HKG Hong Kong airport

[ElPaso Pilot]

Sharing a few pictures from this week... bagged one of my "bucket list" airport photos.

Lining up on HKG 07R:

Control tower

Terminal

And the old Kai Tak airport for those who remember... not much left, and no more checkerboard.

 

[AdamZ]

Great photos!

 

[ElPaso Pilot]

Great photos!

Thanks. I like the way our pilot swung wide enough on the first one that I could almost pull it off as a cockpit picture.

Been a busy 2 weeks of travel. Here's Macau (MFM):

 

[Sac Arrow]

Cathay's lounge between gates 3 and 4 at HKG is the shizz. Showers, wine, and all the dim sum you can eat!

That airport is seriously large. They have trams running from the main area to the distant gates. You can walk though, and I usually try to do a slight jog from one end to the other just to get some exercise in after a long flight.

 

[ElPaso Pilot]

Cathay's lounge between gates 3 and 4 at HKG is the shizz. Showers, wine, and all the dim sum you can eat!

That airport is seriously large. They have trams running from the main area to the distant gates. You can walk though, and I usually try to do a slight jog from one end to the other just to get some exercise in after a long flight.

You're not kidding on the size or the lounge.

I filled up at the Cathay noodle bar at Gate 65 just prior to taking those.

Here's the next stop in Taipei (TPE) Taiwan

and some type of ground control ops

 

[ElPaso Pilot]

Here's a more obscure airport from last Thursday. Bonus points to the first to guess this one right.

Good luck!

 

[N801BH]

Was there a brush fire close by or is the air pollution that bad .

 

[ElPaso Pilot]

Was there a brush fire close by or is the air pollution that bad .

Your second guess would be correct. This was close to noon.

 

[Ghery]

You're not kidding on the size or the lounge.

I filled up at the Cathay noodle bar at Gate 65 just prior to taking those.

Here's the next stop in Taipei (TPE) Taiwan

and some type of ground control ops

That's where I arrive on the 4th (and depart on the 10th)

Here's a more obscure airport from last Thursday. Bonus points to the first to guess this one right.

Good luck!

Shanghai? I've seen air like that there.

 

[ElPaso Pilot]

Shanghai? I've seen air like that there.

Not Shanghai. Was just there too, but forgot to pull out the camera. We actually had clear blue skies in Shanghai for 3 or 4 days straight. The locals didn't quite believe it.

 

[ScottM]

Here's a more obscure airport from last Thursday. Bonus points to the first to guess this one right.

Good luck!

Ahhh Shenzhen!

Glad to see you were there on a clear day.

BTDT for all of the airports and have multiple t-shirts!

 

[ElPaso Pilot]

Ahhh Shenzhen!

Glad to see you were there on a clear day.

BTDT for all of the airports and have multiple t-shirts!

Hey ... that was quick!

We have a winner -- with the shirts!

 

[AggieMike88]

So this is why there are so many Chinese student pilots around KDTO & US Aviation's academy.

(and public props to the tower crew at KDTO for having the patience and putting up with them as they try to remember proper phrasology in a language they're still learning).

 

[denverpilot]

So this is why there are so many Chinese student pilots around KDTO & US Aviation's academy.

(and public props to the tower crew at KDTO for having the patience and putting up with them as they try to remember proper phrasology in a language they're still learning).

Been going on for years at KDVT. Number 12 for the downwind, and no one has any idea what anyone is saying. It's "entertaining" to say the least.

 

[texasag93]

So this is why there are so many Chinese student pilots around KDTO & US Aviation's academy.

(and public props to the tower crew at KDTO for having the patience and putting up with them as they try to remember proper phrasology in a language they're still learning).

They are very patient. I find that if I help them out (delay landings with s turns, do a short field landing and get off of the runway, I get to use the old run up area and get out FAST!)

Those Chinese guys are not the only ones. US trains Indians, South Americans, Aftricans, and I have even ran into some Europeans.

 

[ElPaso Pilot]

There is an huge amount of growth going on in China right now. A Chinese national in Shanghai was telling me last week that that the Americans who claim China is 20 years behind them are mistaken.

He says the Chinese simply observe the long, winding path it took us 20 years to navigate, note our end point, skip all the winding around, and take the 5 year shortcut to get there.

That being said, there are still some big gaps. On my China East flight from SHA, the domestic of the two large Shanghai airports, the forward lav spilled down the aisle at our feet at rotation, and flowed back a good 15 feet on the carpet.

