 cradle-style seats, and 34 fully-flat Club Premier seats.

CHECK-IN I checked in and dropped my bags at the airline’s desk at Kowloon Airport Express station, then took the train to the airport, arriving at 2130 for the 2350 flight. The carrier’s check-in zone (K) is at the far right of Terminal 1. Security was quick.

THE LOUNGE The airline’s lounge is close to Gate 23 and is used for both short- and long-haul flights. It is a small area, but is being expanded, and will be three times as big by the end of this year. There are drinks, hot and cold food, and free wifi, so I worked for a while and then walked to Gate 46, five minutes away.

BOARDING This began at 2340. Club Premier passengers had priority and I was quickly on board, had my jacket taken and offered juice or water.

THE SEAT The Club Premier seat is comfortable for sitting and sleeping, with an ottoman to rest your feet on – this forms part of the bed when the seat is reclined – or an angled footrest beneath, for watching TV or reading. There is an area for books and papers, and a magazine rack. The in-seat power takes UK and US plugs, although mine did not work so I charged my phone in a vacant seat. Wifi is free but you have to ask for a scratch card that gives you 20MB of data (10MB in Club Classic). It’s amazing how quickly that is exhausted. Use more, and you pay for it. There is a bar between the two Club Premier cabins, though drinks aren’t set up until the service has ended (on this flight, sometime after 0230).

WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE? I was in 4A, towards the rear of the front cabin. For a seat plan, click here. The configuration is 1-2-1 in a staggered formation – 1C, 1E, 1F, 1H, then 2A, 2D, 2G, 2K (see seat plan, right). It means some seats are on the aisle and some are not, and because the aisle is narrow and you get bumped into when people walk past, I would avoid those seats – for instance, 1C, 1H, 2D and 2G.

Unless you are travelling with someone, the pairs of seats away from the aisle are also probably best avoided – namely, 1E and 1F, 3E and 3F (and corresponding seats in the second cabin). Lastly, 5C and 5H are next to the bar and on the aisle, so are ones to avoid. Out of the 18 seats in my cabin, the four best ones are 2A, 2K, 4A and 4K – and if I had to pick two, it would be 2A and 2K, since the others are close to the bar.

THE FLIGHT The service was helpful but agonisingly slow if you wanted to eat and then sleep, which ought to be possible on a flight of this length. We took off on time, but then it was more than half an hour before crew started taking food and drink orders, and another 15 minutes for them to make their way down the four rows. The delay meant that people who wanted to have their beds made up immediately were in the way and demanding attention.

I decided to stay up for a while since it was only 1630 in the UK and there was a champagne I wanted to try, Gonet-Medeville Blanc de Noirs Premier Cru Brut. It was 0100 before I got my drink, though I was impressed that when the attendant gave me a Lanson and I told him I wanted the other champagne, he found it and opened it for me. About 90 minutes in, before any food had been served, we hit some turbulence, which caused another delay. Crew do not use trolleys, instead bringing out items individually – the cutlery, then the glassware, then the salt and pepper pots.

The starters included crab meat salad or chicken soup. Mains were beef steak in red wine sauce, pigeon and gingko with soy sauce, Indian curried chicken, pan-fried fish fillet, or fried egg bean curd, rice and Chinese mushroom (fine, if a little bland). Wines included Aussières Blanc 2010 (Lafite), Terra Palatina Riesling Spatlese 2011, Aussières Rouge 2010 (Lafite) and Château de Lisse Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2006. There was a list of Essense teas, which were lovely.

After eating I had my bed made up. Only two bits of elastic secure the mattress cover to the cushion, so when you roll over it falls off, but I slept well for several hours, disturbed only by a duty-free announcement at around 0230. Upon waking, I had breakfast.

ARRIVAL We arrived at Gatwick’s North Terminal on time and after taxiing for a while and a long walk to immigration, were landside in good time. Bags arrived promptly.

VERDICT There’s a lot to like and it’s great that there are new options to Hong Kong. The service needs improving but everyone is trying hard and I’m sure with tweaks it will soon be the match of others on the route.

Fact file

  • PLANE TYPE A330
  • SEAT CONFIGURATION 1-2-1
  • SEAT WIDTH 20in/51cm
  • SEAT LENGTH 73.5in/187cm
  • PRICE Internet rates for a return Club Premier flight in June ranged between £2,870 and £5,100 depending on flexibility.
  • CONTACT hongkongairlines.com

Tom Otley

Loading comments...

Search Flight

See a whole year of Reward Seat Availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Be up-to-date
Magazine Subscription
To see our latest subscription offers for Business Traveller editions worldwide, click on the Subscribe & Save link below
Polls