About 3 flights cancelled daily between Singapore and Hong Kong, out of eight
With the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (or some call it the Wuhan Virus) all the rage right now, my original plan of visiting China is now bust, so I was looking at alternative destinations, including Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.
This is when I found that it seems like Cathay Pacific is looking at cancelling some flights.
Cathay Pacific has since come out to say that it will be slashing 90% of flights to Mainland China, and dropping 30% of its services worldwide given the sluggish demand due to the virus.
Cathay Pacific stops selling some flights
While Cathay Pacific has not published the cancellations, I was looking through Expertflyer and notice something rather interesting: Cathay Pacific has zerorised some of the inventory to and from Singapore.
Seems like Cathay Pacific has stopped selling seats on CX710, CX690 and CX636 for 12 Feb 2020
Cathay Pacific runs up to eight flights between Singapore and Hong Kong most days, including one CX712 that operates via Bangkok.
While the airline has not officially reduced capacity between Hong Kong and Singapore, a quick look on Expertflyer seems to suggest that the airline has canceled some flights right up to end of March.
For instance, in the weeks beginning 17 February and 9 March 2020 respectively:
Date
Dep Time
17 Feb (Mon)
18 Feb (Tue)
19 Feb (Wed)
20 Feb (Thu)
21 Feb (Fri)
22 Feb (Sat)
23 Feb (Sun)
CX714
0125
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
CX692
0640
C
C
C
C
CX710
0800
C
C
C
C
C
C
CX658
1000
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
CX690
1255
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
CX712
1405
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
C
CX734
1640
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
CX716
1800
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
CX636
2015
C
C
C
C
C
C
Date
Dep Time
9 Mar (Mon)
10 Mar (Tue)
11 Mar (Wed)
12 Mar (Thu)
13 Mar (Fri)
14 Mar (Sat)
15 Mar (Sun)
CX714
0125
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
CX692
0640
C
C
C
CX710
0800
C
C
C
C
C
CX658
1000
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
CX690
1255
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
CX712
1405
C
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
CX734
1640
Y
Y
C
C
C
C
C
CX716
1800
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
CX636
2015
C
C
C
C
C
C
Note: Y – operating; C – zeroed inventory (likely to be cancelled); blank – not scheduled to operate
Taiwan is now imposing mandatory quarantine for passing through Hong Kong
Taiwan has announced 7 Feb that it will be requiring all passengers passing through Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China – even in transit – to be quarantined for 14 days.
This makes a trip on Cathay Pacific to Taiwan now impossible, given that you will need to change planes in Hong Kong.
Final thoughts
This is certainly only the beginning, as we continue to see more cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus being reported globally.
I expect to see more airlines cancelling more services as people are slapped with travel restrictions, or are simply afraid to travel for the fear of getting the virus.
If you are intending to travel anytime soon, as usual, it’s best to check the status of your flight before you go.
EVA Air / 26 Oct 18 / B777-300ER / BR216 SIN-TPE / Premium Economy class / 22K
This review came as quite a surprise as I never quite planned to travel in EVA Air’s premium economy.
Having planned a weekend trip to Taipei, I had originally booked myself in Economy on EVA Air. When I was checking in, I was told that Economy was overbooked (by almost 20 seats no less!) and that I could pay for an upgrade to Premium Economy if I’d like.
Having not tried the Premium Economy product before, I decided to shell out USD150 (or S$207) for the upgrade to try it out. A tad expensive if you ask me, but given that a return premium economy class cabin typically cost $200 to $300 more than the economy ticket, I thought the price was pretty fair.
The aircraft
EVA Air operates two daily flights between Singapore and Taipei, both using the B777-300ER in a three-class configuration. On some days, you will get the Hello Kitty aircraft, which only made Singapore one of its permanent destinations several years ago.
EVA Air Boeing 777-300ER
On the B777-300ER that I’m on today, there are three classes: the Royal Laurel, The Premium Economy and Economy. You probably guessed it, Royal Laurel is EVA’s term for business class.
