Review of Hong Kong Airlines flight from Haikou to Hong Kong in Economy

CRK

HX - Hong Kong Airlines

Flight taken on 13 July 2016
HX108
13:35 01h 25m 15:00
Model Airbus A320
Class Economy
Seat 49A
marathon
1,204 · 184 · 2 · 1

This is the third segment of an extended week of vacation in China:
CDG - HKG : AF188 (A380-800)
CAN - HAK : HU7010 (B738-800)
HAK - HKG : HX108 (A320) You are here
HKG - CDG : AF185 (A380-800)
It was a short flight, but be warned that this is long report ;)
The report starts with the taxi ride to the airport. The right lane on that major thoroughfare is reserved for police cars 公安车, but the other drivers do not seem to care about that.

photo img_4232a

A major thoroughfare in China may have 8 lanes per direction, including one for turning left and two for turning right.


photo img_4240a

It was indeed the direction of the airport 机场, but you needed to read Chinese to know it.


photo img_4242a

Note at this crossroads the shelter with a tin roof protecting moped drivers from the searing heat of the sun or the pouring monsoon or typhoon rains.

photo img_4246a

Going underneath the high speed train line which links Haikou to Sanya on the east coast of Hainan island.


photo img_4251a

And going underneath a station


photo img_4255a

The route of Freeway G98 is simple : it circles the island.


photo img_4262a

It was a wavy ride by our taxi driver, a Chinese all the way to his very long finger nails (I had never seen that in China).

photo img_4267a

An HU A330 in final shows that we are approaching the airport too.


photo img_4270b

It was getting more and more obvious, and was in English too.


photo img_4272a

Arrival at HAK’s terminal : the ride from the city center cost 70 yuan, i.e. the amount negotiated with the taxi driver on the way in, and the distance was only 10 meters less than the 25 km distance that I had reckoned.


photo img_4274a

The international terminal was indicated overhead, but where was the access ?


photo img_4276a

I only needed to ask these policemen who were not overworked with their explosives detection task.


photo img_4278a

We had to get out of the terminal, and that is where I realized that I had made a bad mistake in not specifying to the taxi driver that we were on an international flight (HKG is considered as being abroad from an immigration point of view).

photo img_4279a

That international terminal was far away.


photo img_4280a

Very far (no, we did not go through that construction area)


photo img_4281a

Endlessly far


photo img_4282a

It seemed forever, in a searing mid-day heat


photo img_4284a

It appeared at last


photo img_4285a

It took us only eleven minutes, according to the time-stamping of my pictures, but I had the impression that it was three times longer because of the heat.


photo img_4289a

OK, HAK is an international airport, but international flights are few in the middle of the day


photo img_4290a

What is more, the flight to Seoul is actually via Guangzhou.


photo img_4299a

We were slightly ahead of time : checking in was from ETD-100’ to ETD-40’


photo img_4307a

There was a sign reminding that in the line


photo img_4306a

Have you ever wondered what is written on these very showy red sashes worn by the airport staff guiding passengers in Chinese airports ?

photo img_4293a

The one on the right was simple, with an accurate translation in English of the Chinese 美兰机场欢迎您 ("Meilan Airport welcomes you")
On the other hand, I had to ask a Chinese friend for help for the other one : the slogan 星美兰馨服务 is a hard to detect pun between the characters 星 (star) and 新 (new) which are pronounced nearly the same in Mandarin (xīng et xīn, respectively). « Star (or new) caring customer service in Meilan » : according to my friend’s research on the internet, this is an allusion to HAK’s targeting a Skytrax 5-star award, but a standard Chinese passenger is unlikely to understand it.
Chinese is a language which is ideally suited to multi-level puns that the Chinese are fond of, not least in their continuous cat-and-mouse game with the censorship, but when a slogan becomes a riddle for specialist, it is a communication failure.

photo img_4308a

I guess that our checking in was done by the book : the person on the left, slightly behind, was obviously a supervisor taking note of each action of the staff at the counter.

