Review: Hong Kong Airlines Club Autus & A350 Business Class From Hong Kong to Shanghai
China Review Series:
- United Airbus A319 Economy Plus From Baltimore to San Francisco
- Hong Kong Airlines Airbus A350 Business Class From San Francisco to Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Airlines Airbus Club
Autus & A350 Business Class From Hong Kong to Shanghai (PVG) - Hong Kong Airlines Airbus A320 Business Class From Shanghai (PVG) to Hong Kong
The Flight At A Glance:
| Aircraft: | Airbus A350-900 |
| Origin: | Hong Kong Internatoinal Airport |
| Destination: | Shanghai Pudong International Airport |
| Flight Time: | 2h 20m |
| Date: | March 23, 2019 |
| Class of Service: | Business Class |
| Airline: | Hong Kong Airlines |
| Satisfaction: | 9.5/10 |
| Flight Number: | HX234 |
| Seat Number: | 19H |
| Time of Departure: | 9:10 PM GMT |
| Time of Arrival: | 11:30 PM GMT |
| Departure Terminal: | Midfield Concourse |
| Aircraft Tail Number: | B-LGD |
Pre-Flight:
Just to recap, we had booked this flight using Hong Kong Airlines’ amazing mistake fares last August and booked roundtrip flights from San Francisco to Hong Kong for about $600 per person. After arriving in HK from San Francisco, we had to go through security again, at which there was literally no line. After that, we took an escalator upstairs and entered the departures area of the Midfield Concourse. The Midfield Concourse was modern, airy, and beautiful, and is located beyond the main section of the airport that is mostly operated by Cathay Pacific. Hong Kong Airlines is the main tenant of the Midfield Concourse and operates probably a bit more than half of the departures from there. The terminal has a central section with stores and the train to the main terminal and then has two long areas off to the side of it with gates. I had about a
After that, I headed to the Hong Kong Airlines Club Autus. It is located a level above the main terminal, and looks down on the terminal and consequently has a very airy feeling, although you still hear a bit of the noise from the main terminal. It has a large variety of seating areas, that range from high tables, standard lounge-type seating, and dining tables. The lounge generally has a good atmosphere and feels very modern. I went to the very back of the lounge and sat at a table there. In the back of the lounge, there were sleeping areas, although when I was there, all of them were taken so I couldn’t get a photo. There also was a play section for young children and speedy free WiFi was also available.
There then was a main section of food. There were both western options such as a sandwich station and cookies available and there was also a section with authentic Chinese food available. The Chinese food selection included fried rice and a few entrees such as pork and chicken with various spices and looked like it would taste good. I wasn’t hungry as I had just eaten on the flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong, and I would eat dinner in just over an hour on the next flight, so I didn’t eat anything. However, on the return flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco which I won’t be reviewing, I had a nice (western) breakfast at the lounge which included croissants, bacon, and turkey sausages, all of which were delicious.
Overall, Hong Kong Airlines’ Club Autus was modern and clean and had all of the amenities that you would look for in the lounge such as warm food, sleeping areas, and comfortable seating. It wasn’t industry leading in any way, and I would put it about a whole step up from United Clubs, although not as good as a United Polaris Lounge.
After visiting the lounge for about 1.5 hours, I walked to our Airbus A350-900 for boarding. I was hoping that we would get one of Hong Kong Airlines’ Airbus A350s with their new configuration with reverse herringbone seats, although I got unlucky on all of my three A350 flights with them and didn’t get one of them on any of the flights. Therefore, the aircraft had the same configuration as the flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong. About 45 minutes before the departure time, boarding was called in an orderly manner, and thus began my second ever Airbus A350 flight.
The Flight:
I was welcomed onto the plane by the friendly flight attendants and was shown to my seat. As I wrote a lot about the seat in the last review, I will mostly be focusing on how the service differed on the shorter flight. To recap, Hong Kong Airlines’ first four A350s feature staggered seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. Their newer ones have reverse herringbone seats, although I had the misfortune of not flying on one of their newer planes. Since the configuration is staggered, the seats by the window and in the center of the cabin are much more private than the seats that are closer to the aisle. To switch things around (I took 3 flights in this exact configuration of aircraft), this flight, I chose a less private seat – one of the seats that are closer to the aisle.
