Well, what a magnificent time in Hong Kong we had, but sadly, all good things must come to an end!
On our last day we visited the iconic Checkerboard Hill, the visual aid for pilots flying into the infamous Kai Tak International Airport.
And speaking of Kai Tak, the runway looks a little different now!
Today though, we're flying back with Lufthansa on their evening departure. It's a late one, scheduled to leave Hong Kong at 23:50.
Before check-in I noticed this. Does anyone wish to take advantage of the AI Ambassador? I think it's going a bit too far now - what happened to good old fashioned conversation!
When we arrived, as per Lufthansa's email instructions, all the desks were closed. But they eventually opened up and we bag dropped successfully.
As this was a linked PNR, our bags were checked through to our end destination of London-Heathrow. That's next week's video!
HKG was certainly in the festive spirit but not half as busy as I thought it would have been at this time of night.
I just caught the Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club at HKG in time. It closed 7 days later.
It was a reasonable lounge with lots of different seating options.
And a cosy, comfortable vibe…
The bar was also very well stocked with a variety of on-demand cocktails and drinks.
Of course we had to sample!
I just had a small salad and some cheese and crackers.
And a small dessert plate.
Ever spotted the giant chess board inside HKG? How cool…
Just enough time to check out the KYRA Lounge too, also available on Priority Pass.
The KYRA Lounge also has a great centrepiece bar, too.
A nice salad range was on offer amongst other items.
Including steamed dumplings and buns. Delicious!
Time however, to board the A350-900 flying us back to Frankfurt. We were in Boarding Group 4.
We didn't have to wait long and we were down the airbridge waiting to board.
Our seats for the 13hr ride? 16A and 16B. Extra legroom seats on the divide between Economy and Premium Economy. These cost extra, an eye-watering £105.20 (€121.50 / $140.60) per seat.
But in my opinion, on an overnight red-eye like this, it's worth every penny.
On our seats were a pillow and woven blanket.
16A has the IFE screen in the rear of the seat whilst 16B has the IFE stored in the armrest. It didn't appear to work on start-up.
We then pushed back in order to depart for FRA.
A lovely departure somewhat spoilt by Lufthansa's unwillingness to dim the cabin lights during the take-off roll. It appears this isn't Lufthansa Group policy as SWISS didn't dim the lights on the outbound sector either.
Goodbye HKG, what a blast!
As you can see, there's no traditional bulkhead between Premium Economy and Economy, just this fabric divider. Personally, I think that's A) totally pointless if you're flying in Premium but B) a bonus for those in Economy as the legroom isn't restricted by a floor to ceiling divider.
The crew handed out 500ml bottles of still Hochwald water.
And this little Lufthansa branded snack packet.
Which contained Ritz-style salted crackers.
The IFE in seat 16A stopped working and was stuck on a blank screen.
And the IFE in seat 16B had the "Please Wait" message engrained on the screen. We asked the cabin crew to reset both IFE screens but this failed to work. We had no IFE for the 13 hour flight.
Dinner was served, an Orzo Pasta Salad with Tomato and Peas to start, this was dreadfully bland. This was accompanied by a Pretzel style roll and President butter, a mixed fruit salad and a pack of Chinese cookies.
I opted for the Fusilli Pasta in Tomato Sauce and diced Bell Pepper and Cheese, it was okay but the pasta was very overcooked and super soft to the point it became "mashy".
My husband went for the BBQ Pork Rice with Choy Sum, a better option.
Wi-Fi was free for messaging platforms like iMessage, WhatsApp and Messenger. This was for the duration of the flight.
If you wanted to stream up to 4Mbps, the costs were as above.
The crew then dimmed the lights and we both decided to try and get some sleep.
And sleep I did, I slept pretty much the entirety of the flight. Praise be for good legroom and a comfortable seat.
Breakfast arrived (I sadly forgot to film the main course) but it was Scrambled Egg with diced Potato, Ratatouille and Broccoli, and yes, it was awful. It arrived with a white style roll and President butter, a pack of strawberry jam and a blueberry yoghurt (this was also poor).
Here was the full menu for your entertainment!
The toilets were very clean and we checked them a few times throughout the flight. Well stocked and a very "efficient" German design.
Oddly, during descent, my IFE sprang back to life with the moving map. I couldn't click or change anything it just remained frozen on this.
And here we were approaching a 0-degree Frankfurt. What a temperature shock!
Overall, on the comfort front, I haven't felt that good in Economy for quite some time, probably since my JAL flight however, for the price paid, you don't expect poor food and non-functioning IFE on a service a little over 13 hours. I complained to Lufthansa and our seat fees were fully refunded. We then received a follow up apology offering us 30,000 Miles&More points which we accepted. Props to Lufthansa for resolving the issue. It wasn't quick by any means (we only received the seat fee refund last week, nearly 12 weeks after the flight), but the resolution was very fair.
Stay tuned for next week as we connect through Frankfurt to fly over to London-Heathrow. Thanks, as always, for reading and watching!
