Hong Kong

Hong Kong - Jul 2019

LANDSIDE

Very little in the way of views from the terminal. From outside on the departure ramp, either side of terminal some stands can be seen. There are distant views of cargo and some can be read with a decent scope dependent upon heat haze. It would be possible to stand here and watch the runway movements on one side or the other but you may be moved on.

The observation deck is the best place but has limited opening hours. Situated in Terminal 2 on the upper level. Follow signs for the IMAX Theatre. Not the easiest place to find. Open 1100-2200 weekdays and 0930-2200 weekends and costs $hk15. Unfortunately there are no facilities up there and not much shade. There is a 7 eleven in the terminal for drinks and snacks. All movements can be seen with good views of arrivals when landing on 25R. Heat haze can be a problem during the day. At other times it should be possible to read whats on cargo with a good scope. The Biz are parked too far away to identify.

To see the Biz you need to catch two buses. This is very easy with frequent and easy to use buses.

Buses run from outside the airport terminal or, from the Regal Hotel on the ground floor there is a bus stop. Firstly you need a bus going to Tung Chung. There are many bus numbers going there all operating slightly different routes. I took bus numbers N29 and N42A.

From Tung Chung Bus Station you need the S52 bus which you need to get to the Government Flying Service / Executive Terminal and Maintenance centre. Make sure to catch the S52 with Maintenance or AMA from the appropriate bus stop as it also routes elsewhere from here.

The S52 will stop at Cathay City which has a DC3 preserved outside.

The Biz at the executive terminal are blocked by a row of trees / bushes next to the fence. However there are a few gaps to squeeze through and I logged about 15. Nobody who saw me seemed to care less. Just stay away from the entrances to the buildings as security will tell you where to go. Walking a bit further up the road will get you whats on the Government ramp.

There is a bus stop outside the Government Flying building and from here you need to get the S52 bus to the maintenance centre. The hanger behind the bus stop had 3 biz inside with a further 12 on the ramp although several couldn’t be logged as they are parked in a row behind each other. From here you can walk back down the road to get whats parked outside on maintenance and also have distant views of the executive terminal. If you do it early enough before the heat haze and with a good scope some of them can be read.

If they are using the 07 Direction then you can sit on the rocks here with a good view of the action. However there are no facilities.

From here the bus returns back passed the Executive terminal and various stops en route to Tung Chung.

Scenic Hill:

Located near Cathay City. You need the bus stop for Aviation Fuel Tank Farm. This can be accessed by both the bus from the airport or the S52. Walk down the road towards the cable car and turn left at the roundabout. There are steps here leading up past the cable car building and to the top of the hill. Its fairly hard work especially in the heat. However the view is worth it. Fantastic views of the airport and surrounds. All departures went of the near runway so nothing was missed and some stands could be read off. There was shelter and basic seating here which is more than can be said for the viewing area. However no toilets or water so take what you need with you.

The buses only accept the correct change or paying too much. Either have plenty of change or get an Octopus card from the train station at the airport. Each bus costs around 4 or 5 HK$. Octopus cards cost $hk150 including $50 deposit and $100 credit which can all be claimed back when you return it.

AIRSIDE

The Main Terminal is lined with windows so no problem seeing everything. It’s a long walk to see all the gates though. Walking to the end of the main pier, which then branches off either side gives views of a cross taxiway and some stands on the midfield terminal. The cargo are mostly parked nose on and therefore unreadable and the biz are out of sight.

The midfield terminal is probably the best spot. Hong Kong Airlines / Express fly from these gates with a few other airlines. Take a train to the 200.. gates. From here there are views of many remote stands and the various Biz ramps. Many of them block each other but by walking the length of the terminal you can get some different angles. I spent about an hour doing this so you need plenty of time if you need to get back to the main terminal.

If you are departing from 07R then a seat on the right for departure may assist in identifying stuff on maintenance and then the Biz on take off with a camera.

HOTELS

Spent 3 nights at the Regal hotel in 2015. I paid extra for an executive room which was well worth the extra cost. Free access to the executive lounge which is on the 11th floor and overlooks the threshold of Runway 25R. If landing in this direction all arrivals on this runway which is 95% can be seen. If landing 07L then nothing will be seen. The lounge has computers if you want to monitor FR24. There are plenty of rooms facing this direction but if you want a room overlooking the terminal you will need 1140 - 1148 (even numbers) or similar on the other floors. Executive floors are 10 - 12. I emailed the hotel the day before and they had arranged 1148 for me. Arrivals can just be read on an angle as they touch down or you have to pay attention for them taxiing back in as many stands are out of sight. Also if landing 07L then everything can be seen taxiing in. You can probably read about 15% of stands from the room.

The executive rooms includes free breakfast, free water, coffee, soft drinks, cookies, cakes, fruit all day. Free happy hour from 5pm to 8pm meaning free unlimited alcoholic drinks along with a small buffet of snack food. I didnt spend a penny on food and drink for 3 nights. I would just walk down to the lounge, grab a couple of drinks and some food and take it back to the room. They didn't mind.

The other benefit of being on the executive floor is that the rooms are high enough to see across to the departure runway and with a decent scope read traffic going for departure when on 25L - until the heat haze builds up. If they are departing 07R then its too difficult. When I was there they where probably using the 25 direction about 75% of the time.

At night the windows are tinted making it difficult to read stuff. Anything on the stands can just be read off but SBS or FR24 is required for anything else. Internet works well in the room and being Hong Kong they even have English plug sockets.

The Observation deck is a 10-15 minute walk. Its better at night for reading stuff and a lot more stands are visible. Its also a lot better for photos during the day.

I believe you can stay at the Marriot for cheaper but its a lot further away from the terminal. There are good views of arrivals on 25R but I suspect SBS would be required for anything else which I don't use. The Marriot also offers a similar package for executive rooms with access to a lounge including drinks etc.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The Dragonair and Hong Kong Airlines fleets can be seen in a day. Cathay Pacific’s B777s and A350s can obviously be away for long stretches but is it worth spending multiple days here just to see them. Also they operate a lot of flights at night meaning they can be easily missed unless you rely on SBS.

One of the main reasons to visit is for the many bizjets based here and also the Government CL65s and helicopters.

Its also one of the busiest airports in terms of cargo movements with several interesting visitors including SilkWay, Air Bridge, Ethiopian, Saudi, Cargolux etc. Again though, many operate at night making them impossible to read without a reliance on SBS.

If its Chinese numbers you want then you should really go to China. Most of the Chinese airlines fly in here but its only 10% of what you can see in a day in Beijing and won’t even put a slight dent in your Chinese fleets. Hong Kong is a busy airport but its mostly a smattering of everything from all the other Asian countries as well as plenty of European and American Movements. Its mostly stuff you are likely to see again when you visit those countries.

In my opinion its an enjoyable place to watch planes with a good variety but most can be seen elsewhere so its not really worthwhile. A day here is enough to see whats based and most of your time should be spent elsewhere at major hubs. If you haven’t been to China before then forget this place and go to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. You will see hundreds more planes than what Hong Kong has to offer.

Hong Kong to Shenzhen

You can now get a direct bus/minibus direct to Shenzen airport for a price of $200 HK dollars (£20)

Journey time is around 80 minutes with the luxury of not leaving the vehicle at the border crossing

The ticket counters are A17 and A18 on level 5 in the arrivals hall (Next to McDonalds)