Hi everyone! Welcome to Part 1 of the final leg of my summer 2015 travel series where I'll be covering the return flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong. As always, it was time for me to head back to the US along with the pit stop in Hong Kong. As mentioned in my last trip report, my original flight going to Hong Kong departing at 11:10 AM got cancelled, and I had no other choice but to book a flight that departed extremely early in the morning. I am not a huge fan of early morning flights, but this was my only method in order to catch my connecting flight back to New York which departed at 4:10 PM. Nonetheless, I hope you guys enjoy reading this!
Pre-flight: I think I've made it very obvious that I'm not a fan of early morning flights!! Anyways, it all started with me getting up at 4:15 AM out of all times. My goal was to check-in for my flight at around 5:00 AM. That way, it would give me enough time to explore the airport during the early morning as well as check out the recently renovated Cathay Pacific lounge which I've been very much looking forward to! Normally, I would get some breakfast prior to leaving the hotel, but this time, I just got ready, checked-out, and went straight to the airport shuttle that operates every 5-10 minutes, which is quite convenient. I made it to Suvarnabhumi Airport at 4:45 AM that morning, and I was quite surprised to see everyone at the airport up and kicking!!
BKK Departures
Check-in area for CX
There wasn't a long line for Business Class so I was able to check-in immediately. The next thing I knew was that my bag was checked in all the way to New York and I was issued boarding passes for both flights.
It's always nice to see Mangkorakarn so early in the morning!
Overall, the process was quite smooth and I was all set to go through security and immigration, which was quick with the help of the Premium Lane pass.
Post-security
The famous Samudra Manthan, which attracts many tourists
Early morning departures, with my original flight (CX750) departing at 11:10 AM, shown to be cancelled
BKK Airside
Duty-free area
The first thing on my mind once I got through security was to get to the lounge
Concourse G, where my flight is going to be departing today
In order to get to the CX lounge in BKK, once you get through Concourse G, you just make a sharp left and keep going straight until you see the entrance.
Time to head to the lounge!
Lounge invitation
I had high expectations for this lounge, and so it did!! This lounge is quite spaced out and has more seating area than the previous one. Also, the lounge now has everything ranging from a noodle bar to even a full-fledged bar where there is bar service as well as a selection of selected snacks.
View of Concourse G
More shots of the lounge
Since I was starving, I immediately got myself a croissant and a coffee.
Boarding passes for both flights
By the time I was done with my "breakfast", I soon realised that it was already bright outside
I was at the lounge for about 40 minutes before I headed on to board the plane, which was a short walk from the lounge
I knew for a fact that if I didn't make this flight on time, there would've been no chance I would've made my connecting flight to JFK
Walking down the ramp to the gate area
Plane to HKG: B-HNE, a Boeing 777-300
Gate area and aerobridge
Some pre-flight information: Date: 1 September 2015 Airline: Cathay Pacific Flight Number: CX 616 Route: Bangkok (BKK) - Hong Kong (HKG) Aircraft: Boeing 777-300 Registration: B-HNE Distance: 1049 miles Scheduled Departure Time: 6:40 AM Actual Departure Time: 6:59 AM Scheduled Arrival Time: 10:30 AM Actual Arrival Time: 10:12 AM Flight Time: 2 hrs 50 mins Departure Gate at BKK: G3 Arrival Gate at HKG: 64
Flight:
Regional business class in 2-3-2 configuration
My seat: 16K
The legroom on this flight was a bit wider compared to the regional Airbus A330-300
View from the window. We were right next to a Japan Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner JA821J, which will serve as JL708 back to NRT this morning
Flight route
Cabin views
From what I can remember, the boarding process was quite short
Pre-departure drink
Hot towel
Menu for today's flight
Pushing back at around 6:45 AM
BKK is truly another sight for aviation enthusiasts
Asia Atlantic Airlines Boeing 767-300ER HS-AAB
While taxiing to Runway 19R, I couldn't resist posting this amazing photo of a Thai Airways Airbus A330 coming in for a landing!
Eventually, we took-off from the runway at 7:00 AM that morning, giving me a good view of the Bangkok skyline
I'll be back soon, Thailand!
Up in the clouds
Approximately 15-20 minutes later after takeoff, the crew came towards the cabin setting the tables for the breakfast service.
Exploring the inflight entertainment, studioCX
Orange juice for starters
Table setup including a croissant, fruits, and yogurt
For the main course, I got the stir-fried noodles with chicken and assorted vegetables. It was quite a good entrée, but it was the chilli sauce that made it so much better
After a while, I was handed another inflight survey by one of the crew.
Once I was done, I decided to take a short nap until we landed
I woke up to the captain's pre-arrival announcement saying that we were going to be landing ahead of the schedule time, and we had 30 minutes remaining as always
Approaching Hong Kong
Final shots before landing
We landed a mere 20 minutes ahead of schedule with a very short taxi to the gate, which made the arrival process quite quick. However, at the same time, the gate was a long walk to immigration.
Arrival into HKG
I then spotted B-LAR, the aircraft that took me to BOM last December
Taking the automated people mover as always
I pretty much breezed through immigration, and made it to the arrival hall in less than 2 minutes
Since I had about 6 hours to kill before I have to catch my flight back to New York, I decided to meet up with some of my family and friends before I head back to the airport.
I took the Airport Express back to Central/Hong Kong Station and made my journey from there
It felt good to be back, even if it was just for a few hours!
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Verdict
Cathay Pacific
9.1/10
Cabin9.5
Cabin crew8.5
Entertainment/wifi9.5
Meal/catering9.0
Cathay Pacific Lounge
10.0/10
Comfort10.0
Meal/catering10.0
Entertainment/wifi10.0
Services10.0
Bangkok - BKK
9.3/10
Efficiency9.5
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.5
Hong Kong - HKG
9.5/10
Efficiency9.5
Access9.0
Services9.5
Cleanliness10.0
Conclusion
Despite the fact that I had to wake up at 4 in the morning to board this flight, I don't have much to say about the flight which was uneventful for the most part. Although the entertainment and meal service was decent for the most part. I would say the only highlight of this trip report was the stunning lounge at the airport which mostly made up for everything that I found missing. Nonetheless, this was an average flight onboard Cathay Pacific. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed reading this trip report and stay tuned for my flight back to New York, which I will be posting very soon!
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