The flight attendants in the rear facing jump seats bolted to the lav were agitated, but seemed not to know what they were authorized to do -- and would not get up to dump towels on it and stop the mess until the fasten seat belt turned off at altitude 10 minutes later. The final solution was to pour a bottle of perfume on the muck and begin to serve lunch.

The woman next to me was doing all she could to keep her breakfast down.


Just before departing SHA to SZX:

 

[ScottM]

There is an huge amount of growth going on in China right now. A Chinese national in Shanghai was telling me last week that that the Americans who claim China is 20 years behind them are mistaken.

He says the Chinese simply observe the long, winding path it took us 20 years to navigate, note our end point, skip all the winding around, and take the 5 year shortcut to get there.

That being said, there are still some big gaps. On my China East flight from SHA, the domestic of the two large Shanghai airports, the forward lav spilled down the aisle at our feet at rotation, and flowed back a good 15 feet on the carpet.

The flight attendants in the rear facing jump seats bolted to the lav were agitated, but seemed not to know what they were authorized to do -- and would not get up to dump towels on it and stop the mess until the fasten seat belt turned off at altitude 10 minutes later. The final solution was to pour a bottle of perfume on the muck and begin to serve lunch.

The woman next to me was doing all she could to keep her breakfast down.

Things are way better now!!! Even with the effluent flowing down the aisles.

In the early nineties a lot of the domestic Chinese airlines were old rented Soviet aircraft and there were no assigned seats. I witnesses fist fights of people trying to get on and have seen take offs and flight that are SRO.

The non-smoking sections were the cleanest ashtrays were, so that is where the smokers liked to sit so they could smoke. Tell a FA about it and get a blank stare. Rules were non-existant.

The old Beijing Control tower radio, yes radio not radios, was a mobile unit with a 12 VDC battery. They upgraded to a power supply in 1991. You see in these picture a lot of construction. China has been on a 23 year construction spree. Many new airports have been built, all with modern facilities.

 

[Pilawt]

In the early nineties a lot of the domestic Chinese airlines were old rented Soviet aircraft and there were no assigned seats. I witnesses fist fights of people trying to get on and have seen take offs and flight that are SRO.

A Russian friend told me that by contrast to American passengers who would be upset if one of the engines wouldn't start at the gate, in Soviet Russia passengers would take up a collection to bribe the pilot to go ahead and take off on one engine.

 

[ElPaso Pilot]

Things are way better now!!! Even with the effluent flowing down the aisles.

In the early nineties a lot of the domestic Chinese airlines were old rented Soviet aircraft and there were no assigned seats. I witnesses fist fights of people trying to get on and have seen take offs and flight that are SRO.

The non-smoking sections were the cleanest ashtrays were, so that is where the smokers liked to sit so they could smoke. Tell a FA about it and get a blank stare. Rules were non-existant.

The old Beijing Control tower radio, yes radio not radios, was a mobile unit with a 12 VDC battery. They upgraded to a power supply in 1991. You see in these picture a lot of construction. China has been on a 23 year construction spree. Many new airports have been built, all with modern facilities.

The only really nasty flight on this trip was the China East A-300. Dirty, stinky, effluent in the aisle, and a flight crew that just wasn't up to Western standards snuff. China Airlines was terrific. Believe it or not, the Japan Airlines 767 I just got off of in Tokyo was the (distant) 2nd dirtiest.

You are correct about the construction. The business contact I met near Shanghai counted 153 building cranes on his 40 minute commute to Suzhou last week. They must have torn down 80% of Shanghai and rebuilt it in the last 15 years.

Anyway, this trip is nearing the end. One of the more interesting I have had in the number of connections and stops.

Cincinnati / Chicago / Shanghai Pudong / Shanghai Hongqiao / Shenzhen / Hong Kong / Macau / Hong Kong / Taipei / Tokyo Narita / Chicago / Cincinnati. Almost looks like a mileage run.

Sitting in the Narita terminal now. I'm ready to be back.

 

[Dr. O]

Just remember, it is our dollars that is doing that
- Bucks not Renminbi -
Every time you buy a pair of Levis, or a custom wallet/handbag, a child's toy, etc. you are paying for their modernization.
In fifteen years it will be the China FAA scolding our airlines for our sloppy maintenance and issuing directives grounding our planes until this or that is corrected - courtesy of your dollars.

