Review of China Eastern flight Shanghai Hong Kong in Business

Airline China Eastern
Flight MU505
Class Business
Seat 8A
Aircraft Airbus A330-300
Flight time 02:30
Take-off 03 May 15, 16:35
Arrival at 03 May 15, 19:05
MU 173 reviews
NGO85
By SILVER 6329
Published on 21st May 2015
Background:

This is continuing my series on a recent trip down to Hong Kong during Golden Week to visit a good friend (and a small amount of work to justify the trip).

Now onto the problems that I had with this flight… This ticket was booked in January and this flight should have been MU509, operated by an Airbus A321, which departs at 15:30 and arrives at 17:55. Sometime in March, MU started changing their flight schedules and MU509 got rescheduled to a 13:25 departure and 16:05 arrival. Since this flight change would have left me with a 90-minute layover in PVG, I automatically got bumped from the flight. The airline never informed me of this, but when I would log into MU’s pitiful website (this thing has bare-bone English options and is not user friendly), I pulled up my itinerary in mid-March and found this:

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I had to do this all in Chinese, so I apologize if you can’t read this. The second line shows that my flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong has now vanished; it states I have an I fare class ticket, but there is no PNR for this flight. The red text on the far right means the ticket has been reissued (every single one of these segments had some sort of flight time change). The same story is found when I check the validity of my ticket on China’s TravelSky website:

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MU has a ticket office in downtown Nagoya, but its hours are incompatible with my schedule (this is not something I can easily discuss over the phone). So, I stopped by the MU counters at NGO when I was travelling to Hakodate. The JL agents that run the MU check-in counters were equally confused, but could only access information for the current day’s flights. They called the MU office, but could only tell me that I had a confirmed seat on “a” flight. I decided I wasn’t going to stress over it and just let it be a surprise on the day of, what can possibly be more exciting than a mysterious itinerary with MU…

At check-in at NGO on the day of, I found out that I would be on MU505 (Airbus A320) and not MU509 (Airbus A321). This meant a long layover in PVG, but I retained my window seat so I wasn’t going to complain too much since I really didn’t have any plans that day in Hong Kong other than a late dinner with my friend that wouldn’t be affected by this flight time change. So this leaves me with the following final routing:

Part 1 – NGO-PVG [MU 2692, Boeing B737-800, Business] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-10164.html
Part 2 – PVG-HKG [MU 505, Airbus A330-300, Business] – You are here
Part 3 – HKG-PVG [MU 724, Airbus A320, Business] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-10460.html
Part 4 – PVG-NGO [MU 291, Airbus A320, Business] – http://flight-report.com/en/report-10515.html


Pre-flight:

After clearing international transfers and security in record time in the bowels of PVG, I take the escalator back up into Terminal 1. The big open terminal is eerily quiet despite the large number of people milling about the duty free shops.

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I take a quick break at an empty gate. The seating areas have these charging stations conveniently placed along with instructions for accessing PVG’s free WiFi, which I was never able to figure out. I think you can swipe your passport somewhere to get a password like at PEK, but it seemed like too much work at the time, so I just took a picture of my lounge invitation card (received at the international transfer desk) before heading off to the lounge. I later found out they use the lounge cards in order to know which flights to announce in the lounge.

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The lounge situation at PVG is extremely confusing. There is no central lounge, there are all these small lounges numbered by gate. I see lounges marked for Gates 21 and 22, so I head there. To get to the lounges (located on the floor below), you have to act like you are boarding a plane and take the escalator down to the jetbridge at your gate.

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My gate shows that my flight is still on time. Looking out at the tarmac, there is a MU A332 parked at my gate about to leave for CJU. Also a KE A333 and SK A343 taxing in the distance.

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The gate agent doesn’t even look up as I walk through and head down the escalator to where all the jetbridges are. Getting to the bottom, we can see we have JL and AF lounges also in the area. I head towards the Gate 21 Lounge.

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Walking into the lounge, the agent looks at my card and tells me that I need to go to the Gate 22 Lounge…. What? This makes absolutely no sense, but I do as I’m told. As far as I could tell Gate 21 and Gate 22 Lounges are both MU business class lounges so not sure what the difference is.

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After that rejection, we turn and head towards the Gate 22 Lounge. I’m curious to see what Gate 20 and 19B Lounges have as well.

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So… arriving at the Gate 22 Lounge, if you look closely it says it’s a “First Class Lounge.” You’ll see why that’s funny in just a minute. Entering the lounge, the agent takes my card and my boarding pass. Records my flight number and then hands me back my boarding pass and lets me enter.

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Right as you enter, there is a magazine rack with a mixture of English and Chinese magazines. There is a coffee machine, some liquors, and a wine (yes, singular) that are all self-service despite it being at a bar. There is the food area next. There are some “refrigerators” (I use this term loosely since everything I grabbed out of there was room temperature) that contain water, juices, beers, soft drinks, sandwiches, and fruit. There were four hot buffet stations each with two items. They were being pillaged at the time by these hungry ladies, so no photos, but it looked like something you would get at a Chinese buffet restaurant. I didn’t partake in these offerings. There were also some soups and instant noodle packets to the right of the buffets. I tried to be quick with the photos since I had a feeling a “no photo” was going to be coming soon.

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A view of the entrance from the middle of the lounge and from my seat.

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The other side of the lounge had the restrooms (of moderate cleanliness) and more sitting areas. The furniture is in really bad condition and the room was hot (around 25C). It is pretty disgusting to see these kinds of stains on the chairs; I had to pass on 4-5 empty seats until I found one that I felt comfortable sitting on. The furniture is all chipped and broken.

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Your FRist’s first offering (I was in this lounge for 3 hours). Fruit was good (actually rotated what was available, later in the day we had dragon fruit and watermelon).

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I spent the three hours doing some work. My second offering was where things got dicey. This salad was prepared yesterday; I thought it better not to partake in this offering since I didn’t want to spend the night curled up next to a toilet.

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Boarding pass and corporate shots.

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About 30 minutes before the boarding time, I got up and left the lounge to take a lap around the airport to stretch my legs and do some spotting. I take a walk back to my gate (Gate 21) and see this A330-300 parked there. Hmmm, my flight was supposed to be on an A320. I guess it will be a paxbus for us.

