Category: British Airways

FINALLY: British Airways Reveals Industry-Leading Business Class Product

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

I love the trend that airlines are moving towards higher-end, more space-efficient, more private business class seats. A few years ago I took my first flight in a reverse herringbone seat, and was in awe at how much space the seat provided. Nowadays, reverse herringbone seats are more or less middle-of-the-road, as more airlines have come up with superior seats. I’ve ranked all of the “original” ones here, though will need to try the QSuite (in August) as well as China Eastern and Delta’s A350s.

Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 Business Class 

The above list is what I thought I had to try prior to today, but as of today I need to add one more to the list – British Airways’ new Club Suite.

Here’s a video of the new suite:

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British Airways Fires All Hong Kong-Based Cabin Crew

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

Despite making a profit, British Airways has decided to close its outstation at Hong Kong by October 31, 2018. This won’t affect their two flights to and from Hong Kong, though it means 85 Hong Kong-based cabin crew are losing their jobs. British Airways has justified this change by saying that the Hong Kong base has been “commercially unviable for them”.

British Airways Boeing 777 Hong Kong Airport

I’m quite surprised by this news, considering Hong Kong’s quite a big market for British Airways, and it makes sense for the airline to hire local workers as well. At the same time this makes sense. Having ground crew at Hong Kong means they’ll have to comply with Hong Kong’s labor laws and costs, which are ever-increasing, and the airline didn’t see this as a worthy investment.

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5 Underwhelming Business Class Products I Really Want To Try

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

Over the years I’ve been pretty fortunate to try some awesome business class products. I’ve long booked flights based on convenience, though a couple times I’ve been able to go out of my way and try some new business class products as well. Qatar Airways’ awesome business class comes to mind. Over the next couple of months I’ll also get to try a few other business class products that have also been well-liked over the years, and I’m expecting some pretty good flights.

On the other end of the spectrum, I find it very interesting when I try airlines that talk a big game, though deliver an underwhelming product. So far the airline that has done this the most throughout my (rather limited) sample size is Lufthansa (as far as longhaul flights go). Their business class seats aren’t the best, their catering is appalling, and their service culture wasn’t great the last time I flew them (fortunately that has improved since, though the subpar business class seats and catering remain).

img_5495Lufthansa Airbus A380 Business Class Seats 24H and 24K

Now that I fly with parents I’d like to make sure we try some of the best products at optimal values. However, since I’m a year away from flying alone multiple times a year, I’d like to make a point to fly as many products as I can. Simply flying amazing products won’t allow me to properly see the market average and evaluate a product fairly, so here are some of the products that I think will balance out the amazing products that I’ve been able to try so far.
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Review: British Airways A321 Economy Class Amsterdam to London

~ Jason ~ Leave a comment

Introduction: Flying The Nordic Shortcut to Europe
Cathay Pacific 777 Business Class Hong Kong to Bangkok
Oriental Residence Bangkok
Finnair A350 Business Class Bangkok to Helsinki
Hilton Helsinki Airport
Finnair A321 Business Class Helsinki to Amsterdam
Hotel Des Indes The Hague
Hotel Le Royal Luxembourg
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise
Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht
British Airways Lounge Amsterdam
British Airways A321 Economy Class Amsterdam to London
My Bloomsbury London
Finnair A350 Business Class London to Helsinki
Finnair A350 Business Class Helsinki to Hong Kong

We started heading towards our gate as boarding was called in the lounge. Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport is notoriously poorly designed and difficult to navigate, and it took a good 15 minutes of navigating a series of walkways before we eventually made it to our gate just as pre-boarding was starting.

IMG_0818British Airways Amsterdam Airport Boarding Signage 

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Review: British Airways Lounge Amsterdam

~ Jason ~ Leave a comment

Introduction: Flying The Nordic Shortcut to Europe
Cathay Pacific 777 Business Class Hong Kong to Bangkok
Oriental Residence Bangkok
Finnair A350 Business Class Bangkok to Helsinki
Hilton Helsinki Airport
Finnair A321 Business Class Helsinki to Amsterdam
Hotel Des Indes The Hague
Hotel Le Royal Luxembourg
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise
Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht
British Airways Lounge Amsterdam
British Airways A321 Economy Class Amsterdam to London
My Bloomsbury London
Finnair A350 Business Class London to Helsinki
Finnair A350 Business Class Helsinki to Hong Kong

We arrived at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport around 3 hours before departure and made a beeline for the British Airways counters. Since we were at the airport so early, there was barely anyone in line. Thanks to my oneworld Ruby status, I was able to use the Club Europe check-in counters.

