Review of China Eastern flight from Shanghai to Xi'an in Economy

Introduction

This is the second section of my outbound trip to Xi'an. I have a 6-hour layover with an airport change, of which I take advantage for a short visit to the Bund area.

There is a walk of around 7 minutes from the Arrivals area to the Maglev station, which is located between Terminals 1 and 2. There are various restaurants near the area.

Outside the Maglev station, there are ticket machines and counters. I purchase a round trip for 80 RMB (~10 €), while single journeys cost 50 RMB (~6.50 €).

Transfer: PVG–SHA

The ride to Longyang Road takes 8 minutes, but the full journey is longer if including an interval of 20 minutes between trains. Metro between PVG and Longyang Road can take over 40 minutes.

From Longyang Road there is a short walk and around 15 minutes on Line 2 to East Nanjing Road. From there, the famous pedestrian street is immediately accessible, and as little as 30 minutes is enough to walk to the Bund area and take the famous photo of the Pudong skyscrapers; as well as sample some tourist-priced treats at many food courts.

Hongqiao Airport can be reached from East Nanjing Road either with Line 2 or Line 10, though only Line 10 stops at T1. Since I depart from T2, I take Line 2 again, which takes around 45 minutes to the airport.

Including the short visit to the city, PVG T1 Arrivals to SHA T2 Departures took me 2 hours.

Departure: SHA T2

On the third floor of the building, there is a quick security check before the Departures area. There are many open check-in desks, so queuing takes very little time. Today the check-in agent told me that Economy class travelers on MU are only allowed a single cabin bag, and I had a large cabin bag plus a backpack. They asked me to check the larger bag in, but I stuffed the backpack inside of it and they were satisfied. It may be worth noting that the gate staff on the next flight assured me that large bag+backpack was no issue at all.

Queuing for security takes 5 minutes, and the check takes 3. All passengers are thoroughly patted down.

After security there are plentiful restaurants and shops, as well as drinking water station offering hot and room temperature water. The waiting area is alright, with several available seats. There are also some charging areas, though I did not check which outlet types were there.

Boarding starts right on time again. Unfortunately, there isn't a good spot in the terminal to photograph the whole plane from.

Airline: China Eastern Airlines
Flight: MU2168
Model:  Airbus A321
Registration: B-1812 (China)
Age: 10 years

Flight: China Eastern A321

Today I sit in 45A, a window seat on the port side of the cabin. The seat is not that far back though; it is ahead of the mid-cabin lavatory, but MU uses specific number ranges for each cabin class.

The seat is hard and there are no headrests, though it's acceptable for a short-haul flight. On the other hand, legroom is excellent for a short-haul narrowbody. For the photo, note that I am 171 cm tall. The IFE consists of the magazine and an audio jack that I did not try, but the buttons did work. There are also advertisements on the back of the seats, as well as a nicely sturdy tray table.

Overhead, there are screens that showed the safety video at the beginning, and the map slideshow for the rest of the flight. There are also individual reading lights and air vents. I could not find any charging options.

Class: Economy (T)
Includes: 1x snack, 1x cabin bag, 1x checked bag.
Seat: 45A
Price: ~580 € (Multi-city trip)
Ancillaries (this segment only): None.

Around 30 minutes after takeoff, snacks are distributed. They are rather disappointing, especially considering the offer in the long-haul trip:

-The seaweed salad with processed meat is okay. The sesame oil seasoning brings it to life, and the tomato is alright too.

-The pasta is atrocious; flavorless and overcooked. I did not dare touch the shrimp.

-The maroon thing seems to be a ball of sticky rice, or at least that's what it tasted like. It was alright.

The flight was rather bumpy, with stronger turbulence on the descent towards Xi'an. The landing was very good, given the circumstances.

Route: Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) – (XIY) Xi'an Xianyang International Airport
Great Circle distance: 1231 km
Flight length: ~1415 km
Flight time: 1h 57m
Delay on arrival: -31 minutes (early)

Arrival: XIY T3

The interior of the terminal is very pleasing; bright and with some wavy edges. As in all other airports, there are various drinking water fountains available, and stores are still open despite the late hour. It takes me around 15 minutes to get from the aircraft to the bus stop.

There is not a very strict schedule for the buses, as they leave when they're almost full. The ticket to the very central Bell Tower costs 25 RMB (~3.30 €) and the trip takes around an hour.

Thanks and image credits

Thank you for reading this report! The next section is a high-speed train from Xi'an North to Beijing West. A brief report will be provided in the PEK–PVG section.
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Photography: Own work
Maps: Google
Flight route: Flightradar24