9 reviews
This series covers a trip to China for our first "post-COVID" TPAC expedition. Please refer back to Part 1 for the full background.
After completing the business aspect of this trip, it was time to return to SHA to meet up with my family to continue our vacation. This ticket was booked the day before departure after a last minute schedule change of some meetings. I was originally booked on a MU flight the night before on their A359 and was eagerly looking forward to trying their long-haul J cabin, but it was not meant to be. After checking morning flight options the next day, there was a 6:30 on MU, 8:00 on HO, and a 9:00 on MU. HO was the best flight time enabling me to get into SHA at 10:10 and would give me the chance to do a pseudo *A flight (Note: CA only flies XIY-PVG, which didn't work for me). I've always been intrigued by HO since they became a *A connecting partner in 2016/2017, but never got to try them ex-NGO. Their partner status is only meaningful with an international *A connecting flight, so I do not enjoy any *G benefits on this flight or earn miles. With that in mind and the fact there was just a ~350 RMB (~$50) difference between Y and J fares, I "splurged" on J since I was going to exceed the Y luggage limit to help offset the price difference. Since I was buying the ticket last minute, I had to use HO's mobile app in Chinese to book the ticket and pay with Alipay.
Seat selection the day before was wide open, so I picked 2K to have some privacy for documenting the flight since the air marshals usually sit in the C seat of the first row of Y.
This report will cover the domestic hop from Xi'an to Hongqiao. As a reminder, the routing for this series:
Having given up on online check-in for flights in China, the night before my flight I just confirmed that it will be B-1645, an A321ceo, operating HO1235. The plane spends the night in XIY, so the risk of IRROP is very low.
The day of departure, I arranged a pick-up at 5:45. The ornate toll station on the airport expressway.
MU’s crew hotel, highlighting their large footprint in XIY.
Arriving at Xi’an Xianyang International Airport on a rainy morning. We looped through T2 on the way to T3.
T3 was built in 2012 during the airport’s expansion, which also added a 3.8km runway to accommodate A380s (10 years later they are probably still waiting for one to arrive).
I was deposited at XIY T3 at 6:05 with no traffic at this early morning hour.
Heading into the terminal. Again, there was an explosives screen as we entered a cordoned off area. After waiting a minute for the test results, we were released into the terminal.
The FIDS this morning. My flight is showing check-in at aisle M.
The terminal, like most in China, is airy and new.
The check-in area was chaotic, I didn’t see a dedicated business class line so joined M29 as indicated on the FIDS. When I got to the front of the line after waiting 15 minutes, the agent wouldn’t check me in and told me to go back to N73. The line she sent me to had a small sign rotating for international transfers, CZ gold/silver, and business/first class. Not very obvious that this is where HO passengers should go.
There was a huge horde at N73 with piles of luggage, which was irritating since I had just waited in a long line with no outcome, Fortunately, a ground staff saw this group was not in the right place and cleared them off to a different line for group check-in so that I could reach the agent.
She checked my bag to SHA, now swollen to 26kg, which is still well below the 30kg allowed for business class passengers. HO charges 11RMB/kg over this limit for Y or J, which is a very reasonable and practical policy. She stamped my boarding pass and told me the lounge was V32. Boarding pass on XIY card stock. It's interesting that I was booked into A fare class despite this being marketed as business class flight. Similarly, they also put a "First" priority tag on my suitcase so there is some more work to be done to homogenize this change throughout China.
Off to security.
You have to swipe your boarding pass to enter the security line area. At security, the agent tried to scan my passport 10+ times and failed. He then had to ask his co-worker how to manually cross reference the data, which took almost another 5 minutes. I took off my belt to avoid a pat down, but despite not setting off the metal detector I was still sent to the step stool of shame for a very handsy pat down.
After that ordeal, off to the gate. Instead of duty free, it’s a forced walk through the “Fashion Square” before heading down the escalator into the concourse.
A long line of MU tails. The MU A320neo in the front was operating the 6:30 flight to SHA.
My HO A321 is visible in the distance next to its smaller TV sibling.
The terminal is very nice and well adorned with local decorations.
The V32 Lounge.
I was scanned in and went to check out the limited amenities. The main seating area with rows of seats facing each other. There are some lockers along the back wall.
The other side of the lounge has the dining room. The buffet is OK for domestic standards, they had 5 hot dishes, 2 congees, steamed buns, and hot/cold drinks. There was also a noodle station where you could order on-demand.
Even though the lounge opened at 6:00, the staff spent my entire stay setting up the buffet and putting out dishes and drinks. It’s very canteen style with communal tables facing CCTV broadcast.
