[Flight Report] CX Jakarta - Hong Kong

Lunch-time traffic from the city wasn't too bad. There were some bottlenecks along the way, but the taxi pulled into the airport in well under an hour. Luckily it didn't rain. I had heard it would take up to 3 hours if traffic backed up. There was a huge line through security to get into the check-in area, which is sanitized from the public and supposedly for departing passengers only. The plane ticket check wasn't so rigorous and after I got through, it was a breeze into Cathay's counters.





There were long lines at immigration but it moved steadily and I emerged air-side in the shopping mall section of the terminal in no time. I flew domestic out of this airport last year, and noticed the international section was a bit nicer with many duty-free shops but not so many restaurants. Unfortunately, air-conditioning was very weak inside the 3 restaurants we went into, with the first two either not having seats left or stopped serving lunch already at 1pm.







I tried to enjoy some plane spotting while eating lunch sweating. Hey, my inbound flight arrived on time!





At boarding time, I was surprised the screens turned to "Final Call". Apparently. there are checks further down to the gate, with the security X-ray scans followed by another bag check just before boarding.









We actually pushed back a bit ahead of schedule. Economy seemed full again today.









The rain had stopped and blue skies emerged in a pocket of reprieve. We quickly banked right after take-off for a U-turn northbound.













The pilots steered around the tall clouds as we were served nuts and drinks.





We skirted the western part of Borneo and exited the island near Kuching into the South China Sea.









I decided to skip lunch after grabbing a bite at the airport. The flight's timing is a bit awkward to eat - too late for lunch and too early for dinner. Sunset came and went and we landed just ahead of schedule. It was cold : 12C, and dark, which made this environmental advertisement a bit obsolete.



More photos from the flight : http://www.globalphotos.org/cgk-hkg.htm
More photos from Jakarta : http://www.globalphotos.org/jakarta.htm

The design of the Jakarta terminal is a nice break from the ubiquitous "glass and steel" construction.
Blends in well with the greenery and a functional shield from the tropic sun and rain.
It looks more a like a resort hotel or shopping mall than an airport.

But that plane needs a good wash!