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Hello everyone, welcome back to another flight report!
I was on a trip to Bangkok, Thailand. This trip report features my flight from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi back to Hong Kong, where I fly on Emirates.
Aircraft: A6-EOW (Airbus A380-861; Featured the "Expo 2020 (Sustainability / Green)" livery from Jun 2018 to Jan 2022)
Age of aircraft as of flight: 7.8 years
Flight number: EK384
Scheduled flight time: 14:05 (+8) - 18:05 (+7) | 3h0m
Actual flight time: 14:41 (+7) - 18:12 (+8) | 2h31m
Seat: 75A (Economy)
EK384 is operated by Emirates, which flies from Dubai (DXB) to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK), then reaching Hong Kong (HKG). The flight I'm taking today is the second section of the whole flight, which is a fifth freedom flight.
As mentioned in my last trip report, I didn't choose EK385 for the flight to Bangkok because it is operated after EK384 is landed at Hong Kong. If so, I would've arrived in Bangkok at midnight. And the reason why I chose EK384 instead of other flights is because it's cheap when booked with my other flight on a third-party travel agency website, and also it would be an economical way to try out Emirates and the Airbus A380 without the need to travel to Dubai.
This flight allows me to bring 30kg of luggage.
A side note, this is my first time taking the Airbus A380 and flying on Emirates, which I have been looking forward to try out. And that is why this flight is important to me.
The check-in counter of Emirates is located at Row T of Suvarnabhumi Airport. The check-in counters were already open when I have arrived 3 hours prior departure. The airport terminal is quite busy that day, which is a good sign of Bangkok's aviation industry recovering from the covid pandemic.
I then went through the security check.
Afterwards, I proceeded to my gate, E8. It is located at the near end of the concourse E, which is a good thing for me, as I can do some planespotting on my way walking to the gate. However, I'd have to admit that the terminal of Suvarnabhumi Airport is not a good place for spotting aircraft. Its glass windows were covered in dots/ grids that I believe helps reduce sunlight, but highly reduces the visibility of the apron view. But still, I managed to see a nice variety of aircraft.
I also bought and enjoyed a box to mango sticky rice at the terminal, a popular Thai street food.
One thing to note is that Bangkok's airport shops are mostly repetitive, which are named something like "Tastes of Thailand", and they all sell the same things (e.g. food, souvenirs) at the same price! I guess that might be a way for Bangkok Airport to fill up empty shop spaces, which again, I guess they were closed down during the covid pandemic. Those are purely guesses, but I found this phenomenon rather suspicious.
I then arrived at my gate, E8, which is located near the end of the concourse E.
The EK crew can be seen sitting together at the waiting area one floor below.
We started boarding slightly behind schedule. Just for your reference, the last flight landed from Dubai at 12:26 that same day, which is only 19 minutes behind original schedule of the first leg of flight. The aircraft needs to be turned around within 2 hours, which can be quite impressive if that is pulled off.
My boarding group is zone D, at least it's what's being said on my flight ticket. I boarded the aircraft at around 14:00, that is, 5 minutes prior takeoff time. I'm not quite concerned though, as Emirates actually reserved 3 hours of flight time for such a short haul flight, and that's way more time than what is normally required to fly this route.
The aircraft I'm flying on is A6-EOW, an Airbus A380-861. It was delivered back in March 2016, so as of the time of this flight, the aircraft is approximately 8.4 years old.
The aircraft features 14 First class seats, 76 Business seats, and 429 Economy seats. All Economy seats are located on the lower deck, while all premium classes are located on the upper deck. This gives it a huge capacity for such a popular Asian route. And that also explains why boarding can be quite time-consuming.
My seat is 75A, a window seat on the left, between doors 3 and 4 (out of 5). This aircraft features a huge touch screen, followed by a remote and mini-screen attached. A USB charging port, headphone port, power outlet, and another USB port is also provided. Moving downwards, there is a coat hook, a foldable tray table, which has a cup holder attached to it. And finally, there are two seat pockets which feature a safety card and an in-flight magazine.
Legroom is said to be around 33 inches, which is slightly reduced due to the thickness of the seat pocket. This is still pretty decent in my opinion (me being 5'7"), for a short-haul Asian flight.
In addition, a blanket, pillow, and headsets are placed on the seat as well.
The seat design makes it very functionable and considerate for passengers. The touch screen is fully functioning, and I like the little screen which allows me to multi-task. Providing the power outlet on the seat makes it easy to access. The cup holder is a nice touch too. The seat pocket holds quite a lot as well. They even provided a pillow and blankets, but this is a short haul day flight.
Emirates did not fail my expectations this time.
The window however… If you've ever flown on the A380, you know what I'm talking about. It feels like you're looking through a cylinder! Nonetheless, Emirates did put up some window frames around the window, making it feels more elegant.
I'm not sure whether Emirates use aircraft of such configuration on longer flights, but I would be quite willing to try flying EK on long-haul in Economy considering these seats.
We taxied and took off from runway 19R at 14:41, that is, 36 minutes prior schedule departure time. We then made a left turn and headed to our destination. The weather is slightly cloudy but I could still capture a lot of the moments.
Lunch is served at around 50 minutes after takeoff. Meal service suspended halfway, because of some heavy turbulence during the flight.