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Continuing my walk, there is a beautiful DL B744 boarding for its flight back to DTW with a KL B744 parked at remote stand in the background. She deserves three pictures.

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No surprise, but there are a lot of MUs milling about. Here is an A321 taxing by with some A330s in the distance.

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80s control tower shot.

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Raise your hand if you are surprised to see this.

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There wasn’t a whole lot going on at Terminal 1 so I take the escalator back up to the main concourse. Here is a FIDS shot. My flight is still on time. Ohh, a flight to NGO, it’s not too late to bail on this trip.

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Some more terminal shots showing how empty this place was. It was really strange to see this, I was expecting a much more crowded airport on a Sunday afternoon.

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Back at my gate, the A333 is still parked there, but on the other side of the plane are these ominously parked VIP buses with a MU A320 visible at a remote stand getting catered. At this point, I still didn’t know what aircraft I was going to have on this flight. Was it going to be paxbus to a lowly A320 or a fortuitous aircraft swap to an A333?

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——————————-

China Eastern Airlines, MU505
Equipment: Airbus A330-300 [B-6095, delivered July 2007]
Departure: 16:35 (ATD: 16:51)
Arrival: 19:05 (ATA: 19:03)
Flight time: 2:12

Boarding is called on time and priorities are strictly enforced. After passengers needing special assistance, all ST Elites and Business Class passengers are boarded. We take the escalator back down to the jetbridge and it is now we can confirm our ride for this short haul down to HKG. It will be this MU A333 in old livery. It’s always exciting to get an aircraft swap when it is a wide-body!

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Like a little kid on Christmas day, I start to get really excited in anticipation for this flight as we head down the HSBC jetbridge to our bird for the night. The passengers ahead of me all veer off to Y, so I will be the first to board in J.

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Boarding, there are three smiling FAs there to greet me in the galley. One takes my boarding pass and walks me to my seat. Jokes on her, I stop to take the cabin shot so she looks back with a puzzled look as she gestures to my seat.

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Views of the cabin from my seat. It will be the old angle lie-flat product on this flight, but considering what seats the A320 has, I’m not going to complain for a 2-hour flight. This plane is 8-years old, but the cabin looks to be in pretty good condition and is clean.



Here is my seat for the next 2-hours. Preplaced on the seat are blankets and long-haul pillows. Headphones were preplaced in the side storage area.

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The FA gives a little giggle at my photography session, takes my backpack and puts it in the overhead bin, and then asks me what I want to drink for my pre-departure beverage. She returns from the galley with an orange juice and an oshibori on a platter.

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The pillow is really nice for a short flight and I like the pattern. The blanket is nasty, I can’t stand the fabric they use, this thing must be flammable or something. If this is the blanket they provide for long-haul, that is unacceptable.

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We have personal IFE, screen is about 12 in (30cm) in my estimation. In the middle, are located these reading lights that are pretty useless. On the left armrest is located the seat controls. Under the center console is the remote control for the IFE, audio and power adaptors (no USB), and a little storage area (headphones were preplaced in here). Here you can start to see some wear and tear on these old seats.



There is no underseat storage, but the seat pitch is good at around 60 inches. My first cabin mate has arrived. The load in J on this flight will be 6/38. Clearly the aircraft swap was not to meet premium cabin demand… but the bonus is we get 4 FAs for 6 passengers, so service ‘should’ be very good.

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The FAs then came through the cabin with a trolley offering slippers, newspapers, and menus. The slippers come in a nice shoe bag and are quite classy (I have three pairs for home use from this trip, part of the NGO85 leisure collection) as showcased by your hand and foot model.

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Our FA is starting to take orders so I better quickly photograph this menu before lagentsecret starts to give me a scolding for not taking pictures. Inside is a separate drink menu. This menu includes all sorts of menus for different regional routes. It looks like this offering is the same for PVG-TPE flights. We will have a dinner service with two Chinese and one Western offering, but the appetizer is the same for all options. The wine list will make the French readers cry, two reds and a white on offer.



The doors close and we start our safety demonstration as we push back at Gate 21.

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Now that the jetbridge is gone, I can see this beauty parked next door, who is going to push back right after us.

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Our ground crew waves us goodbye.

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Ohhh, an A380 in French UPC code livery.

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The taxi was pretty blind so nothing to spot from my side of the plane. During the taxi, the FA asks the person behind me to put his seat back in the upright position. After the FA walked away, he reclined it again (I could hear the motor of the seat). The FA came through again, noticed he reclined it, and asked him to put it in the upright position for take-off again, he mumbles something in Chinese and then puts it back up. As soon she walks away to take her jumpseat, I can hear the motor going again as he reclines once more. Some people just show no respect. Taking our spot as number 3 in queue for take-off we can see some planes finally.

Home to YYZ? An AC B788.

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OZ B744 heading back to ICN.

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It’s now our turn, we align and head for a western departure. We lift up giving nice aerial shots of PVG.

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We make a U-turn over the hazy brown Huangpu River to make our run back towards the coast before rising up over the clouds.

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A quick break to introduce the seat-back contents. Two-sided safety card for this A330. Also included is this customs card outlining the banned customs items. No MU magazine, only this Golf Era magazine…



The FAs are released, immediately dim the cabin lights and start closing all the window shades. I can hear Marathon and lagentsecret grumbling in the distance at this sight. There was nothing to see outside so I oblige and close my window shades.

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The IFE gets switched on. Screen quality isn’t great (not surprising given the age of this seat), but the content is the same as on the previous flight. There is very good selection available and I quickly continue watching the TV episodes I was watching on the last flight.

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Moving map is also retro-style, but it does show me where I am so I’m happy. We are here when the dinner service starts.

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The FA comes out, opens my tray table and lays down a table cloth and sets down an oshibori on a tray.

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She then returns with my aperitif, a cup of longjing tea, and a packet of mixed nuts (didn’t make the photo for some reason). She also brings me the arrival documents for Hong Kong (pen provided by NGO85).

