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:
After spending three beautiful days in Beijing it's time to leave to Xi'An, the ancient capital city of Chinese Empire. Since the flight would have been in the afternoon we had time in the morning to visit the Temple of Heaven. Our flight, operated by China Eastern, would depart from Terminal 2, located in the older part of the airport and which hosts most of international and domestics flights. We arrived at the airport about 2 hours before departure Korean Air birds seen from the expressway
The shuttle left us in front of Domestic Departures, at the far left of the Terminal
On the right there are International Departures as well as flights to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan
Our flight was reported to be on time
China Eastern check-in desks
Since we were a group we could use a priority desk and in about 10 minutes we obtained our boarding passes Unfortunately the airport staff doesn't speak English well so our guide had to translate everything as seat preferences in Chinese
There was just a little queue at the security checkpoint but it took about 20 minutes to do all Every passenger is controlled manually beyond metal detectors and also every bag is minutely checked Airside area of PEK T2 is quite good but it lacks of interesting shops…I cannot find any plane model ahaha Fortunately the Terminal is very good for plane spotting
Since we had about 50 minutes before boarding I made a walk around the terminal to take pictures China Southern A330 China Southern A321 with Sharklets XiamenAir Boeing 787 Azerbaijan Airlines Boeing 767-300ER Going towards the International part of the Terminal I saw many interesting birds China Eastern A330 with People's Daily Online livery China Southern A330 in SkyTeam livery Hongkong Airlines A330 and 737 Air China A330s at T3, one of them with Zichen Hao - Capital Pavilion Liner livery Air China Boeing 737 taking off China Southern A380 arriving at Terminal 2 Hainan Airlines A330 Air China A330 taking off China Southern A330 in SkyTeam livery China Southern A380 desembarking All Nippon Airways Boeing 777 Whalejet China Eastern Boeing 777 China Southern Boeing 757 SAS A340 China Souther A321 Since boarding time was close I came back to Gate 34 Our bird for the flight B-9903, delivered to MU in Febraury 2013 and fitted with sharklets in January 2017 I really like old-style liveries of Chinese carriers. They are very fascinating In the background is it possible to see China Southern A330 in 16th Asian Games, Guangzhou 2010 livery
THE FLIGHT
Boarding started ten minutes earlier than scheduled Going down the jetbridge I gave the Flight report to the Purser and made my way to my seat 45A The plane seemed to be not completly full Even if it was no possible to recline (no matter for me since I like to keep seat up) the pitch was great I'm tall and stout but I was able to cross my legs without any problem The view from my seat with China Southern A321 next to us We were among the last to board and immediately after the cabin was set for departure The cabin crew distributed blankets and pillows, remainders of not full Business class Of the six flights I made sure the crew of this was the best in terms of professionalism and warmth Just for the take-off I moved to the seat accross the aisle, 45F, since the entire row was empty China Southern Boeing 737 We pushed-back 10 minutes before scheduled China Southern A330 in 16th Asian Games, Guangzhou 2010 livery XiamenAir Boeing 787 China Southern A321 just landed on RWY36L Hainan A330 China Southern Boeing 737 And then our turn to go Another Hainan A330 behind us Off we go! Bye Bye Beijing
Climbing over clouds The landscape under us was so different from the almost-desertic we saw landing in Beijing 4 days ago Mandatory sharklet shot I came back to my seat for the lunch It was composed by a nice lunchbox plus a choice for the main course
Bread Sauerkraut Spicy sauce Water Choice between Chicken with Noodles or Beef meatball with rice and vegetables
I chose the meatballs which were quite tasty, but the rice a bit overcooked The bread seemed to be taken out by fridge a moment before Meanwhile Chinese landscape continued to scroll under us I spent the rest of the flight listening to music and playing crosswords We started to descent to Xi'An
Welcome to Xi'an Xianyang International Airport Landing on RWY5L was smooth and soft And again we start a long taxi to the gate Terminal 2 Hainan Airlines A330 China Eastern A320 in new livery Definitely Hainan's land Air China A319 China Southern A320 Terminal 3 apron China Eastern A321 in SkyTeam livery The pier Our stand Finally in China Eastern A320 in new livery next to us While desembarking I asked to the Purser to visit the cockpit Considering his answer I still don't know (and maybe I never will) if he said me it was no possible or if he didn't understand a single word… However the Flight report was well filled
ARRIVAL IN XI'AN
Desembarking through the jetbridge about half a hour before scheduled Last views of our bird Thank you China Eastern Xi'An Airport still smelled of new since this Terminal has been opened in 2012
Down to the Baggage Claim Huge baggage claim hall Chinese like doing things great XD Our baggages were already there The arrivals hall was not so crowded The guide waiting there told us that usually flights from PEK have 3-4 hours delay and we were very lucky Milano Fashion Week's advertising Ground Transportation Center And airport exterior The shuttle brought us to visit the amazing City Walls And the day after…Terracotta Army :D TO BE CONTINUED…
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Verdict
China Eastern
7.5/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Meal/catering7.5
Beijing - PEK
6.9/10
Efficiency8.0
Access8.0
Services5.0
Cleanliness6.5
Xi'an - XIY
6.9/10
Efficiency7.5
Access7.5
Services5.0
Cleanliness7.5
Conclusion
China Eastern Airlines impressed my so much for all the aspects The aircraft was clean and comfortable. The crew was one of the best I've experienced in China for their professionalism and warmth. The food service was very good and right for a 2-hour domestic flight
2 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
What a nice report! Catering seems pretty good for a domestic flight. Also, I never saw this Flight Report form you gave to the Captain. Very creative!
Nice that you got to see Xi'an. XIY is mainly MU land judging by the total destinations. I went there and it seems to be the better big airports with little delays otherwise
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6 Comments
Except for the bread, what a nice meal for a relatively short flight.
The number of special liveries in China is amazing!
I was really impressed
I love those special liveries
Also, I never saw this Flight Report form you gave to the Captain. Very creative!
Greetings from Brazil
João
The Flight Report is also an informal request to visit the cockpit, trusting in Captain's kindness XD
We've been quite lucky
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