photo img_4309a

A floral decoration on the counter


photo img_4312a

HAK’s international terminal graciously offers to the passengers a few copies of the China Daily (one of the two English language Mainland newspapers).


photo img_4315a

The size of the international terminal is adapted to that of the traffic : modest. Three pictures are enough to show the entire landside area.

photo img_4316aphoto img_4317aphoto img_4318a

We had to fill in the departure forms that we had not received in ZUI.


photo img_4321a

Going through immigration was as eventless as usual, and our passports were now decorated with two unusual Chinese stamps : enter through 九州 (Jiuzhou = ZUI, Zhuhai’ harbor), and departure through 美兰机场 (Meilan Airport = HAK).


photo img_6453a

I saw from the Departing airside area where I was these overhead signs located in the Arrival circuit, indicating the counters delivering visas for foreigners (外国人签证) on the left and the "Permits for Taiwanese Compatriots" (quote) 台湾居民办证 on the right : Hainan Island is special in that some nationalities in some conditions can receive there a Chinese visa on arrival, and on the other hand, the Taiwanese cannot be mentioned as foreigners to whom a visa a delivered, since Mainland China claims sovereignty on Taiwan.


photo img_4333a

The pictogram and the English title are neutral, but in Chinese, it is a room 室 for babies婴 and mothers母.


photo img_4324a

A view of the airside hall


photo img_4327a

The ceiling’s cloudy decoration


photo img_4368a

Nothing special about the duty-free shop.

photo img_4328a

… apart from these stuffed panda toys. I had learnt the day before in the excellent Hainan Province Museum that there had been pandas there in prehistoric times, but it has been a long time since the only place with pandas in the wild is faraway Sichuan.

photo img_4329a

I needed to receive a code by SMS to access the internet by wifi, like in most Chinese airports, but this was the first time that a foreign cell phone number was accepted.


photo img_4334a

This provided me Flight Report’s home page of the day.


photo img_4339a

Some plane spotting : there were nearly no aircraft parked in the vicinity of the international traffic, due to the small number of international flights, but quite a number of aircraft operating domestic flights could be seen taxiing.
A330 HU


photo img_4325aphoto img_4404a

HU B738


photo img_4341a

CZ B738


photo img_4342a

CZ A321


photo img_4356a

MU A320


photo img_4383b

A320 JD (Capital Airlines), in two different liveries


photo img_4355bphoto img_4362a

QW A320 (Qingdao Airlines)


photo img_4358a

It was possible to recharge your favorite toy


photo img_4367a

The buildings create a central patio


photo img_4345a

In a country where Twitter is blocked by the internet censorship (a.k.a . The Great Firewall), birds were twittering in a cage.


photo img_4347a

And two passengers were having a drink at this bar


photo img_4348a

On the other hand, there was nobody at this sun-drenched terrace: it was way too hot!


photo img_4350a

The multicolored crowded under the bridge as soon as they see a passenger who might send them some food.

photo img_4353a

I do not know if these giant clam shells are imitation, but this position partly above the water surface was unnatural, and the water was not salty anyway.


photo img_5597a

I would not want to linger in overheated garden, especially since HX’s A320 had just arrived.

photo img_4370a

The stairs were placed in position and a small train of containers arrived

photo img_4375aphoto img_4377a

The liveries of these facing HU A330 and HX A320 clearly show that both airlines are part of the same HNA group.


photo img_4380a

Arrival of the crew for our flight


photo img_4389a

So, the wheelchair was not for anybody in the crew ?


photo img_4394a

OK, then, I should bring it to the aircraft ?


photo img_4395a

They could have let me load it into the minibus, with that heat outside


photo img_4396a

It’s even worse for my colleague who has to bring two of them


photo img_4399a

So heavy to carry up the stairs !


photo img_4403a

They should coordinate when they do not need any, actually…


photo img_4408a

And all that to show to a Flight Reporter that we have wheelchairs in HAK …


photo img_4409a

I can’t read in the mind of the Chinese, actually, but that was what I imagined at the sight of this scene.
Let’s revert to facts : boarding was announced, and the passengers made a flawless waiting line

photo img_4410a

This is the passenger bus, as seen just before boarding the plane.


