I fly a lot of different airlines when traveling to Asia twice a year, experiencing new aircraft, different cabin crews, etc., but my recent and first time on Hong Kong Airlines Los Angeles (LAX)–Hong Kong (HGK) surpassed many of those experiences. The recent launch of the Airbus A350 and entrance into the United States has been about branding, positioning itself as the younger and newer alternative to legacy carrier Cathay Pacific.

Hong Kong Airlines uses a shared, non-alliance lounge at Tom Bradley Terminal, which sits right above the SkyTeam lounge. It has all the basic drinks and snacks, but I love the view of the bustling terminal best.

The A350 business class has a 1-2-1 herringbone configuration, giving everyone lots of space — especially the window seat. I arrived at my 15A seat and was greeted by the crew with a choice of water or lemon tea. I went with slightly sweet lemon tea. Hot towels, newspapers and menus were promptly offered. As I scoped out my seat, I was interested to see a new handheld remote for the entertainment system that looked and ran like an iPhone, which made choosing movies or shows much easier compared to the old gamer-looking consoles or reaching over your seat. Entertainment choices were decent, with new Hollywood releases.

The menu really caught my eye — the design was unique with cute, cartoon drawings and figures on all the pages, making light of what is normally a boring piece of paper. The items on the menu were also diverse and, more importantly, tasted delicious. My favorite items were the foie gras starters, seafood stir fry and chocolate pancakes.

I am not a good flyer, as I hardly sleep on planes, so a 14-hour flight can seem endless. However, the beyond-friendly and amazing cabin crew totally made my trip easy and fun. It started mid-flight (I was the only one up watching a movie), and they surprised me with a cup of tea and a warm donut (yes, a warm donut). I was so surprised and delighted I gobbled up the donut in minutes! (Okay, seconds.) On my return flight, the new crew also realized I wasn’t sleeping and offered to chat in the galley if I got bored and brought me tea and chocolate. I am not sure how they knew sweets were the way to my heart, but they did.

My overall experience on Hong Kong Airlines was a delight, and I can honestly say I look forward to being back on board. They also have flights out of San Francisco (SFO) and New York (JFK) if you are looking for your next trip to Asia!

— Carly Allen, executive vice president