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About 5 minutes later, she returns with my meal tray. I opted for the deep-fried shrimp in wasabi cream sauce. Hmm, this doesn’t look like deep-fried shrimp to me; they are more like steamed balls of minced shrimp. And this sauce does not look like wasabi cream sauce since there is no heat to the sauce and it has pineapples in it. Despite this deviation from the menu, I thought the shrimp balls were moist and the sauce was actually very good tasting. Not a big “wow” offering, but it tasted good so that wasn’t a big miss. The vegetables looked and tasted good. The pasta appetizer is just weird for a Chinese menu, I don’t care for pasta salads, and I thought this was edible, but very mediocre. Bread was offered and I took garlic bread, which was warm and tasty. The fruit was a normal selection, but I liked the grapefruit. The steamed rice was excellent. With the dinner, I had a beer and our cutlery this time is all in the old livery, but the chopsticks are the new metal ones. As you can tell from my description, the meal was a fairly average offering, not great and not bad. Service was done with a smile and a refill of my beer was proposed without me having to ask.



Some shots of the cabin during meal service and our FA at work.

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After dinner, the tray was cleared and I was brought an ice cream (not on the menu, so a pleasant surprise, even if it’s presentation will make pititom cringe, at least there was a metal spoon!). I also took a coffee for a post dinner drink.

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Dinner service ends while we pass Taiwan, a peak outside shows cloudy skies.

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After dinner, I walked up to use the forward lavatory, but found it’s occupied so I walked back to my seat. A minute later, the FA comes up and tells me that the restroom is now free. That was a nice gesture for her to see me making the walk of shame back to my seat and then notifying me of its availability. The bathroom was clean, no special products on offer, just MU hand soap.

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I watch TV for the remainder of the flight; a refill of my coffee was also proposed. The FA comes up to me and tells me our estimated time of arrival and the current weather in Hong Kong. This practice was done on every flight and made the service feel more personal.

After making our arching loop around the Chinese coast, the crew comes on and announces we will begin our descent into HKG. The sun is beginning to set outside allowing for some nice winglet shots.

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The window shades are all raised and final passes are made to clean the cabin prior to arrival. Here are some random shots during the final descent; unfortunately it was lightly raining in HKG and very cloudy so not too much to see. We had a full moon that night!



This is when things got interesting, I had noticed the person behind me had gotten up and walked across the cabin to get on the sunset side of the airplane. This was the same person who refused to put their seat in an upright position during take-off. A minute later, I start hearing some Chinese. Two FAs and the purser have surrounded him and are arguing with him. They were clearly not very happy with him taking pictures with his cell phone, which should have been off during the entire duration of the flight (as per Chinese air regulations). They had seen me taking pictures with my camera throughout the flight and made no comment so it was not the photography aspect that was the issue. The gentleman eventually sulks back to his seat and does what? Puts his seat in recline, turns on his phone, and starts taking pictures again (I can hear the phone shutter sounds) during the final descent. Unbelievably rude and disrespectful.

Here are some night shots on the final approach into HKG along Lantau Island, the weather was not very cooperative.



We then get a nice shot of HKG before touchdown. Even though this one is slightly blurry, I really like it.

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We touch down slightly ahead of schedule and make the long taxi back to the terminal. On the way back we can see a CX A333 landing right after us, reminding us who runs the show at HKG.

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We pull into our gate right next to the Regal Airport Hotel and 1L is quickly engaged.

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Deplaning, the FAs thank me for flying as I head into the windowless jetbridge. It’s a long walk back to immigration. Immigration isn’t too busy I’m into the baggage claim in less than 10 minutes. The baggage claim was a mess, they decided to put us on a carousel along with 5J and QF flights that arrived at the same time. Those flights came off first, so it was a 45-minute wait for my bag (had to check a bag since I was bringing some wine to my friend from Italy). Very disappointing performance by HKG, I know there are a lot of people that rave about HKG, but I’ve never had a great experience there. My bag was the first one I saw from my flight. I hit the ATM after customs to grab some HKD, recharge my Octopus card, and then take the bus to my hotel in the New Territories before meeting my friend for a late dinner at Din Tai Fung.



Thanks for reading this report and please stop by for the continuation of this series as we start the return trip back to Shanghai.
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Verdict

China Eastern

8.0/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi7.5
Meal/catering7.0

Lounge #22

3.8/10
Comfort4.0
Meal/catering4.0
Entertainment/wifi3.0
Services4.0

Shanghai - PVG

7.9/10
Efficiency10.0
Access7.0
Services6.0
Cleanliness8.5

Hong Kong - HKG

9.0/10
Efficiency10.0
Access8.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

This flight was a nice surprise, for once a fortuitous aircraft swap! MU continued their good service with a friendly crew, average regional catering, and perfect on-time performance.

Cabin comfort: The aircraft swap from an A320 to A330-300 was a big win for cabin comfort. Yes, it wasn't onto an A330-200 that has their full-flat seats, but this A330-300 with the older long-haul product was still great for a short hop. The cabin was clean and the low J load (<20%) meant that there was plenty of privacy to be had.

Crew: Hit the jackpot again with a smiling and friendly MU crew. They were by no means 'chatty,' but there was some personality behind their service. English ability was good and all announcements were made in Chinese and English. The incidents with the rude passenger behind me were handled well, even though he never showed them any respect. Service was nice, done with a smile, and drinks were always refilled.

Meal and catering: Again, MU's presentation looks really nice (minus the blue cafeteria tray). The actual meal didn't really seem to match the menu's description, but I found the shrimp and sauce to still be good tasting. The pasta salad appetizer was very mediocre and really didn't seem to fit with the meal. I really like renkon (lotus root), so the vegetables and rice both get top marks. Fruit plate was fine and the ice cream for dessert was a nice bonus since it wasn't listed on the menu (the cup presentation is not very J, but that is unfortunately the standard for most carriers on regional routes). Again, it's just a very normal regional offering.

Entertainment: Personal IFE was older and not great image quality, but it was at least present (would not have been present if on the A320). It was well stocked with a full selection, same as the previous flight. No airline magazine is disappointing, but newspaper offered pre-departure.

On-time performance: Left on time and landed right on time. No complaints.

Information on the route Shanghai (PVG) Hong Kong (HKG)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 19 avis concernant 3 compagnies sur la ligne Shanghai (PVG) → Hong Kong (HKG).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Cathay Pacific avec 8.4/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 2 heures et 42 minutes.

