BA flights to Hong Kong experiences - good or bad

[Yourownpersonaljesus]

Has anyone flown with BA to Hong Kong recently? My adult DD (she's not on MN herself) is off to HK in January and I was wondering if anyone could tell me anything useful about BA's service etc. She'll be flying alone. Does she need to book a seat?
Thanks.

Cabin services director - basically the person with the power to upgrade."

Ummmmmmm........well perhaps...

I'll deliberately choose my words very carefully on this subject.. I am lead to believe the whole upgrade process is very carefully controlled at office level and is usually done on the basis of loyalty card/points etc..

These days at many airlines upgrades on board are often recorded and it is entirely possible that a free onboard upgrade done by a CSD just on the basis of an request at the door might get looked at very carefully back at head office..so whilst a polite ask might not do any harm don't be surprised if it doesn't gain much traction...

I really don’t think asking for an upgrade works. I think, and I might be wrong, that because DD was a minor flying alone (on their minors programme that’s now gone) she was upgraded due to being a female minor and maybe there wasn’t a “suitable” seat in economy. We were all surprised.

"I really don’t think asking for an upgrade works."

Unless you are willing to pay for the move (BA often offer paid upgrades at check-in, and sometimes will do paid upgrade on board) I really wouldn't recommend making the first topic of conversation at the aircraft door a hint at getting a free upgrade - I'm sure the CSD (CSM on Mixed Fleet Routes) would handle the situation professionally but there's scope for embarrassment...

Unless you are willing to pay for the move (BA often offer paid upgrades at check-in, and sometimes will do paid upgrade on board) I really wouldn't recommend making the first topic of conversation at the aircraft door a hint at getting a free upgrade - I'm sure the CSD (CSM on Mixed Fleet Routes) would handle the situation professionally but there's scope for embarrassment...

This!

Asking for the CSD and then "asking for an upgrade as a single traveller" is really bad advice if you want to make a numpty of yourself. BA has a complicated algorithm that works out upgrades. Most go to passengers with status, often with the hope that they will like the upgraded cabin so much that next time they fly with BA, they'll book in the higher cabin. As a non-status passenger, chances of an upgrade are low unless you're willing to pay for one. Occasionally people get lucky because a family needs to sit together but didn't prebook or a seat is broken etc but it's increasingly rare these days. London-HK is a fairly high status route.

Also be aware that the 'best' seats are blocked for passengers with status (who can reserve these better seats for free) although these get released in the last 24 hours if they've not been booked so your daughter may get lucky (unlikely on a busy route like Lon-HK).

Someone said that HK is a big airport but that's not really true. You may have to get the transit train depending on which wing you land at but there's not a huge amount of walking in HK. Certainly nothing like the walking you do at Heathrow. HKIA is a very efficient airport. Bags come out quickly, it's all pretty seamless.

Finally, your daugher will have a better chance of empty seats around here if she books a seat near the back of the plane. Most people like to sit near the front (especially the Chinese!) but if she's not in a rush to deplane, she's more likely to get an empty seat next to her if she's at the back of the bus.

(Just to explain my comments, I live in London now but used to live and work in Hong Kong, although I always kept a base in London. I still have BA status although for Lon-HK I much prefer Emirates or Qatar).

My DD would definitely not ask (or even hint) for an upgrade - she'd be far too embarrassed. Thanks for the really helpful hints and tips everyone. It really is appreciated.

Fly Cathay pacific, it’s way better than BA or Virgin. I fly from HK to LHR and back each summer with my kids, it’s our favorite airline by far. Better luggage allowance than the other two as well
Plus they do a night flight, which time wise works well both ways

HKer here - if you can, I'd fly Virgin over BA or Cathay. Have been put off BA over the years after multiple cancelled flights due to strike action, plus the crew tend to be bloody surly and unhelpful. Cathay is generally overpriced (at least from HK-UK) and is really nothing special. My pref would always be Finnair via Helsinki or any of the ME carriers.

It's a 12 hour flight, BTW.

Thanks both of you. Flight is already booked though - chose BA because they were cheapest. My DD is a student so price was the deciding factor!

If your DD thinks she'll sleep and not go to the loo often then I'd take a window seat, otherwise an isle seat. Definitely not a middle seat!!! Avoid seats near the toilets. You can buy a leg hammock thing that you attach to the tray in front. It's good for folk with short legs. Eye mask, ear plugs, decent neck pillow. She might be able to buy melatonin in HK airport, it's great for jetlag and it's basically a natural hormone that helps regulate your body clock. Stay awake till local bed time and take one melatonin. Hope she has a great time and you get to visit her.

Thank you so much for the advice S0upertrooper, I will pass it all on. One question - how many hours before her flight will she need to arrive at Heathrow? Last time I flew long haul was 10 years ago and I'm guessing things have changed since then what with being able to do most things online now.

At least 2 hours
I normally get there 3 hours before and enjoy watching the planes whilst sitting in Wagamama

Tell her to give herself time to get to the gate as you have to take the train

Thanks MozzchopsThirty.

Aiming for a minimum of 2 hours is comfortable and reduces the stress, however it's worth knowing the absolute minimums just in case you end up stuck in traffic/on a train and you are crawling towards the airport....

Min check-in at LHR T5 on one of the machines is 60 minutes otherwise the computer will say "no" and that's it...no flight....so top tip is check-in on line..

Regardless of how/where you check-in (on-line or at the airport) the one absolute rule is you must... must.. must....have dropped off hold baggage and gone through "conformance" ( that's the bit before security where you scan your boarding card and pass through one of the automated swing gates) a minimum of 35 minutes prior to departure..other wise the computer will definitely say "no".

Having gone airside I can second the recommendation of Waggammas..(If you are really really flush for time the Carluccios landside on departures level is also VG...but you must keep an eye on the clock re "conformance").

The flight will almost certainly go from one of the gates on B or C remote terminals, so keep an eye on the info screens once airside in T5A, but don't be surprised and don't panic if the gate isn't shown until an hour or less before departure...I agree that the train system isn't the best, they do get crowded but you certainly have more than adequate time to get from A to B or C after the gate is shown on the boards in 5A...

BTW as an aside you can walk (underground) between T5A, B and C but probably not something to do outbound on a first trip..I do it quite often when inbound if there is no time pressure...

Finally ..all the above is on the BA website and the minimum timings do change (e.g; the timings for short haul changes recently) so worth keeping an eye on that place in the run up to the trip.

Edit (in abscence of such a function) to correct my comment above.. there were changes to some Longhaul minimum timings recently, not shorthaul.. anyhow chapter and verse is here and on the associated pages:

www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/airport-information/london-heathrow-airport/heathrow-t5

Thank you notimagain for your very detailed reply! Very helpful. DD does like Wagamama so that could be a plan.