This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
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I documented the trials and tribulations of my booking plans on this very site a few months ago - I only had enough miles for one UC award seat and not enough money to buy another UC seat for the wife. The advice and warnings I recieved from the good folk here led me to reach the only viable solution - book the UC seat in her name and buy a PE seat for myself. However, through work, I managed to get a consideration for a space-available upgrade and was keeping an eye on the UC loads almost on a daily basis. When I booked, it was wide open and, up until a week before departure, was showing about 12 seats to choose from on my wife's booking. I'm not sure if this is a good indication of seat availability, but my booking in PE was showing no seats to choose from at all, so I was hopeful for a bump up.
We overnighted at the Mira Hotel in Kowloon, very stylish and comfortable, and were picked up outside by the Airport Express Shuttle bus and delivered at Kowloon Station. Caught the train to the airport, arriving around 8pm for the 11.35 flight. Picked up two very heavy suitcases which we had stored at Left Luggage the previous day and made our way upstairs to check-in, going straight to one of about 3 free UC desks. Processed quickly and I asked about my upgrade. The agent told me he could see it on my booking, but as it was a very busy flight, I would have to wait until the gate. I then asked about changing my seat from 22G to Row 18 but, as expected, there was no chance as PE was completely full.
Through security and to the Clubhouse which was almost empty. It's a nice place, all dark wood and mirrors, with a view over the main departure area and plenty of comfortable seats. Wi-Fi password obtained and champagne ordered I first checked the status of the arriving flight from Sydney which was showing a 30 minute delay in arriving. No biggie, the more time spent in the Clubhouse the better, I thought. I ordered the Chinese Barbequed Pork with Fried Rice and Greens, followed by the Ham and Tomato Pizza, topped off with a Mango Sorbet. The staff were constantly hovering, topping up drinks and clearing away the dishes, although the lounge was still pretty empty. It was great to see a Sunday Times after being away from home for so long though!
A brief trip to the shopping area downstairs gave me a chance to use up any stray HK Dollars, so I stocked up on Japanese snacks and weird- looking drinks.
Time passed, the incoming flight arrived and the Clubhouse filled up the with sticker-folk from Oz, no doubt fighting for a much-coveted place in the showers before their next leg. A delay of 30 minutes was announced and we trundled down to the gate about 5 minutes before boarding commenced.
I was a bit anxious by this stage, given the large number of pax in the lounge, assuming most of whom were UC and whether my upgrade would happen. No beep at the gate was a disappointment, so my wife and I parted ways as she turned left in the airbridge.
It turned out UC was completely full, as was PE, although I'm not sure about down the back.
I was pleasantly surprised by the comfort of my seat. I had spent about 15 minutes in one some time previously on a flight to Dubai and, as I was wondering how I could possibly spend seven hours in a seat which doesn't go flat, we were moved up to UC just after the doors closed - Didn't happen this time though![n]
The fizzy/water/OJ tray was soon doing the rounds and the pilot apologised for the delay in departure and for the fact that the flight would be around 14 hours! Nightmare!
I'm not sure how I managed to survive that flight, but I did - even with the person in front in 'full-recline' mode from the very outset, I still had reasonably good legroom, probably managed about five hours sleep and was remarkably chipper upon arrival, which was around one hour behind schedule. The excellent breakfast (PE? Excellent Breakfast? Not something you hear around these parts very often!) helped - it was a hot Chinese dish, consisting on noodles and dim sum and, although I had eaten my fill of Chinese food on my holiday, it was actually very nice!
Cabin crew were efficient and ever-present throughout the flight, with regular drinks runs and a quick and friendly reboot of my V-Port.
De-planeing was a lot quicker than usual, with UC first off followed by PE and Y to the strains of Paul McCartney's 'Someone's Knocking at the Door'.
Met the wife, who was waiting for me by the exit, and am so happy to report that she slept like a baby for most of the flight.
Boy, does she ever owe me one!
