Review of China Eastern flight from Beijing to Shanghai in Economy

MU - China Eastern

Flight taken on 12 November 2024

MU5164

Beijing Shanghai

PEK

PVG

19:30 02h 25m 21:55

Model Airbus A321

Class Economy

Seat 44A

Introduction

Now the journey back home begins. I did book the first section a day before so I could spend a bit more in actual Shanghai.

A brief report on a high-speed train from Xi'an North to Beijing West is available in the Tourism Bonus at the end.

Flight routing

1

MU772 China Eastern B777: Amsterdam AMS – PVG Shanghai
2

MU2168 China Eastern A321: Shanghai SHA – XIY Xi'an
3

MU5164 China Eastern A321: Beijing PEK – PVG Shanghai
4

MU771 China Eastern B777: Shanghai PVG – AMS Amsterdam

Capital airport is easily reached from the city centre by the Express train, which has 3 stops in the city and 2 at the airport. The one way journey costs 25 RMB (~3.30 €) and takes around half an hour from Dongzhimen, in the inner loop, to Terminal 2. The train has comfortable seats, as well as USB charging ports and even baggage straps.

Departure: PEK T2

The airport express station has a bright and modern design, which is quite the contrast with the aging interior of the terminal building.

At the airport, there is a brief security check before entering the Departures area. Today doesn't seem a busy day, as there is almost no queue for check-in. The check-in agent informs me that they cannot issue my boarding pass for PVG-AMS yet, so I will have to queue up again at PVG tomorrow. From what I understood, they might have been able to issue it if it were a same-day departure.

The main security check is also quick, 7 minutes from the queue to the airport. Again, all passengers are patted down.

The waiting area has a good amount of shops, as well as drinking water fountains. Sometimes they also have cool water, in addition to hot and room temperature. There is no issue finding free seats, and there are a few charging zones; though none with universal sockets.

There are frequent announcements in Mandarin and English, both regarding flights and cabin baggage regulations. They explicitly mention that MU allows a small underseat bag, which contradicts what I was told in SHA…

Boarding starts a bit ahead of time, and there is no issue with my backpack.

Airline: China Eastern Airlines
Flight: MU5164
Model: Airbus A321
Registration: B-6925 (China)
Age: 12 years

Flight: China Eastern A321

Today I sit in 44A, a window seat on the port side of the forward Economy cabin. Though this A321 does not have mid-cabin lavatories.

The padding feels nicer than the previous flight, though it may be my imagination. A real difference is the presence of adjustable headrests. The legroom is still very generous, for a short haul flight. Note that my water bottle is making the pocket look larger than it should.

The entertainment again consists of an audio port on the armrests, though this time a movie plays on the overhead screens. There, there are also individual reading lights and air vents.

Class: Economy (T)
Includes: 1x meal, 1x cabin bag, 1x checked bag.
Seat: 44A
Price: ~580 € (Multi-city trip)
Ancillaries (this segment only): None.

The cabin lights were remained dimmed for 25 minutes after takeoff, when the meal service started. And even though this flight is at a similar length and time of day as SHA-XIY, this time we get a full tray with a hot meal:

-The mini-chips on the left taste alright, they're good in combination with the chili sauce below them. The sauce is especially tasty, with an aroma that reminds me of habaneros.

-The main consists of breaded fish with some vegetables, and wood-ear mushrooms below them, with rice on the side. It is tasty and filling, though the texture leaves a bit to be desired.

-There is fresh fruit, consisting of juicy cantaloupe and decent watermelon. There is also some sort of lychee gelatin, which tastes alright. The yogurt is sweetened but otherwise not "flavored" as the packaging says.

For drinks, I ask for the pre-brewed green tea. I suspect the jars were mixed up and not cleaned from the previous flights, as the tea reeked of coffee.

The rear lavatory was very clean even at the end of a flight near the end of the day.

The flight is mostly calm until the descent, when it gets rather bumpy. From my window seat there is a far away view of the Huangpu river and the city lights surrounding it.

