Journey –
SYD-HKG
Flight no. –
CX110
Class –
Business
Seat –
11H
So finally we are off – to the QP that is. Hopefully this will be one of my last visits to the international QP – well it shouldn’t be too long after my next trip that I should EXP and I get to go to the F lounge (if its ever finished at SYD
). Check is a bit of a nightmare – I try to get my tickets changed to delete the LGA-ORD-LGA segments to save the US$125 fee for changing my ticket. Given that the previous night’s CX flight out of Sydney was delayed by 10 hours the CX staff have other things to focus on and can’t work out what needs to be done (given how long it took in LAX – maybe that was a good thing) so I try and check in.
As predicted the check in staff is quite stunned at my routing and as I am not entirely awake I don’t immediately to tell her to check me through to MCO (it took a couple of attempts to get her believe that MCO was really Orlando). But seats are checked all the way through – the same seats I pre-selected. First row in J so I will get first food choice. My plan is to stay awake for this segment so I can adjust my body clock. Last time I planned something like that I was asleep on take off.
The QP is fine and after just the one glass of bubbles (oh how I miss the Moet in the F lounge) I saunter down to the gate and my first delay of the trip hits me – 20 mins late boarding. Instead of going back to the lounge I mill around for a few mins and come back to find the queue for boarding huge. Without a hint of smugness I zip past the queue into the J boarding area. Onboard I get a suspicion that something is up – the girl in the seat next to me is looking pensive – as I start to unpack she asks if I will swap seats so she can travel with her boyfriend. Part of me is screaming – “Damn-it I picked these seats way ahead of time using my status and this is the first time that I really did this and now you’re asking me to give it”. Sadly the softer side of me kicks in and I make the swap 11H for 12H. Later in the flight this presents an interesting confusion as the CSM comes to welcome the Oneworld elites and says “Hello Mr Simongr” to the asian gentlemen in my seat…… That is the only flight that there has been a welcome for me though.
General impressions are that as ever the CX seat is nice but the cabin on reflection is starting to age – its only my later flight on a 744 that I realise how much older the cabin looks – that might be a comparison of the thoroughfare that is the Airbus vs. the upstairs protected cabin on the 744.
The flight is eventually delayed by an hour – which is attributed by the pilot to the “shambles at check in as a result of the delay of the previous night”. However we have loaded extra fuel so plan to catch up the hour in flight by flying faster – one wonders how appropriate that is in the age of global warming…
After a relatively simple breakfast (when will I learn not to order the frittata???) it’s a very, very quiet cabin until lunch – I actually have to summon someone to get me a drink before I die of thirst. At least the beer is cold when it arrives. Before lunch the traditional G&T arrives (Gordon’s rather than Bombay Sapphire – this business class is starting to be hard work
)
CX have updated their amenity packs – a new squarish container with dark stripes for men and pink stripes for women.
Lunch is eventually served and I am not altogether again blown away. I had read some comments on the CX section of flyertalk about how CX only serve on standard economy style dishes – no flair or innovation and it was true – all food was served in a standard white dish. I opted for the Chinese option which was chilli chicken. I am not normally a fan of spicy food but this was pleasantly not too spicy. As ever I skipped the pudding and went straight for the cheese – a delightfully strong cheddar, not too burning a blue and a creamy brie. As ever though there weren’t enough biscuits. It was washed down with a lovely dark port – and at this point I am quite satisfied.
I watched a few movies on the flight – I was planning to watch stuff I had on my laptop but with the expected food service a laptop was tough to manage on the tray table with a food tray.
Finally a little behind schedule we begin our descent into HKG. I am really looking forward to visiting the Pier
I actually meant the wing and sadly seem y posts later on this topic 
for the first time. We are arriving into gate 3 so the Pier should be the closest lounge. Should be a nice relaxing hour or so in the lounge and then some decent sleep on the flight to LAX.
Linear Mode
