MEL-SIN-PEN-xHKG-PEK & PVG-HKG-PEN-MEL

[anchew]

Summary of trips:
Fri 14 Oct MEL-SIN JQ 7 (J)
Mon 17 Oct SIN-PEN MH 674 (Y)
Thu 20 Oct PEN-xHKG-PEK CX629/KA992 (Y)
Thu 27 Oct Beijing-Shanghai - Fast train
Thu 03 Nov PVG-HKG KA 805 (Y)
Mon 07 Nov HKG-PEN CX 693 (Y)
Thu 10 Nov PEN-SIN MH 677 (Y)
Sat 12 Nov SIN-MEL JQ 8 (J)

 

[anchew]

JQ7 MEL-SIN
Seat 1A & 1B (purchased as *class)
Departure time 12:00pm
Departure Gate 4

We (My mum and I) arrived at Melbourne Airport a little earlier than expected at around 8:45am, 15 minutes before check in opened, so we found a seat and waited for it to open. A few minutes after 9am, we headed to the check in counters. There was no one in the priority line at that time though one person was being served and while we waited, a person came up and started handing out a flyer on the industrial action being conducted by JQ check in staff - no charge for excess luggage. It didn’t really matter for us as we were way under the 30kg limit each. With the boarding passes and priority departure cards in hand, we headed through security and Customs then proceeded directly to the F Lounge.

The first thing I did when I arrived at the F Lounge was to have a shower which was nice. We then headed to the restaurant area for some food. At that time, it was only 10am so breakfast was being served. We ordered the omelette and the sweet corn fritters. The sweet corn fritters were very nice so at 11am, we ordered another plate of the sweet corn fritters and some salt & pepper squid (which was on the ‘after 11’ section of the menu). Yum…

Not long after we finished the second round, boarding for our flight was called at around 11:20am. I was a little surprised at the call because I was prepared for delays as this fight doesn’t have a very good track record for on time departures. As we were heading out the door at 11:30, the final call was announced.

When we reached the departure gate, there was a line of around 30 people. We went to the head of the line looking for the priority boarding line but couldn’t see one and there were no signs around, so we went to the back of line. Half way down the line, I saw a JQ ground staff walking up line and over heard her directing a pax to the front of the queue so we followed. She saw us approach and asked 'busness?' and I replied 'yep' then she indicated for us to proceed to the front. As the three of us approached the front, another JQ ground staff moved forward to check our boarding passes and ripped the stub off before we headed onto the plane.

The aerobridge used was one of those that split into two half way down. At the split, there was a JQ crew directing J pax left and Y pax right. The J cabin was quite full – there was only a hand full of seats free. However, it sounded like Y had plenty of free seats – the CSM announced that although there were free seats in Y, everyone are to sit in their allocated seats for take-off.

On board, there was a blanket, headphones (same as QF J ones), and an amenity kit (lotion, lip balm, toothbrush, toothpaste, eye shade, neck pillow, socks and ear plugs) waiting for us on the seat.


Once we were settled, we were offered a beverage – orange juice, apple juice or water. Once we were airborne and the seat belt sign went off, we were given hot towels and a bottle of water. Not long afterwards, meals were served. They actually took our orders just prior to take off. The choices were some lamb dish, chicken noodles or gnocchi. I opted for the chicken noodles. I was actually quite impressed with the meal service. It wasn’t what I was expecting. I guess as a LCC, I wasn’t expecting much. Since we ate in the F lounge, twice, we were were not very hungry, especially my mum. She only had a couple of bites of her meal to see how it tasted and exclaimed that she preferred the meals in the F Lounge . One of the flight attendants noticed that my mum wasn’t eating and asked if there was anything wrong with meal. She replied that there was nothing wrong but she wasn’t really hungry. Mum then joked that he must have been the cook .


After our trays were taken away, the flight crew offered a video unit – they actually also had movies showing on the main screen. Mum accepted but I didn’t. I was busy writing notes for this TR and also had my touchpad that will keep me occupied.