IMG_0805British Airways Amsterdam Airport Check-In 

We cleared immigration and security, which were both quick and efficient. We ended up in the terminal with around two hours to kill. We made a beeline for the British Airways lounge, which we had access to thanks to my mothers oneworld Sapphire status. However, to reach the lounge, we spent around 20 minutes wandering around trying to follow poor signage to the lounge.

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Help Me Choose How To Get To London This Time

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

I’ll be in the UK for university in a couple of years, and for the next year and a bit I’ll be swamped with trips to the U.K., which I’m happy about. While London is by no means a low-yield travel market, my travel options to London are probably numerous enough to last for me to take a different airline for each trip between Hong Kong and London. So in late June, I’ll be traveling to London yet again.

There are two distinct differences this time, though. The first is that my dad is coming with me. This opens up premium cabin options, as well as they’re (somewhat) reasonably priced. It also means that he won’t be up for any crazy connections, since he still has a rather rigid work schedule to stick to. The second is that I’ll be in London for less than a week, then I’ll be flying back. This gives me a lot less time to play around with, and as much as I’d love to connect, I’m best off sticking to a quick direct nighttime flight to and from London each way.

London, United Kingdom

This left me two compelling options with similar prices, and I’m wondering which one will interest you guys more, for the few of you that read this blog on a regular basis. Once again, thanks for sticking by, and dealing with the pretentiousness that is to come. Now, here we go:

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Review: British Airways Galleries Lounge Munich Airport

~ Alvin ~ 1 Comment

Introduction: 20,000+ Kilometers In Three Days
Virgin Atlantic 787 Premium Economy Hong Kong to London Heathrow
How Is It Like Staying At An Imperial College Dormitory?
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse London Heathrow Airport
Virgin Atlantic 787 Premium Economy London Heathrow to Hong Kong
Qatar Airways 787 Business Class Hong Kong to Doha
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge Doha Airport
Qatar Airways A350 Business Class Doha to Munich
Hotel Bayerischer Hof Lindau
Hotel Kempinski Berchtesgaden
Mandarin Oriental Munich
British Airways Galleries Lounge Munich Airport
Qatar Airways A350 Business Class Munich to Doha
Al Maha Lounge Doha Airport
Qatar Airways 787 Business Class Doha to Hong Kong

After a great few days in Munich, it was time to say goodbye. Our driver Henry drove us to Munich, where he dropped us off at Terminal 1. The terminal looks nice enough from the outside, with a semi-enclosed driveway containing lots of natural light.

Munich Airport Terminal 1 Exterior

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British Airways Will Go On Strike This July

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

I’ve never understood the logistics of a strike. While I know that Lufthansa has a strike every now and then, I haven’t heard that they’ve achieved anything during the time they’ve been on strike. It costs a lot for the airline and largely inconveniences their passengers. I respect that the airline’s workers are fighting for better working conditions, though surely there’s another way to do so.

The next airline to have proposed a strike is British Airways, which seems to be planning a strike for July 1-16, 2017. This seems to be over a pay dispute, which has been a big issue within British Airways, especially with their “mixed-fleet” crews, which operate longhaul flights with significantly low pay rates.

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My Next Travel Goal: Finding The Best Premium Economy Product Between Hong Kong and London

~ Alvin ~ 1 Comment

While I love flying to new destinations, a place I see myself going to often is London. I am an aspiring student in the United Kingdom, I’ve been to the UK for educational purposes a few times, and most of my future aspirational university courses take place in the UK, so I’m probably going to be commuting between Hong Kong and London quite a bit in my lifetime.

While I enjoy flight reviewing and all, I do prefer having a “goal” for everything that I do. Ultimately the goal thus far has been to document all my travels and help people make the best travel choices, but that’s intrinsically a pretty broad goal. I’m also aspiring to reach KrisFlyer Gold status by the end of 2017, which is coming along well, and I’m currently ~1,500 miles short of planned travel.

In terms of what I’ve already flown between Hong Kong and London, I’ve reviewed Cathay Pacific’s business class and Virgin Atlantic’s premium economy, both of which I’ve enjoyed. In 2014 Jason also reviewed Cathay Pacific premium economy between Hong Kong and London, but I’d like to be able to revisit that route and try longhaul Cathay Pacific premium economy for myself.

DSCF9224Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9 Premium Economy

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4 New Products I’m Tempted To Try This Year

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

At the Young Travelers of Hong Kong, we also try and make an effort to be as diverse in our trip reporting as possible. That’s not a function of just entertainment – I’ll admit straight up that we’re not the biggest blog in the pond – but rather I want to create useful content that will help you guys in choosing the best flights in the future.

img_1792Swiss’s business class is something I’ll be revisiting this year

With that out of the way, there are a few products that I’d like to try this year, and I’m going to do a quick rundown of them below:

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