In December 2025, I headed home for Christmas to visit family. I live in London and my family lives in Hong Kong, so I had the opportunity to get creative with the cabin products I flew. We also went to Da Nang for a family trip, where I got to try Hong Kong Airlines economy class for the first time (I’ve flown their business class a couple of times). So welcome to the trip report series that came out of this trip, which will cover British Airways’ A350 premium economy, Hong Kong Airlines’ A321 economy class, Greater Bay Airlines’ 737 MAX Premium class, and Japan Airlines’ A350 premium economy, as well as a couple of hotels and airline lounges.
In this trip report introduction, I’ll talk you through the booking process for each of the itineraries that were involved in this trip. I’ll then post the reviews of each individual experience over the coming days.
Booking my journey from London to Hong Kong
I serve at a local church in London, so I knew I wanted to be there on Christmas morning, but leave as soon as possible. Originally, I’d found award space in Cathay Pacific’s new 777 economy class (the same planes that feature their Aria Suite and new premium economy), so I figured I’d try their economy class from London to Hong Kong. I’ve since booked another longhaul trip in their new economy class, so don’t worry.
However, the last time I flew in British Airways’ premium economy was in 2020 – I’d never flown British Airways’ “new” premium economy seat, featured on their A350s and select 777s. So when award space opened up on British Airways’ A350 flight to Hong Kong on Christmas evening, I knew it was time to give British Airways’ A350 premium economy a try.
As a result, I cancelled my itinerary on Cathay Pacific and booked a one-way premium economy flight on British Airways using Asia Miles, which cost 55,000 miles plus US$547 (£400/HK$4,044) in taxes. Sadly this involved the UK APD (a mandatory tax for fares out of the UK in any cabin other than economy class), though I figured it was worth it, given how much I wanted to review British Airways’ premium economy class.
British Airways A350 Premium Economy Class
This straightforward itinerary read as follows:
25/12 British Airways BA31 London Heathrow – Hong Kong dep. 17:55 arr. 14:50+1 (Premium Economy)
Booking my journey from Hong Kong to London
The journey from Hong Kong to London was a little more interesting to plan. Originally I had booked a cheap premium economy fare on Finnair from Shanghai to London via Helsinki, though I ended up moving that ticket earlier, and flying it in November.
Specifically, I’d spotted some award space from Tokyo Haneda to London on American Airlines AAdvantage on Japan Airlines, through Paris. I’d been eyeing opportunities to try Japan Airlines’ flagship A350 premium economy class, to see whether it was one of the best in the world. So when award space opened up, I pounced on the opportunity, redeeming 52,500 American Airlines AAdvantage miles plus £58.90 (HK$628) in taxes.
The Paris to London segment was in British Airways economy, which I won’t be reviewing, since I’ve reviewed British Airways’ shorthaul economy class before.
Japan Airlines A350 Premium Economy Class
In order to fly this segment, I needed to get to Tokyo. While it would’ve been nice to fly Japan Airlines’ 787 premium economy class (and there was award space), I eventually decided against that – instead choosing to fly Greater Bay Airlines’ 737 MAX. Why? At the time of booking the airline hadn’t debuted the 737 MAX yet, and I figured they’d probably be selling upgrades to the airline’s brand new Premium Class at the counter. Sure enough, I was right, and ended up flying Greater Bay Airlines’ brand-new Premium Class from Hong Kong to Tokyo Narita.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class
The overall itinerary from Hong Kong to London read as follows:
06/01 Greater Bay Airlines HB320 Hong Kong – Tokyo Narita dep. 09:05 arr. 14:15 (Premium Class)
07/01 Japan Airlines JL45 Tokyo Haneda – Paris dep. 08:25 arr. 14:55 (Premium Economy)
07/01 British Airways BA315 Paris – London Heathrow dep. 18:30 arr. 18:45 (Economy Class)
Being in Tokyo again was a treat!
I quickly noticed that I’d be flying four Europe-Asia premium economy flights in a row on A350s (China Eastern, Finnair, British Airways, and Japan Airlines). This wasn’t intentional – I’d simply picked the airlines that I most wanted to review in premium economy, which all happened to be on A350s. However, I’m not complaining. The A350 is such a gorgeous aircraft, and so pleasant to fly.
