Back in the comfort of HKG. Proceeded straight through customs and security and got through in 10 minutes. Made the long trek over to gate 65 where the Pier lounge was located. We mistakenly walked into the first class lounge and the agent indicated to walk one gate over to the business lounge. We would not be allowed in even though we came off a F flight the previous night.

As we walked, I detoured to take some pics of planes.

I will be seeing you very soom Mrs.Whalejet:

Spotted our bird that would be taking us to AKL. First time flying the A350-900 and was excited.

God, we are still walking:

After an eternity, we made it:

Comfy business centre:

Plunked ourselves in the comfy chairs by the windows:

The lounge is pretty long and divided into 5 sections – 1 main buffet dining area, bar, noodle bar, tea bar, spa

Pretty good planespotting:

Decided to get some food after our drinks. Tasty stuff.

I am a pig:

Ah-murrican departing for home:

BA pulled in next door:

Oh yea, you’re a dirty girl. You like it when your windows are dirty.

30 minutes to departure, we left the lounge and made our way to gate 15 where our bird would be departing from. As we passed a monitor, I noticed that the status said Final Call. …. We ran to our gate and by the time we got there, we had a good sweat going. This would be the 1st of 3 mad dashes during our adventure.

Initially, we selected the last 2 seats in the main cabin. During check in, the agent put us into the mini cabin which was only 2 rows. Sweet!

Nothing unusual about this seat. Have been in it twice before and knew what to expect.

Forward cabin.

PE and Y class beyond:

So this goof and his wife were annoying. They were playing home vidoes on their phone for the entire cabin to hear and was pissing the crap out of me. Luckily, a flight attendant came by and requested to turn down the volume and switch to airplane mode. The man asked when they could turn wifi on and the flight attendant said once we take off and there would be a charge. He did not expect the last statement and became quiet. I know a certain FT-er who loves people who display their feet in F or J class … no names but it rhymes with 787. 😛

Forgot to take a picture of my glass but here is a pic of the bottle. Worst. Champange. Ever! Turrible!

Time for the menu pics.

We pushed back on time and started the long taxi to the runway. Pics of birds as we passed by:

AC just landing:

And we are off!

Bye bye HKG! See you … sometime soon?

Pic of the amenity kit:

Warm nuts and an apple juice to start:

Lunch service started with the apps. Really tasty salmon:

Yummy garlic bread:

I liked the cart service that Cathay has for J class. I went with the Lamb Korma.

Tasted better than it looked.

Followed by a barely palatable chocolate mousse. I dont understand why its called mousse when its just cream filling.

Went to bed right after and conked out. Woke up to see where we here on the map which was about 2 hours out. The breakfast service was about to begin.

Flipped through to see what was on. The clarity of the screen is excellent:

Quick shot of the main cabin:

Behind my seat:

Breakfast is served … almost …

Yummy dim sum:

Totally forgot that the A350 had a nice tail cam and turned it on. Wonderful to watch the landing:

Cabin crew, please be seated.

Gloom and doom in Auckland.

The flight was not overly spectacular. The crew were efficient in the service but was generally lacking compared to Cathay First. I would assume that it was due to the number of J class passengers and it was full for the flight. Then again, the upcoming Singapore J class flight was equally full and the cabin crew were amazing. I find that the level of Cathay J service has gone down over the years. Also, maybe it was just me but I noticed that the plane rattled a lot during take off. I’ve read TR’s indicating how quiet the cabin was during take off – maybe I was the exception. 
Overall, it was a good flight and we arrived safe and sound.

Next up – connecting flight to Queenstown and our stay for 2 nights.