| THE ALVIATOR'S VERDICT It's cool to see Greater Bay Airlines introduce a Premium product. While it's not super exciting with economy class-style catering, it can represent great value, especially if you're upgrading at the airport counter. They just need to drastically reduce their upfront pricing, which is extremely uncompetitive right now (they also don't have WiFi, albeit promising it when the 737 MAX aircraft were first delivered) | 3.5 |
In December 2025, Greater Bay Airlines introduced a new Premium Class product onboard their brand-new 737 MAX aircraft. Greater Bay Airlines generally has unique positioning, being the fourth airline based in Hong Kong (and the third competitor, since Cathay Pacific owns HK Express) – although they definitely teeter on the “low-cost carrier” end, they aren’t as aggressive as HK Express. For example, the airline provides 20 kg of checked baggage even on their cheapest fares.
In many ways I find the airline more similar to travelling on Hong Kong Airlines, except for the fact that the latter offers meals in economy (whereas Greater Bay Airlines charges for food). The introduction of Premium Class further clouded clarity of the airline’s position in the market.
So in January 2026, when I had a Greater Bay Airlines flight booked between Hong Kong and Tokyo Narita, I sought an opportunity to review their Premium Class cabin. The experience was pleasant – certainly not worth it if you’re paying some of the cabin’s list prices, though you can get a very reasonable upgrade rate at the airport counter.
Greater Bay Airlines’ 737 MAX Routes
Greater Bay Airlines’ 737 MAX planes are deployed across the network. A few routes are consistently operated by 737 MAX 9s with a Premium cabin:
- Hong Kong – Sapporo (HB8/HB9)
- Hong Kong – Fukuoka (HB2366/HB2367)
- Hong Kong – Male (HB2500/HB2501)
- Hong Kong – Hohhot (HB920/HB921)
Outside of this, the airline occasionally operates 737 MAX 9s to Bangkok, Tokyo, and Taipei. The Tokyo Narita flight was consistently operated by a 737 MAX 9 in January when I flew the route, though this no longer seems to be the case.
(On a tangent, who planned the 3 AM redeye departure time for the Fukuoka flight? This must be one of the worst-timed flights I’ve ever seen for a point-to-point leisure carrier – definitely worse than HK Express’ redeyes to Tokyo.)
Booking Greater Bay Airlines’ 737 MAX
I originally booked an economy class ticket on Greater Bay Airlines. This peak-season ticket cost me HK$1,837 (£173) for a one-way flight, and I actually had to move it back a few days due to a change of plans, where the original ticket for this new date would’ve been cheaper.
Greater Bay Airlines’ website isn’t great, and I particularly don’t like how hard it is to manage your booking, or change your seat after you’ve assigned yourself one. However, the actual booking process is smooth, and you’ll even be given options to pre-order a meal onboard your flight.
The itinerary for this flight was as follows:
06/01 Greater Bay Airlines 320 Hong Kong – Tokyo Narita dep. 09:05 arr. 14:15
In comparison, a Greater Bay Airlines one-way flight in premium economy will cost you HK$7,015 (£662), whereas a roundtrip prices at HK$10,861 (£1,025). This is roughly similar to what Cathay Pacific prices on the route, though you don’t get frequent flyer perks, WiFi, etc..
Upgrading to Greater Bay Airlines’ Premium Class at the Airport
While the list price for Greater Bay Airlines’ Premium cabin is really high, there’s a much better way to get a deal on the product. Greater Bay Airlines allows you to buy an upgrade at the airport counter, subject to availability. You need to do this on the day of departure – even if you drop by the airport counter on a previous day, you won’t receive the special upgrade rates.
I wasn’t sure what availability would look like, so I headed to the airport early, at 6 AM ahead of my 9:05 AM departure. At this point, the airline wasn’t selling Premium tickets on their site anymore. I was closely monitoring availability, and there was a seat available by the time I’d gone to bed, though it had disappeared by the time I woke up.
The airline uses Aisle D at Hong Kong Airport, and the check-in queue was very short, contrary to my expectations.
