Let’s get down to business… business class that is! I had the pleasure of experiencing Hong Kong Airlines business class on their recently launched route from HKG to LAX. I was going back to the US for my bachelorette weekend in Las Vegas (more on that soon!) and decided to fly into Los Angeles from Hong Kong. I love visiting LA and it’s easy to get to Vegas from there, so I was so happy to see that Hong Kong Airlines flew there since I’d heard great things about them. The airline generally offers lower fares than the most premium airlines, but I found the business class experience to be nothing short of premium. From their bright, spacious, and well-stocked lounge, to the comfortable lie-flat seats on board, and the ENDLESS food options across the lounge and in-flight, Hong Kong Airlines’ business class experience somehow made me look forward to my 14 hour return flight! Watch my video recap of the flight below (please give it a thumbs up and subscribe if you enjoy the video!), and read on to see my detailed review of each aspect of the Hong Kong Airlines business class experience.
Club Autus Lounge at Hong Kong International Airport
The lounge was located right next to the boarding gate at gate 150. Note that there is an older lounge located at a different gate, so make sure you go to the new one. After going up the escalators, you’re greeted by the check in desk staff before finding a seat at one of their plentiful tables in a bright space that was adjacent to floor to ceiling windows. I chose to sit at the smaller tables by the windows #forthegram, but they also have a long bar table along the windows if you want to look out at the planes while getting some work done. Away from the windows is a kid’s play area complete with gaming systems, smaller cafe tables with lounge seats, and larger tables with direct overhead lights to act as workstations.
After I sat down, one of the staff served me a refreshing welcome drink of lemonade made with rose petal syrup, grapefruit juice, and soda water before I made my way to the buffet. I arrived around 10:30AM and got the tail-end of breakfast service, which offered an array of Asian options like a full congee station, made-to-order noodles, dim sum, fried noodles, rice rolls, and mantou buns. For Western options, scrambled eggs, croissants, sausages, sandwiches, and a full salad bar are available.
By the time I was done taking all of my photos at the table, they had somehow managed to change over breakfast to lunch! Chicken and black bean sauce, sweet & sour pork, and steamed vegetables replaced the congee and dim sum stations, and macaroni and cheese, mozzarella sticks, samosas, spring rolls, and chicken nuggets replaced the remaining breakfast items. If you’re there past noon, they also begin to serve made-to-order Hong Kong style waffles for a taste of the local fare.
Hong Kong Airlines Airbus A350 Business Class Seat
Upon arriving at your seat, the flight attendants welcome you with a beverage of your choice. Each seat is equipped with a universal power outlet, 2 USB slots, entertainment system with a remote control and reading lamp right next to the headrest, a slot underneath the monitor to stow your laptop during the flight, and noise-canceling headphones. The pillow and plush blanket paired with the lie flat seats made it easy to get a good sleep during the long flight, though I tried to only sleep for 7 hours to make sure I wasn’t jet lagged when I landed.
During the time I was awake, I was able to be productive and edit photos and videos with my laptop perched on the tray table while keeping drinks and snacks on the side table. And when it was time for a break from work, the movie selection was vast enough to keep me entertained (shout-out to Hong Kong Airlines for anticipating my desires with the first Incredibles & Mamma Mia after having just watched/talked about watching the sequels, and all of the latest Marvel movies to rewatch).
I sat in 20K on my way from HKG to LAX, which had a nice configuration with the seat right next to the window and side table providing some privacy from the aisle. The odd-numbered window seats have a mirrored configuration, so the seat is closer to the aisle and side table is against the window, providing a bit less privacy. On the way back, I was in an aisle seat at 24G which similarly had less privacy, but since I was seated toward the back of business class there weren’t any people besides the flight attendants passing my seat as there would be toward the front where the bathrooms are. Regardless of which seat you’re in, the tray tables are configured well so that you can swivel them in and still be able to get out of your seat easily during meal service.
Hong Kong Airlines Business Class Dining
I was honestly never hungry during the entire time I was on my flight. As mentioned, I had stuffed myself silly at the airport lounge, so I wasn’t even hungry by the time lunch was served on board, but I ate everything any way “for research” 🙂 The flight attendants present you with a menu at the start of the flight, and you order what you want ahead of each meal service. Each flight served 2 multi-course meals and the main course had at least 2 options, 1 of which was vegetarian.
For the HKG to LAX leg, the menu was created by local Hong Kong chef Gabriel Choy who has worked under Gordon Ramsay at Petrus and Heston Blumenthal at London’s The Fat Duck. The food was tasty and definitely exceeded any airplane food I’ve previously had, with the foie gras course and pumpkin gnocchi being particularly impressive to pull off in the sky. Based on the flight times, we were served dinner after takeoff and breakfast about 90 minutes before landing, which featured a variety of yummy dim sum for my main course choice. For both meals, a basket of warm bread is also brought around, from fresh made garlic bread at dinner to a variety of pastries at breakfast. In between meals, you can also order a satisfying though slightly oily fried pork chop sandwich, a cheese platter, and cup noodles as a mid-flight snack in addition to a selection of chips that were always on display for the taking. I found the staff to be quite attentive and very friendly, always happy to help with my random requests – including taking photos of me in my seat during every meal 🙂
The foie gras was less appetizing on my return leg from LAX to HKG, but the rest of the food more than made up for it with a delicious lobster bisque before pan seared cod with root vegetables for lunch, tender braised short rib with penne pasta for dinner, and extra garlic bread during both meals #GarlicBreadisWorthGarlicBreath
Hong Kong Airlines Business Class Amenities
Each seat came with noise-canceling headphones (which weren’t the best in sound quality but good enough), and a plush, comfortable blanket and pillow on arrival. Amenity kits were handed out right before meal service, with items stored in a cute pouch that was designed by local artist Ricebowl Republic to feature images that represented Hong Kong. Inside was an eye mask and socks with a matching design, ear plugs, dental kit, and L’Occitane hand cream and lip balm (see my video recap for visuals). The Hong Kong Airlines amenity kit had the essentials for flying in comfort, though I’ve experienced other business class flights with a few extra bells and whistles (tissues, a pen, and some kind of facial product would be nice additions to the kit). Outside of the amenity kit, the business class restrooms also have L’Occitane hand soap and lotion, and hot towels are distributed at takeoff and after meal services.
Overall, I’d highly recommend Hong Kong Airlines business class as a more affordable yet top of the line option for long haul flights. The lounge, food, amenities, and comfort on board make the ticket price well worth it, especially if you need to be productive while traveling or be well-rested when you land at your destination.
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