Avis du vol entre Hong Kong et Phuket en classe Economique avec HK Express

Welcome to my first flight report!

Since the last trip report on UO, or Hong Kong Express on this website seemed to be quite outdated, I decided that it would be a good idea to review my relatively recent flight on them in 2024 January.  I hope you find this trip report useful and let me know in the comments for what to improve! 

For those looking to travel with UO, a lot has changed as of the writing of this report. The addition of A321neos to their fleet, appointment of a new CEO and more has drastically changed UO's policy and subsequently a lot about the experience. I will try to account for those changes in the report as much as possible and I hope this review can be reflective of UO's current situation and their A320neo product. 

Hong Kong International Airport and Check-in experience

Me and my family did online check-in using UO's online website, which allows you to check-in at most 48 hours before your scheduled departure. However, I do not recommend doing so too early, as it seems that the earlier you do this, the further back you are assigned to seat in (unless you pre-booked any seats, which comes with a fee). I'll further explain why this isn't exactly ideal later. Taking a bus, I arrived at Hong Kong International Airport around 3 hours earlier to check-in, grab a quick meal and do some planespotting after security. 

Hong Kong Express' check-in aisle is located at row H, the right end of the departure hall at HKG. Although we had already checked-in online, we headed there regardless as we wanted to make sure that our carry-on bags were eligible and wouldn't be charged extra. Fortunately, the queue was short that day and we got our cabin-approved tag for 2 carry-ons. If you are unsure whether your carry on will be charged extra, there is a rack for you to test too right at the check-in area.  The rack, despite its published size being the same as most other airlines but according to online reports, seems to be much smaller. Some people tried putting their carry-on into Cathay's rack (parent company of UO)) successfully but then their carry-on got stuck in UO's rack..

Be sure to check your ticket prior and confirm whether it comes with a free carry-on or any other limitations, as UO has complicated their fees to 4 categories, with the cheapest only allowing one "small personal item".  Oh, as of recently they also seem to deliberately block people from sitting together recently by assigning random seats, so be aware of that. I understand that they want to make more money but I don't think most Hongkongers are buying it… 

Here's also a picture of the cabin approved tag. Be sure to ask for one of these from the check-in counter. (You can also get a tag for personal items, although I don't think it's necessary unless you are scared of paying extra charges.)

After that, we cleared security and headed to airside and I started to planespot at the main terminal. (Unfortunately, I spent a bit too much time here and forgot to planespot the plane bringing me to Phuket.)

Hong Kong Express now departs from the midfield concourse, which is accessible via a train ride from the main terminal.
The midfield concourse only reopened recently due to COVID19 and some of the shops still haven't reopened. If you want to grab something to eat or do shopping, do it before you visit the midfield concourse as there is a limited number of shops and restaurants here.

Hong Kong Airlines and AirAsia also depart from this terminal, so there isn't much to see here too (another reason for me arriving at the concourse pretty late..)

Here's a picture of the midfield concourse. The quality is quite bad as it is extracted from a video, which I filmed while rushing to the gate. 

My flight departs from gate 207 and B-LCS, a 3.8 year old A320neo will be bringing me to Phuket for the first time. It still wears the old UO livery depicting the beautiful Hong Kong skyline, which is an increasingly rare sight as most UO aircraft have been repainted into a rather generic new livery. Boarding went smoothly but we pushed back behind schedule. 

The seat

Remember how I mentioned that you should avoid checking in too early online? Well, when I boarded the flight and arrived at my seat, 31A, I immediately found that I was missing a window. In addition, rows 31 and 32 all have a missing window and are unable to recline (more on that later), so keep that in mind when you check-in online or select your seat. At least I did get to move up front after takeoff, as there was one empty row by chance, but I didn't get any pictures of the tarmac or takeoff. 

Time to take a look at the seat. Operating a full economy 3-3 configuration with 188 seats, Hong Kong Express went with Recaro SL3510 Slimline seats on their 320neos and as the name suggests, they are quite thin but decently comfortable for most of the flights that Hong Kong Express operates these planes on. 

Legroom is fairly standard as far as low-cost carriers go. (FYI I'm roughly 175cm)

Each seat comes with a basic tray table, with a lock which doubles as a coat hook too. 

A basic storage compartment is also available. Inside you can find an air sickness bag, in-flight menu, in-flight shopping catalogue and safety card. 

Individual air vents and reading lights are installed too. 

Recline is also offered on Hong Kong Express. While the recline isn't a lot, it's definitely a nice touch. Their new A321neos however don't seem to have any recline.  

The food

Hong Kong Express offers a paid in-flight menu on board, but purchases can be pre-booked online.You can check some of their offerings on the official website. Personally, I find the prices of the main dishes and bubble tea to be relatively competitive to normal prices in Hong Kong but other items are definitely overpriced. I'm a bit too lazy to post outdated menu pictures, so here's the link to the current menu (2024 summer): https://static.hkexpress.com/media/1073/uonboard-s24-final-version-2.pdf

At the time of my flight, bubble tea was offered at a promotional price of 38 HKD, which I found to be quite cheap and on par with the price of bubble teas found along the streets of Hong Kong. Here's a picture of the bubble tea, which was very satisfying. I highly recommend trying this if you somehow missed out on bubble tea when visiting Hong Kong. 

I think I should also mention that Hong Kong Express doesn't allow outside food to be brought onto the plane. This policy has also stirred up some drama recently, as UO staff were found to consume confiscated food from passengers and posting on social media afterwards. 

Landing into Phuket International Airport

After an uneventful flight, we landed into Phuket around 15 minutes behind schedule. (sorry for the blurry image)

There wasn't much to see until we parked into our gate considering that we landed at 11pm Thailand time, but I was happy enough to be greeted by an Aeroflot 777 parked next to us! I guess its something I don't get to see everyday. 

Clearing immigration was smooth as one of my family had a Thai Passport, so our entire family could use the queue for Thai passport holders exclusively. Unfortunately for most others on my flight, they were stuck in a long queue for all foreigners, probably thanks to the Aeroflot 777.

Hello Phuket! This is somehow my first time at HKT despite having been to Bangkok once or twice per year since I was born. 

While there wasn't anything notable about Phuket International Airport, I did notice that it seemed to be quite worn out and old fashioned (compared to more modern airports like BKK or HKG) Furthermore, part of the terminal was also under construction but somehow open for people to just walk in? There was also a 7-11 located within this part of the terminal too, which I made use of and bought a bottle of Meiji milk. 

After that, we got on a taxi and headed to the hotel, concluding my experience. Continue reading the tourism bonus for some planespotting action at HKT with me and I hope you enjoyed this first flight report from me!