Fascinatingly, passengers are only provided with one choice of hot meal: (Sorry I forgot the actual name of the dish) Chicken masala and rice. The hot dish also comes with a coleslaw salad, sago pudding, packaged water, orange juice/ jelly, a bread roll, a KitKat, a piece of EK-branded dark chocolate, and some unsalted butter. A beverage is served. Wet wipes are also provided as well. As for the package on the right, look and behold… metal cutlery! It also includes salt, pepper, and a tissue.
I find providing only one hot meal choice very risky, as it needs to fulfill the preference of all passengers. This dish is slightly spicy as well, making it even more riskier, as some passengers from Hong Kong or other nationalities may not be able to handle spice. I kind of understand the choice of meal, as it's an Arabian airline flying from a Thai airport, and also the catering comes from the Thai Airways menu. And despite the slight spiciness, I find the hot meal to be pretty delicious! Well done to Emirates (and Thai Airways catering as well haha).
The side dishes are awesome as well. I really appreciate Emirates' attention to detail, including the metal cutlery, the piece of dark chocolate and the wet wipes too. I was really surprised to be able to use metal cutlery, and that adds to the overall sense of elegance of the experience.
The Emirates in-flight entertainment system is called the ICE, which stands for information, communication, and entertainment. I don't think I should be introducing the system, as I didn't explore the system in-depth within 2 hours of flight, but overall it is pretty updated and a large variety of choices of games and movies are offered.
I really appreciate the mini-screen that is attached to the remote. This allows me to watch a movie while being able to look at the flight map. Speaking of which, the flight map is highly interactive and informative, allowing me to know everything an avgeek needs to know (speed, altitude, direction, vert. speed etc). I could even switch to see the cameras mounted on the tail and the gear!
Honestly speaking, the ICE system is by far some of the best I have ever encountered. Well-done.
It was slightly cloudy that day with some minor turbulences, therefore not much scenery can be seen mid-flight.
Also, I walked around the cabin. The stairs at the back of the aircraft were blocked.
We approached Hong Kong from Southwest, before turning left and landing on the newly constructed runway 25R. We landed at 18:12, 5 minutes prior to the estimated arrival time. We then taxied to our gate, and surprisingly, the captain made a wrong turn at one of the taxiways and we stopped midway. We had to take a slight detour before finally reaching gate 62.
After security checking, we then proceeded to our baggage belt. Usually, I was able to get my luggage pretty quickly with a maximum waiting time of 10-15 minutes. However, all passengers crowded at the empty baggage belt and we all waited for ~30 minutes. Then I was able to get my bags.
I do hope that a large number of you would read this flight report, therefore I'm also introducing the methods of transportation to leave Hong Kong Airport.
1. MTR (Railway). Follow the signs to the Airport Express, and then just hop onto the train. You will pay after you have reached your destination (Either Asia World Expo, Tsing Yi, Kowloon, or Hong Kong stations). Please be reminded to check the ticket price and payment method before taking the train.
2. Bus. There are a few bus companies available. The bus company you travel on depends on where you're going to. All bus stations can be accessed by walking down the ramp next to the Airport Express (Railway) station. Remember to follow signs to the bus stations.
The major bus companies that you're likely to travel by are:
2(a) Longwin Bus (Orange/ Black). They serve all of the New Territories.
2(b) Citybus (Red/ Yellow). They serve all of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.
If you're going to Tsing Yi, both bus companies offer service there. Please be reminded to check with your bus app/ Google Maps before taking the bus. Cash and e-payment are accepted.
3. Taxi. I SERIOUSLY DON'T RECOMMEND IT. Though it can be quite fast, it's VERY costly. Plus, most other public transportation can bring you to most places in Hong Kong, so that's not necessary.
Emirates is a very nice choice for the route Bangkok to Hong Kong. They pay attention to details and attempt to take the flight to the next level.
They have done a brilliant job in seat design, catering, and in-flight entertainment, making this experience one of the best I have had.
The only thing they can improve is to provide one more choice on hot meals, or it would be quite risky to serve one spicy choice. Also, I think they would get more passengers if their flight to Bangkok (EK385 HKG-BKK) were conducted earlier, so people can still travel on Emirates without having to arrive at Bangkok late.
Overall, good job Emirates! A very nice flight for a 2-hour Asian short-haul!
2 Comments
I am surprised there was only one choice of meals, or maybe they just ran out of the other choices and just gave what was left--I've seen that happen several times before. Either way, this is probably what I would have selected as it looks delicious! It's difficult to gauge spice level for in-flight meals because taste is much less intense at cruising altitude, as a general rule, so caterers must always exaggerate the spice and seasoning level to counteract this known effect. Which obviously can lead to overdoing it a bit sometimes. Either way the meal looks really good, especially by Western standard where we get a tiny snack, or nothing, on a similar 2h flight.
Thanks for sharing!
I was actually hoping to fly on the upper deck too, but I’m staying on the lower deck this time. Let’s see if that would happen in the future!
Also, EK did not run out of choice of meals, I already knew there would be only one meal choice upon online check-in. Passengers expect full-service carriers to provide a “full service” (including hot meal, IFE and seat) on Asian routes, no matter how short it could be (e.g. HKG-TPE) so I think that’s great compared to European or American domestic.
Thank you again!
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