Hello from Japan, as I just flew Hong Kong Airlines’ Airbus A330-300 business class on the 3hr30min flight from Hong Kong (HKG) to Tokyo Narita (NRT). My goal was to get to Japan, but with the Lunar New Year holiday period, flights on All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Japan Airlines, were either entirely sold…
Continue reading: Hong Kong Airlines A330 Business Class: Second-Rate But Good Enough
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Their seats are way better than the recliners you would get on Cathay that's for sure.
And for bad IFE systems, I just have the map on. I'm content.
A product even worse than Delta! The resident loon will be happy (Wacky Tim "Dopey" Dunn).
Cheers from down the street. Enjoy the PHT breakfast. Salmon with caviar and raspberry yogurt are great.
Well, Hong Kong Airlines has their own recliners on their A320s, at which point I'd rather be on a middle seat in Cathay J with WiFi and a much better ground experience.
@Ben, speaking just of the physical seat/space, how much worse/tighter can HX be when LX and EI use 5-across Vantage staggered seats on their long-haul A330s/A340s.
Fwiw, HKG is home to many of the top Priority Pass lounges, while it's true that HKA does operate this lounge, and it's not very strong.
From a holistic perspective, you have the options to choose a variety of superior lounges at HKG, so I wouldn't overly penalize them in that regard.
Lunar new year is a term mainly used by US, Canada, Australia and the UN, it's not really a thing in Asia. Vietnam and South Korea have their own names (Tết / Seollal). In Southeast Asian nations that celebrate the holiday, "Chinese New Year" is common (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia).
The hard product is much much better than Cathy's regional business class which is abysmal .
“Revenge Travel” is a post-Covid term used primarily in China. The idea was that you show revenge against the virus that blocked travel by splurging now. The term evolved from the term 'revenge spending' used in the 1980s for consumer behaviour after the cultural revolution. That the cushion is still in the lounge feels like an indicator that HKA's hopes didn't fully materialize.
What are your thoughts on the pillows in Qatar Airways business class, with the tacky inspirational quotes and/or destination cities? I’ve always found this to be extremely cheesy too, and very off-brand.
I’m liking the space and privacy in this seat. Good room for shoulders and a very decent footwell. I don’t want much more (certainly not a gimmicky door). Compare this with AA from LAX to Chicago (similar duration)… truly night and day experiences. FWIW I like the cabin dark/dimmed at all times…there’s a light overhead if you need it.
Fake-1990, I’d use ‘Bah!’ more so-than ‘hehehe’ but nice riff on countdown nuance
You wrote ... "We’re talking dozens of movies and TV shows, so that’s less than ideal." What's wrong with that? It's not as if there's only one, two or three programs.
It is sad to see how Hong Kong Airlines evolves after Covid. Ultimately I don't understand why it is still in existence because the airline has no vision on their future. They are just basically hanging on a thread. Their F/As are demoralized and they have zero bonus in 2025. The F/As are all just using the HX as a springboard to move to other carriers, who pay more. Their airplanes are all filled with all kind of defects. Their narrowbody fleet is even worse because they have a mix of leased A320s and A321s. Despite they claim on bringing back hot meals in economy, some of these A320s & A321s do not have oven, so the F/As have to explain to passengers why they get cold breads and refreshment packs on these flights.
They were rumored to get some Dreamliners last year, and even start looking for pilots, but then they discover that they can't afford them or the numbers don't quite work. So they stick with an eclectic mix of second A330s. Then they keep on going back and forth with the amounts of A330s that they need for their Australia (Sydney and Melbourne) and Vancouver flights. They barely have enough A330s to cover all these long haul flights and high capacity flights to Osaka Kansai and Tokyo Narita.
I am just glad that you have a working personal entertainment system, and for awhile, they have to turn off their PTVs because they can't afford the license fee. On a side note, they have a subfleet of A330s with the 1-2-1 suites.
As of this point, I actually think Hong Kong Airlines has passed the point that they can have a future. They need new planes desperately. The lounge is sad because they don't have capital to revamp it or even make the necessary repairs. If they can't find an investor, they should just shut it down in a graceful way, or just merge with Greater Bay Airlines, or sell their assets to Greater Bay Airlines, which seems to have access to capitals.
Hong Kong Airlines seemed to be promising at one point pre-Covid with the A350s, but now it seems to be dragging along without any future visions. Hong Kong is a tough market since it is expensive and we don't have "domestic" flights. I just don't know if it is possible to have viable second airline that can fully challenge CX on all markets. Greater Bay Airlines may be able to eke out a niche for a hybrid LCC product but not sure if they want to repeat Hong Kong Airlines' mistakes and go long haul.
Ben, maybe you can give Greater Bay Airlines' premium economy product a try next time!
I agreed with the writer as comparing to my own experience on flight back and fore HKG and YVR in January 2026, the lounge experience is rather average and food quality is only acceptable compared to macro Polo lounge from Cathy Pacific, the business class seat is a tight fit and I always having issue with the one side arm rest. On flight entertainment was a joke but my flight is a red eye flight so no big deal as I was trying to sleep through most of the flight. However the flight attendants are enthusiastic and trying their best even though you can tell they' are not as well trained. Overall I would still fly with HK airline business class as long there is a price advantage compares to Cathy Pacific and air Canada. They should also improve their online booking website to make it more user friendly and easier to use, like currency conversion, choices of different day in a table screen etc.
I think they fly a different version to Vancouver. They have a couple reverse herringbones available, I made sure i booked that. But I couldn't find any reviews except on Chinese social media. Would love to see one from you, Ben!