Cathay Pacific Cuts Capacity Due To Low Demand

September 13, 2019 ~ 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.

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Review: Qatar Airways 777 Old Business Class Brussels to Doha

September 12, 2019November 6, 2019 ~ Alvin ~ 1 Comment

Introduction: Home QSuite Home
Plaza Premium First Lounge Hong Kong Airport
Qatar Airways 777 QSuite Business Class Hong Kong to Doha
The Sad State of Transit at Doha Airport
Qatar Airways 777 QSuite Business Class Doha to Amsterdam
Hilton The Hague Family Suite
The Hotel Brussels Panorama Suite/Superior Twin Room
British Airways Galleries Lounge Brussels Airport
Qatar Airways 777 Old Business Class Brussels to Doha
Qatar Airways 777 QSuite Business Class Doha to Hong Kong

While three out of our four Qatar Airways flights were operated by the spectacular QSuite, the segment from Brussels to Doha was operated by Qatar Airways’ older 777 product. I knew going in that the product would be inferior, though I was excited to try out a new product nonetheless. This flight served as a nice juxtaposition between the experiences you get on Qatar Airways’ QSuite-equipped 777s versus these planes, as the QSuite experience was superior in almost every way. This sounds obvious on the surface, though I was surprised by how different some of the soft-product elements were, too – keep on reading.

It also seems like we drew the short end of the stick – I’ve seen reviews of Qatar Airways’ Brussels-Doha route operated by 787s and A350s, which feature Qatar Airways’ newer, reverse herringbone business class product. I’ve flown it before, and find it a very nice product. Occasionally Qatar even swaps out this flight for a QSuite-equipped 777, which would’ve been a nice treat, though that wasn’t the case today. So with that in mind, I made sure to catch one last glimpse of our 777 before boarding through the jetbridge onto the plane.

Qatar Airways Boeing 777 Brussels Airport

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Review: British Airways Galleries Lounge Brussels Airport

September 11, 2019September 18, 2019 ~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

We had arranged an airport transfer, and made it to Brussels Airport at around 1:45 PM. We first needed to run some of our items through tax-free, though unfortunately we had to deal with some condescending people at the tax refund counter. This isn’t a fault of Brussels Airport and rather is just a result of lower-class EU culture, since I’ve heard horror stories in multiple places across the EU from people of almost every race; the bottom line is that you need to keep your mouth shut and lay all your goods in front of the tax refund counter like a buffet.

Apart from the tragic state of what tax refund officers have become, Brussels Airport was quite pleasant otherwise, and we were checked in all the way back to Hong Kong (though they had a hiccup during check-in, as we were holding Hong Kong passports and the system indicated we were Chinese, and they needed to confirm that Hong Kong was indeed part of China – how ironic, given the situation here). I found the airport to be quite efficient, and the staff were also much friendlier than I’ve experienced at other European airports. We were also able to go through fast-track security, so we took advantage of that, and were through in less than 10 minutes.

Afterwards we headed towards the British Airways Galleries lounge, which was located by the B gates shortly after immigration. The lounge is located a level above the main terminal, so I found the curved stairs that headed up towards a variety of lounges.

British Airways Galleries Lounge Brussels Entrance

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Review: The Hotel Brussels Panorama Suite/Superior Twin Room

September 10, 2019September 18, 2019 ~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

In Brussels we decided to stay at The Hotel Brussels, due to its great location and competitive pricing. The Hotel Brussels is located adjacent to the Parc d’Egmont, which is walking distance from the city center and many tourist attractions. I loved the location of the hotel, and it was a key reason it quickly emerged as a top contender for us. While we never used the metro, The Hotel is also located right next to Louise station, which is on lines 2 and 6 of the Brussels metro.

The Hotel Brussels is by far the highest-rise building on the Boulevard de Waterloo, and the exterior looks quite modern. Originally branded as a Hilton (the hotel opened in 1969, so we were there for its 50th anniversary), the hotel underwent a complete renovation in 2011, which was when it started sporting its current facade.

The Hotel Brussels Exterior

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Review: Hilton The Hague Family Suite

September 6, 2019September 18, 2019 ~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

For our few nights in the Netherlands we decided to stay at the Hilton The Hague. I’ll be the first to admit that my loyalty is all over the place when it comes to hotels, and I’m also not the best at maximising my points opportunities when it comes to hotel stays. Many of the hotel options in Amsterdam seemed pricey, so I scouted around; I knew that a couple of my friends live in The Hague, and found a decently priced Family Suite (around HK$2,500/night) that would accommodate all four of us at the Hilton, so decided that it was the best option for our four-night stay.