A note about EVA Air’s business class: EVA Air has three different names for its business class product across different fleet types. On board its B787-9 and its B777-300ER, the business class is termed ‘Royal Laurel’. On the A330s, they are in a 2-2-2 configuration and coined ‘Premium Laurel’. On its narrowbody fleet (A320s), they are simply called Business Class. So if you ever see any terms, they are all business class in fancy names. Having said that, EVA Air does not have a first class cabin.
I got a window seat, 22K, for my flight today. While economy class was full, the premium economy was only about half occupied. The premium economy cabin was a separate cabin of 56 seats, in a 2-4-2 configuration spread over 7 rows.
The cabin is divided from the business by a thin partition, but separated from economy with a gap that allows passengers to cross between both aisles. There were also two dedicated lavatories for the Premium Economy cabin, which was pretty generous.
The seat
Now, the seat. The seat was surprisingly wide, even though you hear about how premium economy tend to be a rip-off for the price you pay. According to SeatGuru, EVA Air premium economy seats on the B777-300ER measures 19.3 inches across, which was an inch wider than the economy class seat. The seat pitch (the distance between each row) is a good 38 inches, and as I sat down, there was still ample knee room in front of me.
EVA Air Premium Economy seat
For comparison sake, Singapore Airlines’ premium economy seats in B777-300ER measures 19.5 inches across with the same pitch of 38 inches, so it’s comparable.
For a good rest, the seat can recline quite a fair bit. I was pretty tired so I actually had a good hour odd nap on the reclined seat, which was suprisingly good given that I usually can’t sleep on planes.
Beyond the numbers, I had to say that the cabin felt adequately spacious. While I had a seat neighbour, I still feel like I had enough space on all fronts: enough space to stretch out in front of me, and I certainly didn’t feel like my neighbour was always looking over my shoulder.
In-seat
The seat contains an 11-inch entertainment screen with a stowed handset by the side of one armrest, along with a foldable table on the other. Beneath the seat, there is also one power socket per seat, along with a USB port for those electronics that you may want to charge during your flight.
In front of me there was a seatback pocket, containing the usual array of literature, including the safety card, in-flight magazine, and a shopping catalogue. I checked out the shopping catalogue and what caught my eye was their Hello Kitty fleet merchandise.
Inflight magazines and duty free shopping catalogue
\For those who are not in the know, EVA Air has the rights to dress some of their planes in the Hello Kitty designs, and they brought up the experience a notch by also customising the in-flight seats, meals and entertainment to the theme as well. There are only seven such planes that EVA Air operate, and they ply only select routes from Taiwan, such as New York, Tokyo and Singapore.
I decided to try my luck and ask the crew if they were carrying the model aircraft on the flight today, but was told that the Hello Kitty merchandise were only carried on those special flights. How sad!
The service
Premium economy class passengers board as the second group right after business class passengers. While that means while you get to board ahead of most people, that also means you have to sit through passengers passing by you as all economy class passengers have to filter through the premium economy class.
There was no pre-flight beverage, but that wasn’t a problem at all. Given that the economy class passengers have to flow through the premium economy cabin, I don’t see how the crew could get us anything, anyway.
Once we reach cruising altitude, the cabin crew quickly drew the curtains between economy and premium class, making our cabin really private.
The flight time to Taipei was going to be slightly under 5 hours, so that means one meal service. While the cabin crew starts preparing for meals in the galley, some of them also came around offering one round of drinks and some Taiwanese rice crackers. Drinks were served in disposable plastic cups, which was hardly premium but similar to what other airlines do, including Qantas and Singapore Airlines.
Pre-meal drinks
The menu in premium economy is largely similar to economy, with the only enhancement being sparkling wine available in this cabin. The brut served today was the Perelada Cava Stars Brut & Brut, 2015 from Spain, which was pretty alright, but not memorable and definitely nowhere near champagne.
For lunch today, there was a choice between stewed chicken with red date and chestnut, served with rice, or a braised beef pizzaiola with green peas mashed potatoes. I went with the beef.
The meal was served in a single platter, similar to what you get in economy class. As a starter, there was a potato salad (yummy, but I’m not a fan of potato salad), a hot bun and butter, a slice of green tea cake and a fruit platter. Quite a fair bit of food if you ask me.