Route: Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) – (PVG) Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Great Circle distance: 1098 km
Flight length: ~1300 km
Flight time: 1h 51m
Delay on arrival: -30 minutes (early)

Arrival: PVG T1

From landing to the gate there are 10 minutes of taxi. From there, it's another 7 minutes until I step out of the aircraft.

Fortunately, domestic arrivals are much easier so it takes me a total of 20 minutes from landing to leaving the Arrivals area towards the metro station. As it is quite late, the Maglev no longer runs so I take the metro; around an hour to the city center.

Thanks and image credits

Thank you for reading this report! I would've enjoyed to make this journey by train but this way the prices were much lower.
~~~~~~~
Photography: Own work
Maps: Google
Flight route: Flightradar24

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Tourism bonus

Makazu invites you to continue reading with the tourism bonus section below :

China Railway G92 Economy: Xi'an North (XAB) - (BJX) Beijing West

Xi'an North Railway Station can be easily reached from the city center in a 30 minute metro ride. Entering the station requires the passport you used to buy the ticket, if you're not a Chinese citizen.

After that, there is the infamous "airport-like security check" which is accurate only when talking about the light checks before entering the Departures area in certain countries. Definitely not like the real security filter that takes your liquids away and has long queues.

The interior of the building is modern and pleasing, with a ceiling that would allow for plenty of natural light filtering in, if the sun was not setting at the moment of the picture. There are some shops and restaurants, where I buy some snacks for the ride.

The gate opens as scheduled. For these trains, your passport is your boarding pass.

Eventually, our China Railway CR400AF Fùxīng arrives. The livery is sleek and serving Shadow the Hedgehog, with curves and lines accentuating the aerodynamical form and suggesting the high speeds the vehicle is capable of.

Today I sit in cariage 7, seat 01A, a window seat on the left side of the train. The seats are alright; the padding is rather tough but the recline is very generous. Legroom is wide, but footroom is disappointing. There is a remarkably sturdy tray table, though it cannot be adjusted other than open/closed.

Between the seats, there are multiple power sockets, which allow for quick charging. The sockets are a bit wobbly and have a loose grip on the plug. The lighting feels a bit dark at points, though not enough to take a nap.

The lavatories are kept remarkably clean throughout the journey. While the sink inside the toilet area does not, right outside there is a sink with soap and paper towels.

There is also a hot water fountain. When asking the crew, I was told that cold water was only available for sale at the restaurant cars.

The train arrives at Beijing West perfectly on time. With a cruise speed of 350 km/h, it is the fastest I've traveled on land; covering over 1000 km in 4 hours and 10 minutes.

The experience was pleasant, likely improved by having an entire row to myself. I did also travel by high speed train to Badaling, and the middle seat experience was not enjoyable. If you expect the train to be packed, I would suggest looking into the value of a higher travel class.

Product ratings

Airline

China Eastern 7.6

Cabin9.0 / 10
Cabin crew8.0 / 10
Entertainment/wifi5.0 / 10
Meal/catering8.5 / 10

Departure airport

Beijing - PEK8.0

Efficiency8.0 / 10
Access8.5 / 10
Services6.5 / 10
Cleanliness9.0 / 10

Arrival Airport

Shanghai - PVG8.4

Efficiency10.0 / 10
Access6.5 / 10
Services7.0 / 10
Cleanliness10.0 / 10

Conclusion

China Eastern offered a great domestic product today, but it can be inconsistent as can be seen in the SHA-XIY flight. The seats are comfortable, legroom is ample and food is variable. The main drawback is entertainment, but it's not a big deal for short-haul. A full meal service with a hot main is very appreciated, considering that over here in Europe our traditional carriers are phasing out any food service in favor of buy-on-board.

PEK T2 is a bit dated, especially compared to the main terminal. Otherwise it is an alright place to depart from, as long as you bring your travel adapter or a powerbank. Transportation to downtown is very good.

PVG has very efficient domestic arrivals, at least for someone with only cabin bags. However, many of the services close at night; including the Maglev which considerably increases travel time to the city in the dark hours.