  More information

33 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 137417 by
    JOET73 226 Comments
    Thanks for this fomplete and pleasant report.
    What is the first red wine offering? i can t see it on your picture. BTW, the wine is no so bad considering this almost domestic flight.
    Food is par with CX/KA on this route, even the ice cream is the same!
    Wow, 3hrs in pvg, in a nice lounge, which are exactly the same as the domestic one, boring... No effort, even for international flights... But it s a standard Chinese lounge.
    To access wifi you need to give your phone nb and you will receive back a 6 digits code. I don t know if this work with a foreign number though.
    You were lucky to get this a333 instead of a narrow body. The seats looks confortable for this short flight but not for a transcontinental one.


    • Comment 316785 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting!

      What is the first red wine offering? i can t see it on your picture. BTW, the wine is no so bad considering this almost domestic flight.
      - The wine list was exactly the same as what was offered on the NGO-PVG sector. I'm sorry about the picture, it was taken at an angle so the top was out of focus, the wine was Jacob's Creek Wine Maker's Selection Shiraz Cabernet.

      But it s a standard Chinese lounge.
      - I thought CZ and CA have better lounge options at their hubs. I've never been to CAN, but I thought the CA Lounge at PEK-T3 was much better. For long-haul, this would be a very, very poor lounge experience. There weren't even outlets in the lounge to charge your electronic devices.

      To access wifi you need to give your phone nb and you will receive back a 6 digits code. I don t know if this work with a foreign number though.
      - Yes, SMS message is required and I didn't think the internet was worth that fee imposed by my Japanese service provider^^

      You were lucky to get this a333 instead of a narrow body. The seats looks confortable for this short flight but not for a transcontinental one.
      - Yes, for a flight less than 4 hours, these seats are fine, but longer than that it should be a full-flat seat in today's market. Tracking this plane, it seems to be only doing regional routes (ICN, TPE, BKK, HKG, etc.) so MU recognizes this.
  • Comment 137458 by
    pwecar 53 Comments
    Thank you for another detailed excellent report!

    The lounge is definitely a great miss for MU and PVG. CA and CZ have bigger and better lounges in their main hub.
    CX also has several lounges in HKG yet there's still a main lounge and some smaller ones.

    The seats are more than decent for a two hour flight. Catering looks not too bad. As for the description, there are sooo many mistakes in translating these Chinese recipes...

    Looking forward to the next one! I hope these flights would bring better reputations to MU and all Chinese carriers.
    • Comment 316930 by
      pwecar 53 Comments
      Also, 25 degrees C isn't too hot by Chinese standards, I feel really cold on 20~21 degrees indoor. The advice from government is that all air conditioners should be at least 26 degrees..forget to mention that
    • Comment 316917 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Thank you for commenting!

      The lounge is definitely a great miss for MU and PVG.
      - MU's lounge situation is a disaster, the lounge wasn't crowded, but was completely insufficient for J-passengers heading out on long trips. I can forgive the poor food offering, but the actual airport's seating was better quality than the lounge's. It was not a place once could feel relaxed.

      The seats are more than decent for a two hour flight. Catering looks not too bad.
      - For this flight, the seats were very good. This plane only does regional routes, so MU knows not to use it on longer flights. Catering was perfectly fine, a solid 7, but it wasn't anything special.

      As for the description, there are sooo many mistakes in translating these Chinese recipes...
      - I suspected that too since I know what some of the characters mean, but I find Chinese rarely logically translates into English.

      Looking forward to the next one!
      - The next one will have my favorite MU special livery!
  • Comment 137466 by
    Numero_2 TEAM BRONZE 10416 Comments
    Thanks for sharing !

    Every single lounge at PVG is disappointing and this one is no exception.

    I use this term loosely since everything I grabbed out of there was room temperature) -> It's the same at PEK CA lounge…

    You were lucky to get an A330 with the airplane swapping !

    The menu is not that bad for MU but there's nothing to dream about !

    At least your crewe were friendly and attentive, with decent English skills.

    Your neighbour from behind was for sure the winner of the Passenger Shaming Award that day…

    See you soon for the bext one !
    • Comment 316919 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Merci pour vos commentaires Clement^^

      It's the same at PEK CA lounge…
      - I was in the CA Lounge in December/January so room temperature in PEK was 5 C^^ The lounge was very nasty, the regular terminal waiting area seating was nicer^^ The food offerings weren't terrible, but day old salads sitting at room temperature do not tempt me ;)

      You were lucky to get an A330 with the airplane swapping !
      - Once you see the seats on the MU A320, you will understand why this upgrade was very important^^ Your Y+ seats on LH had a better pitch :(

      The menu is not that bad for MU but there's nothing to dream about !
      - Very normal regional catering and three options is better than the usual two. Meal was okay, with the standard ice cream ;)

      At least your crew were friendly and attentive, with decent English skills.
      - This aspect of MU had been the most impressive, maybe they were nice to me because I was nice to them, but they were always smiling on boarding so there was some genuine kindness to begin with. I often find the way you treat FAs impacts how they treat you back, they have such terrible jobs any kindness helps them through these miserable flights.
  • Comment 137474 by
    Rl 777 802 Comments
    Thank you for sharing this FR! Enjoyed reading it (as all your other FR's).

    Pretty disappointing lounge, not impressed by it.

    It's really great that you got to fly on an A333 instead of a 321 or 320. Love aircraft swaps to wide-bodies.

    Nice spotting shots from PVG. That AC 788 was going back to YVR. There is an AC 77L on the second pic after takeoff, that one would fly back to YYZ later.

    Catering looks decent, nothing special but not bad.

    That man sure was very rude and disrespectful, unfortunately we meet these kind of people sometimes.

    It's really nice that you got a nice crew on this flight! Most important factor for me.

    See you in the next one!

    • Comment 316943 by
      JOET73 226 Comments
      You should definitely have to try agaih. The MU A321 has a huge pitch( 50' ro6ghly), 3 rows of 4 seats but without PTV If they haven t change recently.
      Hope to read you soon.
    • Comment 316974 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      The B738 I was on from NGO-PVG had the 50 seat pitch too with personal IFE, so they must slowly be putting that cabin into the narrow-bodies.
    • Comment 316920 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Thanks for reading it, I'm trying to break up this series so it's not so redundant since all the flights are very similar.