The Hilton The Hague is located in The Hague Central, across the street from Hoogstraat, a street with many shops, decent restaurants, and good pubs. The hotel’s exterior is a little on the drab side, though almost not in an unpleasant way, since there’s something cute about how rustic the brick exterior looks.

Hilton The Hague Exterior

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Coming Up Next – The Ticket I Feel Most Heartbroken About

September 5, 2019September 5, 2019 ~ 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

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Review: Qatar Airways 777 QSuite Business Class Doha to Amsterdam

September 4, 2019September 18, 2019 ~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

After a disappointing transit at Doha Airport, we headed over to gate C5, where our flight would be departing. While I have my issues with Doha Airport (mainly the WiFi), it still comes across as almost psychedelically modern on first glance, with high wooden ceilings and the occasional train passing by overhead. The C gates occupy the “center” of Doha Airport (with the A and B gates on one end and the D and E gates on the other), so this part of the airport felt particularly open and airy.

Doha Airport C Gates

The gate agent scanned my boarding pass, and thanked me for choosing Qatar Airways. Doha Airport has “holding pens” where boarding passes are scanned before you enter a dedicated waiting area for your flight, so I waited. Eventually boarding was delayed for 10 minutes (until 7:15 AM), though at 7:15 AM boarding was called by zone, starting with business class passengers and Qatar Airways Privilege Club frequent flyers.

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I’m Flying Out Of HK On A Weekend. Should I Change My Flight?

September 3, 2019 ~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

Hong Kong has been under turmoil lately, where protesters and police have been at odds. The original protests back in June triggered a police overreaction (due to fears that Occupy Central would resurface), so protests have turned into a vicious circle of events that consist of protesters blocking the streets and throwing petrol bombs, riot police overreacting and hurting innocent civilians as well as protesters, protesters protesting against police violence by blocking streets, throwing petrol bombs, and calling police “triads” etc.. The protesters have also come up with five demands for the government, which the government has yet to show signs of acting upon.

Being the center of Hong Kong’s trade, the airport has become a key target for protesters in September, in hopes of pressuring the government to act upon their demands. Protesters consider the airport a safe space for protests, given the police force cannot arrest people or throw tear gas there; ultimately this caused the airport to close and cancel all flights twice last month. While the court has issued an injunction that prevents protesters from hosting any sort of event in the airport (more details here), protesters have found a way to play the system, by blocking roads towards the airport instead of protesting directly inside the airport.

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How Was British Airways’ Club World and Club Europe Amenities and Service?

August 26, 2019August 26, 2019 ~ j ~ Leave a comment

In my last instalment about my recent experience with British Airways in their Club World and Club Europe cabins, I’m going to be talking about the amenities, the entertainment and the service aboard my flights, which interested me for a few reasons. First, British Airways recently introduced new bedding and amenities from The White Company, a British bedding and lifestyle company. This was incredibly impressive, especially considering that most airlines (Cathay Pacific, I’m looking at you) have some pretty lacklustre offerings when it comes to bedding.

British Airways Boeing 777-200ER Club World Cabin

This was also going to be my first chance to directly compare British Airways’ “newly hired” Mixed Fleet crew, who are supposedly much younger and less experienced, as well as British Airways’ veteran Worldwide Fleet crew. I’ve heard a lot that Mixed Fleet crew tend to be less experienced and professional, while Worldwide Fleet crew are generally better, so I wanted to see if this was true.

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The Sad State of Transit at Doha Airport

August 26, 2019September 18, 2019 ~ Alvin ~ 1 Comment

While I’m a fan of Qatar Airways’ onboard product, I’m not as much a fan of how the airline is on the ground. In 2017 I transited Doha Airport for the first time, right when Qatar Airways was starting to gain popularity. I found the lounge to be a little soulless, but at the time it had all the things I’d look for in an airport lounge. I also thought the airport was cool, since it was architecturally impressive.

Now that I’ve been to Doha Airport a second time, suffice to say that my impression of the airport has changed. Doha Airport is no longer a pleasant airport to transit through, and I’d aim for a layover of two hours if a stopover wasn’t possible. Over the past couple of years as Qatar Airways developed into a smashing success, Doha Airport has gone from being an aviation superpower to simply being a transit factory.

The gimmicks are still there. The centerpiece of the airport continues to be a huge teddy bear under interrogation, as there’s a lamp stuck “into” its head (in order to prop the bear up, though it certainly feels a little gruesome).

Doha Airport Teddy Bear

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