Three A350s and a Dreamliner: Regional Flights in Asia with SQ, TG and CX

[yflyer]

Everything described so far was on the right hand side of the CX lounge, The Bridge.

I headed back to the lounge reception area and crossed over to the left side of the lounge, which had a separate seating area and facilities, in a lighter decor theme.

In my various visits to The Bridge, I had found that the left side was usually less crowded than the right side.



Today was no different. This side of the lounge felt more serene and quiet.





The main difference between the two sides was that the dining room on ghe left side was smaller, with a more limited buffet selection. There was also no long bar. On the plus side, there was an expresso bar on this side.



Both sides of the lounge had restrooms, but the showers were on the left side only.

The dining area...



The wine selection in the dining area...



Some very interesting whites and reds...



A couple of local craft beers were offered...



Snacks and small bites...



The espresso bar...





Egg tarts and chocolate brownies on the espresso bar counter...

[yflyer]

Restrooms...



...and very well appointed shower rooms...



...with towel/toiletries, wash basin and WC...



Work pods and desks...





Overall, this was an excellent lounge.

What I found remarkable was how CX managed their portfolio of lounges at HKG Terminal 1. Rather than a single mega-lounge, CX had medium to large lounges spread out across the terminal, with some common design elements shared between lounges (Such as the circular work pods and overall decor theme), but also many unique touches that made each lounge experience a little different. For example, The Bridge had a buffet dining room, rather than a noodle bar.

Apart from a variety of experiences for a frequent traveller, the other benefit of this multi-lounge approach would be proximity of the lounge to the passenger's departure gate, as well as a way to spread the peak guest load across multiple lounges during periods.

[yflyer]

Eventually, at 12pm, I was back at the reception of The Bridge, to enquire about my flight...

"Very sorry, but the 12.45pm flight was completely full...", the agent said, apologetically, and handed me a boarding pass for the 4.10pm flight.

"Thank you! I'm going to spend the time exploring another Cathay lounge", I replied.

"Why don't you visit The Pier? It is the largest lounge...", she said.

"I'm going to visit The Deck, because I've never been there!"

She smiled as I thanked her again and headed up the escalator back to the main concourse level to begin my trek to the other end of the terminal, where The Deck was located...

I took a long walk through the beautiful Terminal 1 concourse...



...and eventually ended up close to gates 5, 6 and 7, where the SQ planes normally were parked.



There, from the main departure concourse level, I could see The Deck, Cathay Pacific's newest lounge, one level above, with part of the lounge on a balcony overlooking the departure gates.

What a great location for lounge, a level above the gates, in a large airy atrium, with great tarmac views! This was steps away the usual SQ gates. Why didn't SQ grab this space for their lounge?

[yflyer]

I headed up the escalator to Cathay Pacific's newest lounge, The Deck, open since March 2018.





The Deck was noticeably smaller and more intimate than the other CX lounges at HKG, and was beautifully styled, with excellent ambience, amenities and catering.



Lounge seating...







There was a noodle bar with outdoor seating on the verandah...



The large verandah formed an L shape, with part of the verandah looking out across the far end of the concourse and Gate 7...



...and wrapping around half of the lounge, extending to the area above Gate 6...



A view of the lounge, looking up towards the lounge from the Gate level...

[yflyer]

Inside the lounge, there was a buffet selection laid out...



...as well as self service wine and liquor...





Salads and bread...



Tomato / Tortilla soup...



The mains were different from the mains at The Bridge...

A delicious beef ragout...



Vegetable lasagna...



Rice and veggies...



Aside from seating on the verandah, there was also a small inside dining area...



There were many nice touches, such as this drink trolley in the verandah...

[yflyer]

I headed to the noodle bar...



I browsed the menu...



...and ordered Dan dan noodles, and was given a buzzer which would buzz when my dish was ready.

In the mean time, I headed to the self-service bar...





...and poured myself another glass of G H Mumm...



Not long after, the buzzer went off. I collected my Dan Dan noodles...



...and headed to the tables along the verandah...



...what a delightful spot in the airport to enjoy a bowl of noodles, and what delicious Dan dan noodles these were!

For an encore, I headed back to the noodle bar and ordered won ton noodles...



...which were also well up to standard!

Food aside, there was also a rest area/quiet zone...



...as well as restrooms and beautiful shower rooms...





Overall, a very pleasant lounge that I would want to visit again. Positives were the catering (Especially the noodle bar), and the wonderful ambience and spaciousness of the verandah, as well as the presence of proper showers. I also saw the small size of this lounge as more of a positive than a negative: At the time I was there, the lounge was not too crowded, and felt quite peaceful and relaxed.