Greater Bay Airlines Check-in Counter at Hong Kong Airport
While Greater Bay Airlines ran promotional rates until January 31, 2026, as of now you’ll still get competitive rates when upgrading to Premium at the counter:
- short routes to Taipei, Manila, Bangkok and the Chinese mainland now cost HK$700 (£66) per person
- flights to Kuala Lumpur, Phu Quoc, and the Japanese “mainland” now cost HK$1,200 (£113) per person
- flights to Sapporo and Jakarta now cost HK$1,700 (£160) per person – I’d assume Malé, Maldives would fall here as well
While I wouldn’t call this a steal, upgrades at the airport counter are charged at a significantly more reasonable rate than the airline’s own list prices. Given the length of these flights (up to 5.5 hours), I think £110-160 per person is a fairly average upgrade cost for a regional flight within Asia.
Greater Bay Airlines Upgrade Pricing at Hong Kong Airport
Since I had seen zero availability on the website, I was surprised that upgrades were available – I was even given my choice of seat, and told that no one else was currently booked into the cabin. Since my flight was in January 2026, I received a promotional rate of HK$900 (£85).
The check-in agent at the counter was unfamiliar with the process, though once she called her supervisor over, he was able to easily process my upgrade.
Greater Bay Airlines Upgrade Receipt at Hong Kong Airport
If you’re looking to fly Greater Bay Airlines’ Premium class, this is the way I’d do it.
Greater Bay Airlines Ground Experience at Hong Kong Airport
Greater Bay Airlines doesn’t have any ground perks apart from priority boarding – namely, there’s no lounge access. However, on behalf of my AmEx Platinum card and Priority Pass, I had the option of using a plethora of lounges at the airport. I ended up having a coffee at the AmEx Centurion Lounge, before catching this beautiful sunrise at an adjacent gate.
Sunrise at Hong Kong Airport
Greater Bay Airlines uses the Midfield concourse at Hong Kong Airport, located by gates 201-230. In this case our flight was leaving from gate 210. So ahead of our stated boarding time of 8:25 AM, I took the train over, and very quickly found the Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX situated by our gate.
This was B-KWA, the airline’s first 737 MAX 9, which made its inaugural passenger flight in late November 2025. The airline now has two 737 MAX aircraft. While I’ve flown some 737 MAX 8 aircraft before, this was also my first time on a 737 MAX 9.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX at Hong Kong Airport
The gate area wasn’t particularly busy, even as we neared boarding time. As the gate agents set up boarding, there was a separate boarding lane for rows 1-2.
Greater Bay Airlines Boarding Gate at Hong Kong Airport
We were lined up at around 8:20 AM, though boarding didn’t start until 15 minutes after that. During this time, I noted that I was the only person in the priority boarding lane – and wondered whether I’d have the cabin to myself. (This didn’t end up being the case.)
Boarding started at 8:35 AM, and I was let through to board our brand new 737 MAX! After Premium class, the rear half of the plane was boarded, followed by the front half.
Greater Bay Airlines Flight HB320
Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Origin: Hong Kong (HKG) Gate: 210 Dep: 09:05 (09:10)
Destination: Tokyo Narita (NRT) T: 2 Gate: 67A Arr: 14:15 (14:00)
Duration: 4 hr 10 min (3 hr 50 min)
Aircraft: Boeing 737 MAX 9 Reg: B-KWA
Seat: 2A (Premium Class)
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Cabin and Seat
Greater Bay Airlines’ 737 MAXs feature eight Premium Class seats. These are very standard recliners in a 2-2 configuration – in fact, they’re very similar to what you’ll see in business class on most regional carriers within Asia.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Cabin
While the cabin itself was standard and bare-bones, I was a fan of the cabin colours, which seemed fresh. This is the Safran Z600 seat, which you’ll find on United, Malaysia Airlines, Breeze Airways, and more.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Cabin
When my upgrade was cleared and I was asked for my seat preference, I just expressed a preference for a window seat. I was thrilled to receive 2A, a window seat in the back of the cabin, just in front of the bulkhead. This is my seat preference, especially when I’m in a recliner seat, as I can recline without worrying about the person behind me.
