Hong Kong was out of this world. Never have I seen so many things at once (literally). Of course, being a first timer, we need to see what the fuss is all about. Over the course of 4 days and 3 nights, we managed to see Disneyland, Hong Kong Skyline (light show were a bit lame when we went), Ladies Market, Mongkok, and The Peak (and the tram, of course).
Anyway, when we woke up in the morning of departure day, news broke out on the missing QZ8501 flight. Not exactly the kind of news you like to hear. But nevertheless, we went to the airport.
We were staying at Causeway Bay, so after considering the options, we decided to take the Airport Express. That means we had to go to Central station, walked to Hong Kong station, and board the train. The train itself was spotless and punctual. At HK$100 a trip, it’s a bit expensive but all fine by me.
Me in the train
We arrived in the airport around 1 PM or so, and we quickly scramble to find CX counter on T1. Since we are faaaaaaaaaaaaar too early, we decided to had some lunch at a Japanese fusion restaurant. Had a squid ink pasta, which is okay.
We walked and took some pictures around HKIA. Then it’s check in time! We queued on the Economy section. Line was pretty long, took us around 12 minutes to be served, thanks to the Mainland China bound tourist with their enormous amount of checked luggage. Check in itself was handled by a friendly agent who gladly tagged both our luggage as Priority, thanks to my father MCO membership.
Immigration process was slow, thanks to the female agent that kept on talking to his colleague and judging everyone like they just committed a crime. Soon after, we were airside. First thing I seek? DISNEYLAND STORE!
Being in HKIA for the first time for me, felt weird, in a good way. The terminal reminds me of CGK’s T3 with its pillars and white ceilings. I’m not a fan of its fluorescent light. But I’m a total fan for its huge glass windows giving so many spotting opportunities!
Anyway, during check in, we were told that the gates were not yet assigned. Around 4 PM, the gates are finally assigned, and around 5:15 PM, we went to our gates. Did a fair amount of spotting here too.
At around 6:30 PM, boarding commenced. Surprise! Another ride on the newly refurbished Y class! This time around, my seat gives lovely view of the wing and the engine! Can’t complain about that!
Remember when I wrote the horrendous service I got on the HKG bound flight few days back? It’s not here this time around. The FA’s were excellent today, especially the ones assigned to my aisle. Kudos for changing my perspective on CX whole service!
One of the lively FA on this flight
The seat content is exactly the same like the ones on my previous report.
Take off was on time, and it was very smooth.
Gotta love the lights!
Bye bye Hong Kong!
Around 30 minutes into flying, dinner service was about to be served, starting with a pack of peanuts and a serving of drinks. I went for Coke without ice (it’s cold already, so I don’t need excess cold)
Dinner service consisted of 2 selections, Vegetarian Pasta or Chicken Rice. I went for the Pasta. It was delish. Pasta was al dente, sauce was tasty, and portion was more than enough for this regional flight. My father went for the Chicken Rice. It was pretty tasty despite the unappetizing appearance.
After dinner service, I played around on the IFE and was surprised to find a rather good selection on the Rock music section. Some of my favorite bands are there (and yes, they’re HEAVY). Afterwards, I continued the journey by watching the funniest movie of 2014 in my opinion.
As time goes by, we were on our descent towards CGK.
Landing was smooth.
We passed by GA B77 PK-GIA (I’ve flown this on my AMS-CGK section earlier this year)
Baggage claim was TREMENDOUSLY fast for CGK! I queued behind, like, 10 people or so, got my passport stamp by Immigration, walked to the luggage belt, and Boom. My luggage was out . Kudos to CGK ground handling staff for this swift service!
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Verdict
Cathay Pacific
8.6/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Meal/catering9.0
Hong Kong - HKG
8.0/10
Efficiency7.5
Access9.0
Services7.5
Cleanliness8.0
Jakarta - CGK
7.9/10
Efficiency9.0
Access7.5
Services7.5
Cleanliness7.5
Conclusion
This overall trip truly overshadow the HKG bound trip. Crew was great and attentive, not to mention their honest and sincere service. Food was awesome, did not tasted bland at all. On time performance was spot on, no delays whatsoever. And kudos to CGK ground staff for swift deliveries of baggage!
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Ah, glad to see CX were able to redeem themselves on this return flight. Seems waaaay better than the flight to HKG. Maybe the service was bad on the way over because it was a redeye? Who knows. I love HKG, such a great airport. And yes, it's awesome for AvGeeks like us...it's a planespotter's paradise! Thanks for sharing this great report!
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2 Comments
HKG is always great for plane spotting. Good to see that this flight was up to the usual CX standards leaving out of its hub.
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