photo img_4425a

There was a sign on the bus to avoid any doubt on the flight reference


photo img_4412a

In China, vehicles which are limited to a closed perimeter off the public roads have a green number plate. The plate here is marked民航 (civilian airport).


photo img_4426a

The cleaning staff was waiting in the shade for a bus to take them

photo img_4413a

The passengers were just as perfectly in line on the overheated tarmac as in the air conditioned terminal

photo img_4415a

If it had not been for passengers traveling together (who could not be blamed for waiting next to each other), I would have seen a single head. So much for the cliché of Chinese crowds jostling to be first.

photo img_4416a

The wingtip fence decorated with HNA group’s logo


photo img_4419a

Some more plane spotting with a CZ A320


photo img_4420a

And a taxiing FM 738


photo img_4423a

Fuselage shot ; the bauhinia flower is the emblem of Hong-Kong (« Bauhinia » is HX’s call sign)


photo img_4427aphoto img_4428a

The two rows in J (picture taken when deplaning) are as usual in 2+2 layout


photo img_4558a

HX is another Chinese airline which numbers the Economy cabin from Row 31


photo img_4432a

An unusually ample and varied offering of newspapers, both from Hong-Kong and from the Mainland.


photo img_4433aphoto img_4434a

It was especially interesting the compare the front pages of the newspapers, just after the ruling of the arbitral tribunal stating that China had no historical rights on the South China Sea: the Mainland Chinese newspapers followed the official line that this tribunal had no jurisdiction on this case against the Philippines, whereas the Hong-Kong newspapers headlined a crushing legal defeat suffered by Beijing.
B-LPK had entered revenue service on 1st March, 2013, but her cabin was so spotless that it seemed to be fresh out of factory.

photo img_4435aphoto img_4437a

The carpeting did not have a single stain or trace of tear and wear

photo img_4439a

A 27 cm distance between the seat and the magazine pocket,

photo img_4440a

… a 46 cm width between armrests : this was the standard (and rather comfortable space) in a single aisle Chinese aircraft.


photo img_4443a

The pattern of the seat’s cloth – my camera altered the colors for unknown reasons.


photo img_4442a

The safety card, both sides


photo img_4453a

This picture illustrates a typically Chinese anecdote : during the pre-take-off check, the FA had the passenger at Seat 49C straighten her seat, and she reclined it as soon as the FA had moved on in the aisle… and the same happened before landing.

photo img_4488a

The overhead appliances


photo img_4444a

The equally red flags of the airport, China and HNA.


photo img_4445a

A panoramic view of the international terminal under a darkening sky


photo img_4446 panoa

Two unexpected Yun-7 (the Chinese copy of the An-24) seen during taxiing. They were not in flying condition (see the extremity of the wing of the nearest one) and I do not know if these were wrecks or museum pieces undergoing restoration. The livery appeared to be that of Wuhan Airlines which merge in 2003 into China Eastern Airlines.

photo img_4456a

The safety demonstration used simplified cartoons. I found that of HU more attractive :)

photo img_4459a

My wife discovered that in the duty-free magazine


photo img_4462a

… it was stated that the cards and the cash were not included in this wallet. Would you have expected the reverse ?


photo img_4463a

Take off from this runway with CAT I only rating


photo img_4467a

Speeding up


photo img_4468a

And take-off on time ; an FM aircraft on the taxiway.


photo img_4472aphoto img_4474a

A probable business jet


photo img_4475a

The end of the airport grounds


photo img_4476a

The countryside beyond the airport


photo img_4477a

A golf course


photo img_4481a

The plane flew initially more or less due east and took therefore several minutes before reaching the east coast of Hainan Island.


photo img_4483a

It was a short flight and I could not expect to have much to eat and drink : a small bottle of water and a bag of four small cookies.