The dessert cart then came around. There was a choice of cheese & crackers or cheese cake with coffee/tea. I couldn’t resist the cheese cake and had a coffee to go with it.


After dessert, the crew left us alone for the rest of the flight. However, they were more than happy to bring us more drinks or snacks when requested. When I pressed the call button, the crew came around with a smile and an eagerness to get whatever we wanted.

Overall, I found the crew friendly & attentive. They were quick to clear our trays and during service times, strolled up and down the aisle in case there was anything needed. Dare I say that the service was on par or better than my experiences on QF in J.

 

[anchew]

I found seats 1A&B good for those travelling in pairs. There’s sufficient leg room for me (around 165cm) and I discovered that I am the perfect height where if I stretched my legs out and slouched a bit, I can rest my feet on the magazine holder/pocket. I’m travelling alone to SIN next year in March so looked around to see where would be a good seat. For me, I liked 1E more than the acclaimed 2D. 2D doesn’t have a seat pocket for storage and it protrudes out so I’d be afraid of getting run over by the crew or service carts. In 1E, being an aisle seat, there’s good access to the aisle, and is a little in so there’s lots of left-elbow room with no chance of getting bumped by passer-bys. Also, the person sitting next to you have access to the other aisle so don’t have to climb over you. The seats themselves were similar to QF Dom J seats and quite comfortable for a day flight (the return flight is overnight so we’ll see how it is for an overnighter).

I will certainly fly JQ to SIN again (especially considering the great SC earn rates compared with any other options to SIN J).

 

[mitchsheehy]

Good trip report

 

[anchew]

MH 674 PEN-SIN
Seat 19A/B
Departure time 11:05am
Arrival time 12:25pm
Departure Gate E24
Terminal 2

This flight is a short 1:20 flight similar to a MEL-SYD flight but without the frequency (MH only has one flight a day). Check-in was a breeze (the line wasn’t long at all) as was clearing immigration – there were almost no other travellers there so we just walked up to an empty desk and got processed immediately. We then strolled slowly through the departure gate towards our departure gate. As we arrived at our gate at around 10:20am, we saw our 737-400 pulling up to the gate. I was a little surprised to see that there wasn’t a line at the security screening point (at SIN, there’s a security screening point at each gate rather than one at the entrance to airside).



Not long afterwards, the boarding call was made for J pax, premium ff and families with children or requiring assistance – similar to QF’s board at convenience. They then started boarding by row number and since we were seated in row 19, we were the first group to board. One thing that’s different on MH’s 737-400s is that the emergency rows are missing its window seats (i.e. 12 A/F & 13 A/F) so row 14 A/F has enormous leg room.

The flight attendants on the flight were very polite and graceful. They spoke softly and their movements were smooth and calm – typical most Asian airlines. When we were boarding, they were spread across the cabin and they all greeted the passengers with ‘Good Morning’ as we passed them.

 

[anchew]

After take-off, the seat-belt sign remained on until the flight leveled out. The CSM then announced that lunch will be served on the flight. We had a choice of chicken or fish. I choose the chicken while my mum went with the fish. Accompanying the main meal were some water, chocolate cake and ‘Cadbury Gold’ (chocolate with hazelnut praline, hazelnut & wafer). They also offered orange juice with the meal.




Chicken biryani


Gulai fish

We arrived into PEN around 10 minutes early. As we were taxing to the gate, the CSM made the usual warning to fill the entry card correctly. What I was not expecting, though, was an announcement that people trafficking is a criminal offence.

Clearing immigration in PEN involved a biometric scan of the two index fingers. When I arrived into the baggage hall, my checked luggage was already on the belt. I was very impressed.

 

[samiam]

Thanks anchew- enjoying the report and the obligatory seat, food and leg photos!

