Greetings Flight-Report Community. Thanks for stopping by and having a look at this report.
For this report I will be sharing an exciting RTW adventure with several firsts and perhaps a last chance as well.
The reports will be broken down as follows:
LAX Oneworld/Qantas First Class Lounge and CX LAX-HKG (First)http://flight-report.com/en/report-11852.html
CX The Pier First Class Lounge and CX HKG-CGK (Business)(This report)
MH CGK-KUL (Business)http://flight-report.com/en/report-11877.html
MH Golden Lounge and MH KUL-LHR (First)http://flight-report.com/en/report-11930.html(Coming Soon)
BA LHR-AMS (Business)http://flight-report.com/en/report-12594.html
Aspire Lounge AMS and Delta AMS-PDX(Business)http://flight-report.com/en/report-12595.html
I already had my boarding pass in hand so the only stop would be the transit security checkpoint. The line was substantial but moved along at a good clip. 15 minutes and I was deposited into the sparsely populated terminal. It was still reather early in the morning so most shops were yet to open.
My goal was to locate the newly renovated The Pier first class lounge. I came upon an information desk where I inquired with the host. It was a good walk down the long pier but it felt good to be moving about after a long TPAC. After about 10 minutes and me starting to second guess if I'd gone the wrong way I came upon the entrance sign.
Credentials were examined bu a large group of disinterested CX staff and I was admitted. No offer of a tour or any information really.
Immediately I could tell this was a special facility. Come, let me show you around.
The main corridor off which other elements of the lounge branch.
This portion is referred to as the Library. Beautifully designed seating and excellent views.
Bar area adjacent to the Library
The Pantry is the self serve food area of the lounge. Here it is configured for breakfast. The presentation of the food is exceptional.
The Diningroom.
A full meal was not on my agenda but I did sit and enjoy a cappuccino and an energy beverage: The Vitalizer.
Quick peek at the Business.
Shower suite.
Another unique feature of The Pier are the Day Suites. A private room for airplane spotting! Only a couple were in use so I selected one based on the view of the CX 744.
Turns out that by total coincidence my flight to Jakarta was leaving from gate 62 where the aircraft that would fly the sector was in view right outside The Library window.
I made a couple of selections from The Pantry to enjoy while waiting for my flight to board. I will note that outside of the dining room there doesn't appear to be table service.
My time in this lovely facility came to end as boarding commenced. I was very impressed by the lounge. Design, materials, layout, and amenities were all on point and felt very first class. I can't wait to return and try The Wing!
Boarding was about to begin when I arrived at gate 62 and I queued up for the business class cabin.
I had selected seat 18K when booking however upon arriving at the seat I noticed it didn't have a window. Oh no, a travesty to an airplane watching geek. Fortunately 17K was not occupied and after consulting one of the flight attendants I was allowed to relocate.
Champagne wasn't on offer as a PDB but was happily provided upon request. I assume in respect of the cultural norms of our destination.
View from 17K.
We pushed back on time and had a long and scenic taxi.
Finally lined up for takeoff.
Hey good lookin'.
Busy as always at Haeco.
The fasten seat belt sign was turned off in a reasonable time frame (please teach the US airlines how to do this). I took a quick walk to the loo and snapped a couple of cabin pics.
Mini J cabin.
AVOD/Cabin ambiance control planel.
Main J cabin.
Menus for the breakfast service were distributed.
Bloody Mary and sparkling water.
Fruit to start along with champagne.
I opted for the beef noodle dish. It was not very good. Although the meat was tender it was very salty and the presentation was poor. I will say the service was throughout the meal was excellent. The gentleman serving my section was very friendly and always addressed me by name.
The rest of the flight I tried to sleep so I would be able to go out later that night in Kuala Lumpur.
Approaching the equator.
Some shots on final to CGK.
A prototype 737 model still in development.
The food in CX J has always been extremely salty for me as well.