photo img_4490aphoto img_4492a

An antiseptic towlette was distributed too.


photo img_4495a

First sight of Hong-Kong. I increased the contrast of most pictures from here on


photo img_4496a

Beaufort Island in the foreground, and the two peninsulas of Hong-Kong Island on both sides of Tai Tam Bay 大潭灣


photo img_4497b

The same two peninsulas, from an angle which makes them less easy to identify. Stanley Market is in the top left corner of the picture.

photo img_4498a

A construction area in Fat Tong Chau 佛堂洲, a former island now joined to the mainland. Tung Lung Chau Island 東龍洲 barely appears in the foreground


photo img_4499b

A glimpse of the former Kai Tak Airport runway in the background, spotted between the clouds.
What appears in the foreground are the straits of Lei Yue Mun 鯉魚門, i.e. the eastern end of the natural harbor of Hong Kong, with the Coastal Defence Museum on the left, located in the fortress with controlled it.


photo img_4501b

The Ninepin Islands 果洲 archipelago, off south-east of Hong Kong Island


photo img_4502a

Tung Lung Chau Island 東龍洲 on the left, and the highly indented south-east coastline of the New Territories. The Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club is on the promontory behind the wingtip fence


photo img_4503b

The islands of Tiu Chung Chau 吊鐘洲 (center) et Kau Sai Chau 滘西州 (right). Despite its reputation for being a skyscraper jungle, Hong-Kong has also lots of natural jungle too.


photo img_4508b

The fleet of leisure boats at anchor in the Hebe Bay 白沙灣 (literally the White Sand Gulf).


photo img_4510a

Shatin, around the heavily canalized Shing Mun River


photo img_4512a

Shatin’s south-west end


photo img_4515a

Shek Lai Pui Reservoir, in the foreground


photo img_4517b

Rambler Channel, the harbor which is between the main land on the left and Tsing Yi青衣 Island on the right.


photo img_4521aphoto img_4522a

Cheung Wang Estate, on the heights of Tsing Yi. See in the background the suspended bridge crossing the end of Rambler Channel, and Hong Kong Island behind it.


photo img_4525b

Zoom on the harbor installation of Rambler Channel and Stonecutters Island (now joined to the mainland) at the extremity of the suspended bridge. In the distance, Hong-Kong Island.


photo img_4527b

An illustration of the omnipresence of virgin nature on the heights and least constructible slopes, here on Tsing Yi Island.


photo img_4528b

Also seen during the final approach on Flight AF188 a few days earlier, the viaduct leaving from Tsing Yi Island on the left

photo img_4530a

… serving the small Ma Wan Island on the way


photo img_4532a

And reaching Lantau Island on the right


photo img_4534a

The freeway and the Airport Express tracks on the north coast of Lantau Island


photo img_4537a

HKG expansion works


photo img_4538a

Imminent landing on Runway 25R


photo img_4540a

HKG welcomes aircraft from the world over


photo img_4543bphoto img_4544b

But these are locals : CX A330


photo img_4545b

Cathay Dragon A320 (ex Dragonair, but this aircraft has not received the new livery)


photo img_4547b

The new livery of Cathay Dragon has the same tail as that of a CX, but on a red background


photo img_4548b

Taxiing to our gate: a Malindo 738 (an Indonesian LCC)


photo img_4549b

And a Myanmar Airlines738


photo img_4550b

The same, after our own aircraft’s complete stop


photo img_4552b

Winglets and tails


photo img_4554b

The Y cabin while deplaning


photo img_4555aphoto img_4556a

There were two ground staff at the gate waiting for connecting passengers. My wife had a particular liking for their uniform, with a red bauhinia flower (the emblem of Hong Kong) on the skirt.

photo img_4569a

Long walk in the brand new Midfield Concourse, whose windows provide a view on some aircraft parked at their gates.


photo img_4563a

Jetstar A320


photo img_4559a

Royal Brunei787


photo img_4566a

Fiji Airways A330


photo img_4570a

It is seldom the case in my experience, but the waiting time was reasonably short in HKG this time, possibly because the middle of the afternoon is not a rush hour.

