A stay in Taipei (or any cities in Taiwan) wouldn't be complete without stuffing myself with great Taiwanese food.
This flight is codeshared with EVA. Check-in is done at the EVA counter by EVA staff. HX passengers are only allowed to use EVA The Club lounge, which is a pretty small open air lounge featuring a seating area, small buffet and showers - not quite comparable to the Infinity lounge reserved for EVA's premium passengers.
Food is decent, but is a step down from the Infinity lounge
Yes, I eat a lot
I proceeded to the gate. Not ready for boarding yet.
Hong Kong Airlines Airbus 330-300
I picked this flight because I wanted to try their fully flat seat. Seat configuration is staggered 1-2-1. All seats have aisle access. Color theme of cabin and seats are almost identical to HX's parent Hainan Airlines.
Quite disappointing though. The seats were rather tight and worn down, not quite what I expected when I saw the pictures on their website.
Food was okay. The bauhinia-themed tableware looked nice. The pineapple pastry (on the left) was bad though.
Back to HKG
One drawback of taking a budget airline - deplaning on the tarmac. Not for me - I was actually pretty excited to spot planes at a close distance.
Close view of the plane - a luxury not offered by a jet bridge
More plane spotting on the shuttle bus back to the main terminal
Christmas decorations at the arrival hall
See more
Verdict
Hong Kong Airlines
7.6/10
Cabin7.5
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi7.5
Meal/catering7.5
EVA Air / The Club A+
7.9/10
Comfort7.5
Meal/catering8.0
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Services9.0
Taipei - TPE
8.4/10
Efficiency7.0
Access8.0
Services8.5
Cleanliness10.0
Hong Kong - HKG
9.5/10
Efficiency9.5
Access9.5
Services9.0
Cleanliness10.0
Conclusion
A decent business class offering by a budget airline. Crew members were friendly, seats were comfortable but worn down, and food was okay. Deplaning on the tarmac adds time to the journey but is great for plane spotting. Overall a good value - I would book again if it's on sale. The flight experience, however, is not comparable to Cathay Pacific or other premium airlines.
0 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Flew Business class 2 weeks ago with HX from Hong-Kong to Bali and with the same cabin and I was rather pleased with the whole experience but You are right they are far from competitors such as CX even Dragonair. The cabin was full (plenty of upgraded)and the 4 PNC in charge did a great job ! Tribute to their smile, graciousness and eager to deliver a good service.
For a budget airline, HX is pretty good. Never taken its 5-star parent Hainan Airlines, but hopefully they will help HX do even better. Thanks for reading!
I recognized the awful green tint of the TPE windows :( (there are clear windows, but they are few and far in between)
You need a full flat seat for a such a short flight ? (Any Flight Reporter will understand the motivation, no justification needed^^)
I am puzzled by the 2 hour scheduled flight duration. HKG<>TPE flights used to have a 1h40' scheduled / 1h18' actual duration. My impression is that HX pads its schedule outrageously to improve their punctuality statistics .
The Taiwanese are very proud of their pineapple pastries, but this is definitely not what I find best in their food - and you know that it is far more diverse than you could show in your introductory bonus.
I couldn't agree more on the advantage of deplaning on the tarmac. That is when you realize that you travel in a real plane. A pouring rain without an umbrella is the only case when a jet-bridge could be deemed better.
Yes, the tinted windows are pretty annoying for picture taking. I was just curious about the full flat seat. I was too full to even lie flat lol. I agree. TPE just reopened the second runway and should help cut this kind of time inflation. It's perfect for leisure travelers, and certainly brings back memories from childhood. Thanks for reading!
It's a shame the newer Business cabin is already starting to look worn. Overall, though, HX offers a good product--not as good as CX, but certainly higher level than U.S. or European carriers. What was the meal onboard. Is it chicken with mashed potatoes?
That's true. Correct me if I'm wrong - my impression is that intra-Europe flights don't even have true business class. US transcons are pretty competitive, but award space is really hard to find. I vaguely remember it's pork.
You are correct. Intra-European Business class is just Economy seats with the middle seat left open, sometimes with a table in the middle, and the section is curtained off. The catering, though, is usually better than US Domestic First class.
Agree that US Transcons offer a higher level of service and International Business class seats (and F in AA's case), but unfortunately available only a very few routes (JFK/EWR-LAX/SFO).
Spotting in TPE is always bad, those windows are terrible.
The cabin doesn’t look bad from the pictures, better than what BR offers if you want a direct comparison. The cabin may not be as strong as CX’s (or even as wide as the seats you had on KA), but still a strong cabin on this route.
Catering is much better than what I’ve been served by CX on this route.
While flat bed is totally unnecessary for a 90 minute flight, I agree this is a strong product, and its price makes it really competitive. Thanks for reading!
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24 reviews
9 Comments
Thanks for reading!
(there are clear windows, but they are few and far in between)
You need a full flat seat for a such a short flight ?
(Any Flight Reporter will understand the motivation, no justification needed^^)
I am puzzled by the 2 hour scheduled flight duration. HKG<>TPE flights used to have a 1h40' scheduled / 1h18' actual duration. My impression is that HX pads its schedule outrageously to improve their punctuality statistics .
The Taiwanese are very proud of their pineapple pastries, but this is definitely not what I find best in their food - and you know that it is far more diverse than you could show in your introductory bonus.
I couldn't agree more on the advantage of deplaning on the tarmac. That is when you realize that you travel in a real plane. A pouring rain without an umbrella is the only case when a jet-bridge could be deemed better.
Thanks for sharing !
I was just curious about the full flat seat. I was too full to even lie flat lol.
I agree. TPE just reopened the second runway and should help cut this kind of time inflation.
It's perfect for leisure travelers, and certainly brings back memories from childhood.
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for sharing!
I vaguely remember it's pork.
Agree that US Transcons offer a higher level of service and International Business class seats (and F in AA's case), but unfortunately available only a very few routes (JFK/EWR-LAX/SFO).
Spotting in TPE is always bad, those windows are terrible.
The cabin doesn’t look bad from the pictures, better than what BR offers if you want a direct comparison. The cabin may not be as strong as CX’s (or even as wide as the seats you had on KA), but still a strong cabin on this route.
Catering is much better than what I’ve been served by CX on this route.
Thanks for reading!
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