Greetings Flight-Report Community. Thanks for stopping by and having a look at this report, the fourth in the series.
For this report series I will be sharing a delightful and frivolous RTW journey that is highlighted by my first trips on Emirates and Japan Airlines. Spoiler alert: I was positively floored by both experiences.
The reports will be broken down as follows:
Emirates Lounge LAX and EK LAX-DXB (First)http://flight-report.com/en/report-12730.html
Emirates Lounge(s) DXB and EK DXB-SIN (First)http://flight-report.com/fr/report-12807.html
Malaysia Airlines SIN-KUL (Business) http://flight-report.com/en/report-12911.html
Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge KUL and CX KUL-HKG (Business)(This Report)
Cathay Pacific The Wing and The Pier and CX HKG-HND (First)http://flight-report.com/en/report-12951.html
Japan Airlines First Class Lounge(s) NRT and JL NRT-ORD (First)http://flight-report.com/en/report-13034.html
Here's an image of the entire route courtesy of Great Circle Mapper (gcmap.com)
I took a taxi from the Westin KL to Sentral to board the KLIA Aexpress. It was early in the morning and the train was empty.
I checked in at the Cathay Pacific counters and was given boarding passes and lounge invites for both the KUL-HKG leg and the HKG-HND leg.
Immigration was very quick with the premium lane and security screening only took 10 minutes or so.
I always enjoy looking at the aircraft models at KUL.
After a brief train ride I was deposited into satellite terminal where it seems all international and wide body aircraft depart from.
I had a choice of lounges in the satellite terminal between the Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge and the Cathay Pacific Lounge. I had read in several Flight Reports and various other media that the CX lounge wasn't worth the time compared to the MH lounge. This seemed reasonable to me given this is Malaysia's hub and home airport so I went with the Golden Lounge. I had never visited the Business Class side so this would be new to me.
It is a spacious lounge however the furniture is dated and showing considerable wear and tear.
The layout is good overall with several seating areas and decentralized food and beverage stations.
Having skipped the hotel breakfast my first task here was to sample the food on offer. The first thing that caught my eye was the noodle counter where there were two choices on offer.
I opted for the mee hoon with tom yam seafood broth. I found the dish to be satisfactory but not quite as pungent or hot and sour as I would like.
In the interest of providing a detailed report I sampled some of the other buffet offerings as well. None of which were remarkable but they certainly hit the spot. They were all just slightly muted versions of foods that I really enjoy when in this part of the world. I appreciate that the cuisine has a local emphasis.
For the remainder of my time in the lounge I found a seat by the window and enjoyed some coffee and airplane views.
On my way out to the gate I noticed this cool art installment in the MH lounge.
I did a drive by on the Cathy Pacific lounge. It was so crowded I didn't take any pictures. It was modern and aesthetically pleasing but the food and beverage was sub-par.
Gate security was brief as I arrived as boarding had already commenced.
I chose seat 17K. Pictured below is 18K and then 17K as viewed form 18K.
Cabin during boarding and a view of the bulkhead art.
I requested champagne and water for PDB.
Menus were offered prior to takeoff. Blah options. Breakfast is difficult to make interesting.
We left the gate on time and after a taxi to the opposite end of the field we were off into the hazy morning light.
Service started promptly with the table setting and another round of champagne.
I opted for the fruit and skipped the yogurt and cereal that were offered form the trolley.
The fruit plate was cleared and the trolley with the mains came and I selected the fish. The fish was dry and had a terrible texture. I didn't bother trying another main although I'm sure it would have been accommodated.
Service was quick and efficient but not very personal. That seems to be the theme of my experiences in CX J.
Cabin at cruise after service.
Off the coast of Vietnam.
The lie flat seats on the A330 are very comfortable for sleeping so I conked out until we were on decent and announcements were made to put cabin in landing configuration.
In the interest of providing a detailed report I sampled some of the other buffet offerings as well. None of which were remarkable but they certainly hit the spot.
- Haha, well we appreciate you stuffing your face for the common good :-)
Nice that you had a long-haul J cabin on this regional route. I really don't get why CX sometimes puts Regional J cabins and sometimes International on the same route or similar length routes. Makes for an inconsistent product.
Service was quick and efficient but not very personal. That seems to be the theme of my experiences in CX J.
- That wasn't the case on my recent CX J flight. I had a army of FA's attending to me. Report coming soon.
Thanks for another good report!
Greetings KevinDC thank you for taking the time to leave a comment on all of these reports. The comments are a really fun part of the whole flight report process and make this an enjoyable site.
I really don't get why CX sometimes puts Regional J cabins and sometimes International on the same route or similar length routes. Makes for an inconsistent product.
-Yes, the pattern is that there is a not a pattern. The regional routes that get F are also a bit perplexing. It seems to me more about utilization than the demand in the market (except HND which is consistent). BKK was seeing 2 x 77W in December but SIN, a more premium market, sees no F.
Thanks again and happy flying.