Flight Report : Hong Kong - London Heathrow

A very early morning departure for London. The flight was scheduled to leave for London at 0845 after flying in from Auckland. This route is reasonably new. Virgin, Qantas, and Air New Zealand started kangaroo flights via Hong Kong quite recently, and I thought it'd be interesting to give them a try. It was a beautiful day, and I was hoping to get some nice views upon takeoff. Plane spotting was pretty nice, with a variety of aircraft parked at HKIA.

Boarding was smooth although I waited until the end to get in line, maximizing my time plane spotting. I sat on the right side of the plane with a window, towards the back where it was a little roomier.

Air New Zealand's airshow had a very interesting feature ... satellite photos!

The plane taxied towards the west for an eastbound exit, which was what I hoped for. The views of Lantau and Hong Kong's skyline would be great!

The plane veered south upon exiting Lantau and I thought that was it, but soon it veered east again and the western edge of Hong Kong Island was in view. We were flying above Victoria Harbour.

Then we headed north and onwards to London!

Shenzhen's east side.

Not bad first meal.

Took a break for a bit as the plane went north, skirting the mountain edges. When I opened the blinds again, we were somewhere in NW China facing more arid areas.

2348

Where nature wins ...

Airshow provides a number of different views of our flight path, and it's not just the typical map and line. You see the time zones, a bird's eye view, and a side view.

A nice salad and chicken dish for a second meal.

The clouds started to break up as we descended into London. I was hoping we could fly through central London into Heathrow, landing from the east. But I wouldn't be lucky twice that day. We skirted around the north, then turned and landed from the west instead.

Final approach ...

Heathrow is always a great spotting airport. I took some time after getting off the plane to take some pictures of that day's visitors, including a number of Air Canada aircraft in new colours.

Service Summary

Food - 7/10
The food tasted OK, but wasn't anything special in particular. Cathay had better food, but at the price I paid, I expected less. The flight was even cheaper than what Oasis offered.

Service - 8/10
The FAs were very nice people. They were based in London and were heading home on this long flight. However, they're a bit slow when serving meals. Nevertheless, they were there when I needed them.

Seats - 8/10
Nothing special with the seats in particular. The 747 looked old from the ceilings and furnishings, but the seats looked new and the cabin was likely refurbished. I sat in the back where it was a bit roomier, and the seat had pretty much the same functions as any other full service carrier. The extra room at the back deserved a higher rating.

Overall - 7.5/10
A long flight ... almost 13 hours ... with what looked like 100% loading in Economy Class.

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