Anyway, interesting photos. I hope you made money on the trip for your company, because they did.

 

[astanley]

James Fallows just released an awesome book, China Airborne. While some of the parts are written for a non-aviation audience, it's an amazing read to see how China is trying to modernize their air traffic infrastructure.

China is an amazing place to visit, to work, and participate in their story. Some things aren't all they are cracked up to be, but I love my time there.

http://goo.gl/F6BXq [Amazon.com, "China Airborne" hardcover]

 

[ScottM]

China is an amazing place to visit, to work, and participate in their story. Some things aren't all they are cracked up to be, but I love my time there.

These days I can leave it. But when I first started going there in the Deng Xioping era it was fascinating. Not too many westerners had ever been, there was little in the way for non-Chinese foreigner support. The airport road from Beijing airport to downtown was a two lane road and you ran a gambit of donkey carts. There was only the western restaurants in Beijing of McDonalds and the Hard Rock cafe or as we called it, the embassy. You would still see men in the Mao suits. Communist memorabilia was still for sale in shops and the Friendship store was where the good stuff was at. Two currency too. Foreign Exchange Currency (FEC) and Renminbi (RMB). I still have some FEC too.

I remember having my driving take me into the country one Saturday that I was off and getting stopped by the internal police for not having the right domestic travel permit. Not that I knew I needed one, but $20 worth of FEC and I was on my way. We were headed towards an Army base. Once there we paid to be able to shoot their weapons, AK47, antiaircraft gun, capture Taiwanese M16, etc. It was a lot of fun.

 

[astanley]

These days I can leave it. But when I first started going there in the Deng Xioping era it was fascinating. Not too many westerners had ever been, there was little in the way for non-Chinese foreigner support. The airport road from Beijing airport to downtown was a two lane road and you ran a gambit of donkey carts. There was only the western restaurants in Beijing of McDonalds and the Hard Rock cafe or as we called it, the embassy. You would still see men in the Mao suits. Communist memorabilia was still for sale in shops and the Friendship store was where the good stuff was at. Two currency too. Foreign Exchange Currency (FEC) and Renminbi (RMB). I still have some FEC too.

I remember having my driving take me into the country one Saturday that I was off and getting stopped by the internal police for not having the right domestic travel permit. Not that I knew I needed one, but $20 worth of FEC and I was on my way. We were headed towards an Army base. Once there we paid to be able to shoot their weapons, AK47, antiaircraft gun, capture Taiwanese M16, etc. It was a lot of fun.

I travel to the interior from time to time and it is a vastly different experience, for sure. I spent a few nights in Tunxi last year and it was surreal -- houses near the highway are pristine and modern, but just a few clicks off the road and you are in seriously rural China.

While my experiences aren't the same as yours, I feel similarly about India. India prior to the Commonwealth Games was a very "real" experience, whereas now the cities have become far more Westernized, although they are nowhere near the state of modernization you witness in Shanghai. The rural areas can still be quite trying for all but the most seasoned and adventurous travelers.

Cheers,

-Andrew

 

[Ghery]

Cincinnati / Chicago / Shanghai Pudong / Shanghai Hongqiao / Shenzhen / Hong Kong / Macau / Hong Kong / Taipei / Tokyo Narita / Chicago / Cincinnati. Almost looks like a mileage run.

Ouch. A couple weeks and I start a SEA-NRT-TPE-NRT-BKK-NRT-SEA run. Have to go back through NRT to get from TPE to BKK as UA isn't flying into TPE starting later this month and ANA routes me back through NRT. Should be interesting. 1 week in Taipei then a week in Bangkok. SEA-NRT on UA, NRT-TPE-NRT-BKK on ANA and then BKK-NRT-SEA on UA. It will be interesting to see if I get any better treatment as a 1K than as Premier Platinum. Probably not.

 

[ElPaso Pilot]

Just remember, it is our dollars that is doing that
- Bucks not Renminbi -
Every time you buy a pair of Levis, or a custom wallet/handbag, a child's toy, etc. you are paying for their modernization.
In fifteen years it will be the China FAA scolding our airlines for our sloppy maintenance and issuing directives grounding our planes until this or that is corrected - courtesy of your dollars.

Anyway, interesting photos. I hope you made money on the trip for your company, because they did.

Absolutely true. And we did it to ourselves, insisting for decades on the Walmart low price vs. the local retailer price. Many people talk a good line, but still go and shop for the lowest $$ when they get to the store.