Would I prefer this to other CX lounges such as The Bridge or The Wing? Probably not: These other CX lounges at HKG had more wow factor. But that said, I found this to be an excellent lounge, well up to CX's high standards. If I was in this part of the terminal, I would certainly love to spend time in this lounge.

[yflyer]

Eventually, it was time to head across the terminal to my boarding gate, for KA729 HKG-KUL, a 4.10pm departure.

The weather was still variable, with dark clouds and occasional rain, but at least flights were still taking off...



I trekked across the long spine of Terminal 1 to get to Gate 49 at the far end...



At the gate, Cathay Dragon A330-300 rego B-HLJ, a 26 year old aircraft first flown in 1992, and still in the old Dragonair livery...



This was a full flight, and boarding lines stretched far into the concourse...



Although this was a fairly old aircraft, the interiors had been refurbished, and had a fairly modern cabin product...

I glanced into the business class cabin, with Cathay's much maligned regional J seat, in 2-2-2 layout. These were not the most popular J seats in the fleet, with fairly limited recline and legroom by today's J standards. Not that this was a big concern for me, as I was in Y...



Thankfully the 2-4-2 y cabin was equipped with new (But not the very latest) seats, which were very comfortable.



These seats were very similar to the Y seats on the A330 that flew me on my earlier BKK-HKG sector.



These were well padded and comfortable seats, with good recline and legroom...



Widescreen IFE with USB port...



...and A/C power...

[yflyer]

Instead of StudioCX, we had StudioKA, an excellent full AVOD IFE system...



Supplied headphones were the headband variety...



No footrest, but no underseat obstructions either...



Bathrooms in grey...



Overall, a decent Y cabin product for this 4 hour sector, although it could not be compared to the latest and greatest from CX (Or SQ).

[yflyer]

Although boarding was completed on time, we were delayed by more than an hour pushing back because of the weather and backlog of planes taking off, and only took off just before 6pm, almost 2 hours later than scheduled departure time...



This was a powerful take-off straight into the clouds...

Despite the poor weather, and a typhoon raging several hundred kilometers away, the turbulence experienced on this flight, though severe at times, was no worse than many other flights I had previously flown...

The pilots probably flew around the areas of worst turbulence...we also flew higher, at 40,000 feet, than many of the other A330 flights I had been on previously...

[yflyer]

A full dinner service was provided on this flight...



There were two choices: an oriental rice dish or western fish with pasta...



I opted for the fish...



...which I accompanied with a glass of Chardonnay-Semillon...



The appetiser was tasty (Unlike CX, KA still provides a proper appetiser in Y)...



The fish with pasta was delicious as well, with smooth, tender fish...



Dessert was Haagen Dazs ice-cream, which came on the tray with the meal, rather than later...



What I found interesting was that I had Bananas and Cream, my seatmate was given Cookies and Cream. I wonder what other flavours were in the selection...

This was an excellent Y meal.

[yflyer]

Cabin ambience on this A330 was very good...



We flew at 40,000 feet almost all the way to KUL, before descent and landing in KL at 9.20pm, just over an hour behind schedule.

Weather-related delay aside, this was a good flight on Cathay Dragon. The A330 Y cabin product was fine despite it being an older aircraft, and catering and cabin crew were excellent.

Fortunately immigration queues at KLIA at that hour were not long. I caught the KLIA Express train to KL Sentral, and from there took a budget taxi to the W hotel.

To be continued!

[yflyer]

The W Kuala Lumpur was very centrally located, in the heart of KL, along Jalan Ampang.



The 150 room W occupied 10 floors of a skyscraper built on the site of the former Bok House.



The KL Tower was not far away...



The Petronas Twin Towers were right next door...



I headed into the hotel...



...and took a lift to the lobby level...

What an amazing lobby design...



This could only be a W...

[yflyer]

I headed up to my room and dropped off my luggage, then headed to the poolside bar...







There were stunning views of the Petronas Twin Towers from the poolside...





This was a very popular spot to chill and hang out in the evening...



I sampled a couple of their cocktails before retiring to my room for the night...

[yflyer]

The rooms themselves were quite spectacular...



I really liked the room design, although some folks might consider everything a little over-the-top...



I personally liked the quirky, psychedelic colours and decor very much...the room had a very lively vibe...



The bed seemed to be floating in mid air...



Bedside lighting controls...



Some of the buttons needed additional explanation...I pressed them at random until I found a setting I liked...

[yflyer]

The bathroom was impressive as well...



Triangular basin...



Separate shower stall...



There was also a large wardroom area...



I slept soundly that evening, and the next morning, when I opened the curtains, I was greeted by a view of KL Tower...