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
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 (YOU ARE HERE)
TRANSFER IN BEIJING
After the two-hour flight from Shanghai-Hongqiao we proceeded to gate E59 to take our flight to Rome
To access to the International departure lounge a boarding pass control is done
Than we went upstairs to take the APM to Terminal 3E, which handles all the international flights
After riding the APM, which takes about 5 minutes, passengers have to pass through Immigration control and Security checkpoint
The waiting for the immigration took about 10 minutes
Immediately after there's a short but very badly organized queue for the security checkpoint
Even if PEK is a big international airport this area is a bit smal IMO and everything was caothic
The control is very meticolous but passengers have a small area to prepare their baggages
It took more than half a hour to complete the procedures and access the bright and large departure lounge
The security check area
In the center of the departure lounge there's a fountain, but nothing compared to the one in DXB
A Pagoda even in the airport
I walk around the terminal to find a shop selling plane models but I didn't find anything
Time for a bit of spotting
Air China 777 to Frankfurt
Korean Air 777 taking off
Air China 747-8 to Washington-Dulles
I will fly with you one day
The airport architecture is impressive
I really like Norman Foster's works
Since boarding time was close I went downstairs to Gate E59, a remote gate
People were already waiting to board
Time to say goodbye to China
THE FLIGHT
The 3,5km-bus ride (calculated with Google Earth) took about 15 minutes
Our plane was parked at the northernmost apron of the airport
A bit of spotting on the way
Japan Airlines 787
Abandoned Air China 747
Abandoned Dynamic Airways 767
From August 1985 to October 1994 it belonged to Japan Airlines
Another 747
Air China 777
Air China 50th A330
And then…our Boeing 787-9
B-7898, delivered in September 2016
It was the same plane we took from Rome to Beijing
The engine seems bigger from the land
Beautiful nose
Dream)Liner
The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000
Fuselage shots
Finally onboard
I gave the Flight report to the Purser and made my way to my seat, 58A
Middle Y section
Rear Y section
And then the surprise…my seat lacked of window
Desperately I asked the hostess for an empty aisle seat but the plane was full
The view of the cabin during boarding
Safety video was played while we started taxiing
We spent about 20 minutes close to RWY entrance because of the airport congestion
After the takeoff I felt asleep and woke up a hour for the lunch
Moodlighting was turned to orange
The lunch was made of:
Russian Salad
Bread
Fruit salad with watermelon and melon
Chicken with rice
I don't remember the other choice for the main course
The lunch was quite standard
After lunch lights were turned off to allow passengers sleep
Since I felt a bit "suffocated" in my seat I spent most of the time in the rear galley were the crew had set drinks and biscuits
About middle flight I found an aisle seat two rows ahead
I slept for about 3 hours and half before waking up for dinner
Meanwhile we were there
The dinner was as quite similar in quality to the lunch
Fresh salad
Bread
Lemon tart
Beef with noodles
The cabin during meal service…
…and after
The only decent pic I took from my aisle seat
We started to descent
Cabin was prepared for landing
Approaching Rome
PHOTOS TAKEN BY MY SISTER
Condos in Rome suburbs
Rome city center with Colosseum (in the middle of the pic)
Air China raked wingtip
We would land on RWY34L, generally used at FCO to handle heavies because of its proximity to International terminal
The landing path is over Tirrean Sea
The cabin immediately before landing
Fiumicino Marina
R(H)ome sweet Home
China Eastern A330 landed behind us from Shanghai-PVG…
…and docked at the gate next to us at the new pier
The cabin during disembarkation
I went to the Purser to have the Flight Report back and the only thing written by the Captain was a smile
No need to say that I neither tried to visit cockpit
ARRIVAL IN ROME
Fuselage shot from the jetbridge
I was the last to leave the plane
I love this elegant nose
Bye bye Dream)Liner
Going upstairs for Immigation and Baggage Claim
China Eastern A330 disembarking from PVG
Last view of our plane
Time to see the arrival mezzanine of the new pier
Alitalia 777 in old livery
Alitalia 777 in new livery
Aerolinas Argentinas A330…differently from the departure floor, the arrivals one gives more spotting points
The new pier is very good
Well done Aeroporti di Roma!
Having the ePassport we turned left
Sorry for the blurry picture but I wanted to show the new eGates area…
…and renovated passport control area
Baggage claim area
Carousel 6 for our flight
We took baggages in about 5 minutes and, after greeting other group mates, made our way to the exit
Even the baggage claim hall at FCO has been recently improved
Finally at home
This is the end of my flight report and of the entire journey
I was positively impressed by China and I hope to visit again this fascinating country
And I also hope to write soon another report :D
Bye bye and thank you for the attention
I have had terrible experiences in the past with them flying 777-200ERs from JFK to PEK without any type of IFE...ugh!
But, I am pleased to see that Air China has offered a very modern product with their 787. I think this cabin is their best one so far.
Sorry to hear about the fact that you didn't have a window for much of the flight. That must have been tough!
What is your opinion on the entertainment system of the flight? Were there many Western and/or recent options? TV shows?
Thanks for this trip report, and happy flying.
The IFE seemed to be a little chaotic :/ there was a good mix of Chinese and Western movies but they are in a totally casual order
For example I discovered one hour before landing that there was "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" but it was at the end of the list
Since I tried to sleep as much as I could I didn't see any film
The airshow was indeed very good :)
Thank you for the appreciation and happy flying you too
Air China had never operated 777-200ER, only 777-200
So I guess you were in a 777-300ER
Well thanks for taking a look at China and experiencing their ever improving airline service. PEK's T3 is amazing and I almost got lost when I went there. It's also sad to see those abandoned B747s, as most seem to be converted to a BCF airplane and then fly for CA's cargo airlines. At least service has improved from an old 747 with no PTVs to a very modern Dreamliner
Thanks for this FR.
Too bad CA wasn't as good as on the other flight and that you experienced the robotic and cold chinese crew, which is a risk I'm not sure I'm ready to talke (that and their lack of english).
The windowless row is a real letdown, epecially for an avgeek!
Thanks for another great report
Welcome to China again!