The seats have a comfortable amount of recline, and feature both a fold-up legrest and a fold-down footrest. I really like the way that this seat “cradles”, in that the seat pan pushes forward when you recline – this means that even if I were to be sat in row 1, if I reclined, I wouldn’t intrude as much into the space of the person behind me.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Seat 2A and Recline
The seats feature 40″ pitch, and have a generous amount of legroom, in line with some of the better premium economy seats out there.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Legroom
While I found the footrest to be comfortable, you may enjoy it less if you’re very tall. There’s also a frame that impedes legroom slightly, though that’s not much of a problem, since you can just angle your legs slightly to the left.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Footrest
Greater Bay Airlines doesn’t feature inflight entertainment, so all that was featured in front of me was a tablet holder. The holder featured a lip that folded down, though could still hold a smartphone (though you’d have to be careful not to let it slide into the hole, so I think the design of this could’ve been improved slightly).
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Tablet Holder
The seat controls were intuitive, and manually controlled.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Seat Controls
In terms of storage, the biggest compartment was an area underneath the left armrest. This was handy for a phone, AirPods, glasses, etc..
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Storage Compartment
There was also a water bottle holder between seats, though that didn’t seem too practical, as even a water bottle could very easily slide out.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Water Bottle Holder
I perhaps would’ve had wanted to see a small secondary storage nook under the tablet holder, as the tablet holder seemed to take up an unnecessary amount of space for its size.
In terms of in-seat power, these brand-new 737 MAXs have USB-A, USB-C, and 110V power ports.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Charging Ports
The tray table folded out of the right armrest, and was sturdy. The table also featured a little flip-up tablet holder, which was an adequate size for a phone (though not very sturdy). I found the “starry night” pattern on the tray table to be interesting as well.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Tray Table and Tablet Holder
This isn’t a particularly remarkable seat, and I’d ultimately prefer Cathay Pacific’s premium economy for the entertainment system. However, I was happy and comfortable, and found the value good considering the modest upgrade cost. I would’ve felt differently if paying >£650 for a ticket on a four-hour one-way flight, though.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX “Preferred” Economy
Since I was in the last row of the Premium cabin, I peeked at the economy cabin. Greater Bay Airlines’ 737 MAX 9s feature 189 economy class seats. The first five rows are marked as “Preferred” seats and have adjustable headrests, which is a plus. All seats feature USB-A and USB-C charging (though no 110V ports).
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Economy “Preferred” Seats
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Ground Service
While only I boarded at the beginning of the boarding process (and genuinely thought I’d have the cabin to myself for a while), passengers slowly started settling into the Premium cabin. Before I knew it, every seat was filled, with the seat next to me being the last to be occupied.
Greater Bay Airlines has one boarding music track, which is a dance track of sorts. It was fun to hear on the first go, though started getting a little repetitive after it was played on loop.
The cabin crew made an announcement welcoming everyone onboard, even saying “we are now offering a trial to Premium class –” before pausing, realising that the cabin was full.
In terms of ground service, the airline doesn’t do pre-departure beverages. However, after boarding was complete, I was welcomed by name, and my meal order was taken – I was even asked whether I wanted to have it. Yep, Greater Bay Airlines does dine-on-demand in regional Premium class!
Shortly after this, we were handed a little luggage tag, which was presented in a nice pouch (I initially thought it was an amenity kit). I don’t know if Greater Bay Airlines gives these out to all Premium passengers all the time, or whether we just received this as an introductory gift.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Baggage Tag
Taking off from Hong Kong Airport
The captain came onto the PA at around 9 AM, shortly after boarding was complete (meaning that boarding took around 20 minutes for this 197-seat 737 MAX 9). He mentioned our flying time of 3h 30m, our cruising altitude of 35,000-37,000 feet, and mentioned that the weather was fair. He said that we were just waiting for some final procedures, and were good to go. This was followed by a PA announcement from the cabin manager.