EVA Air Premium Economy lunch
Now, about that beef. It was a hot mess. For some reason, any protein served in cubes and with sauce, always ends up as a hot mess. I’m not sure this is because of all the movements it has to take from the catering centre to my seat, or is it just meant to be that way. I’d give the presentation a 1 out of 10, although the taste is fairly good.
The cutlery used are metal, which was a relief given that there are still airlines that uses disposable ones.
After a while, the cabin crew came around offering coffee and tea. I was secretly hoping they would dish out ice cream, but none of that was obviously going to happen.
The crew seem to have gotten the pace right on point. Almost right after I was done with my meal and drinks, they came around to pick up the tray, so that we could keep the foldable table away. At this point, I asked for another glass of bubbly (why not?).
The entertainment
By the time lunch was done, we were barely two hours into the flight and there was still a little over two hours more to go. I decided to check out the in-flight entertainment system.
At 11 inches, the screen was reasonably sized. EVA Air also uses a noise cancelling headphones which were pretty decent, but not impressive.
Noise cancelling headphones
The selection of movies sucked though. As an Asian carrier, I would have thought that they would carry a more exciting selection of Asian films, but I was wrong. There was probably less than two dozens Asian movies and most of them were not even recent. I ended up watching Ocean’s Eight, which was about right for the remaining duration of the flight.
Final thoughts
EVA Air serves up a pretty competitive premium economy cabin. As one of the few Asian airlines which had the cabin and kept it there throughout its history since introduction, it is still worthy of a try today. After that short haul flight, I thought this would be a pretty bearable product to spend money on, if I were to travel to US from Asia on my own dime.
EVA Air Premium Economy seat
For a premium economy product to be fully worth its premium, I’d like to see airlines to go up a notch in terms of service.
At present, all major carriers with premium economy simply serve the cabin the same way they do in economy, given galley space and weight constraints, along with crew-to-passenger ratio in the cabin.
While it may not be practical to provide a course-by-course service as you’ll see in business or first class, but perhaps an innovative way of presenting the meal may change the way premium economy is positioned in the market.
For instance, a typical three course meal could be broken down into two: the starter and the main served as one, while offering business class-style desserts.
If you need to try a W Hotel in the city for the first time, this is a good choice
Small but very comfortable rooms by W’s standard
Great proximity to shopping areas at City Hall and Zhongxiao Road
Full spa facilities, including jacuzzis, steam rooms, sauna and even a cold plunge pool
Small pool surrounded by Kitchen Table and Woobar, not a fantastic location
On-property signature restaurant serving up Chinese cuisine
W Taipei, Wonderful Room
Over the weekend that I was in Taipei, I took advantage of W Taipei’s Super Sunday special offer to bag another stay, in order to requalify for my SPG Gold next year.
A little more about the promotion: This is not listed on Starwood’s website, but instead have to found on W Taipei’s offer page itself. When I reserved, the going rate was about NT$5,800 for a night’s stay with breakfast, which is arguably one of the cheapest rate you can get a W hotel stay at. Definitely worth the splurge even if you are usually a budget traveller.
W Taipei is located at the City Hall station along the Taipei metro, in the same building as the Hankyu President departmental store.
The entrance of the hotel is a little hard to find though. If you are arriving from the metro station (a la budget traveller), you will have to get out of the mall and walk around it to get to the main entrance. Otherwise, there is a little side entrance from the mall to the hotel ground floor lobby, but this is only accessible during the mall hours.
Check-in desk
W Taipei technically does not have its own building – it occupies a significant number of floors, including the top floor that houses the signature Yen restaurant and bar. The check-in desks, as well as Woobar, Dining Table and the WET pool are all located on the 8th floor.
The moment you arrive by foot or by car, the friendly front of house guests will offer to take your bags for you and send it straight to your room, while you head up to the lobby to handle your check-in.
As I was an SPG Gold member, I was upgraded to a room with a premium view – the Taipei 101. Note that the room is still a Wonderful Room, just that the Taipei 101 view comes at a higher price than those on the other side of the floor. The front desk also noted that my birthday was around the corner, and offered me a cake to be sent to my room at my preferred time. How thoughtful!
Plenty of water in the room
Upon entering the room, I realise this must be one of the smallest W rooms I’ve ever stayed in. The separation between the bed and the desk against the wall was nominal, and with a couch beside the window there was hardly any space to move around.
