Hello everyone The 24th July my parents celebrated 20 years of marriage and they decided to make a family trip for this special occasion About 2 months before leaving we started to evaluate all the possibilites and in a week we made a sort of round-the-world journey: USA, Caribbean, Fjords' cruise and so on… After all this we finally decide the destination: CHINA We booked an organized group tour with one of the best Italian tour operator with departure date 12nd August. The tour comprised 4 cities: Beijing, Xi'An, Guilin and Shanghai for a total of 12 days Personally I was very happy because of the many different airlines and planes we would have tried. And obviously also because I've never been to China and it had always fascinated me. Here is the itinerary:
We left home around 5.30PM because we had to meet the rest of the group at 6PM. Usualy it takes about half a hour to reach the airport from home. While on the motorway my father and I noticed airplanes landing over Rome and this was strange because usually landing planes don't fly over the city. Checking on FlightRadar I understood that only RWY 7/25 was in use. Usually it's used for take-offs only. Since the usual parking we use was full we book Aeroporti di Roma's parking, about 400m far from the terminals.
FIDS heading to Terminal 3, showing our flight delayed from 20.55 to 21.25 Maybe this was due the limited runway's operations We will later discover that a fire broke out near the border of the airport and therefore runways 16R/34L and 16L/34R were closed
Heading straight to Terminal 3, which hosts all international flights at FCO except Alitalia
Terminal 1, AZ base
Terminal 3 has been improved so much and the new facade contributes to spread a lot of natural light
CA's check-in desks…most of the passengers seemed to be Chinese
My boarding pass and passport
Before heading to the security checkpoint I went out to smoke a cigarette and to see the new facade from outside. The design is based on the original one, being this part of the Terminal 3 the first to be built in 1961 when the airport was opened
Old-style FIDS showing our flight to have 30' delay
Our way to the security checkpoint
Despite of the crowd there was no queue for the checkpoint and we were airside in no time
Time to turn left to Gate Area E, used for all non-Schenghen flights
Even the passport control made in no time thanks to eGates
After the passport control there's the entrance to the "Isle of Wonders", the new Boarding Area E, opened in December 2016. It contains a lot of luxury shops and high-level restaurants. The building is made of 3 floors: remote gates E1-8 on the lower floor, shops on the main floor and Food court on the upper floor All non-EU gates are located here
Obliged passage through the duty free
The building is really impressive and makes FCO worthy to be at the same level of other european airports The main floor is like a big mall with the most famous Italian luxury brands
We went upstairs to the Food Court to eat something. The F&B choice is very wide and based on Italian food excellences. Unfortunately this big "mall" lacks of good spotting places except a big window that looks towards the Pier Qatar Airways, Aer Lingus and Alitalia A320s
Turkish A320 departing to IST
Meanwhile our plane from PEK landed on RWY 7/25 with one hour delay It has been the first time for me to see a plane landing on this runway
Immediately after our gate was reported to be E22, at the far end of the Pier
This structure is impressive and well done, no doubts, but it lacks of good spotting points XD Alitalia Boeing 777
Our gate area was already full of people The plane seemed to be full
Time to go…
China Eastern A330 to PVG
And our bird for tonight flight…Air China Boeing 787-9 B-7898, delivered in September 2016 (0,9 years old) is the 6th Air China's Dream)Liner
THE FLIGHT
Boarding a Dream)Liner for the second time
I took my seat 39L, a window seat The seat was quite comfortable but a bit tight for me in pitch (I am 182 cm tall) The IFE screen was fixed, a bit boring if the person in front moves the seat
The view from my seat with Alitalia 777 and Satellite Terminal
The cabin immediately after boarding ended
While ushback started the safety video was shown
Mood lighting was lowered for TO
Korean Air Boeing 747-8 while taxiing to the runway
We took-off 65 minutes after the scheduled time
The airshow featured the distances from origin, destination and major cities
After the TO the mood lighting changed from blue to purple for the start of meal service The dinner was delayed due to a turbolence that lasted about half a hour At the end of the turbolence the crew distributed something to drink before serving the dinner
Cucumber salad with shrimps and olive Chicken with rice or Duck with mashed potatoes and beet Bread Fruit salad
I choose Duck, which was quite tasty
After dinner lights were lowered to let passengers sleep
Since there was nothing interesting among movies I tried to have a nap Outside the view was quite boring