Now, the reality is that American businesses can attempt to market and compete with China, in China, or stick their heads in the sand and wait for them to continue to compete with us on a global scale, because they will and do.

Chinese imports to the US are old news. We ceceded that battle years ago.

There are large and growing consumer markets today in China. Many US brands are available there now, as US companies re-invent themselves. I was in a 5 star Howard Johnson in Shanghai last week. Yes, a 5 star Ho-Jo. Buick is a dominating luxury brand in their rapidly growing auto market. KFC, McDonalds, and Haagen-Dazs (parent: General Mills) are on many street corners. Hiltons and Sheratons dot the large cities.

We need to play hard there, or stay home and get rolled over. There are plenty of other overseas companies waiting to take their business if we don't move.

 

[astanley]

Ouch. A couple weeks and I start a SEA-NRT-TPE-NRT-BKK-NRT-SEA run. Have to go back through NRT to get from TPE to BKK as UA isn't flying into TPE starting later this month and ANA routes me back through NRT. Should be interesting. 1 week in Taipei then a week in Bangkok. SEA-NRT on UA, NRT-TPE-NRT-BKK on ANA and then BKK-NRT-SEA on UA. It will be interesting to see if I get any better treatment as a 1K than as Premier Platinum. Probably not.

There really isn't any difference Plat -> 1K. The jump is at Global Services, and even then it's not huge (except for complimentary upgrades to Global First when capacity is available). Concierge Key on American is a far nicer product except for the lack of upgrades (American verifiably moved a MD-80 from A terminal to C terminal to accomodate my CK friend's late arriving flight; this is something that I doubt UA would ever do)

I have IAD-NRT-MNL-NRT-PVG-PEK-BKK-BLR-MAA-FRA-GVA-IAD coming up in a month. 10 days with 5 overnight flights

 

[Ghery]

There really isn't any difference Plat -> 1K. The jump is at Global Services, and even then it's not huge (except for complimentary upgrades to Global First when capacity is available). Concierge Key on American is a far nicer product except for the lack of upgrades (American verifiably moved a MD-80 from A terminal to C terminal to accomodate my CK friend's late arriving flight; this is something that I doubt UA would ever do)

I have IAD-NRT-MNL-NRT-PVG-PEK-BKK-BLR-MAA-FRA-GVA-IAD coming up in a month. 10 days with 5 overnight flights

OUCH!!! That does not sound like fun at all.

AA isn't an option as they typically won't get me from SEA to where I need to go. UA and *A partners are far more typical for me. Global Services is by invitation only, and I don't travel enough to expect that invitation. Oh well...

 

[astanley]

OUCH!!! That does not sound like fun at all.

AA isn't an option as they typically won't get me from SEA to where I need to go. UA and *A partners are far more typical for me. Global Services is by invitation only, and I don't travel enough to expect that invitation. Oh well...

I'm UA now and it... isn't that much of a change. Same issues, different brand.

GS is basically "spend enough money", where that number is arbitrary. Someone here may disagree with me... but that's how my corporate travel department explained it to me.

Cheers,

-Andrew

 

[Ghery]

GS is basically "spend enough money", where that number is arbitrary. Someone here may disagree with me... but that's how my corporate travel department explained it to me.

Cheers,

-Andrew

That is my understanding, as well. I don't spend the money, my employer does. I just ride. At least I get to keep the miles and "status".

 

[ScottM]

I'm UA now and it... isn't that much of a change. Same issues, different brand.

GS is basically "spend enough money", where that number is arbitrary. Someone here may disagree with me... but that's how my corporate travel department explained it to me.

Cheers,

-Andrew

CK is also all about the money. Harder to get than GS BTW. I know a 10 million miler on AA that still has not seen a CK card.

 

[astanley]

CK is also all about the money. Harder to get than GS BTW. I know a 10 million miler on AA that still has not seen a CK card.

My CK friend was given his access by his company, which I think his company gets based on net spend (but I'm not exactly sure, so I'll take your work for it).

If the level of service is consistent with what my friend receives, it's worth it.

Cheers,

-Andrew

 

[Clark1961]

The rural areas can still be quite trying for all but the most seasoned and adventurous travelers.

I spent three months in semi-rural and rural India back in the early 90s. I'm quite certain it hasn't changed. "quite trying" is an understatement to say the least. Get your shots and take the anti-malarial meds is about all I can say at this point. Dysentery is *not* your friend (although you will lose a lot of weight).