Category: Updates

Coronavirus Update: I’m Fine, And I’m Coming Home

~ Alvin ~ 5 Comments

The coronavirus situation over the past month has been shocking, saddening, and indeed has affected me quite a bit. I’ve been refraining from commenting on the current situation for a few reasons:

  • I’ve been busy figuring out my own arrangements in the meantime, especially since Imperial College has completely moved to remote operations (exams included)
  • I’ve also been emotionally affected – I learnt overnight that many friendships, including a relationship, would move to long-distance; even the prospect of writing about coronavirus got painful, especially when it started to expand in Europe
  • I can’t really add anything to what’s already being reported out there

While I’m devastated about the effect the virus has had on many countries in Europe, the best thing I can do right now is focus on how I can stay out of the vicious cycle of infection.

DSCF9127

I’m in London right now, having stayed put so far, considering that as the best option. But the sad reality is creeping up that I don’t know how long I’ll be here for. With being in student halls alone fighting for food as the only other option, the best thing to do for me is to go home.

Continue reading “Coronavirus Update: I’m Fine, And I’m Coming Home” →

Coronavirus Updates: How Is Hong Kong’s Air Travel Affected So Far?

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

The latest world news has been the escalation of the coronavirus spreading across mainland China. Obviously that’s incredibly tragic and hits close to home for me, but there’s no point dwelling on the misfortune on the situation. The coronavirus has hugely affected the travel industry and I thought I’d take the time to compile all of the effects of these changes specific to Hong Kong.

Cathay Pacific has largely cut flights to China

The effects of the travel industry on Hong Kong haven’t been massive so far, though it’s worth taking precautions to stop the spread of the virus from affecting your travel plans. This is probably not a great time to visit most east Asian countries for travel – not especially because of the coronavirus, but also because of general national insecurity, e.g. lack of face masks, no groceries left on shelves, etc.

Continue reading “Coronavirus Updates: How Is Hong Kong’s Air Travel Affected So Far?” →

British Airways’ Impressive World Traveller Plus

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

Hello from London! I’ve flown back to university after a short trip home, and did so in British Airways’ premium economy. While I’ve always wanted to try British Airways’ premium economy in order to try all premium economy products flying between Hong Kong and London, in this case I didn’t really have a choice, due to the limited award space availability between Hong Kong and London during the new year. This is also the reason I flew British Airways’ 777 over their A380, as I personally would’ve preferred the latter.

British Airways Boeing 777 Hong Kong Airport

My predictions for the premium economy products flying between Hong Kong and London was that British Airways would come rock bottom, though I came off this flight very impressed. British Airways is a strong contender for having the best premium economy product between Hong Kong and London. Since I’m a bit behind on trip report writing, I figured I’d briefly share the things I was impressed by, though expect a full report to follow within the coming month.

Continue reading “British Airways’ Impressive World Traveller Plus” →

What Is Cathay Pacific’s First Class Like?

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

UPDATE: Read my full review of Cathay Pacific’s first class here

Hello from Hong Kong! I’m glad to spend Christmas back in Hong Kong, and I’m glad my family and friends have been well despite the state the city has been in. I’m also sorry for the lack of content on the blog over the past few months, since university has hit quite hard. I will have to scale back content over the upcoming years, though will continue to post regularly, and definitely will do something to increase my posting frequency from the past three months.

Last week I flew Cathay Pacific first class from London to Hong Kong. I was planning to roll out my report straight away, though I do need to write a couple of lounge reports on top of the actual flight review. Two weeks is plenty of time, though straight away I got hit by influenza, and barely recovered before Christmas started, and…

So I’m going to cover my first impressions in this post, and hope to post the full review by the beginning of next year.

Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 First Class 

I’ll go over why I booked this first class ticket in a future post, but for now I’ll focus on my initial impressions from the flight. I do have to note here that this was my first “true” first class experience, so I have nothing to compare it to.

Continue reading “What Is Cathay Pacific’s First Class Like?” →

Hong Kong Airlines’ Concerning Financial Situation: My Thoughts On Their Next Steps

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

I’ve had quite a close relationship with Hong Kong Airlines, and have always been fond of their well-constructed shorthaul network. I’ve been fortunate enough to fly their A330 between Hong Kong and Osaka, and have also been invited to tour their newest A350, which I’ve found to be a very nice aircraft, both inside and out.

Unfortunately Hong Kong’s dismal financial situation brought some of the shortcomings out of Hong Kong Airlines, including their somewhat confusing longhaul network, and some of their internal financial instabilities. I’m finally off university exam period, and figured I’d share some of my thoughts, as I really do wish the airline well.