 

[anchew]

Flying off to PEK via HKG tomorrow (20 Oct) and something wired has happened. For our China trip, there's three of us travelling - me, my mum and my cousin. Me and my mum were booked on one PNR and my cousin on another. A couple of days ago, I received a flight reminder email for my cousin's flight but not mine. And just now when I logged into manage my bookings, my cousin's seat request is still there but it's disappeared for me and my mum's booking. I had 34K/H requested.



EF's showing our seats occupied.



Any chance that means an op-up? Loadings are:


If me and my mum does get op-uped, I'll feel bad for one second that my cousin has been left in Y :mrgreen:
But I'm also afraid that there's a problem because my cc hasn't been sighted.
I guess we'll just have to see tomorrow morning.

 

[anchew]

Indeed it was an op-up to J

 

[serfty]

Indeed it was an op-up to J ...

Congratulations ...

 

[anchew]

Tried to log into manage my bookings on the CX website and discovered that they've split my mum's and my PNR for some reason. I now have a totally different PNR. Has this happened to anyone before?

BTW more TR coming soon.

 

[anchew]

I haven't had time to write up a TR for my last flight yet but I thought I might post a few pics as teasers for now.

 

[anchew]

CX 962 PEN-HKG
Seat 15H/K (op-up to J)
Departure time 7:45am
Arrival time 11:35am

For our trip to China, our cousin, who lives in PEN, joined us so we were travelling in a group of three. However, when I made the bookings, I booked me and my mum’s first, then my cousin’s, therefore, she was on a separate PNR than us.

In the morning, we arrived at the airport at around 5am thinking that check-in opens 3 hours before the flight, however, it was still closed so we had had some coffee while we waited for it to open at 5:45am. On check-in, me and my mum were op-uped to J and were given two lounge passes each, one each for PEN and one each for HKG. The HKG lounge passes invited both of us to any of the F lounges. Prior to this, I wasn’t sure if my cousin could join us in the lounge as a WP can only guest one person, but since we had two passes, I tried to see if I could guest my cousin into the PEN CX lounge – and it worked. My cousin was welcomed in warmly. The lounge itself was quite small – 20 odd seats – though there were no one else in the lounge at that time. However, the lounge filled up quickly and by 6:30, most of the seats were taken.

Lounge pictures:

 

[anchew]

Pictures of the food in the lounge:

 

[anchew]

At around 7:15, boarding was called so we slowly made our way to the boarding gate via the restroom. By the time we got to the gate, boarding was in its final stages. My mum and I used the priority lane, which was empty, and my cousin used the normal line. There were someone checking tickets at the start of the entry to the priority lane and a CX crew checking tickets and passports at the gate. Since boarding was in its final stages, the Y lane was quite short, so we decided to wait for our cousin before going down to the aircraft.

Priority boarding lane.

 

[anchew]

On board, we were promptly offered a pre-flight drink (orange juice, honey melon juice, water) and a blanket. When we said that we wanted a blanket, the flight attendant unwrapped it from its plastic before giving it to us – a very nice touch. Not long afterwards, the crew offered us newspapers, which they pushed along on a trolley so you could see what’s available, some hot towels, and the menu for breakfast.

View of the cabin from my seat:


After take-off, we were offered drinks – juice, water, coffee and tea. For the meal service, they brought out the tray with some fruits first. After we finished the fruit, the plate was collected and the main meals brought out on a trolley meaning that we could actually see what the meals looked like before making our selection – what a great idea. I had the chicken noodles while my mum had the fish. After the meal service, we were offered a hot towel again.



Fish:


Chicken noodles:


Overall, I found the flight crew professional and courteous.

The seats were similar to the QF Dom 767 J seats with sufficient leg room. The seat controls were the push button electronic type. On the entertainment system, I found it a little disappointing – there’s an individual screen on the back of the chair with numerous channels that runs on a loop (i.e not AVOD). However, I guess it’s better than some QF domestic flights where it only has a main screen.