photo img_4576a

The suitcases emerging from the conveyor belt were straightened up by a “Luggage Ambassador”. Only after taking this picture did I notice this sign forbidding photography which I found quite pointless, because this may be the most ordinary and least sensitive area of the airport. Our suitcase was delivered shortly before we had reached there.

photo img_4583a

There seems to be many ambassadors in HK, because I saw this “MTR safety ambassador” endlessly asking the subway users to please wait along the whole length of the platform after the end of this escalator, at rush hour.


photo img_4715a

A sculpture made of bicycle wheels, in the landside hall

photo img_4585a

The trip with the Airport Express is expensive by HK public transport standards, but no more expensive than the train from CDG to Paris, and much more comfortable and faster for the same distance. When two or more people travel together, there can use “group tickets” which come cheaper than individual tickets: these tickets to be used simultaneously cost 170 HKD, vs. 100 HKG for a passenger travelling alone.

photo img_4587a

This is the end of this FR, and the beginning of a tourist bonus on Haikou which was never described on Flight Report, since this flight and the preceding one are the first ones to/from HAK on this website.
Haikou is the capital of Hainan Province, and consequently has a Province Museum, which like all other Province Museums in Mainland China (I visited a dozen of them) is brand new, somewhat far from the city center because it is brand new, free, requires showing your passport of Chinese ID card, and most important remarkably laid out and didactic, with fully bilingual explanatory signs. In short, when you visit the capital of a Chinese province, visiting its Province Museum (not to be confused with a possible City Museum) is a must.

photo img_5177a

Hainan Island, like Taiwan Island much later, has been during over a millennium a place where disgraced top level officials were being sent off. Falling out of grace with the emperor was not necessarily a sign of incompetence, and some of these exiles were so appreciated by the population where they had been exiled that the Hainanese built this Temple of the Five Ministers, honoring five individuals who were sent to Haikou at very different times in history and proved to be remarkable administrators.

photo img_3902a

Where could you go for food ? It was very hot at lunch time in this excellent food court


photo img_3841a

But after nightfall, the temperature and the atmosphere are very pleasant


photo img_3949a

You can either eat outside on rather rugged chairs


photo img_3944a

Or inside the building on solid wood chairs which would command top prices in European furniture stores


photo img_4224aphoto img_4226a

A local peculiarity was that you need to buy and load a contactless card at counters outside the building, so that the food stalls inside never handle cash. The card and the leftover credit are fully refundable, which makes this system financially transparent for a short time visitor who knows when he will never come back.
There was ample choice as usual, sometimes translated in an interesting Chinglish, and always very cheap (1 EUR ~7 RMB at time of visiting).


photo img_3934aphoto img_3935aphoto img_3940a

Unlike too many Chinese cities which razed their historic centers, rebuilding make-believe “new old towns” on part of the original surface and modern skyscrapers on the remainder, Haikou still has an authentic old town, partly in an unfortunately shabby condition.

photo img_5496aphoto img_5497a

This does not dissuade shops from using the street level, which makes it a very lively neighborhood.


photo img_5499a

photo img_5504a

photo img_5534a

The buildings inside the blocks are much less attractive. This renovation work provides a glimpse of the reality behind the more opulent buildings lining up the streets.


photo img_5516aphoto img_5514a

A curiosity of the old town of Haikou is the persistence on some buildings of slogans from the Mao Zedong times, which have often completely disappeared elsewhere, written in a font which is typical of that time. There is here 伟大的中国共产党万岁!(Long live the great Chinese Communist Party!)


photo img_5494a

全世界人民 (Workers of the World) : there was not enough space here, but everybody knows the last word of this famous communist slogan: Unite !


photo img_5546a

中国共产党万岁!(Long live the Chinese Communist Party!)


photo img_5573aphoto img_5575a

The two preceding pictures have been taken in Zhongshan Street 中山路 which is the only one which has been restored (or rebuilt ?) and transformed in a pedestrian street.


