Hong Kong Airlines has a variety of aircraft including what they refer to as the 33T in the booking engine which is an ex-Emirates aircraft. The airframe itself is pretty old but the interior seating and entertainment systems is new. 

Firstly the good. The seats are clean and relatively new and the entertainment system is one of the best we’ve seen on an aircraft. It’s responsive, even maybe too responsive and the screen is clear, sharp and bright. Hong Kong Airlines doesn’t update their entertainment as often as they used to (budget cuts?) but there’s a good selection of movies and TV and the screen is a pleasure to watch. Legroom is also pretty good, I’m 6’2″ and as you can see from the photos I still had knee space to spare. 

Unfortunately this is where the good stuff ends. The seats are probably some of the most uncomfortable we’ve ever sat on, they’re as hard as a rock. Even on a short flight to Bangkok of two hours they had us squirming in our seats. They are just about bearable for a short flight but I wouldn’t want to be in one of these to Tokyo for example at 4-5 hours. The padding is either minimal or old through use and time. Also of note is that the overhead bins are a smaller and older variety on this aircraft so if it’s busy it could be an issue with space but it is generally unlikely on an A330. 

Finally if you want an exit row plus window be aware that 31H and K have only a partial window view with the seat aligned somewhat in the middle of the window. 

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