INTRODUCTION
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:
12nd August Roma Fiumicino - Beijing Capital with Air China Boeing 787-9
16th August Beijing Capital - Xi'An with China Eastern Airlines Airbus A321
18th August Xi'An - Guilin with OKAirways Boeing 737-900ER (YOU ARE HERE)
20th August Guilin - Shanghai Pudong with Suparna Airlines Boeing 737-800
22nd August Shanghai Hongqiao - Beijing Capital with Air China Boeing 747-400
22nd August Beijing Capital - Roma Fiumicino with Air China Boeing 787-9
AT THE AIRPORT
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…
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.
Thanks for a great report of OK Airways!
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)