 

[anchew]

The Pier First Class Lounge

As with the lounge in PEN, I was able to guest my cousin into The Pier F Lounge. I sure it’s because we were given two lounge passes, but wonder if it’s because we were op-uped, therefore received one for my mum as a J benefit (but my mum’s invitation had F lounge rather than J lounge), or because we were both on the same PNR. Now that my ticket has been split from my mum’s PNR so now I have a totally different PNR, I’m wonder if I’d be able to bring both my mum and cousin into the lounges for my PVG-HKG and HKG-PEN flights. I guess I’ll know in time.
When we entered the lounge, we first had a look around before going to the restaurant for a feed. The food was set out buffet style with a mixture of Asian and Western cuisines. The food was decent but I wasn’t too hungry after the mean on the flight, I liked their desserts though.

 

[anchew]

Entrance to the restaurant area:

 

[anchew]

KA 992 HKG-PEK
Seat 23A/C & 24A
Departure time 2pm
Arrival time 11:35am
Departure gate 50

They don’t announce boarding calls in the lounge except for flights that are delayed, so when it hit 1:30pm, we made our way to the gate. When we got there, the Y line was still quite long but I decided not to use the priority lane for two reasons – firstly I couldn’t see OWE on the priority boarding sign and secondly didn’t feel comfortable bring two non-status pax with me to the priority lane.



As we were preparing for take-off, a familiar accent came over the PA. The Captain on the flight was clearly Aussie with quite a heavy accent. After we leveled out, the flight crew brought around the menus then offered us something to drink and small packets of nuts. Around 30 minutes or so afterwards, lunch was served – I went with the pork dish – then a 75ml tub of vanilla ice-cream and some Hong Kong milk tea or coffee.



Overall, I found that the service met expectations. It wasn’t anything special but it wasn’t bad in any way. I would say that they were comparable to most of my QF domestic flights. For entertainment, there’s only the main screen but I chose to just listen to the radio channels instead.

On decent into PEK, the Captain mentioned that there was only 1km visibility due to the smog so when we landed, the ground seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere.

 

[anchew]

China Railway High-speed (CRH)
Service G13 Beijing South – Shanghai Hongqiao
Departure time 10am
Arrival time 2:55pm
Gate 16
Carriage 5
Seats 14 C/D/F

We decided to purchase our train tickets when we arrived at Beijing South Railway Station rather than pre-purchase our train tickets for two reasons. Firstly, we weren’t sure how long it would take to get there from our hotel due to the unpredictability of Beijing’s traffic, and secondly, there are 2-3 fast train (G) services departing each hour (http://www.beijingchina.net.cn/transportation/train/train-to-shanghai.html).



We left our hotel at around 8:30am expecting the ride to be around a good 45 minutes, but surprisingly, got to the station at round 9am and found our way to the ticket office, which was quite confusing. Even though my mum and cousin could read Chinese (not me), they both couldn’t work out which line we should be in to purchase tickets. So we decided to just pick a line and hope for the best. After a couple of minutes in the line, an attended comes along stating that the line for ticket sales is indeed not the line we were in, but the next two down. She advised us that we could use the ‘VIP’ window as the line was also shorter. So a hot tip – just head to the red VIP window to purchase tickets.



The tickets for ‘2[SUP]nd[/SUP] class’ cost RMB 555 per person (approx. AUD 90) but they didn’t accept credit card so we had to scrounge around for RMB 1665. Luckily, we had just enough cash on us with little change left over. After purchasing the tickets, we asked an attendant if there were any currency exchanges around but there weren’t any at Beijing South Railway Station. Luckily, Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station is linked to the airport so we were able to changed money when we arrived.

The gates opened at 9:30am, half an hour before the departure. The train was already waiting for us on the platform so we quickly found our seats, stored our luggage and settled in as the excitement of the high-speed train ride started to build. Then at 10am on the dot, the train rolled out of the station.