      Pretty disappointing lounge, not impressed by it.
      - Makes you want to spend money to fly MU in J, right? No power outlets in a lounge is just very poor. The lounge was really hot and they only had portable fans to cool the room. PVG didn't feel like a very nice airport compared to PEK.

      It's really great that you got to fly on an A333 instead of a 321 or 320. Love aircraft swaps to wide-bodies.
      - I really wanted to try an A321, but it wasn't meant to be on this trip, my last flight in the series was a plane swap too.

      Nice spotting shots from PVG. That AC 788 was going back to YVR. There is an AC 77L on the second pic after takeoff, that one would fly back to YYZ later.
      - Thanks for the info, wasn't sure on the AC so I left it generic. Spotting was very difficult with the windows at PEK. The windows are very far from the boarding areas so it was hard to crop planes in between the window frames. And the Shanghai smog doesn't help the pictures look nice either lol.

      Catering looks decent, nothing special but not bad.
      - Exactly, a solid 7.

      That man sure was very rude and disrespectful, unfortunately we meet these kind of people sometimes.
      - People like that are what cause most FAs to be in grumpy moods, no one wants to deal with people like that all day.

      It's really nice that you got a nice crew on this flight! Most important factor for me.
      - MU continues to exceed my expectations in this department, so much negative press about their frumpy and frowning FAs, but I never saw that side of their service. It was pretty consistent on all the flights.
  • Comment 137481 by
    lagentsecret 12186 Comments
    Thanks for sharing this FR

    The lounge is worst than the CX lounge and I didn't think it could be possible

    An aircraft swap in a good way for once

    Our FA is starting to take orders so I better quickly photograph this menu before lagentsecret starts to give me a scolding for not taking pictures
    You were right to take care : it was only a scolding because it was only the first time

    What was in the wine list was wine or antifreeze ? ;)

    It seems that your neighbor was above the rules (seat in the upright position for take-off)

    OZ B744 heading back to ICN.
    Air Bibimbap better said lol

    Closing the windows shades for a two hours day flight is ridiculous

    I opted for the deep-fried shrimp in wasabi cream sauce
    I would have chosen the same main because of the interesting wasabi cream sauce

    Wow a Häagen-Dazs ice cream ! What a treatment !!

    A few not too repulsive night shots on arrival

    Great crew all along the flight : that's the main important fact about this flight to me

    See you soon for the return legs (or maybe a different routing before ending this one, depending on your mood ;) )
    • Comment 316924 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Merci pour tous vos commentaires^^

      The lounge is worst than the CX lounge and I didn't think it could be possible
      - I'm glad I could show you this little piece of heaven ;)

      An aircraft swap in a good way for once
      - Yep, and a seat that is maybe a little better than the CX regional seat :)

      You were right to take care : it was only a scolding because it was only the first time
      - Some nights, I wake up in a deep sweat fearing the wrath of 007 for not photographing menus^^

      What was in the wine list was wine or antifreeze ? ;)
      - At least it wasn't the Great Wall wine that CA serves^^ I've at least heard of Jacob's Creek before, but fortunately I don't drink wine so I didn't have to worry about going blind^^

      It seems that your neighbor was above the rules (seat in the upright position for take-off)
      - My neighbor should fly AF or AZ and experience the wrath of Monique or Monica. That's wipe that smirk off his face.

      Closing the windows shades for a two hours day flight is ridiculous
      - I knew you'd appreciate that photo, I took it only for you^^

      I would have chosen the same main because of the interesting wasabi cream sauce
      - But unfortunately the sauce was not wasabi...

      Wow a Häagen-Dazs ice cream ! What a treatment !!
      - Guess what ice cream they served in Y too, I felt so elite^^

      A few not too repulsive night shots on arrival
      - We'll have to wait and see how repulsive Kevin thinks they are.

      Great crew all along the flight : that's the main important fact about this flight to me
      - Very good crew again, becoming standard on MU? Maybe hell is freezing over...

      or maybe a different routing before ending this one, depending on your mood ;)
      - I like to keep my readers guessing ;)
  • Comment 137520 by
    airtraveladdict 117 Comments
    Thank you for a very detailed trip report, so many pictures! :)

    I am often curious about Chinese airlines and why they haven't caught up and then lead the airline industry like the Middle Eastern 3 - Emirates, Etihad and Qatar.
    Those airlines are not very old, but they have quickly adapted and now lead the way for luxury travel in business and first class.
    And the Chinese airlines don't need to look far if they want a leader to follow, just look at Cathay, their next door neighbour, or Singapore Airlines.

    It would be great to see one of these Chinese airlines rise above and set a new standard for luxury because their prices are not cheap to fly out of Australia, so you can imagine when their business class price is similar to other better airlines, people will always choose others over them, even if it means paying extra $400.

    Your review proves why. The lounge does not look premium, the meals onboard don't represent what it says on the menu. Although the angled seat for a short flight is pretty good. Much better than business class in Europe, where you get economy seats with the middle one blocked.

    And its good to see the crew is also improving, even on a short flight like this. It is a nice gesture and very thoughtful to alert you about the toilet, that is a very alert crew, I like it!
    They are not chatting and gossip in galley and ignoring passengers, just like my Cathay crew from HKG-ICN, who were very alert.
    I always like to submit feedback forms when I get really good crew, because I hope that the airline rewards them. And if they get rewarded, maybe their colleagues who are not so good can see this and want to improve as well, so its win-win for us passengers :)
    Because sometimes, you get a great customer service manager and the entire crew are just the same.
    Sometimes you get really bad CSM and their crew reflect the CSM's attitude.

    As for rude passengers, sometime you get one of these type of people on a flight and they are annoying, because they won't listen to the rules and think they are flying in business class, so they can do anything that they want, because they think the crew are their slaves.
    • Comment 317227 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      But its like $200 more than Royal Brunei and Finnair/CX.
      - CX always has very good fares, IMO, but that may just be ex-Japan. Their fares from Japan to the US/Europe are often only $2400 in J if you buy very early. But if you look for the same routes ex-ICN/PEK/PVG, then CX is expensive so they are just looking to snatch passengers from JL.

      even though many people complain about CX regional. Its still 1 million times better than Euro business, which is just economy seat and sandwich pack but the headrest has a disposable headrest napkin thing that says business lol
      - Any regional hard product in Asia is better than European J, but catering on some European carrier is better.

