Review of China Airlines flight from Taipei to Shanghai in Business

Routing

China Airlines T2 Lounge

After re-circulating back into the terminal, I wandered off in the direction of my connecting gate (D7). This took me right past CI's T2 Lounge so I quickly popped in to try and get a shower room before the lounges got too crowded. After scanning my boarding pass and registering me in the shower log, I was given a paper slip to take downstairs to give to the shower attendant. The entrance is nice, but the lounge not so much.

The lounge is down on the arrivals level meaning no windows and occupies a long skinny footprint (width of the lounge shown below). I think the buffet offering was the same as the T1 lounge, but I didn't have anything here and just passed straight through to the shower rooms.

The shower rooms aren't the largest and had very minimal amenities (no slippers, dental kits, or other hygeine products, for example). Water pressure was good and the shower was refreshing so it achieved its objective.

After my shower, I left and went to the larger lounge in T1. It is located just above the immigration checkpoint near the food courts and next to all of BR's lounges.

China Airlines T1 Lounge

Entering, I was welcomed and filled in the gate information on my boarding pass. The staff also handed a small paper with the Wi-Fi information.

The lounge is much more spacious than the one in T2 and has a better ambiance.

The buffet was set up for breakfast with plenty of hot and cold items.

There is also a small digital screen at the end where you can order made-to-order dishes. I put in my order, grabbed some drinks and took a seat in the main dining room area.

The Beef Noodle Soup was quite good with a very rich broth.

Boarding

About 30 minutes to boarding, I left to walk the terminal. TPE is starting get bustling around 08:00 with the first wave of departures imminent.

Signage in TPE is good and includes accurate details on walk times to all the gates.

I haven't been to the D pier of TPE in a while, but looks overall similar to the others in style.

Reaching our gate, it will be themed with traditional puppets.

TPE is really spotter friendly with planes close to the windows, but the blue tint ruins all photos. Our plane today will be B-18002, a 2015-built B77W and features CI's standard C40 (1-2-1), W62 (2-4-2), and  Y256 (3-4-3).

Reaching the gate area for boarding at 08:10, an overly apologetic announcement was made at 08:05 that boarding needed to be delayed for 10 minutes for operational reasons. Then just minutes later that was all ignored as they started pre-boarding and called CI elites, SkyPriority, and business passengers to board at 08:08.

Since I was in the rear mini-cabin again, I just used the economy jet bridge to board through 2L. The friendly CI crew was there to welcome me onboard and seeing my boarding pass they quickly got the attention of another FA across the galley who came running up to me welcoming on board by name and leading me to my seat. It's clear they take pride in their work and study their passenger manifests before boarding.

After she settled me in, a view of the mini-cabin. Again, the load is very light and I will be the only person in the mini-cabin. They didn't even bother putting pillows in the middle sets of seats.

Seat Features and Amenities

For regional flight, there are a smaller bronze colored pillow and packaged blanket on the seat. The blanket was actually quite nice for a regional offering and not far off the weight/feel of some long-haul offerings.

The standard Super Diamond storage compartments, but they are empty on regional flights.

The deeper forward compartment containing the IFE remote, headphone jack, 2x USB-A ports, and a 110V universal outlet.

The shallower rear compartment that can accommodate travel documents and small personal items.

The lamp and literature compartment complete the side table's offerings.

The literature contains two duty free catalogs, an airsickness bag, and the safety card.

Below the side table are the straightforward seat controls.

The footwells are decent size, but won't be needed on this 80-minute flight.

An open cubby inside the footwell for shoes.

The aisle armrest can be moved vertically and contains the CI branded long-haul active noise cancelling headphones, which are of good quality.

The screen has good size and resolution.

The bulkhead offers a more private offering with additional storage as a bassinet seat, but lacks windows. The excessive wood graining might also be more distracting.

I couldn't really tell on the long-haul flight since the mattress topper is installed from the start, but there is a fully adjustable headrest and soft cotton antimacassar.

There is plenty of wood veneer throughout the bulkheads and galleys to continue the cabin aesthetics.

A look across the aisle.

Pre-departure drinks were offered from a tray, I took the mixed juice and a water.

Again, the ink print coasters are a unique touch to CI. This time we will get a pair of sunglasses.

Menus were then handed out to me and I was walked through the different sections. This time, we would get an actual wine list.

Our menu today is quite good for a <2h flight with two different set course options from collaborations with either Mipon or MoonMoonFood.

