Wednesday 18 June 2014

Inflight Review : HK Express

Inflight Review by : Gan Yung Chyan
                            / KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press Media & Travel Professionals





Routes : Hong Kong - Taichung - Hong Kong on 13 June 2014 (in conjunction with ITE & MICE 2014 where HK Express and Taichung Tourist Authority are the exhibitors)




Airline : HK Express.

Aircraft : The Airbus A320 aircraft (still in the old livery) has bigger legroom than a Tigerair Airbus A320 aircraft. Obviously it is the only choice to travel budget from Hong Kong to other cities not served by Jetstar and Tigerair. 


Inflight Service : Service is excellent. The air hostesses and air stewards are passionate about their work though busy throughout the one hour plus flight. They speak competently in English, Cantonese and Chinese.




Safety Demonstrations : Adequate. Safety Card is in excellent condition.

Inflight Magazine : UO is the official inflight magazine of HK Express and is free for passengers. One may get it from HK Express' Head Office. Information about HK Express, cities' tourist destinations, tourism and cultures are precise helpful to passengers who wish to learn more about the airline's background and destinations. It is the best marketing tool of HK Express.

Postcard / Stationery : Aircraft postcards and stationery items are not available onboard or its offices, including the Head Office. It appears that HK Express only issues Customs Forms of Taiwan rather than Immigration Arrival/Departure forms on the Taichung route.

Sky Shop : There are duty-free items for sale onboard HK Express flights.  




Onboard Meals and Refreshments : Onboard meals and refreshments have to be paid and the air stewardesses issue receipts for sales of onboard meals and refreshments. Such a professional practice ensures no arguments between a passenger and an air stewardess over a particular inflight transaction. Hot meals are certainly better and more nutritious that hot meals of Jetstar, AirAsia X, AirAsia and Tigerair. There are two types of mineral water on sale.




Surcharge :  If a passenger wishes to upgrade his seat to one of the seats in Row 1, Rows 12 or 13, be prepared to pay a surcharge of 160 Hong Kong Dollars (less than 40 Singapore Dollars).

Booking : Electronic tickets are issued on hkexpress.com.  There is no Manage Booking function at the moment. Changes to existing bookings have to be made by contacting HK Express via an overseas call to its Call Centre outside its Head Office. HK Express accepts Singapore bank-issued debit card payments. Fares are not refundable.

Overall Impression : A low-cost airline that meets the needs of budget travellers and business travellers using boutique seats of its former full-service identity Hong Kong Express Airways and offers down-town check-in services at Airport Express Hong Kong and Kowloon Stations 24 hours before departure.  Everyone will like HK Express's inflight service.



Status of local ticketing address : No off-line ticketing office in Singapore yet. HK Express plans to launch scheduled flights to Singapore only within the next few years to replace Hong Kong Airlines. It is concentrating on opening routes to the Far East. 



Web-site : www.hkexpress.com.

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