My sampling of most of the hot offerings and a cup of oolong tea.
At 7:05, I packed up to wander the concourse.
Some domestic diversity at the remote stands. A HO A320neo is visible in the distance.
Seating areas.
The gates were pre-roped with a priority line and a general boarding line. These seemed to keep the whole process very organized without the standard gate crowding.
Our gate, H56, did not offer good views so I was only able to see the nose from one side and the tail of my plane from the other side.
This MU A333 in Shanghai Disney special livery caught my attention at the pier across from us.
Juneyao Airlines, HO1236
Equipment: Airbus A321ceo [B-1645, delivered January 2015]
Departure: 08:00 (ATD: 08:03)
Arrival: 10:10 (ATA: 09:54)
Flight time: 1:51
Boarding again started early and caught me off guard.
I went down the priority line. At the end, the agent stopped the Y passengers and slid over to scan me in. Down the jet bridge we go.
The air marshal was at the front door to check boarding passes again so no boarding door photos. Two flight attendants greeted me on board and directed me to my seat without seeing my boarding pass. As the only foreigner on the plane, it probably was not hard to guess which passenger on the manifest I was.
The J cabin on this A321ceo is just 2 rows in a 2-2 configuration. The load factor was 8/8 on this business route into SHA. This old J product is pretty basic compared to the new A321neo cabins that mimic a modern US domestic F hard product, but from what I could tell they are primarily deployed on longer domestic routes (Sanya, Ürümqi, etc) and International routes out of PVG.
My seat for this flight, 2K.
Pre-placed on the seat was an enormous pillow (I'm going to guess this is a peony pattern) and a packaged blanket.
In the seat back pocket were pre-placed a water bottle (258mL to make it a lucky number) and some super fluffy slippers with the peony pattern.
Standard seat back literature.
HO's The Moment. No fleet information or route map, but plenty of models for sale.
The safety card on this A321ceo.
The seat pitch is good and is no different than older US domestic F hard products. I was able to wiggle out to use the bathroom without my seatmate getting up.
Not much to tour on this seat. The tray table folds out from the side arm rest, which also houses the recline button.
The advertisement plastered antimacassar.
Since there is no IFE, there is plenty of room under the seat for shoe storage or small bags.
The FA promptly brought out a hot towel on a tray.
This was followed by an offer of orange juice or water from a tray as a PDB. She asked if I spoke Chinese, I asked for English and she addressed me in English for the remainder of the flight.
The flip out cup holder reminds me of the old AA cabins.
HO branded glassware.
As boarding was wrapping up, the FA knelt and asked me if I wanted noodles or egg for breakfast. I opted for the eggs not thinking straight. She then returned with the drink menu and asked what I would like to drink. I didn't want to be awkward and take a picture while she was holding it, but it had a predictable list of beer, wine, soft drinks, fruit drinks, teas, and coffee. I ordered an oolong tea with my meal.
Our belly is still being filled despite boarding being completed.
The front door finally closed at 7:48, and we pushed back at 7:51. The windows were heavily scratched on this plane making it difficult to photograph.
To Infinity and Beyond. Another look at B-5976 in its Disney livery,
No monitors in this A321ceo so the safety demonstration was done by the FAs during push back and taxi.
A sea of MU narrow bodies at the remote stands as a reminder that XIY is one of their largest western hubs.
We align onto Runway 23L as a 9H B738 is visible behind us. 9H, now a subsidiary of HU, was a major carrier from Shaanxi based out of XIY.
Take off from XIY:
We took off at 8:03 to the southwest reversing the approach I took less than 48 hours earlier with another look at the new Baoneng Motor plant.
We looped around the south of the city after crossing the Weihe River.
We started our eastern trek towards Shanghai offering some nice views of the Qinling Mountains that separate Shaanxi from the Sichuan basin to the south, which will unfortunately not be done justice in these photos due to the scratches on the window.
A picture of the cabin as we continue our climb to cruise altitude.
There is no IFE (seatback/overhead) or charging on this older cabin so it will be the window for entertainment only. The snaking rivers through the mountains look beautiful with these small towns dotting them.
The flight attendants were finally released at 8:24 and drew the curtains to prep service.
Service started with the FA coming out to lay the linens, again with the peony pattern.
Crossing Xiangyang as we enter the basin of western Hubei.
Meal trays were walked out individually along with drinks. My tray was finally delivered at 8:44. Bad life choices, my seat mate’s noodle dish looked far superior as probably not unexpected (Western meals are rarely good on Asian carriers). Clockwise, we have the main, bread/butter, cold oatmeal (which I first thought was soy milk since all the oats settled to the bottom), and a fruit cup. In the center was a small plastic container with brown flakes that required closer inspection.