The first thing I noticed sitting down in that seat was how much less private it was. It almost felt like I was sitting in the aisle, as it didn’t really have any barrier. To make matters worse, once you put the seat in lie flat mode, the armrest went down giving you no barrier between you and the aisle, making the seat even less private. Overall, definitely choose one of the seats closer to the window if traveling on Hong Kong Airlines’ old A350s as those seats are much more private and give you the feeling that you are in your own cocoon, unlike when you sit in one of the seats closer to the aisle. Also, in this seat, it was much harder to look out of the window. Of course, there are much, much, much bigger problems in the world and this is 100% a “first world problem” but if you want the best experience on this type of plane, do not choose one of the seats closer to the aisle. However, for a flight this short, it wasn’t a problem at all.
My seat had a few subtle differences from the seat on the last flight. First, there was a storage compartment to the right of the seat in the area between the seat and the window. There was also a storage compartment above the side table which had headphones waiting in it and which was great to store a phone or other smaller belongings. The seat also had a remote which was fairly intuitive, a reading lamp, and seat controls that could recline the seat and move it forward or backward. Also, waiting at the seat was a water bottle. The seat also had a power outlet and a USB port. There also was a large entertainment screen, which was responsive.
Also waiting at my seat was a pair of slippers. Ironically, I didn’t get slippers on the flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong, but I did on the return flight to San Francisco, meaning that it probably was a service error on the first flight. They were much too small for my feet, although I do appreciate the effort on Hong Kong Airlines’ part! Also waiting at the seat was the same gray pillow and blanket as I had on the flight from San Francisco – the blanket was sub-par for an ultra-long haul flight but was more than sufficient on a short flight. There wasn’t an amenity kit for this flight, although one isn’t expected or needed on a two-hour flight. Shortly after I boarded, a flight attendant came around asking for a pre-departure drink – I selected water. The flight attendant also came around with the in-flight menu soon after.
Soon enough, the safety video was played, and we pushed back and started taxiing towards the runway. It was rainy and dark, so I didn’t even try to get any pictures of planes at the airport. After a short wait in line, we soon took off towards Shanghai. One thing to point out – the seat has a shoulder strap that you had to put on – it wasn’t particularly annoying but it certainly wasn’t comfortable either. At that point, I turned on a movie which I watched for the majority of the flight. The flight attendant then came around to take my order for dinner. There wasn’t a choice for the starter, but for the main course, I selected the deep fried grouper with ginger oyster sauce, steamed red rice, and seasoned vegetables. For dessert, I selected the strawberry yogurt mousse with raspberry compote.
About 15 minutes after takeoff, a nut selection was presented, which was pretty standard in terms of nut selections. About 10 minutes later, the flight attendants brought around the appetizer. The starter (prawns and a salad) wasn’t all that good, although I am not a big shrimp fan. I also selected a whole-wheat bread, which was pretty good, although not exceptional. 10 minutes later, the main course was brought around. Unlike the appetizer, the grouper was delicious – it was flavorful and not dry at all. The rice (it was mostly white rice, not red) was also great. Soon after I ate, the dessert was brought around – the strawberry mousse had an interesting texture, although I ended up liking it.
I was actually really impressed with the meal service for a couple of reasons. First, the main course and dessert were both really good. While I didn’t like the starter, I am sure that people who liked shrimp more would have enjoyed it. Secondly, while the meal service took about 2.5 hours on the flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong, the meal service took up about an hour on this flight. Yes, the meal on the other flight had one more course, but that doesn’t make up for it taking longer than the duration of this flight. The crew really seemed to hustle to accomplish the meal service on this flight, while on the other flight, the crew just seemed lazy with the meal service. Overall, the crew really seemed to not hate their jobs and always seemed to try their best on this flight in getting the meal service done in an efficient yet still personable way.
After that, I reclined my seat and finished the movie. The rest of the flight was really uneventful. About twenty minutes before landing, the captain announced our descent into Shanghai and thanked us for flying Hong Kong Airlines. We then had a smooth landing into Shanghai Pudong Airport. Unfortunately, our gate wasn’t ready yet (which seems odd at almost midnight), so we had to wait on the tarmac for about 15 minutes before we reached our gate. After landing, we began the long process of immigrating into China and soon were on our way to our hotel in downtown Shanghai.
Conclusion:
Where Hong Kong Airlines shines best is not on its long-haul flights but on its short-haul flights. The seat was more than sufficient for a flight this short, the service was much better than on the other flight, and the food was equally as good as it was on the flight from San Francisco. Overall, I have absolutely no complaints about this flight, as it was on time, and most of all because it cost almost nothing! I highly recommend Hong Kong Airlines on intra-Asia flights as it offers an amazing product on most of its short-haul flights.
