LynnieD

I have a 4:15 pm.m flight from Hong Kong to LAX on Cathay Pacific. What is the best way to get there and how long should I allow? I will be at the City Garden Hotel and will have taken a bus from the airport to the hotel area upon arrival. If the airport express is best for the return, does anyone know if I can check in there and receive my boarding pass?

Do they want you there 3 hours in advance like international departures in the US?

Thanks, I leave next Thursday and can't wait!!
Lynnie

rkkwan

No intown check-in for non-stop flights to the US. Must do it at airport. 2 hours prior will be enough, though 90 minutes may still be okay.

Fastest way is to take taxi to Hong Kong AE station, and take the AE. Most direct is take the A11 bus again. The stop to the airport is on King's Road, not Electric Road. So it's a longer walk and you have to cross King's Road to get to the west-bound side too. Citybus's website has a picture of what the bus stop looks like, right outside the Fortress Hill MTR entrance - after staying at the City Garden, you should be very familiar with the MTR entrance.

rkkwan

Couple of other things -

1. I can't find information on CX or Airport Express' websites right now, but for a long time the two have an offer for discounted AE travel if you have a CX boarding pass. See if there's info in CX's "Discovery" magazine, or ask around.

2. You may also want to consider taking the taxi from the hotel to the airport. You can pre-negotiate a price with the driver, or you can ask your hotel's concierge if he/she knows of special dispatch numbers which you can negotiate a price and a pickup. It will still cost about HK$300 from Fortress Hill, but if you have a lot of luggage, or there are 2-3 of you, then it may be a decent deal. [Airport/hotel shuttles also charge less for city -> airport than the reverse.]

LynnieD

Thanks, rkkwan, I will be alone with only 1 suitcase and a daypack so luggage isn't really an issue.

By the way, what is CX?

I think I will take the taxi to the airport express. Do you think about an hour door to door?

rkkwan

CX is Cathay Pacific's IATA code. That's usually how we refer to Cathay Pacific in short. ["CP" was already taken by the now-defunct Canadian Pacific/CP Air/Candian Airlines.] Your HKG-LAX flight is CX 882.

The Airport Express runs every 12 minutes, and journey time is 23 minutes. Traffic should be okay in the middle of the day from Fortress Hill to Central (<20 minutes), so yeah, an hour would be about right.

LynnieD

Thanks, what would I do without you?

rkkwan

LynnieD - I found the coupon. With a CX boarding pass, you can get a roundtrip AE ticket for a single fare. HK$100 between airport and the Hong Kong station. Might just want to do that instead of the Cityflyer bus.

http://downloads.cathaypacific.com/c...nsport_c01.jpg

Or go to this CX page and click on the link:

http://www.cathaypacific.com/intl/of...110277,00.html

LynnieD

As usual, rkkwah, your advise is the best. I have printed the coupon and am going to take the airport express round trip. Do I just grab a cab at Hong Kong Station to the City Garden Hotel?

A few other quick questions.

1. Do I get the Oyster card at the Airport express desk?

2. Do I need to negotiate with the cabbie or is it a meter system like in the US?

Thanks again, Lynnie

rkkwan

It's Octopus, not oysters. They pick that name because you can use just one card to reach everywhere on various transportation. Not because it's tasty or something...

Yes, you can get the regular Octopus card at the manned booth for AE tickets at the airport. Minimum amount to get a new card is HK$150 - you'll have HK$100 available, and HK$50 as deposite. Return the card at the same booth before you depart HK and get your deposit and remaining value left, minus HK$7.

I think you may be able to use a credit card to get your AE ticket, even the discounted Cathay Pacific offer. But cash only for the Octopus.

Or you can wait until you're in the city, and get it at a nearby MTR station (Fortress Hill is the closest from your hotel). Taxis are cash only.

Yes, just take a taxi from the Hong Kong AE station. Just a few US$. Really not that much.

Or if your luggage is light, you can walk from the AE Hong Kong station to the MTR Central station via an underground connector (pretty long walk, no moving sidewalks), and then take the MTR to Fortress Hill (HK$4.6).

Or take the complimentary Airport Express shuttle H2 to Park Lane Hotel. From there, a taxi ride to City Garden will cost you only about HK$20. [Or take the H1 to the Convention Center and then taxi.]

rkkwan

About taxis -

Yes, it's metered, and drivers won't cheat you. The rate for the city taxis (red) is HK$15 for 1st 2km, and then HK$1.40 for each 0.2km thereafter. The green/blue taxis in the New Territories and Lantau are cheaper. You also have pay toll on bridges/tunnels, except for the 3 cross-harbor tunnels where you need to pay TWO TIMES TOLL. Because of that, as well as traffic, few people take a taxi across the harbor except at late-night.

I've posted often then taxi prices are negotiable. That applies ONLY for fares <b>to</b> the airport, and really long-distance trip. It's illegal for taxi drivers to offer you lower fares, but it's not illegal for you to ask. And of course, no drivers are required to give you a discount - I am just saying it's common for many to do so for a trip <b>to</b> the airport.