photo img_5554a

The buildings are back in a mint condition, but there is an artificial feel in this avenue, despite the shops which are open for business.

photo img_5556a

There was a particular building that I knew about only through a tourist information leaflet in Chinese in our hotel room, no taxi driver seemed to know where it was, but I eventually found this sign at the entrance of Zhongshan Street 中山路


photo img_5553b

… which directed me to this narrow lane.


photo img_5562a

On top of the portico, written traditionally from right to left :天后宫 (Tianhou Temple). The sign on the left, written with the font used for administrative buildings, says 海口妈租文化流协会 : Matsu Cultural Association of Haikou.


photo img_5566a

In this island which provided a significant share of the Chinese diaspora in South-East Asia, I could do no less than pay a visit to the temple of the traditional deity protecting seamen, and prayed by all the seaside Chinese and Taiwanese.

photo img_5564a

This was arguably the smallest sanctuary to Matsu, and the ugliest representation of the goddess that I ever saw, but I like fantasizing that I owe this uneventful crossing of the South China Sea to Honk-Kong to her protection.
Thanks for reading me up to here!

Display all

Product ratings

Airline

Hong Kong Airlines 7.8

  • Cabin8.0 / 10
  • Cabin crew9.0 / 10
  • Entertainment/wifi7.5 / 10
  • Meal/catering6.5 / 10
Departure airport

Haikou - HAK9.0

  • Efficiency8.0 / 10
  • Access8.0 / 10
  • Services10.0 / 10
  • Cleanliness10.0 / 10
Arrival Airport

Hong Kong - HKG9.5

  • Efficiency10.0 / 10
  • Access10.0 / 10
  • Services8.0 / 10
  • Cleanliness10.0 / 10

Conclusion

An aircraft in super-mint condition despite three years of operation, no IFE but a significant newspaper offering, and a minimal catering, but you hardly get more than that on an intra-European one-hour flight.

Being dropped at the domestic terminal was my mistake, on the other hand, there is no shuttle for whoever makes this mistake (I doubt many passengers need to connect between both terminals). HAK is somewhat far from the city center, but there is both an expressway and a high speed train line. The international terminal was rather pleasant, and the access to the (censored) internet did not require having a Chinese SIM card.

Nothing to say about HKG, which was up to its reputation of excellence. In daytime, plane spotters have the bonus of seeing very diverse aircraft.

Did you enjoy reading this?

Let the author know by sharing a clap! It will be greatly appreciated!

1 Clap

marathon 's latest reviews

Comments (2)

  • Thank you for sharing this FR with us!

    Plane spotting from the taxi? Great! Very nice shot!

    I'm sorry to hear you had to walk so long (outside) just to get to the international terminal even if it was a mistake, it's interesting that it's located so far away.

    Great tarmac shots!

    The cabin definitely looks clean!

    Fantastic aerial shots!

    Thank you for the interesting bonus.

    Have a good one, see you!

    • "Plane spotting from the taxi? Great! Very nice shot!"

      - Actually, the taxi driver was first to point out to that landing plane, apparently to reassure me in case I was worrying about our direction. ^^

      "I'm sorry to hear you had to walk so long (outside) just to get to the international terminal even if it was a mistake, it's interesting that it's located so far away."

      - That's the positive way of looking back at it (and also a reminder to always mention Domestic / International when going to an airport) ^^

      "Great tarmac shots! Fantastic aerial shots!"

      - Chinese airports are usually plane spotter friendly, but the arrival in HKG was really a treat.

      "Thank you for the interesting bonus."

      - My pleasure, and thanks for the comment !

Login to post a comment.
Flight-Report

Ad Blocker Detected

Flight-Report is a free website hosting more than 500 000 pictures and 17 000 reviews, without ads, this website can't exist.

If you enjoy our website, we would greatly appreciate it if you could disable your ad blocker to support us. Thank you for your help and understanding!

How to Allow Flight-Report.com?