The décor remains consistent with the W theme, with its wacky designs and vibrant colours. The bathroom is an open concept one, with hints of Chinese elements such as the wooden stool and the bamboo ladder that serves as a towel rack.
Bath amenities
One good thing I love about the room: there were plenty of bottled water around the room. I feel this is a small but often overlooked detail, so that drinking water is always within reach anywhere in the room. While some people argue that this leads to a higher wastage, but I feel that is the responsibility of the guest rather than the hotel to ensure minimal wastage.
Party room amenities
There were its usual plethora of in-room merchandise and F&B creative packages (which I thought was clever marketing but incredibly annoying), but also several nice touches such as the white noise machine that aids with falling asleep. The bath came with the standard W amenities, including my all-time favourite lemon scented body wash.
Complimentary coffee and TWG tea
After spending some time in the room, I went to check out the gym and the spa, both of which were incredibly delightful. The gym was spacious and well-equipped, and also has a separate room for classes. There were plenty of treadmills (although Taipei city is a great city to run in), as well as barbells and even a smith machine.
Spacious gym, well equipped
If you are living in Taiwan and have a lot of money to spare, the FIT gym is also opened for public membership at NT$150,000 (that’s right, 150 grand) a year. The membership comes with a free night’s stay at W Taipei, 5000 starpoints, a range of discounts, complimentary parking and other perks. There are also group and multi-year discounts as well, check them out here.
Over at the AWAY Spa, there was a full suite of spa facilities in the changing room, including two jacuzzi pools, a cool dip pool, a sauna and a steam room, which was a far cry from what W Bangkok offered.
Jacuzzi
Beyond that, what’s amazing is that there were even lounge chairs for guests to lie on, each complete with its own TV screen if they need a little entertainment.
The WET Pool is located on the 8th floor as well, right next to Woobar and adjacent to the WET bar. The pool is rather large by a city hotel standard, although it can look rather intimidating with deck chairs all around the pool, as well as the Kitchen Table and Woobar overlooking it as well.
During my stay, it was the WET Pool’s monthly pool party (happens every
WET pool
As an SPG Gold member, the hotel also serves up complimentary cocktail hours at both Woobar and the Yen Bar on the top floor, from 5pm to 7pm daily. What’s available on the menu (which are the same at both venues) include prosecco, wines, housepour spirits and soft drinks.
YEN Bar
Along with the drinks, Woobar also serves up free snacks for you to nibble on. However, I personally recommend heading up to the Yen Bar – I can’t describe the view enough, you just have to enjoy a drink while watching the sun goes down, a very pretty sight.
Evening drinks for elite members, 5-7pm
Next morning’s breakfast was at the Kitchen Table, serving up a good mix of local fare and the usual western breakfast offerings. One thing I always love about hotel breakfasts in Asia is the availability of Chinese staples, such as soup noodles or rice and soup.
The Kitchen Table
Today, I had a bowl of cooked-to-order soup noodles with braised meat and shrimps, a good start to a cold morning. Other asian offerings such as dumplings and scallion pancakes were also on the table, which happen to be some of my favourite Taiwanese fares. What was disappointing though was that I could not find luroufan, or braised pork rice. I swear I saw someone in the restaurant having it, but I just couldn’t find it anywhere on the buffet line.
Cook-to-order soup noodles
What was also interesting was the availability of ice cream for breakfast, which I gamely took. (Well, if you can have champagne for breakfast, I don’t see why you can’t have ice cream for breakfast too.) The ice cream proved to be disappointing on scooping, as it was half melted, so I took a bite and threw the rest away.
Udon noodles
Overall, the breakfast was decent but I wouldn’t pay the door rate for the breakfast, as affordable options around the area can be found very easily since this is Taipei.
Even without the promotion, W Taipei turned out to be rather outstanding, packing a lot of punch into the floors that it occupies. The unobstructed view of Taipei 101 also makes it a premier choice for Taipei’s well-known year end countdown parties, given its first class view of the fireworks from the iconic building at the stroke of midnight. All in all, the great Taiwanese service, W design philosophy infused with local flair and premium location adds up to a memorable premium stay on your holiday in Taipei.
