Flight Report : Hong Kong - Taipei
Economy Class

CX 510 - 9 February 2011 Expecting a rush of tourists heading back to Taiwan following the Chinese New Year holiday, I was surprised the airport was not so crowded that day. Perhaps people took a few more days off to enjoy the holiday.
... and the flight was mostly empty.
With so people, I had plenty of room to move about to take photos of this older aircraft. The interiors may change dramatically in the near future with the new Economy Class layout.
I prefer the A330's 2-3-2 seating configuration over the 777's 3-3-3. It's a lot easier for a window seat passenger to get out to the aisle for a bathroom break.
KA 482 - 15 November 2009 With winter approaching, it was already dark by the time I arrived at the airport. Hungry, I was hoping for a good meal on Dragonair. Strangely, they moved counters away from their partner, Cathay Pacific, and sat lonely in the middle of T1.
Check-in was smooth and quick as usual, and I had some time to take photos of the airport at night.
Lounge Access As I wasn't flying Business Class, I had to settle for the Priority Pass lounge at the far end of the terminal. Although slightly inconvenient, there was a good selection of food to choose from to quell my hunger. The environment was serene, and it wasn't so busy. I chose to stay in the cafeteria area although there are better lounge chairs in a living room-style setting outside.
It seemed odd a Cathay plane was parked at the gate. Soon I realized today's Dragonair flight would be operated by Cathay aircraft. The initial excitement of IFE and PTV was quickly diminished by the prospect of having the same awful dinner I got on my Manila flight just weeks before. The same disgusting bun did return on the Taipei flight. I don't understand how a 5-star carrier can serve something like that. They'd be better off giving small food boxes for the short flight.
Other than the meal, the flight passed by uneventfully, and we landed in Taipei without much fanfare. Customs in Taiwan seemed quite stringent in their baggage checks at the retrieval areas, with even the K9 action out in force detecting food inside luggage. I was also checked by the customs officer, thinking I had a lot of bad stuff in my big luggage.
Sights Around Taipei