The Lounges
The Emirates Lounges both in Bangkok and Hong Kong sharethe well known cooperate identity of Emirates Airlines which can be found across the world.
The lounges typically have a dining area with restaurant-type seating and a large open area equipped with comfortable lounge chairs. The lounges also have a small business centre with computers and printers, showers and a Muslim prayer room.
The buffet consisted of a cold section which offers humus and other Asian specialities; as well as vegetarian snacks, small fish/meat bites and a sweet desserts section. The warm buffet offered about 10 different main courses including meat, fish, potatoes, rice and vegetables.
The bar was fully equipped, offering a full range of alcoholic beverages including wine, champagne,and spirits. Non-alcoholic beverages on offer included a range of soft drinks and cordials. Many choices of coffee and tea were available plus chocolates and fresh Emirates signatures dates.
To compare the 2 lounges, I found the food offered in Bangkok tastier, while the lounge staff in Hong Kong were much friendlier. The Emirates Lounge in Bangkok is located at the D concourse mid-level with a garden view of Suvarnabhumi airport. The Emirates Lounge in Hong Kong is located near gate 40, upstairs with a nice view towards the tarmac and the departure area.
The Emirates Lounge Bangkok
The Emirates Lounge Hong Kong
The Flights
We flew Bangkok – Hong Kong – Bangkok on Emirates. Both flights were operated with an A380 aircraft which offers 12 F, 78 C and 399 Y seats. The upper deck was is solely for premium class passengers and boarding/disembarkation was via a separate, direct aerobridge at both airports.
Business class seating was the typical 1 – 2 – 1 configuration.The middle two seats could be used as either “honeymoon-style” seats or as private aisle seats. All business class seats were equipped with a personal minibar, and a tablet which helped you navigate Emirates’ sophisticated entertainment system.
The meal service consisted of a hotel-type meal choice on both sectors. Here again, Bangkok beat the Hong Kong catering in terms of taste. Meal service was conducted all by hand using an all-in-one tray and was carried out promptly on both sectors.
Here it was also nice to see the difference of both crews. While the outbound flight crew was outstanding, chatty, and efficient (they even took Polaroid photos of the passengers and wrote a personal message on the photo frame) the inbound crew seemed a little indifferent appearing to do everything by-the-book, no more no less.Everything seemed to be rushed. This was unnecessary as there was no cocktail or drink service before the meal,no separate coffee/desert roundand no bad weather or in-flight turbulence to delay the meal service. On the outbound sector espresso coffee was not available due to a broken coffee maker.
Both flights were very lightly booked in Business Class (about one-third full each way) and the Lounge Bar was opened on both flights.
Although it was a short flight, the entire bar selection was available including small snacks such as olives, nuts,cheese flutes plus a small choice of sandwiches and fresh fruit. This was a very impressive service offering.
Conclusion: Emirates offers a solid product with fair prices. In my opinion Qatar Airways offers a more elegant and generous service while Etihad Airways has the better crews (upbeat and cheerful).
SWISSTRAVELMANAGER 