At 9:10 AM we pushed back, saying bye to the (tattered) Hong Kong Airlines A330 that we were parked next to.
Hong Kong Airlines A330 at Hong Kong Airport
We were taking off on runway 07C, which doesn’t take long to get to from the Midfield Concourse. So it was a 10-minute taxi to the runway, where we saw a HK Express and Hong Kong Airlines A320 (hello, competitors!), as well as some views of parked aircraft in maintenance in the distance.
Taxiing at Hong Kong Airport
We were cleared for takeoff at 9:25 AM, and our takeoff roll started with a clear view of the airport’s Terminal 2, which is currently under construction.
Taking off from Hong Kong Airport
Shortly after this, we were treated to great views of Hong Kong. These would’ve been marginally nicer on the right side (see this review where we took off on the same runway), though our climbout still afforded great views of mountainous northern Hong Kong on this clear day.
Taking off from Hong Kong Airport
The seatbelt sign was turned off at around 9:40 AM, 15 minutes after takeoff. At this point, the crew came to draw curtains between the premium and economy cabins.
I had gotten to the airport quite early, so was ready for a nap at this point. So I reclined my seat and napped for a bit, and was woken up by my meal being served.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class WiFi
While Greater Bay Airlines once promised that free WiFi would be introduced onboard their 737 MAXs, they did initially say that they were waiting for regulatory approval on it. Since then, they’ve gone quiet about WiFi entirely – it seems to have dropped off their “737 MAX inflight experience” page.
WiFi was not featured or mentioned on my flight. I reckon if the airline actually had working complimentary WiFi, they’d be a much more competitive option, especially compared to other low-cost/leisure carriers. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case in the near future.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Meal
I asked to have my meal right after takeoff, and sure enough, the meal was served 30 minutes after wheels-up. Greater Bay Airlines offers a free meal and free-flow drinks to Premium passengers. Not the full menu is up for grabs – the airline gives four complimentary options to choose from, which to be fair, is a very generous selection for a short flight.
There was no menu, but the selection of the day was as follows:
- Baked pork chop rice (cha-chaan-teng style)
- Lasagna
- Chicken and Chinese sausage pasta
- A vegetarian rice dish
I opted for the baked pork chop rice. This was presented not very glamorously, though very reminiscent of how you’d receive it at a cha chaan teng in Hong Kong. Apart from the fact that I was addressed by name, the meal was otherwise presented as it would’ve been if I bought it in economy – with wooden cutlery and in an aluminium casserole, with some palmier biscuits on the side. However, the flavour delivered – this tasted delicious.
I was sleepy so declined a drink, though red and white wine were on offer, as well as soft drinks.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Meal – Baked Pork Chop Rice
While delicious, I will say that this is a very similar presentation to what I’d expect in a good intra-Asian economy class product on a full-service carrier.
The meal was collected very quickly – not very long after I had finished. After this, I was offered ice cream, which was given to me after my tray table was cleared. Greater Bay Airlines serves ice cream from a local Hong Kong brand, Bonne Nature. In this case I picked pandan ice cream, though other flavours include Varlhona vanilla chocolate (31%) and dark chocolate (62%), as well as café latte.
I appreciate that a local brand is being highlighted here, though would’ve wished the ice cream wasn’t rock hard.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Pandan Ice Cream
Since the airline prices this product similarly to Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines’ premium economy, I’m going to evaluate the meal service presentation according to those standards. I appreciate the four choices available and the local-brand ice cream on offer, and I’ve consistently had good experiences with catering onboard Greater Bay Airlines. However, it goes without saying that the catering presentation is much sloppier and more economy-style than on either of these airlines.
As someone who upgraded to this product for HK$900, though, I wasn’t complaining at all.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Service
One area of the experience that pleasantly surprised me was how polished the service was in Greater Bay Airlines’ Premium class. I got the sense that a very high level of detail was incorporated into the cabin crew training for this product.