Awesome! Thanks for the thorough visit of the new Pier First Class lounge--it looks AMAZING! Deinitely better than the Wing First class lounge. Too bad the lounge dragons weren't particularly friendly. The only good thing about the Wing that there doesn't seem to be at the Pier is a champagne bar, but I imagine there are several champagnes on offer at the Pier. I see 3 decent champagnes on the dining rom drink menu...do you know if those are all that are on offer or are there more kinds available at the bar. i was expecting to see Krug, like they serve onboard.
I had selected seat 18K when booking however upon arriving at the seat I noticed it didn't have a window.
- Good to know! Seatguru makes no mention of a missing or misaligned window so I will keep this in mind if I'm ever on a CX A333 in J.
Champagne wasn't on offer as a PDB but was happily provided upon request. I assume in respect of the cultural norms of our destination.
- God I hope so; I'd hate for this to be some sort of new sneaky cost-cutting measure
The fasten seat belt sign was turned off in a reasonable time frame (please teach the US airlines how to do this).
- I'm always annoyed at how long the seatbelt sign stays on on U.S. carriers. I guess it's a product of our sue-happy society--can't take any chances.
I opted for the beef noodle dish. It was not very good. Although the meat was tender it was very salty and the presentation was poor
- Yet another example of disappointing catering in CX J. I used to think CX could do no wrong...guess not!
But like you said, if you set your expectations correctly, and we all know not to expect too much from the catering by now, you'll have a great flight. And you did! With a great seat and top notch service, what else can you ask for. Thanks for sharing another great report!
Alas I paused my champagne consumption while in the lounge so I cannot provide a full accounting.
- I haven't found my pause button...when there's champagne, I consume it :-)
Yes, please do report back, I'm definitely curious. I can hear that Moët Rosé calling my name already!
I see 3 decent champagnes on the dining rom drink menu...do you know if those are all that are on offer or are there more kinds available at the bar.
-Alas I paused my champagne consumption while in the lounge so I cannot provide a full accounting. I'll be there next month, and in the evening too, so I can conduct some research.
Nice to read this continuation of your series with a tour of The Pier which I intend to pay a visit next month. It does look very exclusive and well appointed. I plan to do some lounge hopping starting with the QF lounge followed by the The Bridge and ending with The Pier before my red eye flight to SFO.
Great configuration for a regional flight. Too bad the catering was not up to par, especially with the saltiness of the dish.
Thanks for sharing this FR.
Greetings Jetsetpanda and thanks for leaving a note.
Nice to read this continuation of your series with a tour of The Pier which I intend to pay a visit next month.
-I'm looking forward to your thoughts on the Pier.
Too bad the catering was not up to par, especially with the saltiness of the dish.
-A couple of posters have commented on this too. CX might be developing a reputation for poor J catering.
Happy flying!
Thanks for sharing this flight report with great photos especially the new Pier First Class lounge!
The lounge is so decent!
But I am doubt if Cathay can still keep their lounge service standard next year because they will change the lounge services provider with effective from May 2016. The current provider has been operated the lounges for nearly 20 years!
Hope the services level could be maintained.
Greetings Ashleyyau and thank you for the comments.
That is very interesting that a change in vendors is coming to CX lounges. It will be interesting to observe the transition.
Thanks again and happy flying!
Thanks for sharing this FR with us!
I like the food being served in the jars. I saw this somewhere else (can’t remember the lounge of the top of my head), but it’s a classy touch. The views from the lounges at HKG are always suburb, I like how they are a floor down so you get better shots of the planes.
CX changed their menus in August? The new menu design doesn’t look attractive at all. Almost an identical offering to what I saw on HKG-TPE. On to your point about champagne, I don’t think it is related to destination. I think it is the time of day (you also didn’t get a wine menu). When I’ve done morning flights with CX there has never been alcohol for pre-departure beverages or on the carts during meal service. The fruit plate looks really “clunky,” those are some massive pieces of fruit. The noodles looked good.
Nice spotting of the old school B737.