I woke up here
The only view outside was a sea of clouds
I love 787 raked wingtip with Air China logo
A lady of my group had some pressure problems and all the crew helped here Lights went on and doctor was called among the passengers Fortunately it was nothing serious and the journey continued without any other issue
One hour and half before landing breakfast was served
Omelette with tomato sauce and meatballs Eggplant salad Croissant Tiramisu
Unknown plane going somewhere
As soon as I was a bit tired and had legs pain I took a walk The middle cabin of economy, located between Door 2 and 3
One hour before landing we started to see mainland under us
Approaching PEK the only view was a grey blanket of smog and humidity covering the city
While landing on Runway 36L we saw the impressive Terminal 3, built in 2008 for the Olympics and designed by Norman Foster to resemble a dragon
Terminal 1 and 2
WELCOME TO BEIJING…Landing was a bit bumby and braking a bit hard
Than it started one of the longest taxi I have ever experienced…20 minutes and 9,7 km (calculated with Google Earth)
Air Mauritius A340
Air China 777
Amazing Terminal 3
Plane taking off from runway 18L/36R
GrandStar Cargo 747-400F
China Eastern Airlines A321 taking off
Terminal 2 apron beyond the runway
China Southern A380 parked at Terminal 2
XiamenAir 787
Sichuan Airlines A330
Approaching Terminal 3 we entered Air China's land 737, A321 and 787
Many tails
A321
A330
SAS A340 and Air Canada 777
Our stand was next to an Air China A330
Desembarking I asked the flight report to the Purser and also if it was possible to visit the cockpit but he told me that the Captain was busy However the flight report was well-filled
ARRIVAL IN BEIJING
I took a lot of photos from the glass jetway since I wasn't able to take some in Rome
Going to the immigration and baggage claim
The plane from the arrivals' mezzanine
Terminal 3 is really impressive and full of light
The departure lounge seen from the passport control hall
There was a little queue for passport control and in about 10 minutes we made all the formalities
Since we where in a satellite terminal called T3E we had to take an APM to reach baggage claim area
Terminal 3C, which hosts domestic flights and landside access
The baggage carousel was number 38, just in front of the exit from the APM Baggages were already there
After taking our baggages we went through Customs and Exit where our guide was already waiting for us The meeters and greeters hall was very crowded
Exiting the airport to take the shuttle bus we had a little shock for the temperature and the humidity The airport is very big and it looks like a cathedral
Ground Transportation Center
Welcome to Beijing 欢迎来到北京
The road to the hotel, located near CCTV Headquarters, was a bit busy but in less than one hour we reached our destionation, ready to visit this amazing city TO BE CONTINUED…
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Verdict
Air China
7.5/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Meal/catering7.0
Rome - FCO
9.0/10
Efficiency9.0
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0
Beijing - PEK
8.1/10
Efficiency9.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness7.5
Conclusion
It has been the first time for me on Air China and my impression was overall good...the crew was professional, but not so warm, airplane comfortable and food tasty enough to be on a plane FCO is an airport that I keep in my hearth. Every time I depart from there I see enormous improvements and the new boarding area E is very impressive I liked the big choice of shops and restaurants and obviously the hassle-free experience for passengers Even PEK is an efficient airport despite of his size
11 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Welcome to China and a even bigger welcome to PEK! Very glad to hear that you had some great experience on CA (which is pretty rare among foreigners) For planes landing on 36L it is normal to take more than 20 minutes of taxi since you need to cross the busy 36R.
Thanks for this nice FR. For once, good experience on CA. How were the english skills of the crew ? The food out of FCO seems much better than out of CDG or PEK. Seat looks nice although fixed screen are becoming a norm it seems.
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6 Comments
Thanks a lot
A wonderful spotting
A wonderful summary of your flight
I want to flight Air China now ;)
I will soon publish the other flights
Best wishes
Very glad to hear that you had some great experience on CA (which is pretty rare among foreigners)
For planes landing on 36L it is normal to take more than 20 minutes of taxi since you need to cross the busy 36R.
For once, good experience on CA. How were the english skills of the crew ?
The food out of FCO seems much better than out of CDG or PEK.
Seat looks nice although fixed screen are becoming a norm it seems.
Sometimes they need to repeate things in English but generally they understood XD
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