      That is refreshing to see good crew on Chinese airlines. specially on a short flight like this, where I normally expect them to be very economy like.
      - On a short flight it's easy to do this, but on a long-haul flight where you get bigger gaps between services, it'd be more interesting to see how they perform. I'm not necessarily looking to fly MU on long-haul. We only have a one recent MU long-haul report ( http://flight-report.com/en/report-9682.html ) and flywunala thought the crews were good too.

      he would have been arrested on arrival
      - Or if there was an air marshal on the flight, they would have taken care of the passenger right then and there.
    • Comment 317106 by
      airtraveladdict 117 Comments
      Hi NGo85,

      - pwecar could probably give you a better explanation, but from what I can gather, it comes from the fact that these are all government owned carriers. Private airlines like Hainan have tried to break that trend and offer a superior product. I've really wanted to try them, but they don't fly to NGO so haven't had the chance to see if this 5* rating is legitimate or not. I agree though, their prices are only marginally lower than their competitors. I often see CA prices that are lower than UA, and I would rather fly CA than UA on a comparable route, but if I was putting CA up against some other carriers in Asia, they wouldn't stand a chance.

      Yes it seems like being government owned is a bad thing, because they become complacement. I agree, I would probably fly CA over UA in business, I've seen the UA Businessfirst product and its woeful 2x4x2 arrangement, that is almost as bad as BA. from Aus to EU, China Eastern, Southern, Air China are starting to lower the prices to about $6,000 in business, compare to $8000 for EK, EY, QR. But its like $200 more than Royal Brunei and Finnair/CX.

      - That's the understatement of the year, lol. This lounge was pretty bad, I was just there for the free drinks and fruit. It was certainly not a relaxing atmosphere at all. The fact the seats were stained and broken just shows that MU has no care for it's premium passengers. This is their hub, that it what makes it so embarrassing.
      a good lounge is important to me, because to me, its supposed to be a sanctuary from the busy terminal. so having a crappy lounge, that is a big no no, especially in the home hub, so they cant use the excuse that its contract lounge.

      - True, but their presentation is better than CX. It pains me to say that, but compare these pictures to your recent reports. The Chinese food on MU looks much more appetizing visually, taste is debatable, lol,
      thats so true, at least its plated, not just served from the same heating bowl that came from the catering factory. its so premium economy to do it like that.

      - This is pretty standard. TG, SQ, CX, etc. all have angled lie-flats or recliners on their regional products.
      Thanks to our lucky stars, Asian airlines have angled or large recliners for regional, even though many people complain about CX regional. Its still 1 million times better than Euro business, which is just economy seat and sandwich pack but the headrest has a disposable headrest napkin thing that says business lol Its like that episode of Come Fly With Me I laughed so hard.. the passenger stops the flight attendant Fearghal and says something like excuse me, these seats are the same, but I booked business class. and Fearghal says oh sorry? here you go and clips on business napkin on the headrest and walks off.

      The crews were very good. I never saw them chatting in the galleys, they were always poking their heads out and making passes through the cabin to see how people were doing. I never had to look for an FA, they were always there to propose a refill when my drink was empty. They seemed polite and always thanked me for handing them my empty plates, glasses, etc,
      That is refreshing to see good crew on Chinese airlines. specially on a short flight like this, where I normally expect them to be very economy like.

      - I think this is also cultural, I see it in Asia more than the US. Different cultures have different views of the service industry and how it should serve them,
      If this happened in the USA, they would have alert homeland security and labelled him as a terrorist threat and he would have been arrested on arrival, thats why things like this doesn't happen in the USA :)
    • Comment 316926 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting!

      I am often curious about Chinese airlines and why they haven't caught up and then lead the airline industry like the Middle Eastern 3 - Emirates, Etihad and Qatar.
      - pwecar could probably give you a better explanation, but from what I can gather, it comes from the fact that these are all government owned carriers. Private airlines like Hainan have tried to break that trend and offer a superior product. I've really wanted to try them, but they don't fly to NGO so haven't had the chance to see if this 5* rating is legitimate or not. I agree though, their prices are only marginally lower than their competitors. I often see CA prices that are lower than UA, and I would rather fly CA than UA on a comparable route, but if I was putting CA up against some other carriers in Asia, they wouldn't stand a chance.

      The lounge does not look premium
      - That's the understatement of the year, lol. This lounge was pretty bad, I was just there for the free drinks and fruit. It was certainly not a relaxing atmosphere at all. The fact the seats were stained and broken just shows that MU has no care for it's premium passengers. This is their hub, that it what makes it so embarrassing.

      the meals onboard don't represent what it says on the menu
      - True, but their presentation is better than CX. It pains me to say that, but compare these pictures to your recent reports. The Chinese food on MU looks much more appetizing visually, taste is debatable, lol.

      Although the angled seat for a short flight is pretty good.
      - This is pretty standard. TG, SQ, CX, etc. all have angled lie-flats or recliners on their regional products.

      The crews were very good. I never saw them chatting in the galleys, they were always poking their heads out and making passes through the cabin to see how people were doing. I never had to look for an FA, they were always there to propose a refill when my drink was empty. They seemed polite and always thanked me for handing them my empty plates, glasses, etc.

      think they are flying in business class, so they can do anything that they want, because they think the crew are their slaves.
      - I think this is also cultural, I see it in Asia more than the US. Different cultures have different views of the service industry and how it should serve them.
  • Comment 137552 by
    cobra 3582 Comments
    Thank you Michael,

    As usual, Chinese lounges are very basic, poor appearance, and serve with paranoid people ^^

    Surprise switch, and in your favor !^^
    Flying two hours in this cabin is a real chance

    Catering was ok, but without schrimp. Seeing penne on a chinese carrier is a bit weird :)
    Wine list don't speak to me,but maybe there is some good pinard to drink

    FA were efficient, friendly and proactive, it's almost half the pleasure of a flight

    See you soon on a Japanese shuttle ^^

    • Comment 316927 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Merci Cobra^^

      As usual, Chinese lounges are very basic, poor appearance, and serve with paranoid people ^^
      - That is such a true statement that all I can do is say I agree 100%^^

      Surprise switch, and in your favor !^^ Flying two hours in this cabin is a real chance
      - Most switches in my experience never favor the passenger. This is much better than the A320, the next report will show you that the A320 cabin is not very comfortable or competitive. This cabin was very nice for a regional flight.

