Review of China Eastern flight Shanghai Harbin in Economy

Airline China Eastern
Flight MU5619
Class Economy
Seat 53A
Aircraft Airbus A321
Flight time 02:25
Take-off 23 Jul 18, 22:01
Arrival at 24 Jul 18, 00:26
MU 173 reviews
Harry_He
By 754
Published on 9th December 2018

Routing


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


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


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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


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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… 


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


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Walking to my departure gate.


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Quick dinner at this restaurant.


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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.


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FIDS


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Going to the gate


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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 


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The classic PVG Terminal 1 


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Boarding. Chaotic as always


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


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More HSBC ads


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


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


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Passing by first class


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Stuck in traffic…


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


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


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


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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.


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Seatback content


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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. 


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Taxiing to runway


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Still taxiing. 


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Took-off. Bye Shanghai


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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.


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


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landed


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Airbus A321neo 
no engine option LOL 


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


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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 


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Verdict

China Eastern

6.2/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew7.0
Entertainment/wifi3.0
Meal/catering7.0

Shanghai - PVG

8.6/10
Efficiency8.5
Access9.5
Services6.5
Cleanliness10.0

Harbin - HRB

6.8/10
Efficiency7.0
Access5.0
Services6.0
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

China Eastern was right about what I expected. The seat was great, mediocre service and catering, and there wasn't any sort of entertainment which is normal in China. Overall, I had no complaints: It got me from Point A to Point B efficiently.

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