My omelet dish with ham, potatoes, and okra.
The egg was very grey and visually unappealing. The texture was okay, but I could only eat a couple of bites.
The mystery packet upon closer inspection turned out to be chocolate flakes, which I still don’t know what dish it was a condiment for. Chocolate flakes in oatmeal?
The cutlery and china was at least nice, with metal chopsticks.
As the tray was cleared, I was offered more tea and a snack packet.
My seatmate went to the bathroom so a view of the recline.
It was a turbulent flight across a cloud covered central China.
I was handed another snack package as the last of the service items were cleared.
The cabin was prepared for arrival at 9:15, 40-45 minutes before arrival as standard in China. The FAs get a pretty relaxed job with only 50 minutes of actual service on a 2 hour flight. With nothing to do, I napped until 9:40 when the real descent started and some break in the clouds started as we entered western Shanghai. Starting our short final into SHA from the south.
Crossing the Huangpu River as we continue our run north along the S4.
Landing at SHA:
We have a smooth landing onto Runway 36L at 9:54, 15 minutes ahead of schedule.
We taxied all the way to the end of the airport before looping back to T2. With the welcome announcement, the purser also informed us that the baggage claim will be 25 during the long taxi.
HO A321neo leaving for URC.
MU A359.
CA A359.
HO B789.
We finally reach our gate after following the “follow me” car.
The ground crew is not well equipped, several are trying to plugs their ears with their fingers as we pull in next to a MU B738.
The jet bridge engages and we are quickly off into the terminal at 10:10.
Signage is clear leading the way to the baggage claim.
Baggage carts are pre-placed for convenience.
It was a short 1 minute wait at the claim and the business class bag (aka, mine) was out by 10:16 highlighting the efficiency of ground handling in China.
Out the door and into the taxi line. Taxis are definitely the most expensive and least controlled mode of transport, but if you pay electronically (Alipay, WeChat Pay) the risk of them coercing tips out of you is eliminated. For a short ride, taxi is fine versus walking all the way to where you can get pick-ups for rideshare apps. I was in a car by 10:20 for the short ride to meet my wife who was collecting the rental car.
That concludes this part of the trip, thanks for stopping by!
Juneyao is a carrier I have wanted to try for a long-time. This flight, however, does not inspire me to seek them out the in future. I think that for *A travel, CA offers a better overall product across all metrics (other than maybe crew). This flight also re-affirmed my opinion that domestic business class in China is an incremental product (unless you get a wide-body) since the catering (slightly better), luggage (30kg vs. 20kg), and entertainment offerings don't support the price difference since Y is still a dignified product in China unlike the Western world.
XIY T3: Clean and modern terminal that a had plenty of services for a domestic departure. Check-in and security was a less than satisfactory experience. Boarding was highly organized and efficient. The V32 Lounge was sufficient in terms of food/drinks for a domestic lounge, but not really someplace you want to spend more than 30 minutes.
Cabin/IFE: The J product on their A32Xceo fleet is older than the airplane (8 years old). These basic seats are okay in comfort, but lack storage, privacy, charging, etc. There is no IFE in this plane other than the in-flight magazine.
Crew: The crew was the one bright spot of this flight. The FA working our cabin handled a full cabin well with attentive service for the short window that service was permitted. Her English ability was good.
Catering: I think the pictures speak for themselves, breakfast is rarely good on airplanes, and this was an example of that. Some positives are the PDB, hot towel, and the tea selection.
SHA T2: Clean and efficient despite being on the older side. Not a lot of services, but that is expected for a domestic only terminal. The access to/from SHA is its main point with excellent connections to the subway, buses, and the high speed rail.
2 Comments
For such a modern looking airport (as are most in China), the lounge looks pretty old school.
Aside from the PDB, hot towel, and better overall presentation of the food, there really isn't much of a difference from Y service. Since Juneyao is associated with *A, lounge access would happen regardless of class for *A Elites. I guess the value lies mostly in getting more space but is difficult to justify the price difference 2-4X that of Y on domestic short-haul. The cabins on the CEO fleet look well overdue for a Refresh.
Thanks for sharing!
I had no benefits for this stand alone flight. *A benefits only apply when the HO leg is associated with a same-day international flight on a *A carrier.
“Meh” was the definition of the HO experience. Can you believe that they use these old A321ceos on PVG-BKK? Can’t imagine being on an IFE-less plane with an ancient cabin for a 4h flight.
Thanks for stopping by Kevin!
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