For example, after we boarded, the cabin crew came round to greet everyone by name, and even asked when we wanted our meal to be served during the flight. During the meal service, they once again addressed us by name when handing us our meals. The crew themselves didn’t seem the most energised or excited to serve passengers, though overall they left an impression that this was a very polished product.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class Lavatory
On this flight, passengers from economy class were welcome to use the Premium lavatory, despite the fact that the curtains were drawn between cabins. This means that 197 passengers shared three lavatories, making it a 66:1 passenger to lavatory ratio.
The lavatories themselves are the standard small 737 MAX lavatories, which have tiny sinks.
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Lavatory
66:1 isn’t a great passenger to lavatory ratio, and this caused a bit of commotion during the end of the flight. A long queue formed for passengers to use the forward lavatory, and at one point the crew had to turn passengers away, saying that they could use the lavatory after landing. One passenger was even in the lavatory during our final approach, and the crew knocked on the door asking him to hurry up, saying that we’d otherwise have to turn around. I don’t think that would’ve been very relaxing!
Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Lavatory Queue
Landing into Tokyo Narita Airport
At 1:15 PM Tokyo time, the captain came onto the PA to announce that we’d be getting to our gate at 2 PM, also detailing the clear weather in Tokyo. The seatbelt sign was turned on 10 minutes after this, and pre-landing checks were done – at this point, there was still a long queue to use the forward lavatory.
At this point I had a view of Mount Fuji in the distance. I know some flights get way closer to Mount Fuji than our one did (particularly when landing into Haneda), though I really enjoyed the chance to see it!
Seeing Mt. Fuji on the way to Narita Airport
After some commotion and frantic knocking, all passengers were finally seated at 1:45 PM, as we made our final approach into Tokyo Narita. I enjoyed the views over Kukujuri Beach, especially given that the weather was immaculate.
Landing into Tokyo Narita Airport
We touched down on runway 34R at 1:50 PM, 25 minutes before our scheduled arrival time. From there we taxied over to gate 67A, tailed very closely by a very similarly timed regional Cathay Pacific 777 (I used to frequent the Hong Kong to Tokyo Narita route as a kid, so am really familiar with the flight times, which haven’t really changed over the years – I’d flown the 9:05 AM Cathay Pacific frequency many times before!).
Landing into Tokyo Narita Airport
Immigration was a breeze, and I hopped onto a bus heading to Haneda. I’d booked my airport hotel near Haneda as I’d be departing out of there early the next morning, though after dropping my bag off at the JAL City Haneda Hotel (which I’ll be reviewing next), I ended up having enough time to have dinner and get a gift in the city as well.
Conclusion: Greater Bay Airlines 737 MAX Premium Class
My flight on Greater Bay Airlines’ Premium class was extremely pleasant. If I were to rate it based on how much my ticket price was, I’d call it very good value for money. Greater Bay Airlines has a comfortable seat, the food tastes good, and I was impressed by the polished service. I’d say that this is worth the extra HK$1,200 on a four-hour flight (or for the airport counter upgrade charges listed above).
However, if the prices were equal, there’s no way I’d choose this product over a legacy airline’s premium economy product, such as Hong Kong-based competitor Cathay Pacific. Cathay Pacific has a seat that’s just as good (I actually marginally prefer Cathay’s), inflight entertainment, WiFi (which is now free for Cathay members in premium economy), better presented catering, and you get frequent flyer points and perks from your flight as well. Even if Cathay (or equivalent carrier)’s premium economy wasn’t an option, I’d still rather fly Greater Bay Airlines’ economy class on these short flights than pay full-price for their Premium cabin, which are exponentially cheaper when booking upfront.
What I think Greater Bay Airlines needs to do is drive down their upfront pricing to be more similar to their airport counter pricing, and undercut legacy carriers’ premium economy products. That way, they’d be a compelling option for me. For now, I’d only recommend Greater Bay Airlines’ Premium cabin if you manage to get an upgrade deal at the airport counter.
Have you flown Greater Bay Airlines’ Premium Class before? What did you think?