Writing about one Airbus aircraft from another Airbus aircraft (sadly this specific review I was writing wasn’t about an A350)
Booking flights for a family trip to Vietnam
In November, my family and I discussed a range of quick vacations that we could take while I was in Hong Kong. After surveying costs and options, we decided on Danang, located in Central Vietnam. I’ve only ever transited in Vietnam before (between my Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific flights back in 2023), and was definitely keen to properly visit somewhere in the country.
Given that we were checking bags, the most cost-effective way to get there was in Hong Kong Airlines economy class. Hong Kong Airlines operates a single-cabin configuration between Hong Kong and Danang, and I got to check out both their A321 and their A320 in economy class. I’ll only be reviewing the outbound, due to how similar the two legs were.
Hong Kong Airlines A321 Economy Class
Booking hotels for the trip
In Hong Kong, I stayed at home with family, so didn’t book any accommodation there. This left our family’s hotel in Danang, as well as my own hotel in Tokyo Haneda.
In Danang, the Five Villas in Quangnam (part of Vietnamese chain The Five) was offering a huge discount, which our family guessed was because a Luxury Collection property was being constructed next to it at the time of our stay. We were able to score a huge four-bedroom suite for £430.75 (HK$4,582) per night – this was apparently 66% off their normal rate, and was a no-brainer for us. I booked via Avios Hotels, where our four-night stay scored me 17,225 Avios (10 Avios per £1 spent).
I’m not very good at reviewing luxury destination hotels (mainly because I stay at these properties so infrequently, and only do so when with my family), though I’ll attempt a brief review – practice makes perfect, right?
The Five Villas Quangnam Four-Bedroom Villa
During my overnight in Tokyo, I stayed at the Hotel JAL City Tokyo Haneda, specifically in the West Wing (which operates as a separate hotel – the West Wing had the cheapest rates for me). This hotel cost £43.56 (HK$463) for my one-night stay – much more in line with my normal budget.
Hotel JAL City Haneda West Wing Room
I’ll be reviewing both hotels in this trip report.
The lounges I reviewed during this trip
My British Airways flight operated over Christmas, so I didn’t visit any lounges at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, as they closed early (for good reason, and neither of the credit card lounges are great anyway). During our family trip to Vietnam, we spent some time at the AmEx Centurion Lounge Hong Kong which I’ve already reviewed before (so won’t be reviewing this time round), and didn’t visit a lounge in Danang. My Greater Bay Airlines flight also didn’t come with lounge access. I also didn’t visit a lounge in Paris before my flight home (the Priority Pass lounges at that airport suck).
This leaves the two Japan Airlines lounges at Tokyo Haneda that premium economy passengers have access to (these are the same as the business class lounges), which are stacked atop one another. I’ll be reviewing the Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge at Tokyo Haneda, which has longer opening hours and showers, as well as the much quieter Japan Airlines Sky View Lounge, which has nicer decor and is quieter round the clock.
Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge Tokyo Haneda
All of the installments I’ll be writing in this trip report
In summary, I’ll be writing the following reviews in this trip report:
- Flight review: British Airways A350 Premium Economy (LHR-HKG)
- Flight review: Hong Kong Airlines A321 Economy Class (HKG-DAD)
- Hotel review: The Five Villas & Resort Quangnam Danang (Danang, Vietnam)
- Flight review: Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class (HKG-NRT)
- Hotel review: Hotel JAL City Haneda Tokyo West Wing (HND)
- Lounge review: Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge, Tokyo Haneda (HND)
- Lounge review: Japan Airlines Sakura Sky View Lounge, Tokyo Haneda (HND)
- Flight review: Japan Airlines A350 Premium Economy (HND-CDG)
Conclusion
During my trip home to be with family over Christmas, I got to review two A350 premium economy products that I’ve been seeking out for a long time – British Airways’ new premium economy class, and Japan Airlines’ new premium economy class. I also got to fly Hong Kong Airlines’ economy class for a first time, and stay at a couple of cool hotels (in very different ways).
I’ll aim to get these reviews out in the next couple of weeks, which will get me just in time for my next big travel adventure (stay tuned!).
Which review in this series are you most excited for?
