Cathay Pacific's Airport Lounges - Hong Kong International Airport - review

Got a late night/early morning flight at Hong Kong Airport? Flying Cathay Pacific in Business Class?
Why not spend the afternoon/evening exploring Cathay's four lounges? Just ensure that you wind up at the closest lounge to your departure gate for your late flight.
The Cathy reception staff stamp your boarding pass so you can enter/re-enter any of the four lounges.

The Wing (near Gate 2) - our least favourite, even though it's the newest (too hot, glaring late afternoon sunlight), showers downstairs

The Deck (near Gate 18) - cosy, intimate, lots of smaller sitting areas - noodle bar, relaxation room

The Bridge (near Gate 35) - our favourite
Turn left from reception desk - it's quieter on that side - bistro, IT room, coffee/ice cream bar (where you can also order champagne), showers
Turn right from desk (for some reason most people do) - busier - bakery/TV lounge/noodle bar

The Pier (near Gate 65) - it's HUGE - it has everything, right at the end of this expanse is a tea-room followed by relaxation/massage rooms

The Deck - cosy

The Pier - huge space

The Bridge - quiet and classy - remember to turn left

Flying to Europe via Asia with Finnair Business Class

We flew Melbourne-Singapore-Helsinki-London-Helsinki-Hong Kong-Melbourne on a multi-destination ticket. This fare allowed 3 stops so we opted for Helsinki (with St Petersburg only 3.5 hours away on high speed train), London and Hong Kong.
Watch for Business Class sales with Finnair. Unbeatable price. Finnair has other Asian destinations for stopovers. The flight to Hong Hong was a remarkable 9.5 hours. We had a tight connection LHR-HEL-HKG but the Finnair gates were close together.
Helsinki Airport (Vantaa) is expanding. You may have to use a bus rather than a sky bridge to board your plane (e.g. HEL - LHR).
A train station is underneath Terminal 1. Fare to Helsinki Central Station ("Helsingfors" on noticeboard) is 5 euros. Travel time 28 minutes.
On the LHR-HEL leg, the Business cabin was just a curtained-off section with Economy seats, but the middle seats were left vacant so you could stretch out. Service was definitely Business.
On the long haul flights, if you are a tall or large person,you might find the lie-flat beds a wee bit cramped (especially the foot well).

Food in Business Class is plentiful - wholesome/comfort food rather than fancy/fiddly.

 Baked salmon for dinner Singapore-Helsinki

Cameras in the tail and under aircraft make great viewing in A350-900 planes, particularly if you have a middle seat in the plane.

Huge breakfast - but there are other options if you want something light.

Suburban train links directly with airport. Central Station Helsinki is 28 minutes away.

Information screen on board Helsinki-Vantaa train

Finnair Lounges - there are two, one for flights within EU zone, the other for flights beyond

Lunch HEL-LHR

Love the slippers (Large size too) provided on Airbus 350-900

Is Jetstar Business Class worth the money?

This post covers Jetstar flights on Dreamliner 787, ex Melbourne, Australia. Flights to Denpasar, Singapore, Bangkok, Osaka (Business Class ex Cairns) and Tokyo (Business Class ex Gold Coast).

Pros 

• Cost - Jetstar frequently have International Business sales (e.g. one way MEL-DPS, MEL-SIN, MELB-Bangkok for around $499). This compares favourably to 'cattle-class' for around $199.
• Small business cabin (3 rows of 7 seats) means speedy service from crew and better ratio toilet to passenger (1:21) than Qantas Dreamliner.
• Usual perks - priority boarding, express card for immigration (in Australia), handy amenity pack with skin care products, socks, toothpaste, etc.
• Surprisingly tasty and varied meals (see below). Plunger coffee with cabin attendant circulating with giant selection box of premium chocolates (weird?).
• Help yourself to snacks in the forward galley.
• Copious bottles of water.
• Champagne (Piper-Heidsieck or Henri Laurent) served in tumblers rather than flutes throughout flight - but, hey I ain't complaining - or choice of wines, beers and spirits.
• Baggage (checked) 30 kg included and generous carry-on. When travelling in Asia for 1-2 weeks, we prefer to just use carry-on only, avoiding that dreaded wait at the carousel.
• Seating perfect for medium haul/day flights. No need for lie-flat beds.
• It's "old school" business class seating, so you can chat with your partner over lunch, unlike some newer seating configurations that box you in for privacy.
• Less kids
• Champagne/water/juice served before take-off.

Cons

• "Business-lite" and more like Premium Economy on some airlines.
• Row 1 has the most legroom but you have to use in-flight entertainment stored in armrest.
• Limited but adequate range of IFE, if you don't mind U.S. television series rather than U.K.
• Avoid middle seats unless you are want to travel as a trio. Hard to exit middle seat, limited wriggle-room.
• No guarantee your baggage will come out first.

Starters for Lunch menu

Salmon steak with salsa (tastes better than it looks)

Choice of cheese platter or dessert (or both if you are lucky)

Starters on Melb-Singapore (Lunch)

Qantas Domestic Business Class Review MEL-CRN

The Melbourne-Cairns run still uses the aging Boeing 737-800. Cloth seats, no personal TV screens, no USB plug, no Streaming. Yes, I know Qantas are progressively refurbishing these aircraft, but this is no consolation if you have to fly on that leg.

Check out breakfast below. Poached eggs (a brave choice, as a soft poached egg can be a rare thing), kale with the texture of slime, dried up mushrooms and stodgy vegetables on the side. Yum. You used to get toast on Air New Zealand Business. Those were the days.

With dated interiors, fittings and the one way price of AUD$1040, you expect something better. No wonder most passengers are using reward points redemption, Frequent Flyer upgrades or travelling on an expense account.

Don't get me started about the number of Economy Class passengers who nip through the curtains to use the toilets up front.

Yikes! What be this?

The sign should say: "Economy Class, I'm Free"

Welcome to the 1990's 

Should Economy Class passengers use the Business Class toilets?

When my wife and I travelled 'cattle class', the forward curtain was the sacred no-go zone. Those buggers paid up at least three times the fare so they were entitled to the benefits.

Nowadays it seems anyone can quickly nip through for a call of nature. Fair enough disabled or frail passengers, if the walk to the rear toilets is too taxing (perhaps seat allocation near toilets would have been a thought, though). 

On a recent flight Qantas flight Melbourne-Cairns, there was no queue at the rear toilets but cheeky buggers, too lazy to venture down the back, barged through to the closer Business Class toilet. One dude even chatted with the galley crew while he was waiting.

Mothers with infants think their cute kid will guarantee them easy assess to all areas. I don't think so. Cabin crew look the other way for a quiet life. This has been observed on numerous flights.

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