      Ebi would have killed you^^ The pork neck might entice you? Yes, the pasta salad was very strange for a Chinese starter, it was very mediocre, not up to AZ's standards^^

      FA were efficient, friendly and proactive, it's almost half the pleasure of a flight
      - More than half since bad FAs can ruin a flight, just as AZ^^ I don't know the naming system for Chinese Moniques, but I was fortunately not lucky enough to meet one^^

      See you soon on a Japanese shuttle ^^
      - Your report or mine ;) Your report is in my queue to read tomorrow morning^^
  • Comment 137605 by
    socalnow 976 Comments
    Thank you for the great read. I really appreciate all of the time and effort it takes to report in this detail.

    Oh that lounge... Remind me of some of the pay-in lounges I've used in the old MNL NAIA Terminal 1.

    ...there is a beautiful DL B744 boarding for its flight back to DTW...
    -Good to get some shots of her while you still can. She's no longer a visitor to NGO and I think I just read that she's gone from PVG in December. The end of an era.

    Glad you had a smiling and friendly crew plus the swap to the 330!
    • Comment 316979 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Thanks for reading the report!

      Oh that lounge... Remind me of some of the pay-in lounges I've used in the old MNL NAIA Terminal 1.
      - Haha, well, I'm not sure if I would 'pay' for this lounge experience. You can imagine how mortified I was on the return trip when I was sent to the same lounge :( How bad were the T2 lounges that DL used before they moved into T1 at PVG?

      Good to get some shots of her while you still can. She's no longer a visitor to NGO and I think I just read that she's gone from PVG in December. The end of an era.
      - I don't know why DL axed the DTW-NGO-MNL route, I flew that flight once and >80% of the passengers were continuing on to MNL, I guess it is all based on consolidation of routes at NRT. DL still has a presence in NGO though, they still operate Guam and Honolulu flights.
    • Comment 317104 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      @Kevin: Really? When I did that flight, J on a B744 was 100% load and only 6 passengers deplaned from the cabin in NGO, but that was also traveling on January 2nd so maybe it was holiday traffic, but they looked to be mainly business types not poorly dressed folks like us ;) If anything, demand into NGO is low, but only survives for the Toyota-Detroit connection.
    • Comment 316984 by
      socalnow 976 Comments
      How bad were the T2 lounges that DL used before they moved into T1 at PVG?'
      -I am not sure about the Delta contract lounge at PVG T2. I have used Priority Pass lounges in T2 and they were not as dire as the one in this report. Perhaps T2 is the nicer facility on the whole?

      I don't know why DL axed the DTW-NGO-MNL route, I flew that flight once and >80% of the passengers were continuing on to MNL, I guess it is all based on consolidation of routes at NRT. DL still has a presence in NGO though, they still operate Guam and Honolulu flights.
      - DTW-NGO still exists with the A330-200 probably due to the auto industry connections but, sadly, the MNL tag has been dropped. I enjoy a good 5th freedom route and that was one I used quite a bit.
    • Comment 317103 by
      KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
      DL has said that MNL is low-yielding as it's mostly VFR traffic.
  • Comment 137728 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
    Thanks for another very nice and detailed report.

    All in all, China Eastern put on a good show for this short 2 hour flight. It's always nice to have an aircraft swap in the good direction from narrowbody to widebody...I've only had them the opposite and disappointing way before. I thought MU's A330s had fully flat seats...I guess there are a few different configurations.

    There's a nice diversity of traffic for some good planespotting at PVG. I like the DL 744s; I can't believe they started retiring some so soon after spending all that money to refurbish them. They are becoming more and more rare.

    Catering looks good, but the dark blue plastic definitely looks cheap.

    That is a nice pic of HKG on landing! I'm one of those people that raves about HKG, but then again, as many times as I've been there, I don't believe I've ever checked a bag--easy in, easy out.
    • Comment 317223 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Thank you for your comments :)

      your photos of the lounge are very flattering and could be deceiving to the intrepid FR readers....:-)
      - Haha, in retrospect, they don't look that bad, especially in the food area, which is maybe the most dangerous place to mislead readers. As you said, I was very careful what I ate, since everything was room temperature, one look at that day old salad and I knew it was edible. I stuck only to fruit since it looked like it was being freshly cut. By the way, where did you find outlets in there? I couldn't find any near my seat.

      Your plane spotting was excellent
      - I did a lap on the lower level where the lounge entrances were, not sure if I was supposed to be wandering around down there, but figured I'd just keep going until someone stopped me (then play dumb like I was looking for the lounge). They almost pushed me on to that DL B744 since I was a westerner and that flight was boarding when I walked by.

      I took some photos with my iPhone and did not see anyone giving me the mean look..so thought it was ok......
      - I'll be honest, I took the lavatory shots with my iPhone (as always). Not sure what a big deal it is (might vary by crew to crew), but that passenger was already insubordinate in the eyes of the crew so might have been deserving of a tongue lashing.
    • Comment 317105 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      You're welcome :)

      All MU A333s have the old angle lie-flat seats. There are three configurations on the A332s: one has this cabin (2-2-2), one has the TK-style full-flat seats with an ottoman (2-2-2), and then there is the newest Cirrus cabin (1-2-1) that flywunala had in his report. These A333s are primarily used on domestic and regional routes from what I could tell so they know this is not a competitive long-haul product, but for a 2-hour flight, you can't ask for more. Unfortunately, seat quality will rapidly degrade in this series :(

      PVG has lots of diversity, but it is really hard to spot with those windows.

      Catering looks good, but the dark blue plastic definitely looks cheap.
      -Visually always very nice, but the tray reminds me of grade school, lol. They should just put something over the tray so it's not so visible.