For flights departing from TPE, there are expanded options available for pre-order online similar to BR/JX.

The drink menu is expansive for both non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks, although the alcoholic options are a downgrade in quality from what is offered on long-haul flights.

Hot towels were then handed out as meal/drink orders were taken. Since I pre-ordered online, she just confirmed that I still wanted that meal or had changed my mind.

The very basic safety video played as the cabin was prepared for pushback at 08:45.

Taxi and Take-Off

Pushing back we can see a CI A333 and JL B738 to the right.

A wave goodbye from the ground crew as we start our taxi past a UA B77W preparing to return to SFO.

JX A339neo.

CI A333.

After our taxi, we were aligning onto runway 23R for a departure at 09:06, ~25 minutes late.

We headed south before disappearing into the clouds on this rainy day in Taiwan.

Above the clouds, nice blue skies as we complete our u-turn and start our short run north to Shanghai.

In-Flight Service

After we level off, the tray table can be slid out and opened to prepare for the meal.

I told the FA I wanted to try one of the BLAH BLAH BAR cocktails and she recommended the oolong blackcurrant which she brought out as she laid the linens. It was surprisingly not sweetened, and a very good drink considering it came from a can.

Regional flights get the same table clothes as long-haul flights.

My meal tray as delivered. Visually, it didn't look that impressive at first glance, but the flavors more than made up for the appearance. The breads are pre-served versus being offered from a basket, but since they were both specialty breads listed on the menu, I don't mind this approach to service.

They called the appetizer a Seafood Salad with Lemon Sauce on the menu. I was expecting something a little more than some greens accompanied by a single shrimp, piece of squid, and a plastic cup of dressing. Fortunately, the dressing was excellent and brought the dish together nicely.

Similar to the salad, I felt the main didn't visually live up to what was promised on the menu: Stir-fried Abalone and Pork Hamstring in Three-cup Sauce Served with Julienne Sweet Potato Rice. Taste wise, everything was very good. I think the sweet potato would have been better if steamed with the rice versus sprinkled on top.

The fruit bowl was a little on the sparse side, but all fresh.

The same chopsticks are offered as long-haul, Again, these are high quality and the airline encourages you to take them with you to reduce waste.

After my meal was complete, the tray was removed and I was offered the choice of coffee or tea to accompany my ice cream. I took a cup of the Sun Moon Lake tea, which was good.

Entertainment

The IFE is activate from the gate.

The interface could be easier to navigate, but the content is above average for an Asian carrier.

There is Wi-Fi on their B77W/A359 fleet, but is not complimentary. I had residual time on the voucher from my previous flight so was able to easily re-connect using my log-in information. The Wi-Fi was strong even over the mainland.

The bathroom near 2R has a window and the same long-haul amenities. The bathroom was spotless when I used it.

Arrival into Pudong

Reaching the mainland over Wenzhou.

We made our turn over Wenzhou to head north.

WNZ is visible in the center of the photo along the mouth of the Oujiang River.

Flying past Ningbo as we prepare for our final descent into PVG.

The FA asked me if I needed arrival documents and brought me one. When I asked for a pen, she quickly went back to the galley to get her coat and handed me hers to use. When I tried to give it back later, she insisted I keep it as a souvenir since CI branded.

The very long Donghai Bridge means Shanghai is soon in sight.

Crossing over Dishui Lake and its resorts.

A clear sunny day in Shanghai as we slowly descend over the southeastern parts of Pudong.

Plenty of expansion work on-going at PVG.

We touched down on 35L at 10:29, ~20 minutes ahead of schedule.

Welcome to PVG.

While waiting to cross 35R/17L, we get to see a TK B77F arrive behind us.

FM B789.

MU A333.

MU A333 in ST livery, FM B789, and KE B777.

We pull into our gate next to a KL B789 after a short taxi to T1.

There is just a short wait for the 1L jet bridge to engage offering a glimpse at the larger forward cabin.

We were soon released into the land of HSBC jet bridges with warm farewells from the crew.

We had a short walk to the immigration area.

With only a KE flight ahead of us in the queue, it was ~10 minutes to clear immigration and head down to the baggage claim.

After a quick stop in the bathroom, bags were being delivered and I was out of the airport by 10:55 for a very efficient arrival into PVG.

I'll leave off this series here as I start my stay in Shanghai, thanks for stopping by!