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 our hotel in late morning. I was positively impressed by Xi'An and I will miss so much this city. On the way to the airport we found a little bit of traffic and the bus driver took the emergency lane as if it were the most common thing… He left us in front of Terminal 3, built in 2012 At the Terminal entrance passengers were checked for explosive powders. As soon as in Beijing it hadn't happened 2 days ago I supposed it was for Barcelona attack the night before. Check-in hall was huge and bright We reached Group Check-in counter for OKAirways, an airline I've never heard before of My boarding pass There wasn't a big queue at the security checkpoint As in Beijing the control was very meticolous and in 15 minutes we were airside Departure board with our flight reported to be on time Heading to gate H46 Descending to the departure lounge; the large windows are perfect for plane spotting China Eastern A320s China Southern A320 being towed The departure lounge full of nice shops, even if we were in the domestic area China Eastern A320s Since boarding time was close we went straight to our gate
H46 is downstairs, this only meant one thing…bus gate XD China Eastern A321 in SkyTeam livery XiamenAir Boeing 737 Time to go…
THE FLIGHT
Most of the passengers don't like to board with bus, but for an aviation geek like me is a good moment to spot planes The way to the airplane was long and the bus was very slow Our plane was parked at Terminal 2, on the other side of the airport China Southern A320 China Southern Boeing 737 XiamenAir Boeing 737 China Eastern A320 Cargo apron in the distance SF Airlines 757, Langhao Airlines and YT Airlines 737s and Yangtze River Airlines 747F Hainan Airlines A330 Our plane: B-1522, delivered in June 2015 (2,2 years old) and in leasing from unknown airline First time for me on a Boeing 737-900ER Obviously equipped with SkyInterior I took my seat, 34F, the last row of the plane The pitch was terrible (I touched the seatpocket with knees) and also the seat was a bit tight Maybe the worst seat ever experienced (even worse than Ryanair…) I wasn't able neither to take small things in my bag between my legs Shenzen Airlines Boeing 737 The view from my seat while boarding ended Taxiing to the runway was a bit long China Eastern A321 landing Yangtze River Airlines 747F SF Airlines 757F And off we go!
Immediately after takeoff we passed through the cloud layer It was very difficult to see landscape's details Mood-lighting changed from blue to orange for meal service There was a single choice for lunch
Spicy beef-filled bun Rice-made pasta with fresh vegetables
A voice in my head fortunately told me to eat the bun before pasta and he was right The bun was very spicy and it totally "anesthetize" my mouth Fortunately I ate the pasta immediately after and everything was better The crew seemed to be a bit disorganized. The served the meal from the rear to the front and after they served beverages, but from the front to the rear. A bit pointless IMO During the flight the landscape gradually changed Approaching Guilin we saw many hills and flumes
Even the airport is surrounded by small hills and river
Welcome to Guilin! Taxi was quite short since the airport is very small New terminal under construction No doubts about where we landed We were parked at a remote stand on the runway side of the apron Shangdong Airlines 737…another airline to add to the list of strange airlines seen in China I was the last to desembark The Purser gave my back the Flight Report, particularly filled The bus with China Southern 737 behind Mandatory fuselage shot… …and wing Bye bye OKAirways…hope to never fly again with you
ARRIVAL IN GUILIN
The baggage claim hall was quite worse than other Chinese airports we had seen in previous days Baggages arrived about 10 minutes after Definitely we are in Guilin Very dark baggage hall The airport outside is definitely better than inside Guilin is very interesting in nature We visited Reed Flute Cave and made a nice cruise on Li River TO BE CONTINUED…
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Verdict
Okay Airways
3.3/10
Cabin2.0
Cabin crew4.0
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Meal/catering2.0
Xi'an - XIY
7.5/10
Efficiency8.0
Access8.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.0
Guilin City - KWL
5.0/10
Efficiency6.0
Access6.0
Services5.0
Cleanliness3.0
Conclusion
I definitely advise against OKAirways Seats are very uncomfortable and are quite difficult to tolerate for a flight longer than two hours
2 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Thanks for stopping by Guangxi where my family is from! I didn't know that BK had free food but had such bad pitch as I read it was an LCC. If you head down to Nanning (NNG) down south from Guilin, the capital city of Guangxi. We boarded out of your same gate to a remote stand to NNG on CZ3276 served by B-1951 a B738. We had a mechanical and so we had a solid 2.5 hour delay. Take the trains if you don't want bad luck, they are nice and fast.
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3 reviews
2 Comments
The "rice pasta" is a Shaanxi (where Xi'an is located) speciality called Liangpi
It would be a bit tasteless if you don't stir them with the hot pepper sauce (as provided in that lunchbox)
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