      That is a nice pic of HKG on landing!
      - Not too repulsive, lol?
    • Comment 317107 by
      flywunala 155 Comments
      Thank you for quoting my FR NGO85. Indeed the Business Class hard product on the A330-200 is the newest Cirrus cabin 1 x 2 x 1 which is more comfortable and private than the traditional 2 x 2 x 2 configuration. I see that you enjoyed the lounge as much as I did...NOT. It looks pretty awful and seem completely anachronistic in this relatively modern airport. I nearly electrocuted myself trying to recharge my phone... I only ate bananas as I made sure I stayed away from the food offered... Your plane spotting was excellent, although it is hard to take good photos with all these structural columns. Navigating through the MU website was indeed very challenging...PS: I took some photos with my iPhone and did not see anyone giving me the mean look..so thought it was ok...... When I have a moment I will post my PVG/SYD return FR..
    • Comment 317108 by
      flywunala 155 Comments
      PS: meant to say that your photos of the lounge are very flattering and could be deceiving to the intrepid FR readers....:-)
  • Comment 137733 by
    Chibcha SILVER 540 Comments
    I hate it when some fellow passenger is so rude...I feel what in Spanish we call pena ajena (sorry for another one).

    Its curious to see the terminal building so deserted. The plane swap a big and nice surprise. The plane looked in pretty good shape, I wouldn't have expected thad from MU. The food didn't seem very appetizing.


    Thanks for sharing!
    • Comment 317226 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Thank you for your stopping by and commenting!

      That passenger's rude behavior is not only inconsiderate to the FAs, but also all of the fellow passengers. Their behavior had a negative impact on my flight experience even though what they were doing had nothing to do with me.

      Most Chinese carriers have very young fleets nowadays as they are trying to modernize. MU's average fleet age is only 5 years (which is much better than a carrier like DL) and are in the middle of delivery of 20 brand new B77Ws and 80 brand new B738s.

      The food was average, the sauce on the main was very good and the vegetables/rice were all good. The other parts were just mediocre.
  • Comment 138369 by
    jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
    I decided I wasn’t going to stress over it and just let it be a surprise on the day of, what can possibly be more exciting than a mysterious itinerary with MU..
    - Nothing like a bit of suspense to start the day.

    The big open terminal is eerily quiet despite the large number of people milling about the duty free shops.
    - Not the most aesthetically pleasing interior for an airport. What's with all those rods coming from the ceiling? It kind of gives me an idea of what a needlepoint pillow looks from the inside.

    ..if you look closely it says it’s a “First Class Lounge.”
    - First class disappointment is more like it.

    There are some “refrigerators” (I use this term loosely since everything I grabbed out of there was room temperature) that contain water, juices, beers, soft drinks, sandwiches, and fruit.
    - Sounds like a recipe for food poisoning when it comes to the food.

    It is pretty disgusting to see these kinds of stains on the chairs; I had to pass on 4-5 empty seats until I found one that I felt comfortable sitting on.
    - Living up to the First Class in the name.

    It’s always exciting to get an aircraft swap when it is a wide-body!
    - Size matters. ;)

    Like a little kid on Christmas day...
    - Or a kid waiting to jump on Santa's lap to tell him what he wants for Christmas. :P

    The blanket is nasty, I can’t stand the fabric they use, this thing must be flammable or something.
    - Just wrap it around a pig and light it up - Pig in a blanket!

    The slippers come in a nice shoe bag and are quite classy (I have three pairs for home use from this trip, part of the NGO85 leisure collection) as showcased by your hand and foot model.
    - You have a slippers fetish. :P Your feet look nice modeling this recent acquisition.

    No MU magazine, only this Golf Era magazine…
    - Please someone stop me from cutting my wrist.

    The FAs are released, immediately dim the cabin lights and start closing all the window shades.
    - It's the vampire express. Darkness prevails.

    The pasta appetizer is just weird for a Chinese menu
    - I agree. Drunken chicken or marinated cold fish would have been more appropriate. Overall meal looks decent even though what you got was not the same as described on the menu.

    A minute later, the FA comes up and tells me that the restroom is now free.
    - Great proactive service on her part.

    .. before meeting my friend for a late dinner at Din Tai Fung.
    - I trust you had an enjoyable meal.

    Sorry for the delay in commenting Michael. Great report as usual with excellent pics.
    • Comment 317882 by
      NGO85 SILVER AUTHOR 1963 Comments
      Nothing like a bit of suspense to start the day.
      - With Chinese carriers, it's best not to have concrete plans, you should always have a flexible schedule :)

      It kind of gives me an idea of what a needlepoint pillow looks from the inside.
      - PVG is not a pretty airport, PEK is much nicer. Just better pray there are no earthwaukes, don't want a stalactite falling on you.

      Sounds like a recipe for food poisoning when it comes to the food.
      - That day old salad probably had all sorts of active cultures.

      Living up to the First Class in the name.
      - It's an embarrassment for an airline to have a lounge like this at their hub...

      Size matters. ;)
      - After reading the report on the A320, you know why size matters ;)

      Just wrap it around a pig and light it up - Pig in a blanket!
      - Even sausages don't like chafing polyester :)

      You have a slippers fetish. :P Your feet look nice modeling this recent acquisition.
      - My monstrous feet (for Japanese standards), haha. You have no idea how hard it is to buy shoes here... I wouldn't call it a fetish per se, but yeah...

      Please someone stop me from cutting my wrist.
      - Seriously, why on Earth was that in the seat back compartments? Golf is probably not popular in either Shanghai or Hong Kong.

      It's the vampire express. Darkness prevails.
      - Except the sun didn't set until we landed. I'm not old enough to be getting poor eyesight so it didn't bother me working with the reading light.

      I agree. Drunken chicken or marinated cold fish would have been more appropriate. Overall meal looks decent even though what you got was not the same as described on the menu.
      - A very decent meal offering, just nothing special with a Y-class dessert and limited drink offerings.

      Great proactive service on her part.
      - MU crews can be good, but it's not normal for them.

      I trust you had an enjoyable meal.
      - Sorry no pictures, completely forgot, was just happy to see my friend again so conversation was the focus.

      Better late than never... your comments are always a pleasure to read Adan!

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