Review of China Eastern flight from Shanghai to Harbin in Economy

Typhoon Ampil

https://www.garda.com/crisis24/news-alerts/138251/china-typhoon-ampil-hits-shanghai-july-22-update-2
I was at Shanghai for only a day, and I "luckily" encountered Typhoon Ampil.
My flight was scheduled to depart at 2100 local, thankfully the storm faded around noon.

Going to PVG using metro

Chinese Carl's Jr. It's way fancier than its US locations.

Taking the metro line 2 from/to Shanghai Pudong (PVG) is extremely easy. Trains run every 4-8 minutes, the whole journey from downtown to PVG takes about an hour, and it costs only 6-8 yuan which is about $1. The subway was clean and modern.

CHECK-IN

Pudong Terminal 1 departure hall
I tried to check-in online, but every seats were blocked :(
China Eastern operates based the hub and spoke method here at PVG. My domestic flight from PVG to HRB was the last flight of the day. Because of the typhoon, international flights coming from North America, Australia, and Europe were significantly delayed. Many passengers were therefore re-booked onto my flight. Hence, this flight was upgraded to an Airbus A321 instead of the usual A319/A320. I arrived at the airport 4 hours earlier to make sure that I can get a window seat.
Guess what?
I got a middle seat… 52B… 

Security was quick and efficient. Everyone received a par-down though. 

Walking to my departure gate.

Quick dinner at this restaurant.

I had the pasta. They charged 90 yuan ($14) for this dish, still they used plastic utensils…
The spaghetti was quite firm, but it gets the job done.

FIDS

Going to the gate

Arrived at gate
I quickly checked FR-24, and it showed that MU's flights coming from LAX, ORD, JFK, YVR and etc. will arrive after my flight's departure time. This means that a lot of passengers will miss their connections, so plenty of seats will be free on this Airbus A321 

The classic PVG Terminal 1 

Boarding. Chaotic as always

Walking down a jet bridge for the 14th time this year

More HSBC ads

China Eastern's new Airbus A321
B-8651
Airbus A321-211
1 year old 

After 1/1/2019, China Eastern and Xiamen Air will be the only skyteam airline members in China following the exit of China Southern.

Passing by first class

Stuck in traffic…

China Eastern equips all of its new Airbus A321 with slimline seats but with very soft paddings.

Legroom was really good. Feels the same when comparing to Alaska's slimline Boeing B737-800

Because many passengers didn't make their connections, I grabbed a whole row to myself. YAY :) no more middle seat

Smirking… I feel bad for these passengers who didn't make their connections. Since this is the last flight going to Harbin, they are gonna have to stay overnight and wait until tomorrow, and because their delay was due to a weather problem, they have to pay for their own hotels which are insanely expensive at Shanghai compared to the rest of China.

Seatback content

Large and sturdy tray table. I really like this seat, so I will give it an 8/10. I took one point of for the trash in the seat pocket and sticky tray table, and another point off for the soft but thin padding. 

Taxiing to runway

Still taxiing. 

Took-off. Bye Shanghai

The FA came around twice during this 3 hour flight to offer drinks. No snacks or meal were distributed. 7/10 for the lack of food or anything edible.

Turning towards Harbin. 3/10 for the lack of entertainment.

landed

Airbus A321neo 
no engine option LOL 

We parked at the furthest remote stand from the terminal right next to China Southern's hangers…

Bye B-8651! Thanks for the ride!
I finally received my check bags an hour after landing…I got outta the airport at about 1:30 AM.
I'm going to return to the airport 32 hours later 
THE END