Ni Hao. Welcome to this trip-report of the A320 economy product by China Eastern Airlines. The A320 is the most commonly used aircraft by CEA. Most of the A320's are old and don't have the best service. Airlines such as China eastern Airlines, Air China, Shenzhen Airlines, Juneyao Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Shanghai Airlines and China Southern Airlines are the airlines that fly to this city. Looking at all these airlines the best choice would either be China Eastern or Juneyao.
I arrived at the departure of the International terminal. The first impression that I got towards the airport were why does a tourist heavy city like Harbin have a really old worn out airport.
The check-in area was packed and it was very easy for someone to get lost in there. The most crowded area was the coat removal area where everyone were taking out all their coats. The check-in areas were also airline coded and it was very easy to locate. As this airport is over crowded, we had to share our check-in desks with 5 other airlines. Harbin's new departure and arrival terminal is much bigger and it is definitely needed after all of this.
Check-in process was really slow and I was really disappointed that low cost carriers have less big of a line(they don't have to share the check-in desks). I then made my way to the security check again the security check was extremely slow. They had to sides of security checks. One for passengers departing from the north terminal and one for passengers departing from the south terminal. Both lines were really big. Just after I finished my security check, I got into some plane spotting. 2 Hainan Airlines Aircraft 1 Xiamen Airlines Aircraft 1 Sichuan Airlines Aircraft 1 Air China Aircraft
As seen in the departure schedule, the amount of departures for such a tiny airport is massive.
Harbin Airport also does not have the best amenities. They offer 2 lounges in the airport which take in passengers for every single airline. The seats were average and it is not the cleanest Chinese airport I have seen. Airports like Guangzhou Baiyuan Airport, Shanghai Pudong International, Chengdu Shuangliu , Beijing Capital and the new Beijing Daxing ( yet to be open to the public) make all the other smaller airport look terrible.
put in the plane spotting
20 minutes before departure our plane arrived and the turnaround time was rather shocking.
The boarding passes were then checked and I was greated by 2 flight attends on the plane. I sat down on my seat soon after that. The seat did not contain an IFE but it did contain overhead screens and an audio port. The legroom was decent and it was not that bad for a 3 hour 45 mins flight.
The flight taxied from the stand to the runway 5 mins late. We then departed 10 minutes later. The photo below is the cabin just before take-off. The
As we take-off, we can see the circular ring roads of Harbin
The picture below is the boarding pass. The boarding pass is boring and lacks colour, I could even see the low cost carriers having proper airline boarding passes. Nonetheless, China Eastern has the worst colour pallet. Colours like dark blue and white do not give the warmth that they are supposed to give.
China Recently took of the ban, so thus you can now use your electronics inflight. They also have in-flight audio system with headphones(if you ask the FA)
The Inflight- Literature consisted of a In-Flight shopping catalogue and a China Eastern Magazine called Connections. The only interesting part( English Part)was the route map. Food was served 1 hour into the flight. They served us a box of food and a hot dish. The box contained an orange, an apple Juice and some peanuts. The box even contained some cutlery like a spoon, fork and knife and they also offered us a cold towel. The hot dish was a chicken rice but as I had different dietary requirements, I did not take the meal. They also offered us some drinks a few minutes later. The options were abundant. They offered 4 different types of carbonated drinks, 3 fruit juices, water, Chinese Tea and coffee. The flight was short and it was like any other domestic flight. We soon landed early at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
We proceeded from the gate to picking up our luggage from the baggage belt. However, It took some while for the baggage to arrive. I have kept this report short and simple , if you have any questions about China Easterns Airlines's A320 Economy product, Pls make sure you leave a comment below.
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Verdict
China Eastern
4.5/10
Cabin6.0
Cabin crew7.0
Entertainment/wifi2.0
Meal/catering3.0
Harbin - HRB
2.1/10
Efficiency2.0
Access3.5
Services2.0
Cleanliness1.0
Shanghai - PVG
8.9/10
Efficiency8.0
Access9.5
Services8.0
Cleanliness10.0
Conclusion
1. Harbin Airport - Harbin airport has to step up their passenger comfort. It is one of the most visited airports in China by foreign Tourists. This is not the kind of luxury the customers would want from such a big airport. The security checks were not efficient and so was the check-in. We had to share the check-in desks with a few other airline passenger. The windows were not clean, thus making it incapable of plane spotting. I had a glimpse of the business class lounge and it didn't feel special at all.
2. Shanghai Pudong International Airport- Pudong Airport was very efficient and the airport looked very clean. The airport was not conjusted and it was more open. Pudong Airport does make the smaller Chinese airport look bad.
3.Harbin-Shanghai Flight- China Eastern's product is not that good looking or special. The boarding pass was bland and the food is fine. China Eastern is better than other carriers in China. The best would however go to Air China and Hainan Airlines. If Hainan and Air China don't fly a specific route then I recommend China Eastern.
2 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
HRB is indeed smallish for the 10+ million inhabitants of the greater Harbin (many of whom can't afford to fly, though)
"Most of the A320's are old" - According to Airfleets, MU's huge A320 fleet (180 aircraft) averages 7.2 years old, with ages ranging all the way from 14 years down to a couple months. In other words, you can have a brand new A320 or an oldish one.
The ban in China was on using cell phones and tablets in planes. I always used my laptop without any specific hindrance (not during takeoff and landing, of course). I could also use my digital camera which is mostly electronics ;)
Did you fly to HRB to see the Ice and Snow sculpture festival, or was it for business ? In the latter case, I hope you nevertheless managed to see a glimpse of it.
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3 Comments
"Most of the A320's are old"
- According to Airfleets, MU's huge A320 fleet (180 aircraft) averages 7.2 years old, with ages ranging all the way from 14 years down to a couple months. In other words, you can have a brand new A320 or an oldish one.
The ban in China was on using cell phones and tablets in planes. I always used my laptop without any specific hindrance (not during takeoff and landing, of course). I could also use my digital camera which is mostly electronics ;)
Did you fly to HRB to see the Ice and Snow sculpture festival, or was it for business ? In the latter case, I hope you nevertheless managed to see a glimpse of it.
Thanks for sharing !
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