Continue reading “Hong Kong Airlines’ Concerning Financial Situation: My Thoughts On Their Next Steps” →

Oof: Hong Kong Airlines Cuts U.S. Flights, Reduces Service To 10 Destinations

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

In 2017, Hong Kong Airlines began flying to the U.S., which was an exciting development. At the time American Airlines hadn’t started flying between Hong Kong and Los Angeles yet, so Cathay Pacific more or less had a monopoly on that route. Cathay Pacific also had a joint venture with Air Canada, so Hong Kong Airlines gave them some competition.

Unfortunately amidst Hong Kong’s deepest recession in a long time, Hong Kong Airlines has announced that they will no longer fly to the U.S. as of February 8, 2020.

Continue reading “Oof: Hong Kong Airlines Cuts U.S. Flights, Reduces Service To 10 Destinations” →

I Was Lied To And Legally Threatened By An Emirates Purser

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday I flew from Dubai to London Gatwick on an Emirates A380. I was quite looking forward to the flight, as I’d wanted to try Emirates’ A380 business class product since it came out. From the title you’d assume I was hugely disappointed by the flight, but it was largely awesome, and most of the crew were so, so friendly. That being said, of course, there was one huge exception.

Emirates Airbus A380 Munich Airport (I’ll share why I didn’t share a photo of an Emirates A380 in Dubai Airport later)

Let me start off by saying that I’ve always been very cautious not to take pictures of crewmembers without their express permission on flights. Even when crewmembers intentionally get in my photo, most of the time I choose not to publish photos with crew in it, and always ask before I take my first photo whenever I’m onboard an airplane cabin. I know some other bloggers don’t ask, and it’s technically not required to ask on most airlines; though I’ve never gotten a “no” before upon asking (even on this flight), so it usually always works to my advantage.

Continue reading “I Was Lied To And Legally Threatened By An Emirates Purser” →

Incredible Deals To Be Had Out Of Hong Kong Following Dismal Protest Situation

~ Alvin ~ 1 Comment

Most of you are probably familiar with Hong Kong’s protests at this point. For sixteen weeks protesters and police (and, of course, the government) have been at ends, resulting in violent clashes that have been littered all throughout the city’s most populated areas. This, obviously, doesn’t bode well with Hong Kong’s economy, and there’s also an ongoing trade war between the US and China, which brings Hong Kong’s economy into its first recession in quite a while.

This is terrible news for businesses, though certainly a good time to spend. SCMP came up with a latest report with some deals that are to be had out of Hong Kong, most of which are in economy class and somewhat last-minute – so I thought I’d share them for those of you who needed it.

American Airlines tickets to Los Angeles are going for ~HK$1,200

Continue reading “Incredible Deals To Be Had Out Of Hong Kong Following Dismal Protest Situation” →

Cathay Pacific Cuts Capacity Due To Low Demand

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

The past few months have been turmoil for Hong Kong, and protesters and police have continually been at ends. Ultimately this has created an unfavourable impression on Hong Kong’s economy, and people have selected not to travel to Hong Kong due to the state it’s in.

The divisive state of our community has resulted in a negative general impression on Hong Kong’s safety, and as a result this has caused detriment to the inbound travel industry. This has definitely caused Cathay Pacific to struggle over the past few months.

Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 Hong Kong Airport

Well the first major blow has hit, and Cathay Pacific has axed some routes.

Continue reading “Cathay Pacific Cuts Capacity Due To Low Demand” →

Coming Up Next – The Ticket I Feel Most Heartbroken About

~ Alvin ~ 3 Comments

While I’m trying my best to roll out my reviews (I’m fully aware that I’ve yet to complete my review set of a trip to Bangkok I did in February, though I’m prioritising flight reviews of newer airline products first), I’m also getting ready for my move to the UK. I’ll be getting an engineering degree at Imperial College, so will be based there for a few years, before deciding where to move onto next (yeah, so much for Young Travelers of “Hong Kong”, but…)

I had to get to the UK, and with no award space on any oneworld airline available for my dates, I decided to book a one-way ticket to London. Since my dad was travelling with me and he would be flying back, I focused on finding the cheapest ticket for him, as I knew my ticket wouldn’t be cheap either way. We ended up finding an Emirates ticket into London and out of Paris (where he needed to be), which had us on A380s on all four legs.

Emirates Airbus A380 Munich Airport

Continue reading “Coming Up Next – The Ticket I Feel Most Heartbroken About” →